2009 All-Star Results

Smoke 'em if you got 'em. It was only a matter of time before Tony Stewart became a winner as the owner of his own team and it doesn't matter one little bit that this was an exhibition race.

After the race, second-place finisher Matt Kenseth told reporters that Stewart "rolled by me like I was tied to a tree," and it was sheer determination that got him to the lead.

Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards rounded out the top five after relatively quiet nights.

Fan vote winner Joey Logano advanced from 21st to eighth, which has to have improved his confidence as his rookie campaign nears the mid-season mark.

Unfortunately, the drivers with the dominant cars all sustained crash damage and were not in contention at the end. Jimmie Johnson pounded the wall in the final segment in a single car incident, while Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon got together only three laps into the 10-lap shootout.

Results

Finish	Start	Driver	Laps	Status	Avg Fin *
1	15	Tony Stewart	100	Running	7.55
2	3	Matt Kenseth	100	Running	6.44
3	2	Kurt Busch	100	Running	12.13
4	18	Denny Hamlin	100	Running	16.50
5	14	Carl Edwards	100	Running	11.20
6	5	Mark Martin	100	Running	12.91
7	13	Kyle Busch	100	Running	18.60
8	21	Joey Logano	100	Running	8.00
9	20	Jamie McMurray	100	Running	19.43
10	4	Dale Earnhardt Jr	100	Running	7.80
11	7	Bobby Labonte	100	Running	13.12
12	17	Clint Bowyer	100	Running	21.50
13	1	Jimmie Johnson	100	Running	6.00
14	8	Kasey Kahne	100	Running	13.14
15	9	Kevin Harvick	100	Running	11.67
16	19	Sam Hornish Jr	100	Running	11.50
17	10	Brad Keselowski	100	Running	17.00
18	12	Ryan Newman	93	Accident	8.88
19	6	Jeff Gordon	92	Accident	11.33
20	16	Jeff Burton	85	Engine	17.44
21	11	Greg Biffle	71	Accident	16.00

* Avg. Fin includes "Showdown" results unless a driver advanced into All-Star portion.

Shootout Results

F1: Monaco Quotes

Formula1.com has posted team and driver quotes for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Our View: “Monaco is my favorite circuit," said Lewis Hamilton. "The sensation you get from racing up the hill at 175mph, trying to make as straight a line as possible between the barriers while just shaving them with the walls of the tires is unbelievable." Along with the Indy 500 and Coke 600, this is one of the biggest days in auto racing.

2009 Shootout Results

Sam Hornish Jr. is making a career out of advancing into the All-Star race. Can another transferee win?

Jamie McMurray finished second and advanced. Joey Logano received the fan vote to advance into the All-Star race.


Results

Finish	Start	Driver
1	8	Sam Hornish Jr.
2	30	Jamie McMurray
3	3	David Stremme
4	13	David Reutimann
5	19	Joey Logano
6	6	Martin Truex Jr
7	10	A J Allmendinger
8	7	David Ragan
9	32	Robby Gordon
10	14	Marcos Ambrose
11	4	Dave Blaney
12	11	Juan Montoya
13	23	Casey Mears
14	28	Michael Waltrip
15	22	David Gilliland
16	16	Bill Elliott
17	24	Paul Menard
18	34	Reed Sorenson
19	20	Scott Speed
20	21	Joe Nemechek
21	9	Max Papis
22	33	J J Yeley
23	15	Dexter Bean
24	35	Tony Raines
25	5	Scott Riggs
26	12	Mike Wallace
27	26	Todd Bodine
28	17	Derrike Cope
29	25	Mike Garvey
30	29	David Starr
31	18	Norm Benning
32	1	Kirk Shelmerdine
33	27	Elliott Sadler
34	31	Brian Vickers
35	2	Carl Long

All-Star Results

IRL: Day 9 report

IndyCar.com has posted the trackside report for day 9 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Our View: This was the third day of qualifying and it provided fantasy owners with a full field of hopefuls. Qualification was dramatic as Stanton Barrett narrowly missed qualifying in the last two corners as the last car to go out on track.

IRL: Junqueira enters 500

Bruno Junqueira will be a last minute entry for the Indy 500, according to IndyCar.com.

Our View: This deal came together at the last minute with Conquest Racing and sponsorship from All Sport Drink. Junqueira sat on the pole for the 2002 Indy 500, but he'll have to qualify on bump day this year since he was unable to make an attempt on Saturday.

