AFTER TEXAS RANKINGS

Power of 9 victories

Johnson drives his way to top of rankings

By DAVID POOLE
dpoole@charlotteobserver.com

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Jeff Gordon, right, congratulates Jimmie Johnson after Johnson won the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. (AP Photo/Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Ralph Lauer)

• Slideshow | Texas Motor Speedway action

That’s Racin’s David Poole ranks the top 40 teams in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series following the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. (Rankings based on team performance and potential. Each team’s previous week’s ranking in parentheses:)

1. (1) Jimmie Johnson -- car No. 48
He’s run in each of the 38 Chase races held so far, and now he’s won nine of them.

2. (2) Jeff Gordon -- car No. 24
If this team wants a championship, it’s going to have to figure out how to beat the 48.

3. (3) Clint Bowyer -- car No. 07
Team seems destined for a third-place Chase finish and that’s not going to be too bad.

4. (5) Kyle Busch -- car No. 5
Has led 336 laps in the past three races but its best finish in that span has been fourth.

5. (6) Tony Stewart -- car No. 20
Third in the first Chase at Loudon, but hasn’t done anything special in it since then.

6. (4) Carl Edwards -- car No. 99
It took ABC about 250 laps to notice but this car was awful much of the day at Texas.

7. (7) Kurt Busch -- car No. 2
Hammered away despite raft of Texas troubles and pulled out another top-10 finish.

8. (11) Matt Kenseth -- car No. 17
Owed all the credit in the world for racing Johnson as hard and clean as can be done.

9. (9) Jeff Burton -- car No. 31
This car was shedding sheet metal early at Texas, but he came back for a solid day.

10. (12) Martin Truex Jr. -- car No. 1
Had the most to gain if Johnson-Kenseth battle at Texas had turned into a big wreck.

11. (10) Kevin Harvick -- car No. 29

12. (8) Denny Hamlin -- car No. 11

13. (15) Ryan Newman -- car No. 12

14. (16) Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- car No. 8

15. (13) Casey Mears -- car No. 25 16. (14) Greg Biffle -- car No. 16

17. (17) Kasey Kahne -- car No. 9

18. (22) Jamie McMurray -- car No. 26

19. (21) Bobby Labonte -- car No. 43

20. (19) Juan Pablo Montoya -- car No. 42

21. (20) Mark Martin -- car No. 01

22. (18) Reed Sorenson -- car No. 41

23. (24) Ricky Rudd -- car No. 88

24. (26) Elliott Sadler -- car No. 19

25. (25) Tony Raines -- car No. 96

26. (23) J.J. Yeley -- car No. 18

27. (28) Dave Blaney -- car No. 22

28. (32) Paul Menard -- car No. 15

29. (28) Robby Gordon -- car No. 7

30. (29) David Stremme -- car No. 40

31. (30) David Ragan -- car No. 6

32. (33) David Gilliland -- car No. 38

33. (35) Scott Riggs -- car No. 10

34. (31) Kyle Petty -- car No. 45

35. (40) Brian Vickers -- car No. 83

36. (36) Johnny Sauter -- car No. 70

37. (37) Bill Elliott -- car No. 21

38. (38) Jeremy Mayfield -- car No. 66

39. (39) David Reutimann -- car No. 00

40. (34) Michael Waltrip -- car No. 55