This week's Power Rankings saw a big shake up in the top 10 after a bunch of new players are starting to flex their muscle early in the season. Motor Racing Network's rankings are based on a combination of season-to-date loop data, season standings and staff selections by Jeff Wackerlin and Rachael West.
1.
Matt Kenseth: Kenseth moved into the top spot in the rankings after finishing second in Atlanta. Though they're all top-10 finishes, Kenseth has progressively gotten better with his 2010 results. His AMS finish was his second top five this season and moved him up two spots in the standings to second, within 26 points of Kevin Harvick. After a week off, Kenseth will try to tackle the points lead with his 21st start at Bristol Motor Speedway. He has a 13.1 average finish with two victories, seven top fives and 12 top 10s.
Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 96.1
Point Standing: Second
Last Week's Ranking: Fifth
2.
Kevin Harvick: Harvick slipped out of the lead in the rankings after finishing ninth in Atlanta. His fourth consecutive top-10 finish this season kept him on top of the point standings, though. Harvick's weekend looked like it was going to turn out worse after he and the team couldn't find any speed in practice and qualifying heading into the race. The No. 29 team will have to work hard at Bristol to find the speed again. In his last two starts at the track, Harvick has finished 30th and 38th. He has one victory, nine top fives and 11 top 10s at the track in 18 starts.
Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 104.0 Point Standing: First Last Week's Ranking: First
3.
Greg Biffle: Biffle moved up a spot in the rankings after posting his fourth consecutive top-10 finish this season at Atlanta. He managed to finish eighth after coming from the rear of the field at the start in a back-up car. Biffle is now third in the standings, within 59 points of Harvick. At Bristol, Biffle is coming off a fourth-place finish in last fall's race. It was his fifth top-five finish in 14 starts, and he has an average finish of 11.5 at the track.
Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 99.9 Point Standing: Third Last Week's Ranking: Fourth
4. Kurt Busch: Busch jumped back onto the rankings after capturing his second consecutive Kobalt Tools 500 victory on Sunday. Busch was fast all day, leading six times for 129 laps and was able to hold off the field on two green-white-checkered finish attempts to win his 21st career race. The victory also helped him jump nine spots into the top 10 in the standings. After a week off, Busch will try to capture his sixth victory at Bristol Motor Speedway. He last won in his track debut with Roger Penske in 2006 and has posted two more top 10s with the team since then.
Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 100.0 Point Standing: 10th Last Week's Ranking: N/R
5.
Kasey Kahne: Kahne dominated the race at Atlanta. After starting sixth he was able to move to the lead by lap 14, and he led seven more times during the race for a race-high total of 144 laps. But in the end, Kahne wasn't able to challenge much for the lead after being stuck behind Montoya on the final restart and finished fourth. Kahne will make his track debut in a Ford at Bristol following the off week. He's led 305 laps at the track, all in one race where he started from the pole and finished second. That finish is one of four top 10s at the track where he has a 20.0 average finish in 12 starts.
Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 97.3 Point Standing: 17th Last Week's Ranking: N/R
6.
Paul Menard: Menard makes his first appearance on the power rankings this season after finishing fifth in Atlanta. The top-five finish was the second best of his career and moved him eight spots in the standings to ninth. Menard will have to work hard to maintain his position following Bristol. He has yet to finish in the top 15 in five starts at the track. His average finish at BMS is 24.2.
Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 70.5 Point Standing: Ninth Last Week's Ranking: N/R
7.
Jimmie Johnson: Johnson slipped in the rankings after finishing 12th in Atlanta. He ran as high as fourth, but the late-race cautions kept him back in the field. Even though it wasn't a top-10 finish, Johnson was able to jump one spot in the standings to fourth. After the off week, Johnson will try to get to Bristol's victory lane for the first time in his career. It's one of only two tracks on the circuit that the series visits twice a year where Johnson hasn't won a race yet. He's finished a best third in two races.
Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 110.7 Point Standing: Fourth Last Week's Ranking: Second
8. Scott Speed: Speed makes his first appearance on the rankings this season after finishing 10th at Atlanta. It was his third career top-10 finish, and coupled with Brian Vickers' seventh-place finish, gave Red Bull Racing its third-best combined result in history. Speed will try to keep his season's momentum going at Bristol where he finished a track best 15th last fall after starting third.
Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 71.2 Point Standing: 11th (tied with Jeff Gordon) Last Week's Ranking: N/R
9.
Juan Pablo Montoya: Montoya scored his first top-five finish of the season with a third-place finish at Atlanta. In the final laps of the race, Montoya challenged Busch for the lead, but with the restarts, saw himself pushed back when he spun his tires. The finish moved him five spots in the standings. At Bristol, Montoya has yet to post a fifth-place finish in six starts. He posted his first top 10 at the track in the spring last year.
Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 93.6 Point Standing: 21st Last Week's Ranking: N/R
10. AJ Allmendinger: Allmendinger took the last spot in the rankings this week on the strength of his sixth-place finish at Atlanta. The top-10 finish was the ninth of the his career and his best result so far this season. He'll be making his sixth career start at Bristol Motor Speedway after the break. Allmendinger has yet to post a finish there in the top 15 and has an average finish of 32.4.
Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 74.1 Point Standing: 23rd Last Week's Ranking: N/R
Biggest Mover of the Week: Kurt Busch Off the Rankings This Week: Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Tony Stewart