Almirola wants back in

Aric Almirola has been wandering around the garage area at Lowe's, wondering how he can get back in a NASCAR Cup ride, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: Almirola is a solid mid-cap pick, especially on the short tracks so it would be nice to see Dale Earnhardt, Inc. get a sponsor and field the No. 8.

IRL: Day 8 report

IndyCar.com has posted the trackside report for day 8 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Our View: Mike Conway's health and Tomas Scheckter's return to the track highlight this report.

IRL: Indy 500 full

The Indy 500 will be full as 33 cars have qualified and now the bumping will begin.

Our View: Only a handful of cars will go home, but this is one of the most emotional races of the year to miss.

Free Jeremy?

Dustin Long reports via Twitter that a plane just flew over the track with a banner reading "Free Jeremy."

Our View: That pretty much says it all.

Ragan confused by slow start

David Ragan is confused and a little frustrated by his slow start to 2009, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: Ragan ended 2008 with seven top-15s in the last eight races and it appeared he would carry that momentum over into this season when he finished sixth in the Daytona 500. Since then, however, he's earned only one more top-15 in 10 starts and has an average finish of 26.4. Wait for his fortunes to improve before adding him to your roster.

No provision for appeal in NASCAR drug policy

Brian France has said NASCAR won't consider an appeal policy for their drug test, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: And NASCAR wonders why their popularity with fans is eroding; it's this "we're smarter than God" attitude that just sort of rubs folks the wrong way. While the policy is laudable and necessary, it's hard to imaging the sanctioning body is so arrogant that they can't conceive of making a mistake.

IRL: 30 cars qualified

John Andretti and Milka Duno waved off their qualification attempt and the Indy 500 has 30 drivers qualified so far with a little less than two hours remaining in Saturday's session.

Our View: After a wet start that delayed time trials, every driver who wanted to go out early has, but look for activity to pick up in the final 45 minutes or so. The track is now open for practice.

IRL: Day three qualification underway

The track has dried and day three qualification is underway. Looks like there will be enough time to get a full field before the end of the day.

Our View: The first two drivers on track were E.J. Viso and Townsend Bell. It's important to have a good time on Saturday in case qualification is rained out on Sunday—the final scheduled day for time trials.

Truck: North Carolina Education Lottery 200 Results

Ron Hornaday Jr. continues to pad his record in the Camping World Truck Series by earning his 40th victory. The inactive Jack Sprague sits at 28, while Mike Skinner is two further back with 26. Hornaday had a sizeable advantage at the end of the race, but a big reason for that was because Kyle Busch got penalized by NASCAR for rough driving after he crashed then-leader Colin Braun.

Skinner has the second most Truck victories, but Friday night was a rough one for the veteran. He tried to make a questionable pass on Johnny Sauter on the front stretch midway through the event and slammed the wall. As soon as he contacted the concrete, T.J. Bell piled in and sent the No. 5 truck tumbling toward turn one. Thank goodness NASCAR requires these things to get built to rigid standards.

Results

Finish	Start	Driver	Laps	Laps Led	Status	Avg Fin
1	3	Ron Hornaday Jr	134	29	Running	8.20
2	1	Kyle Busch	134		Running	4.60
3	5	Matt Crafton	134	11	Running	6.57
4	20	Ryan Newman	134		Running	4.00
5	9	Terry Cook	134		Running	8.43
6	19	David Gilliland	134		Running	6.00
7	15	David Starr	134		Running	16.00
8	12	Tayler Malsam	134		Running	8.00
9	10	Stacy Compton	134		Running	18.50
10	28	Dennis Setzer	134		Running	11.00
11	11	Rick Crawford	134		Running	10.29
12	14	James Buescher	134		Running	12.00
13	18	Johnny Sauter	134		Running	13.00
14	22	Jason White	134		Running	20.00
15	8	Chad McCumbee	134	17	Running	12.50
16	21	Brian Ickler	133		Running	16.00
17	32	Mario Gosselin	133		Running	17.00
18	34	Ryan Hackett	133		Running	18.00
19	33	Ben Stancil	131		Running	19.00
20	35	Chris Jones	131		Running	20.00
21	7	Brian Scott	129		Running	28.00
22	30	Brent Raymer	128		Running	22.00
23	6	Johnny Benson Jr	128		Running	15.40
24	27	Norm Benning	126		Running	24.00
25	4	Todd Bodine	97	7	Accident	15.67
26	17	Colin Braun	88	43	Accident	20.50
27	24	Mike Bliss	53		Engine	22.00
28	23	Brandon Knupp	43		Engine	28.00
29	2	Mike Skinner	34	27	Accident	19.83
30	16	T J Bell	34		Accident	19.50
31	13	Timothy Peters	24		Accident	27.75
32	26	Marc Mitchell	14		Quit	28.00
33	29	Johnny Chapman	9		Quit	31.00
34	36	John Jackson	9		Quit	34.00
35	25	Donnie Neuenberger	6		Quit	30.00
36	31	Chris Fontaine	4		Quit	36.00

