Tony Stewart dominated Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. Starting fifth on the field Stewart led the most laps and, with great pit strategy, went on to win his fourth Chase race of 2011. Carl Edwards finished second and holds a three point lead on Stewart heading to Phoenix.     

Driver of Week: Tony Stewart – Fourth win of the Chase

Stat of the Week: 41 – Laps that have not been completed by Juan Pablo Montoya this season, the least of any driver.

Last Week’s Prediction Results: Carl Edwards – Finishes second at Texas but only led 14 laps.

This Week’s Prediction for Phoenix: Greg Biffle – Has finished second twice in 15 races with five top 10’s
Power Rankings
(Rankings will be based off of who is running the best, with an emphasis on the last several races but having respect for the duration of the 36 race schedule. Last Week’s Rankings can be found in parenthesis.)
1. (1) Carl Edwards – Has lost 1.2 points per race the last five to Tony Stewart, if that trend continues he will win the championship by 1.
2. (2) Tony Stewart – four wins out of the eight chase races, with a championship victory this year would be the best Chase in the eight year history of the setup.
3. (3) Kevin Harvick – Needs help to climb back into the title picture.
4. (6) Matt Kenseth – The fourth most points scored the last five races with 170.
5. (4) Brad Keselowski – Has cooled down but can finish in the top 5 in the points with a couple more good runs.
6. (5) Jimmie Johnson – The streak of championships will be officially over after Phoenix unless he makes up eight points to the leader.
7.  (8) Jeff Gordon – Underwhelming Chase prevents the future hall of famer’s quest for five.
8.  (10) Kasey Kahne – Only two drivers have scored more the last five weeks and those guys are first and second in the standings.
9.  (12) Clint Bowyer – Sitting 13th in the standings but has six DNF’s on the year.
10.  (NR) Greg Biffle – Only three top 5’s on the season but gets one at Texas.
11.  (NR) Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Silently ending the season on a high note as he has finished with back to back seventh place finishes.
12. (9) Kurt Busch – Since the win at Dover his best finish is 13th.

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