Top 10 at a Glance after Richmond

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 10 At A Glance
A weekly look at the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Top 10 drivers

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 17, 2004) -- The following is a glance at the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 10 in the championship entering Saturday evening's NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway (7 p.m. ET, FX), a non-championship points event. The regular season resumes Sunday, May 30 with the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway (5 p.m. ET, FOX), Race 12 of 36 on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series schedule. The first 26 races of the season will determine which drivers will be part of the "Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup" in the final 10 races. The drivers who are in the NASCAR Top 10 or within 400 points of the leader after those 26 races will vie for the series title in the "Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup."

No. 1 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
(No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet). Team: Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Points: 1643. Previous ranking: 1. Earnhardt Jr. won Saturday night's Chevy American Revolution 400 at Richmond International Raceway for his series-leading third victory of the season. The three wins already match his season high for his career, which he established in 2001. The victory allowed him to widen his advantage over No. 2 Jimmie Johnson from 25 points to 40 as he remains No. 1 for the fourth consecutive race week and series-leading sixth overall. The win was his seventh top-five finish of the season, which remains tied for the series lead with Johnson. He remains one of four drivers to be ranked among the Top 10 all season long and has been among the group for 44 weeks in a row dating to Atlanta during March of last season. The streak ranks second among active drivers only to No. 4 Matt Kenseth (46 weeks). Earnhardt Jr. will be making his fifth appearance in the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge and already owns a piece of history in the event. He became the first rookie ever to win the all-star race when he accomplished the feat in 2000.

No. 2 -- Jimmie Johnson
(No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet). Team: Hendrick Motorsports. Points: 1603 (-40). Previous ranking: 2. Johnson continued to leave No. 1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. no margin for error as he recorded his fourth consecutive top-five finish with a runner-up effort at Richmond. The finish was his seventh top five of the season, tying him for the series lead with Earnhardt Jr. Johnson remains at a season-high No. 2 ranking for the third race week in a row and trails Earnhardt Jr. by 40 points. He has been among the Top 10 for nine race weeks, including the last eight in a row. Johnson put on a spectacular show last season as he won the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge and completed a sweep by winning the Coca-Cola 600 the following week. His other all-star appearance came in 2002, when he finished fifth as a rookie.

No. 3 -- Jeff Gordon
(No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet). Team: Hendrick Motorsports. Points: 1581 (-62). Previous ranking: 3. Gordon followed up consecutive victories at Talladega and California with a sixth-place finish at Richmond and remained at No. 3 for the third race week in a row. The performance at Richmond was his sixth consecutive top-10 finish, a run that has allowed him to move from No. 13 to his current ranking. It also was his ninth top-10 finish of the season, which leads the series. Gordon has been among the Top 10 for nine race weeks, including the last five in a row. He trails second-ranked teammate Jimmie Johnson by 22 points and No. 1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 62. Gordon is a three-time winner of the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, tying him with Dale Earnhardt for most victories in this event. Gordon, who is making his 11th appearance, won the all-star race in 1995, '97 and '01 and then went on to capture the championship that same season.

No. 4 -- Matt Kenseth
(No. 17 DEWALT Ford). Team: Roush Racing. Points: 1517 (-126). Previous ranking: 4. Kenseth finished fifth at Richmond for his second top-five effort in a row and third top 10 in the last four races. It marked his fifth top-five finish of the season, which ranks second in the series to No. 1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. and No. 2 Jimmie Johnson who have seven each. Despite the strong finish, Kenseth remained at No. 4 for the second consecutive race week. He has been ranked among the Top 10 all season long, including all but one week among the top five in the championship. He remains the active leader for most consecutive weeks (46) in the Top 10, dating to Rockingham during February of last season. Kenseth has made three previous appearances in the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge with a top finish of third in 2002.

No. 5 -- Tony Stewart
(No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet). Team Joe Gibbs Racing. Points: 1449 (-194). Previous ranking: 8. Stewart ended a three-race slide in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series rankings with a fourth-place finish at Richmond. Stewart, who dropped a position in the Top 10 each of the last three races, rebounded strongly with the performance at Richmond as he improved three positions to No. 5. The three-position jump was the largest among the Top 10 for the week. Stewart continues to be among the four drivers to be ranked all 11 race weeks this season, including seven of those among the top five. He trails No. 4 Matt Kenseth by 68 points. Stewart is chasing his first victory in the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, but has been solid in his previous five starts. He has posted three top-10 finishes, including a runner-up effort in 1999.