Rain everywhere

Rain has slowed activity in Indianapolis and Charlotte both. Qualification for the Indy 500 is on hold, but hopefully tonight's All-Star activity will go as planned.

Our View: For that matter, the World of Outlaws Late Model race in Lawrenceburg, Ill. has been canceled by rain. It's hard to be a race fan some weeks.

Schrader to run WoO Late Models

Ken Schrader might not have a NASCAR ride for the moment, but he'll be racing on Memorial Day. He joins the World of Outlaws Late Model series for a tripleheader at US 36 Raceway, 34 Raceway and Charter Raceway from 5/22 through 5/24, according to the WoOLateModels Web site.

Our View: You can't keep Schrader out of a car, and it's great to see him competing in a major series such as this.

Truck: Hornaday wins at Lowe's

Ron Hornaday used new tires late in the Lowe's race and held off Kyle Busch to win a crash-marred Camping World Truck Series race. It was his 40th Truck victory.

Our View: Notable others included Ryan Newman, which we predicted before the start of the race, and Matt Crafton in third.

Truck: Point-leader Skinner takes hard hit

The Camping World Truck Series points' leader Mike Skinner took a vicious hit after he tried to make a questionable pass on Johnny Sauter on lap 35 of the Lowe's race and spun in front of T.J. Bell. Skinner ended up on his lid.

Our View: He'll take a huge hit in the standings, but Skinner keyed the mike and told the crew he was o.k. before exiting the truck.

All-Star Race Lineup

No one is particularly surprised that Jimmie Johnson won the pole for Saturday night's All-Star race. Even with a curveball of a pit stop and three-lap qualification format, the cream rises to the top.

Kurt Busch in second and Matt Kenseth in third were the only drivers to break up the Hendrick Motorsports juggernaut at the top of the grid, however, since Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon settled into positions fourth through sixth. All of these drivers had flawless qualification sessions.

The same could not be said about Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Jeff Burton who were penalized for a variety of reasons. Tony Stewart forgot the team was changing four tires and had to back up to complete service and Denny Hamlin broke a transmission, which contributed to their poor starting spots.

All-Star Lineup

Start	Driver	Avg. Start	Avg. Fin	Attempts
1	Jimmie Johnson	10.71	5.00	7
2	Kurt Busch	7.57	13.43	7
3	Matt Kenseth	8.25	7.00	8
4	Dale Earnhardt Jr	13.44	7.56	9
5	Mark Martin	8.38	13.24	21
6	Jeff Gordon	8.71	10.88	17
7	Bobby Labonte	8.81	13.25	16
8	Kasey Kahne	12.00	13.00	6
9	Kevin Harvick	7.75	11.25	8
10	Brad Keselowski
11	Greg Biffle	8.80	15.17	6
12	Ryan Newman	9.00	7.57	7
13	Kyle Busch	4.75	21.50	4
14	Carl Edwards	10.00	12.75	4
15	Tony Stewart	11.40	8.20	10
16	Jeff Burton	12.00	17.29	17
17	Clint Bowyer	16.33	24.67	3
18	Denny Hamlin	10.00	20.67	3

All-Star qualification penalties

The following drivers earned penalties in All-Star qualification: Greg Biffle (5 seconds for a loose lugnut), Kyle Busch (5 seconds for a loose lugnut), Carl Edwards (15 seconds for three loose lugnuts) and Jeff Burton (20 second for speeding on pit road).

Our View: To win the pole in All-Star qualification, a driver has to have a perfect stop as well as a fast car.

Johnson wins All-Star pole

Jimmie Johnson set the fastest time in All-Star qualification, with a time of 121.42 seconds.

