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Power Rankings: Las Vegas
February 26, 2003
1:31 PM EST (1331 GMT)

It seems like a long time ago, but it was only two years ago that Kurt Busch rolled into his native Las Vegas with a plain, unsponsored car. He started ninth and finished 11th.

This year, the 24-year-old is the clear favorite to win on the 1.5-mile oval. A home state win would be the first since last April, when Californian Jimmie Johnson won at Fontana.

Biggest Gain this Week: Dale Jarrett, up 8 spots

Biggest Drop this Week: Dale Earnhardt Jr., down 12 spots

Dropped out: Jeff Green (15), Joe Nemechek (21), Kyle Petty (23).
Week 3 of 36, UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Rank Prev Number Driver Comments
 1  2 Kurt Busch Kurt Busch If he finishes eighth or better in each of the remaining 34 races, he will win the title, no matter what Dale Jarrett does. Ok, we made that up.
 2  3 Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Johnson He was the only Chevrolet on the lead lap at Rockingham. One Chevrolet on the lead lap?! One bleeping Chevrolet?! Wait, you can’t say that on the air. Don’t worry, no one’s listening.
 3 11 Dale Jarrett Dale Jarrett In media news, “Special Delivery” was used 114 times in newspapers all across America, nearly breaking the national record, when “Houston, you have a problem” was used 116 times on May 1, 1996, the day the Oilers moved their NFL franchise to Nashville.
 4  7 Mark Martin Mark Martin With seven straight top-10 finishes dating back to last year, the old Mark Martin is back. Wait, he is old.
 5  1 Tony Stewart Tony Stewart At ninth in the points, he’s still in better shape than he was in 2002. Probably due to his new exercise regimen.
 6  7 Jeff Gordon Jeff Gordon He irritated Dale Earnhardt Jr. with a late-race scrape. And an early-race scrape. No report available on any mid-race scrape. Ask Jerry Nadeau for that one.
 7 12 Ricky Rudd Ricky Rudd Already has two straight top-15 finishes. A stat that shows how far this team has come: The Wood Brothers had back-to-back top-15 finishes just seven times from 1999 to 2002.
 8  4 Sterling Marlin Sterling Marlin The water pump failed on his Dodge, robbing the engine of all the water it had collected due to Rockingham’s rain.
 9 17 Matt Kenseth Matt Kenseth He had the top finishing yellow car at Rockingham, which is no small feat.
10 14 Ryan Newman Ryan Newman He said that Jeremy Mayfield helped block him in the pits. Is that 93 octane you’re smelling, Ryan?
11 18 Jeff Burton Jeff Burton His losing streak – which now stands at 42 races -- will end before mid-season.
12 13 Bobby Labonte Bobby Labonte He lost a lap due to a cut tire, had to pit late in the event for fuel, and still finished 16th. That’s impressive.
13 20 Jamie McMurray Jamie McMurray Jack Sprague didn’t give him much of a fight for top rookie on Sunday.
14 19 Elliott Sadler Elliott Sadler Set a Winston Cup record by passing 293 cars at Rockingham after being sent to the rear of the field not once, but twice. Of course, 112 of the passes were of Larry Foyt.
15  6 Kevin Harvick Kevin Harvick Painfully, his 25th-place was RCR'S top effort.
16  5 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Yep.
17  9 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon His car wouldn’t turn. Well, it did, but not very well.
18 24 Rusty Wallace Rusty Wallace Ricky Rudd went two years (1998-2001) and 88 races without winning. Mark Martin went two years and 73 races (2000-2002) without winning. Wallace, at 64 races, is not far behind.
19 25 Ricky Craven Ricky Craven He hasn’t had a bad finish at Rockingham since 1999. He hasn’t had a good finish at Vegas since well, ever.
20 NR Johnny Benson Johnny Benson He’ll be fighting Craven for the “top Pontiac” title.
21 NR Dave Blaney Dave Blaney He hung in there tough after scoring the Bud Pole. However, he was not the highest finishing yellow car.
22 10 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt Jr. All three Wallaces are ahead of him in the points, including Mike, who didn’t even start the Winston Cup event at Rockingham.
23 16 Jeremy Mayfield Jeremy Mayfield He had the quote of the week: “All of a sudden, Junior wrecked again.”
24 21 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Has scored two straight top-35 finishes, but he’s 36th in points. Man, this points system is tough.
25 NR Greg Biffle Greg Biffle Hasn’t set the world on fire yet, but has stayed out of trouble, which is half the battle for rookies.
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ARCHIVES
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• Week 1 at Daytona International Speedway
• Week 2 at North Carolina Speedway
• Week 3 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
• Week 4 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
• Week 5 at Darlington Raceway
• Week 6 at Bristol Motor Speedway
• Week 7 at Texas Motor Speedway
• Week 8 at Talladega Superspeedway
• Week 9 at Martinsville Speedway
• Week 10 at California Speedway
• Week 11 at Richmond International Raceway
• Week 12 at Lowe's Motor Speedway
• Week 13 at Dover International Speedway
• Week 14 at Pocono Raceway
• Week 15 at Michigan International Speedway
• Week 16 at Infineon Raceway
• Week 17 at Daytona International Speedway
• Week 18 at Chicagoland Speedway
• Week 19 at New Hampshire International Speedway
• Week 20 at Pocono Raceway
• Week 21 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• Week 22 at Watkins Glen International
• Week 23 at Michigan International Speedway
• Week 24 at Bristol Motor Speedway
• Week 25 at Darlington Raceway
• Week 26 at Richmond International Raceway
• Week 27 at New Hampshire International Speedway
• Week 28 at Dover International Speedway
• Week 29 at Talladega Superspeedway
• Week 30 at Kansas Speedway
• Week 31 at Lowe's Motor Speedway
• Week 32 at Martinsville Speedway
• Week 33 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
• Week 34 at Phoenix International Raceway
• Week 35 at North Carolina Speedway
• Week 36 at Homestead-Miami Speedway
• Week 37 at Daytona International Speedway
The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer.
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