MMCC Power Rankings: Week 4

Sorry for the delay. I had a slight home emergency last night -- the refrigerator stopped running. Don't worry, though, it won't spoil this week's POWER RANKINGS.

1. Greg Biffle (Last Week 1) – Maintained his point lead simply by surviving. Several of the top points guys had bad days at Bristol.

2. Jimmie Johnson (7) – Johnson has become the only NASCAR driver to go from 17th to a Chase spot on a Tuesday after Hendrick Motorsports won its appeal.

3. Matt Kenseth (8) – NASCAR better watch out. If Kenseth keeps this up he may win the championship, and we'll have a whole new points system all over again.

4. Kevin Harvick (4) – Harvick was the worst of his Richard Childress Racing teammates on Sunday. Maybe this baby thing isn't such a good idea.

5. Martin Truex Jr. (10) – Sits fourth in the standings and doesn't even have a win yet. Maybe Michael Waltrip Racing is ready to challenge for a title?

6. Tony Stewart (6) – Not the run that I expected out of Stewart at Bristol, but then again, we can't let one March win spoil what is usually a June-July hot streak.

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (3) –Wrecked Mark Martin last week and Jeff Gordon this week. Bobby Labonte better watch out at Fontana.

8. Denny Hamlin (4) – Hamlin has already scheduled a dancing lesson with Jeff Gordon to teach him how to dougie.

9. Brad Keselowski (18) – Apparently, Bristol's victory lane is no a wi-fi hot spot. Bruton, get on that.

10. Paul Menard (12) – Twelve of Menard's 19 career top 10s have come on an intermediate track.

11. Jeff Burton (15) – This Duke fan's bracket may be busted, but his ability to drive sure isn't.

12. Carl Edwards (5) – Edwards had the luxury of sitting on top of a pit box and eating Cheeze-Its while waiting for his car to get fixed.

13. Ryan Newman (16) – Apparently "Rocketman" got his nickname at Bristol. Isn't it time he lost it?

14. Brian Vickers (NR) – Welcome back to the sport Vickers; congrats on the strong run.

15. Clint Bowyer (19) – Maybe the move from RCR to MWR wasn't such a bad thing after all.

16. Jeff Gordon (9) – I'm a little dissapointed with how calm Gordon was after Earnhardt Jr. wrecked him, Terry Labonte woulda been pissed!

17. Kyle Busch (13) – Back-to-back Bristol races where Kyle has finished outside the top 10.

18. Joey Logano (14) – Never had an issue and still finished two laps down. Now that is a long day at Bristol.

19. Jamie McMurray (NR) – One of five drivers I didn't expect to see in the top 10 that was.

20. Juan Pablo Montoya (NR) – Another one of those drivers, but I don't expect JPM in the top 10 unless it's a road course.

DNF: Regan Smith – Caused a wreck that took out three of the top contenders in the race. Oh, what a race this could have been. Then maybe Bruton Smith wouldn't threaten to tear up the track.

MMCC Power Rankings: Preseason edition

Editor's note: Monday Morning Crew Chief would like to welcome a new member to the staff. Terrence Hunley will produce Power Rankings following every race this season. Each week he will rank drivers from first to 20th, along with a did-not-finish category. Once the season starts, the rankings will appear the Tuesday following a race.

Welcome the first Power Rankings in MMCC history. Comments and suggestions are always appreciated. Now, without further ado ... the 2012 Preseason Power Rankings.

1. Tony Stewart – The defending champ couldn’t have started off his season any better, unless he decided to fire Danica Patrick.

2. Matt Kenseth – The “other” duel winner, if you even want to call that snore-fest a race worth winning.

3. Carl Edwards – He got the pole and the early lead. But Tony Stewart got the win, what else is new.

4. Kyle Busch – Kyle Busch had perhaps the “best restrictor-plate performance ever” in the Bud Shootout. If he shows that kind of discipline, skill and drive all season, look out.

5. Kasey Kahne – Only Stewart and Edwards had a better Chase, and neither of them improved the quality of their ride like Kahne did. Beware 2012 is the Year of Kahne.

6. Greg Biffle – The Biff starts on the outside of the front row for the big race Sunday, the question is, can he finish it up front.

7. Jimmie Johnson – Heeeee’s baaaaack. Chad Knaus that is. Already on the wrong side of the NASCAR hauler this season, though … the last time the #48 team was caught cheating during Speedweeks, Johnson won the Daytona 500.

8. Jeff Gordon – Had one of the best cars in the shootout until Hendrick announced a change in sponsor: Fly to End Hunger.

9. Denny Hamlin – The new pairing of Hamlin and crew chief Darian Grubb will be one of the best new pairings in the sport.

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – It’s Daytona, it’s Junior … nuff said.

11. Marcos Ambrose – Ambrose's #9 car has looked pretty stout so far through Speedweeks, don’t be surprised if the Tasmanian Devil gets it done at Daytona.

12. Kevin Harvick – Happy has a Daytona 500 win to his credit, much to the chagrin of one Mark Martin, adding another is another story.

13. Brad Keselowski – The new face of Penske Racing is looking to prove last season wasn’t a fluke. I believe it wasn’t, and a win at Daytona will help Keselowski become an early Chase favorite.

14. Kurt Busch – If there is a shot for the #51 to win a race, it’s at Daytona, where Busch has been really good before, though not a win.

15. Michael McDowell – Congrats on making the Daytona 500, now there will be that token restrictor-plate backstretch flip usually reserved for Elliott Sadler

16. Ryan Newman – Hard to believe that Ryan Newman is the only driver at Stewart-Haas Racing with a Daytona 500 win, and is getting the least amount of publicity heading into this year's race.

17. A.J. Allmendinger – The Dinger made the best move upward in rides this side of Kasey Kahne. Can he break into the first-time winners club? He has to, I mean … even this next guy has a win.

18. Regan Smith – I give Regan credit, if there is one track he is good at, it’s Daytona. Too bad it’s only on the schedule twice.

19. Elliott Sadler – Welcome back to racing with the big boys Elliott, though the fact that you ran a full Nationwide season and only finished second isn’t too encouraging.

20. Danica Patrick – What was Danica doing? My vote is for playing peek-a-boo with the wall. The wall won.

DNF: Michael Waltrip – Really? You end perhaps your final Daytona 500 qualifying effort like that? Ouch. Even worse than the wreck was DW trying to make it sound like it could happen to anybody.