Our View: Johnson continues to own this track. He's the closest thing to a must have for your fantasy All-Star lineup.

Truck: Lowe's lineup

FoxSports.com has posted the starting lineup for the Lowe's Camping World Truck Series race.

Our View: There are some fast Trucks up front, but Ryan Newman and David Gilliland on row 10 cannot be completely ignored.

Showdown qualification canceled

Qualification for the Sprint Showdown has been canceled and the field will be set based on how the drivers drew for time trials.

Our View: This sprint race can be dramatic and now that fast cars will be sprinkled throughout the field, it's going to get even more exciting.

Truck qualification rained out

Craftsman Truck Series qualification has been rained out, so Friday night's event will be set by points.

Our View: That puts Kyle Busch on the pole, and if you didn't think he was a favorite already, his odds just improved. He won this race back-to-back in 2005/2006. Click here for the average finish during the last five years.

Johnson wins All-Star practice

Jimmie Johnson posted the fastest single lap in practice for the All-Star race, with a lap of 183.393 mph.

Our View: Is this surprising to anyone out there? Johnson has owned Lowe's Motor Speedway in recent years and the exhibition race has not been an exception.

All-Star Showdown practice speeds

Jayski.com has posted the practice speeds from the All-Star practice, along with average speeds when possible.

Our View: Since NASCAR's TrackPass Leaderboard does not archive, this is a great source for the information.

Allmendinger fastest in Showdown practice

A.J. Allmendinger posted the fastest single lap in All-Star practice with a speed of 182.223 mph.

Our View: In normal conditions, we are also concerned with how quick a car is during longer runs—but this is a sprint to the checkers and the Dinger's fast speed makes him a favorite to advance in the All-Star race on Saturday night.

Shelmerdine wrecks in All-Star practice

Kirk Shelmerdine became the first casualty of All-Star practice when he slapped the wall in the closing minutes.

Our View: A total of 35 cars will try to qualify for the Showdown, so he should be able to make the race and earn at least last place money. That should pay to have the right side of the car repaired.

Reddin resigns from RPM

Tom Reddin has resigned from his post as CEO of Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM), according to ESPN.com.

Our View: Reddin has taken much of the heat leveled at RPM. A former CEO of Lending Tree, he may have found out how difficult this sport can be to industry outsiders. It is unlikely that Foster Gillet will help this team perform much better in the short term and the organization needs to look for someone who knows racing.

Truck: Lowe's, 5-yr avg. finish

Lowe's is made up of some interesting finishes from part time drivers, which is why A.J. Allmendinger and Carl Edwards sit atop the five-year average finish chart for the Craftsman Truck Series. Why is this important? Because Ryan Newman looks to add his name to this list.

Among drivers entered this weekend, Kyle Busch has the best average finish of 5.25 during the last two years and that is highlighted by back-to-back victories in 2005 and 2006.

Matt Crafton might be your best value this week, however. He's never finished outside the top-10 in all six races run on this track.

