| 1. Kyle Busch: Busch is back on top in the rankings after he captured his first Sprint Cup Series road course win at Infineon. He still holds the best season-to-date driver rating (111.1) thanks in part to his series leading five victories in 2008. Now Busch heads to New Hampshire, where he won in 2006, and will look to make it the first track where he has won multiple times in the Cup Series.
Last Week's Rank: Fourth
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| 2. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth moved into second in the rankings after he finished eighth at Infineon, which marked his sixth consecutive top 10 of the season. In that span, Kenseth has put together an average finish of 5.8 and has jumped from 22nd to 12th in the standings. This weekend he will look to continue his hot streak at New Hampshire where he has an average finish of 10.5 in 16 starts.
Last Week's Rank: Third
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| 3. Carl Edwards: Like his teammate Kenseth, Edwards has been on a tear in the last seven races. His ninth-place finish at Infineon gave him an overall average finish of 6.4 in that span. He still remains the only driver that has completed over 4,000 laps in the top 15 this season. Edwards has started seven races at New Hampshire, capturing one top 10, a second-place finish in 2006.
Last Week's Rank: First
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| 4. Dale Earnhardt Jr: Earnhardt Jr. dropped a few spots in the rankings after finishing 12th at Infineon. And although he still holds the third best driver rating on the season at 103.7, Junior will need to reclaim the "magic" at New Hampshire to get back in front of Kenseth and Edwards in the rankings. In 17 starts at NHIS, Earnhardt Jr. has posted seven top 10s with a best finish of third in 2004.
Last Week's Rank: Second
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| 5. Jeff Burton: Burton kept his streak of finishing in the top 15 in every races this season alive after finishing 13th at Infineon. His 8.5 average finish in 2008 still ranks number one among all drivers in the 16 races. Burton stands a good chance of keeping his streak alive at New Hampshire where he has finished in the top 15 in seven of the last eight races.
Last Week's Rank: Fifth
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| 6. Jeff Gordon: Gordon jumped to sixth in the rankings after he notched his seventh top five of the season with a third-place finish at Infineon. The finish wasn't easy for Gordon as he had to rebound from falling deep in the running order early in the race. This weekend Gordon stands a good chance of making up more ground at New Hampshire Motor Speedway where he has captured two runner-up finishes in the two Car of Tomorrow races contested there.
Last Week's Rank: Ninth
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| 7. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson qualified second at Infineon, but battled a tight race car to a 15th-place finish in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. This weekend Johnson will look to extend his season leading average starting position of 7.4 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a track where he holds two victories.
Last Week's Rank: Sixth
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| 8. Tony Stewart: Stewart twice rallied his way from deep in the field at Sonoma and recovered from a spin in the final laps to finish 10th. It was his second straight top-10 finish and eighth of the season. Stewart is a two-time winner at Loudon and three-time runner-up. His average finish is 12.8 and he has the best pre-race driver rating of 117.9.
Last Week's Rank: 10th
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| 9. Brian Vickers: Vickers wasn't able to bring Team Red Bull another top-10 finish last weekend, but his 14th-place result was music to the team's ears. Vickers and the new team failed to qualify for the event in 2007. He enters the New Hampshire race 104 points out of the top 12. Last year at NHMS, Vickers failed to qualify in this event and finished 43rd in the fall. He has one top 10 at the track while driving for Rick Hendrick, a fifth in the fall of 2006.
Last Week's Rank: Seventh
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| 10. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer jumped back into the power rankings after finishing fourth in Sonoma. It was his best finish since capturing the race win at Richmond in the beginning of May. After battling through three bad finishes at New Hampshire, Bowyer won his first career Cup race at there last fall from the pole position.
Last Week's Rank: N/R
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| 11. Greg Biffle: Biffle had a car good enough to lead at Sonoma, but a mistake on a turn early in the race caused him to spin and drop to 30th. He was able to work his way back up to 11th, earning him the seventh spot in the standings. Biffle had a run of three straight top-five finishes in 2005 and 2006 at New Hampshire, but since then has finished three times outside the top 10. His average finish there is 19.4.
Last Week's Rank: 11th
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| 12. Kasey Kahne: Kahne started from the pole at Sonoma but because of a loose car wasn't able to capitalize on the position and finished 33rd. He dropped two spots in the standings to ninth. At New Hampshire, Kahne has a 15.6 average finish and hasn't posted a top 10 there since this event in 2006.
Last Week's Rank: Eighth
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| 13. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin posted a mediocre 27th-place finish at Sonoma and dropped another two spots in the standings to eighth. He's the defending winner at New Hampshire and has an average finish there of 6.5. With four finishes of 15th or better there, Hamlin has the fourth best pre-race driver rating of 102.4.
Last Week's Rank: 13th
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| 14. David Gilliland: Gilliland surprised everyone with a runner-up finish at Sonoma from the 31st starting position and earns his third appearance in the power rankings. The finish was his best Cup finish to date in 67 starts. But as quickly as he popped into the rankings, he may just as quickly fall off as he's got a 34.3 average finish in three starts at New Hampshire.
Last Week's Rank: N/R
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| 15. Casey Mears: With the news that he might be out at Hendrick next season, Mears went out and had one of his best road course races to date in the Cup Series. His fifth-place finish was his first top 10 in Sonoma and second top five on a Cup road course (fourth, 2004 Watkins Glen). It was also his best finish this season. Mears is coming off his best New Hampshire finish of eighth last fall. It is his only finish inside the top 15 in 10 starts.
Last Week's Rank: N/R
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