Racing Junky

1. Carl Edwards - A disappointing end to what was a fantastic season for Edwards as he finished in a tie in the points with Tony Stewart but lost the Championship because Stewart had won more races. Over the season, he accumulated over 50 more points then Stewart but the Chase reset the points for the last 10 races. He is the only driver to finish in the Top 5 in over 50% of the 36 races and only four times all season did he finish outside the Top 20. He had the best starting and finishing average in the series and finished all 36 races. He finished the season with the 2nd best driver rating.

2. Tony Stewart - What a fantastic end to what had been a so-so season up until the Chase started. From that point on, Stewart went on a binge of wins; winning half of the Chase races including the final one when the pressure was on. Crowned the 2011 Champion on the basis of wins as he finished in a tie in points with Edwards. He finished in the Top 5 in just nine races and in the Top 10 in just over half of the 36 races. He had the 6th best finishing average and was 6th overall as far as driver ratings. If we based power ranking over just the last 10 races, Stewart probably would be at the top of the charts.

3. Jimmie Johnson - Johnson did not win his 6th straight championship but that was due more to bad luck then to the actual performance of this team. Had the 2nd most Top 5 finishes in the series, the 2nd most Top 10 finishes in the series and was one of just two drivers that led over 1000 laps over the season. He finished 3rd in driver ratings over the whole season. His stats show that he had a much above normal season but for a 5 time champ, nothing but another championship would do. He has to be looking forward to next season so they can correct those races where he didn't finish quite as good as he ran the race.

4. Kevin Harvick - Harvick was my pick to win the championship but he just couldn't get it done over the last few chase races. Still it was quite the season for Harvick as he walked away for the season with four wins and finished 3rd in the final point standings after he led much of the season in the point standings. He like Stewart, just had 9 Top 5 finishes over the season and that is something that he needs to improve upon if he wants to challenge for the championship in 2012. He finished 9th over all in the driver ratings. He had the 2nd best finishing average in the series and finished in the Top 20 in 86% of the races.

5. Matt Kenseth - Kenseth started to look like his old self this season and was highly competitive in most all of the 36 races this year. He managed to win three races over the course of the season and finished in the Top 10 in 20 of the 36 races. Of the Top 5 drivers listed here, he had the most races where he did not finish the race which hurt him a tad bit overall. He finished the season with the 4th highest driver rating and led 875 laps over the course of the season. One thing that stands out for Kenseth this past season is a much above average in qualifying for Kenseth which could be why the 2011 season was a success.

6. Kyle Busch - What a shame that this guy cannot get his act together and just drive a race car without all the sideline news grabbing stuff that he does. Busch had a good season as attested by his series leading driver rating and the fact that he led more laps then any other driver shows he ran up front quite a bit. He finished the season with four wins and finished in the Top 10 in over half of the races that he ran. The chase was a huge disappointment that found him struggling for results and having to sit out a race due to his temper tantrum in another series. His 2012 season has to be in doubt so keep an eye on the news.

7. Jeff Gordon - Knowing his past performance it is hard to gauge the 2011 season as being highly successful but we do know it was better then a few of his recent seasons. Overall, he won 3 races in the 2011 season and finished in the Top 10 in better then half of the races. He led the 3rd most laps this season, just about 9% of all the laps run and ran in the Top 15 in well over 80% of the races. He had the 5th highest driver rating over the course of the 36 races. The biggest disappointment in the season had to be the chase, where he struggled quite a bit and only managed an 8th place finish in the points over all.

8. Brad Keselowski - For Brad, this season has to be considered nothing but a huge success after not only did he make the chase but actually made some noise in it before returning to earth in the last few chase races. He was a mid 20's driver in the points until just about the mid point of the season and then stormed back to make the chase as a wild card. He won 3 races this past season and was only one of six drivers to finish in the Top 10 in more then 10 of the races this season. He finished 5th in the final chase standings but 10th overall as far as actual points earned. He was 13th overall in the driver ratings.

9. Kurt Busch - It is hard to rate whether the 2011 season was a success or not but judging from the fact that his crew chief is already gone, I would say that the the team did not consider it a success. Kurt seemed to run much better in the beginning of the season then how he finished. He did manage to win two races this past season and finished with the 7th best driver rating by the time the dust cleared. The chase was a huge disappointment where he could only manage an 11th place finish overall. He like his brother, had to fight some temper issues which flared up even in the final race of the season with Dr. Jerry Punch.

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - One could argue whether Jr belongs in the Top 10 or elsewhere but I have to consider that just the fact that he made the chase this year is more then enough evidence that the 2011 season was a success. While he still didn't win a race this year, you can feel that one may be near as he was competitive as he finished in the Top 15 in 21 of the 36 races but you can argue that he had just four Top 5 finishes. Consistency is important and that was evident in his finishes this year. I am thinking that the 2012 season will be a big one for him and he will finally get that elusive win that has escaped him.

11. Ryan Newman - Well Ryan made the chase this year so he had a decent year but other then a few races, he was never a real threat to challenge for the championship. He posted a top 10 driver rating but that was the 10th spot and he led a decent number of laps, 403. He got himself a win this past year and just about finished in the Top 10 in about half the races this year

12. Clint Bowyer - Bowyer had a decent year although he did not make the Chase this year. He managed to finish in the Top 12 in overall points at the end of year. He did pick up a win this year but that was just one of four times he finished in the Top 5 all year. He chalked up one of the highest totals as far as races that he did not finish which may explain his mediocre year.

13. Denny Hamlin - He did make the Chase this year but by the skin of his nose and you just had to feel that he just didn't have the magic that he had last year. He did manage to get himself a win but like Bowyer, he struggled to find himself in the Top 5; just 5 times the entire season. He had just the 11th best driver rating so he just was outside the Top 10 all year.

14. Kasey Kahne - Kasey started out the season really slow and managed to get better and better as the season progressed, The last few races, he was a factor in quite a few races and managed to win one before the year was out. Racing for a lame duck team really could not motivate him all that much but look out for him next year when he moves over to Hendrick.

15. AJ Allmendinger - Someone has to be 15th and you could pick quite a few guys here but I think in looking at his overall stats for the season I think AJ deserves this spot, He was 15th overall in the points but he managed to find the Top 5 in just one race. His strong suite was finding the Top 15 where he managed to find it in 22 of the 36 races, which is pretty good.

Others - Greg Biffle, Marcos Ambrose, Martin Truex Jr, Paul Menard, Mark Martin

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