| 1 |
2 |
 |
Bobby Labonte |
He could have spun out Kurt Busch to create a caution in The Winston, but he probably didn’t want Kurt showing him his backside on national TV. |
| 2 |
4 |
 |
Kurt Busch |
He didn’t have to wreck Robby Gordon this year in the final segment of The Winston. Robby’s car was wrecked way before that. |
| 3 |
3 |
 |
Matt Kenseth |
If they voted to introvert the field instead of invert it, he definitely would have made the cut. |
| 4 |
1 |
 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
He refused to cry after wrecking the brand-new car the team built for him for The Winston. The fabricators -– who have to fix it -- will do all the crying for him. |
| 5 |
9 |
 |
Jimmie Johnson |
Ok, so Humpy was right by picking him to win. That makes it something like 86 times out of 89 that he’s picked the winner of The Winston. If he picks Brett Bodine to win next year, start getting suspicious. |
| 6 |
7 |
 |
Jeff Gordon |
He ran a Wright Brothers scheme in The Winston. To make it authentic, he traveled about as fast as the Wright Brothers did in 1903. |
| 7 |
8 |
 |
Kevin Harvick |
He truly enjoyed the Goo-Goo Dolls show at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Glad someone did. Everyone else would probably rather have a Goo-Goo Cluster. |
| 8 |
5 |
 |
Mark Martin |
Hasn’t been in the top 10 in the standings since Rockingham. |
| 9 |
6 |
 |
Sterling Marlin |
His car owner says they might not run The Winston next year. He’ll probably go over to Tony Stewart’s house to watch it. Naturally, Sterling brings the drinks. |
| 10 |
10 |
 |
Rusty Wallace |
It was a non-points race, so he avoided all the annoying losing-streak talk. All the annoying losing-streak talk of how he hasn’t won a non-points race in awhile, either. |
| 11 |
13 |
 |
Michael Waltrip |
This ranking brought to you by Snap-On, Aaron’s Dream Machine, NAPA, Oreo, Coca-Cola, Ritz and Tuck's Medicated Pads. |
| 12 |
11 |
 |
Jeff Burton |
Good thing he won the Open. Missing The Winston would have been uncomfortable. But not as uncomfortable as watching Ryan Newman waiting for cars that would never arrive. |
| 13 |
14 |
 |
Terry Labonte |
Not bad, not bad. Not quite the old days yet – no pun intended – but they’ve made some serious strides. A win would be the most popular in the garage since, well, anytime Ricky Craven wins. |
| 14 |
12 |
 |
Elliott Sadler |
His helmet traveled faster in The Winston in 2002 than he did in 2003. |
| 15 |
18 |
 |
Ricky Craven |
Annika Sorenstam will be the only woman competing this weekend on the PGA Tour. Ricky Craven knows how she feels. He was the only Pontiac that made it to the final segment of The Winston. |
| 16 |
16 |
 |
Tony Stewart |
He said that he might not drive in The Winston next year. Heck, the way his finishes have been his year, he might not be in it anyway. |
| 17 |
17 |
 |
Ryan Newman |
Aw, Ryan! We know you wanted to confront someone! Don’t let a little red flag stop you. You’re young – sprint the mile over there! |
| 18 |
21 |
 |
Joe Nemechek |
Had a real shot at winning The Winston – and $1 million, which would have doubled his 2003 earnings. Weird stat: John Andretti, Steve Park and Johnny Benson (two top-10s combined) have all made more money this year than Joe, who has three top-10s and a win. |
| 19 |
20 |
 |
Bill Elliott |
Don’t expect a few broken bones to stop him. He’s got the pain threshold of an anvil. |
| 20 |
19 |
 |
Greg Biffle |
He’s completed 99.4 percent of his laps this year. |
| 21 |
15 |
 |
Robby Gordon |
He’s taking fans on an exclusive tour of his double-duty try this weekend. Umbrella not included. |
| 22 |
23 |
 |
Ricky Rudd |
Did you see that move he put on Rusty during The Winston? Reporting from his home in New York, one writer said that it “brought the crowd of 500,000 to its feet.” |
| 23 |
NR |
 |
Jeff Green |
His hiring by DEI set a record – he’s now worn three straight uniforms (NesQuik, AOL, Pennzoil) with yellow as a major color. We’ve learned that yellow is not slimming. |
| 24 |
22 |
 |
Ward Burton |
Ouch. During The Winston, he got pinched on the track by Jeff Gordon, who was leaning out the window trying to get Ward to look at a Pepsi logo. |
| 25 |
25 |
 |
Dale Jarrett |
So far, they’ve been the 2003 New York Mets of the Winston Cup Series. But like the Mets, it could all turn around any week. |