Five-year Avg. Finish

Driver	Avg Finish	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004
A J Allmendinger	2.00		2
Carl Edwards	2.00					2
Michael Waltrip	5.00					5
Kyle Busch	5.25	8	11	1	1
Shane Hmiel	6.00					6
Matt Crafton	6.80	1	7	8	9	9
Terry Cook	8.00	6	16	2	2	14
Mark Martin	8.50		4	13
Dennis Setzer	8.80	7	22	7	7	1
Landon Cassill	9.00	9
T J Bell	9.00		9
Aric Almirola	9.00			9
Ron Hornaday Jr	10.00	23	1	5	11
Ricky Craven	10.00				10
Rick Crawford	11.60	5	10	11	25	7
Chad McCumbee	11.67	2	18	15
Jimmy Spencer Sr	12.00				12
Travis Kvapil	13.00	18	13			8
Ted Musgrave Sr	13.00	22	5	4	3	31
Frank Kimmel	13.00					13
Johnny Benson Jr	13.50	11	27	12	4
Todd Bodine	13.80	12	3	3	31	20
Aaron Fike	14.00		14
Erik Darnell	14.67	4	30	10
Brendan Gaughan	15.00	3	35	14	8
Colin Braun	15.00	15
Tyler Walker	15.00		15
Steve Park	15.00			28	5	12
Andy Lally	16.00	16
Kevin Harvick	16.00		28			4
Boston Reid	16.00			16
Butch Miller	16.00				16
Tim Sauter	17.00		17
Kyle Krisiloff	17.00			17
David Starr	17.60	17	23	26	19	3
Mike Skinner	18.00	10	8	31	26	15
Ken Schrader	18.00	13	12		36	11
Jon Wood	18.00	19				17
Tracy Hines	18.00				18
Erin Crocker	18.00			18
Chase Montgomery	18.50				13	24
Robert Huffman	18.50				21	16
Bobby Hamilton Sr	19.00				28	10
Andy Houston	19.00					19
Mike Bliss	19.50		6	33
David Reutimann	19.67			6	17	36
Blake Bjorkland	20.00		20
Todd Kluever	20.00				20
Kerry Earnhardt	20.00			20
Brandon Whitt	20.50				23	18
Willie Allen	21.00		21
Bobby Hamilton Jr	21.00			21
Bill Lester	21.75		19	41	6	21
Robert Pressley	22.00				22
Joey Miller	22.00			22
Hank Parker Jr	22.00					22
Ken Weaver	23.00					23
Clay Rogers	23.50		33		14
Marc Mitchell	24.00	24
Shane Huffman	24.00		24
Kraig Kinser	24.00		29	19
Brad Keselowski	24.00				24
Bobby East	24.00			24
Kevin Hamlin	25.00		25
Tina Gordon	25.00					25
Kelly Sutton	26.33			27	15	37
Timothy Peters	26.67	25		23	32
Jack Sprague	27.00	14	34	34	27	26
Shelby Howard	27.00	20				34
Geoff Bodine	27.00					27
Stacy Compton	28.00	28
J C Stout	28.00	30	26
Mark McFarland	28.00					28
Brian Sockwell	29.00	29
Charlie Bradberry	29.00					29
Johnny Chapman	29.00			29
Scott Lagasse Jr	29.50	27		32
Sean Murphy	29.50			30	29
Chad Chaffin	29.75	21		38	30	30
John Mickel	31.00	31
Joey Clanton	31.00		31
Jason White	31.50	26	37
Justin Marks	32.00	32
Bryan Silas	32.00		32
Shane Sieg	32.00					32
David Ragan	32.50			25	40
Scott Speed	33.00	33
Tony Stewart	33.00				33
Donny Lia	34.00	34
Shigeaki Hattori	34.00				34
Brian Scott	35.00	35
Regan Smith	35.00				35
Dana White	35.00					35
Carl Long	35.00			35
Justin Hobgood	36.00		36
Marcos Ambrose	36.00			36
Derrike Cope	37.00	36				38
Jimmy Kite	37.00				37
Robert Richardson	37.00			37
Deborah Renshaw	38.00				38
Nick Tucker	38.67	37		40	39
Nicholas Tucker	38.67	37		40	39
J R Patton	39.00			39
Wayne Edwards	39.50	38			41
Mike Harmon	42.00				42

Truck: Hornaday tops Lowe's practice

Ron Hornaday Jr. topped both practice sessions for tonight's Craftsman Truck Series race at Lowe's. Practice one (in which Hornaday went 178.412 mph) and Practice two (177.696 mph) speeds can be found at RacingOne.com.

Our View: Among Cup regulars, David Gilliland was best with the fourth best time in Practice two. Ryan Newman was seventh best in that same session.

TRG commits to full schedule

The Racer's Group has committed to running the full NASCAR schedule, according to NASCAR.com. David Gilliland will continue to drive the entry.

Our View: Fans will be happy to see someone who wants to be in the show badly enough to finance the effort out of their pocket. Fantasy owners, however, will want to wait until this organization gets a little more funding before committing their resources.

IRL: Now or never for next 11

It's now or never for 11 more drivers who still have to qualify for the Indy 500, according to OpenWheelWorld.net.

Our View: There are still some pretty big names on the outside looking in, including Alex Tagliani, John Andretti and Milka Duno, but fantasy owners should have serious concerns about their ability to find enough speed to earn a roster spot.

F1: Hamilton hopes to turn season around

Lewis Hamilton believes his team can reverse their fortunes, according to an interview at Formula1.com.

Our View: After such a big high last year, he's been one of the biggest fantasy disappointments in 2009, but if you jumped off his bandwagon fast enough, he could be a great value in the second half of the season.