No. 6 -- Ryan Newman
(No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge). Team: Penske Racing South. Points: 1442 (-201). Previous ranking: 7. Newman finished ninth at Richmond -- his third top-10 finish in his last four starts -- to move up one position to No. 6 in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 10. The ranking is one position shy of his season best of No. 5, which came following Bristol. This marks his third race week in a row in the Top 10 and sixth overall. He trails No. 5 Tony Stewart by seven points. Newman, making his third start, made an immediate impact in the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge event as he became only the second rookie in history to win the race when he was victorious in 2002. He joined Dale Earnhardt Jr. as the only rookies to win this event in its 19-year history.

No. 7 -- Bobby Labonte
(No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet). Team: Joe Gibbs Racing. Points: 1430 (-213). Previous ranking: 9. Labonte finished third at Richmond to improve two positions to No. 7, which is a season-best ranking. His previous best was No. 8 following Darlington in late March. This marks Labonte's third week in a row in the Top 10 and fifth overall. The performance at Richmond marked his fourth top-10 finish in a row, including three of those among the top five, and Labonte is within 12 points of No. 6 Ryan Newman and 19 of No. 5 Tony Stewart. Prior to the current tear, he had managed just a pair of top-10 finishes in his first seven starts of the season. Labonte will be making his 10th appearance in the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge. He has yet to win the event, but has a pair of runner-up finishes (1997, '98) to his credit.

No. 8 -- Kevin Harvick
(No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet). Team: Richard Childress Racing. Points: 1404 (-239). Previous ranking: 6. Harvick finished 25th at Richmond and his second-worst performance of the season cost him two positions in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 10, falling to No. 8. The finish, which was second only to a 32nd-place effort at Atlanta, snapped a two-race run of top-10 finishes for Harvick. It marks his sixth consecutive race week among the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Top 10 and ninth week overall. Harvick has made three appearances in the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, which includes a best of seventh last season.

No. 9 -- Kurt Busch
(No. 97 IRWIN Ford). Team: Roush Racing. Points: 1391 (-252). Previous ranking: 5. Busch finished 31st at Richmond -- his third consecutive race finish outside of the top 20 -- and as a result made the biggest tumble of the week among the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 10. He fell four positions to No. 9, ending a run of five consecutive race weeks ranked among the top five. However, he did extend another streak as this marks his 10th race week in a row among the Top 10. He trails No. 8 Kevin Harvick by 13 points. Busch has made two appearances in the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, which includes a personal-best finish of fourth in 2002.

No. 10 -- Elliott Sadler
(No. 38 M&M's Ford). Team: Robert Yates Racing. Points 1377 (-266). Previous ranking: 10. Sadler finished 12th at Richmond to retain the No. 10 ranking for the second consecutive race week as well as remain one of four drivers to be ranked in the Top 10 all season long. The finish at Richmond ended a two-race skid where he finished outside of the top 20 and dropped him from No. 5 in the rankings to his current position. His highest ranking this season was No. 3 following Las Vegas. He trails No. 9 Kurt Busch by 14 points. Sadler will be making his fourth appearance in the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge. His best finish was 18th in 2001.

Fast Facts

Top 10 following Richmond (Race 11 of 36):
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1643 points
2. Jimmie Johnson 1603 (-40)
3. Jeff Gordon 1581 (-62)
4. Matt Kenseth 1517 (-126)
5. Tony Stewart 1449 (-194)
6. Ryan Newman 1442 (-201)
7. Bobby Labonte 1430 (-213)
8. Kevin Harvick 1404 (-239)
9. Kurt Busch 1391 (-252)
10. Elliott Sadler 1377 (-266)

Weeks at No. 1: Earnhardt Jr., 6; Kenseth, 4; Busch, 1.

Most weeks in the Top 10: 11 (tie), Kenseth, Earnhardt Jr., Stewart, Sadler.

New arrivals: None.

Biggest gain: No. 5 Stewart, three positions.

Dropped out: None.

Additional "Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup" qualifiers (within 400 points of the leader): No. 11 Kasey Kahne (-355); No. 12 Mark Martin (-362); No. 13 Jamie McMurray (-394); No. 14 Rusty Wallace (-396).

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