IRL: Servia, Bell best non qualifiers

Oriol Servia and Townsend Bell have been fastest in practice this week among drivers who still need to qualify for the Indy 500 this weekend, according to IndyCar.com.

Our View: In the unique Indy 500 qualification procedures, there is plenty of time to practice for both time trials and the race. If they cannot get the car dialed in with so many sessions, there is simply not any speed to be found in the car.

Drivers call for banned substance list

NASCAR drivers are calling for NASCAR to provide a list of banned substances, according to Dustin Long.

Our View: NASCAR likes to play their cards close to their vest. And while it's perfectly right for them to police this drug policy, before they put something into motion that could destroy a driver's reputation, they owe fans, drivers and sponsors the courtesy of being open and communicative.

IRL: Day 7 Trackside report

IndyCar.com has been publishing daily reports from trackside at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Our View: This report has plenty of interesting tidbits, but when track activity is limited, fantasy owners will get little bang for their buck.

Burton team wins pit crew challenge

Jeff Burton's No. 31 team has won the pit crew challenge and set a new record in the process, according to the Sporting News Wire Service.

Our View: The team avoided mistakes and pushed the car across the line in 22.115 seconds. Flawless pit stops is one key to success in a NASCAR race.

N'Wide: Carpentier entered at Charlotte

Patrick Carpentier will drive a Toyota for SK Motorsports at Lowe's on May 23rd, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: A talented driver, Carpentier jumped feet first into the Cup series last year. If he wants to stay in NASCAR, this is a much better approach. He finished 17th with this team at Darlington.

Elliott's record attempt ends on a hook

Bill Elliott was attempting to set a new closed course record in a specialty-prepared Mustang, but it ended up on the hook after he crashed, according to al.com.

Our View: Rain limited Elliott's time on track, which may have caused him to push a little too hard. This car went 252 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats; the closed course record at Talladega is 212 and that was set by Elliott in 1987.

Earnhardt excited about new format

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is excited about the new format of the All-Star race, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: No points on the line should take away the pressure and Earnhardt believes he can get up on the wheel for the final 10-lap segment. This could be his best chance to get his first top-five in more than five years. Click here for a record of the last five years.

The Circus

Event Day Games Preview: Everybody loves a circus and that seems to be the theme behind every All-Star race.

What happens when you put a million dollars on the line and tell the drivers to come back with either the checkered flag or the steering wheel? All too often, they end up coming back with the steering wheel. The All-Star race offers no points and there is nothing to lose by putting your car in harm's way. Kyle Busch can tell you precisely how that affects a driver's style—he's never finished one of these events.

Jeff Gordon has finished his share of All-Star races, however, and he stands head and shoulders above his competition with three victories in this specialty event, but even a driver of his magnitude has not been immune to trouble. Since winning his latest in 2001, he's only cracked the top five twice and his last two races have been among his worst.

So, who will be the favorite? Well that's anyone's guess since only one driver has taken the money home twice in the last decade. Jimmie Johnson is a master of this track in both point-paying races and exhibitions, so don't be surprised to see him at the head of the field.

Join us at http://www.eventdaygames.com/ this week to play along with our unique fantasy game.

Week 21 Unified Power Rankings

Jenson Button won the Spanish Grand Prix, which was his fourth Formula 1 victory in five starts, and by virtue of dominating that series, he remains firmly in control of the "highly-scientific" Unified Power Rankings.* What makes this more impressive still, is that he's doing so with a team that was not favored to run well at the start of the season because they are new to the series.

Teammate Rubens Barrichello finished second in last week's battle in Spain, which allowed him to pad his advantage over the remainder of the field. Barrichello was mildly upset that he was not allowed the opportunity to win after team strategy was altered mid-race that favored Button.

Meanwhile, the NASCAR boys continue to run strong and take up most of the remaining top-10 spots. Tony Stewart's third-place finish at Darlington was enough to keep him third on the Unified Power Rankings grid, while Jeff Gordon's fifth-place finish allowed him to leapfrog Kurt Busch into fourth.

The Indy Racing League has not yet run five races this season, which is the minimum required for inclusion to this list, so none of their drivers will be included until after the Indy 500.

Three drivers, Mark Webber, Mark Martin and Fernando Alonso jumped nine positions between last week and this week to become the biggest gainers.

Justin Allgaier's impressive fifth-place finish in the Nationwide Darlington race allowed him to leap onto the grid in 45th, which Nick Heidfeld scored a seventh in the Spanish Grand Prix to sneak into 50th.

Unified Power Rankings

Rank	Driver	Competition Points	Last week	+/-
1	Jenson Button	107.80	1	0
2	Rubens Barrichello	96.00	2	0
3	Tony Stewart	92.92	3	0
4	Jeff Gordon	90.82	5	1
5	Kurt Busch	89.55	4	-1
6	Denny Hamlin	82.50	7	1
7	Jason Leffler	82.20	10	3
8	Jimmie Johnson	81.73	12	4
9	Timo Glock	81.60	6	-3
10	Ryan Newman	81.38	13	3
11	Ron Hornaday Jr	80.80	9	-2
12	Jeff Burton	78.94	14	2
13	Kyle Busch	78.52	8	-5
14	Mark Webber	78.40	23	9
15	Carl Edwards	78.33	11	-4
16	Greg Biffle	77.40	16	0
17	Sebastian Vettel	77.20	24	7
18	Matt Kenseth	76.76	19	1
19	Juan Montoya	74.36	17	-2
20	Mark Martin	73.83	29	9
21	Fernando Alonso	73.80	30	9
22	Clint Bowyer	73.14	15	-7
23	Brad Keselowski	72.73	28	5
24	Brian Vickers	72.38	20	-4
25	Kevin Harvick	72.00	27	2
26	Dale Earnhardt Jr	71.80	21	-5
27	Matt Crafton	71.80	25	-2
28	David Reutimann	71.40	22	-6
29	Kasey Kahne	70.00	26	-3
30	Jason Keller	69.60	31	1
31	Joey Logano	69.50	34	3
32	Mike Skinner	67.33	36	4
33	David Ragan	67.00	32	-1
34	Johnny Benson Jr	67.00	37	3
35	Marcos Ambrose	66.18	33	-2
36	Lewis Hamilton	65.20	39	3
37	Nico Rosberg	65.20	40	3
38	Martin Truex Jr	64.73	45	7
39	Jarno Trulli	64.00	18	-21
40	Casey Mears	63.91	35	-5
41	Reed Sorenson	63.73	41	0
42	Scott Lagasse Jr	63.70	38	-4
43	Steve Wallace	63.60	43	0
44	Regan Smith	63.00	42	-2
45	Justin Allgaier	62.60	NR
46	Jamie McMurray	61.55	44	-2
47	Chad McCumbee	61.20	47	0
48	Brendan Gaughan	60.90	46	-2
49	A J Allmendinger	60.82	50	1
50	Nick Heidfeld	60.80	NR

The Unified Power Rankings are based on "percentage points." Starting with a 100 score for the winner of a Nationwide race, each subsequent position is decremented by a percentage that relates to the number of drivers in the field. In a 50-car field of potential qualifiers, the second-place driver receives 98 points, third-place gets 96 points, the 43rd-place driver gets 16 points (because he beat eight other driver to even get into the field) and so on until the last non-qualifier in 50th-place gets two points.

Only races run in the last three months count in this formula.

The Cup, IRL and Formula 1 series start at 110 points for a victory (since its so difficult to win one of these races) and then decrements 1/50th of 110 points for each subsequent position. It’s an unscientific way to determine who is the best in their series, while simultaneously trying to compare apples to oranges.

Previous Unified Power Rankings:

Week 20

RPM teammates struggle to keep Kahne company

Only Kasey Kahne is locked into the All-Star race by virtue of winning it last year, which leaves Elliott Sadler, Reed Sorenson and A.J. Allmendinger hoping to win the Sprint Showdown or get voted in by the fans, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: Until last year, we would have said that none of these drivers would be a very good value, but Kahne won after the fan voted him into the big show and Sam Hornish Jr. finished seventh after racing his way into last year's field.

Newman knows how special All-Star race is

"Until I won the Daytona 500, the All-Star win was my greatest victory," said Ryan Newman in a press release this week. "We beat everybody on a given night in our backyard. We weren't racing for points but racing for glory and money, and it was a great win." Newman's victory came in 2008.

Our View: If the drivers think its special, they are going to put the pedal to the metal and go flat out. Newman is one of the hottest racers in the field this weekend and he cannot be overlooked by fantasy owners.