The Boss Is Back : 2010 Top Ten Drivers

The Boss Is Back : 2010 Top Ten Drivers


1- Jimmie Johnson, #48 Lowe's, Hendrick Motorsports
He finished in the top 5 in 16 of 36 races, scored 24 top 10's, and led the circuit with 7 wins. He also was the only driver to lead more than 2000 laps during 2009. He excels on all types of tracks. Check out his wins last year: Dover twice (mile oval with high banking), Martinsville (flat short track), Indy (2.5 mile flat speedway), Fontana (2 mile D shaped tri-oval), Charlotte (1.5 mile speedway), and Phoenix (mile flat track).

2. Jeff Gordon, #24 DuPont, Hendrick Motorsports
The only real difference between Johnson and Gordon during 2009 was Johnson's ability to close out races where he was contending in the top 5 with wins.He had 16 top 5's and 25 top 10's last year (one more than Johnson) with a win at Texas and second place finishes at Michigan, Kansas, Fontana, New Hampshire, Chicago, and Atlanta..

3. Tony Stewart, #14 Office Depot/Old Spice, Stewart-Haas Motorsports
Stewart is widely seen as one of the most talented drivers in NASCAR history, with two championships to back it up. As good as he was during 2009, he should be better this year in his second full season with his new team. He had wins last year at Daytona, Pocono, Watkins Glen, and Kansas. Consider penning him in right now for at least two restrictor plate races -- both road course events -- and at flat speedways like Indianapolis and Pocono.

4. Mark Martin, #5 Kellogg's, Hendrick Motorsports
Martin will take one more shot at the title in 2010, and he has good reason to believe he can close the deal this year. He won 5 times in 2009 and scored 14 top 5's. He closed the season with 10 top 10's in his last 13 starts. Like Johnson, he won on a wide variety of race tracks (Phoenix, Darlington, Michigan, Chicago, and New Hampshire)

5. Kyle Busch, #18 M&M's, Joe Gibbs Racing
Kyle missed the Chase last season as his team faltered in the middle third of the season, but he still managed to win 4 times and absolutely dominate two races he did not win at Charlotte and Texas. He closed the season with 6 straight finishes of 15th or better -- including 3 top 10's -- and should bounce back strong. He is tops at each of the restrictor plate tracks and short tracks (except Martinsville), and a top 5 option on most of the 1.4 mile intermediate speedways.

6- Kurt Busch, #2 Miller Lite, Penske Racing SouthBusch had a very solid 2009 that culminated in 9 top 11's over his past 11 races. As usual, he contended in each of the 4 restrictor plate events, scoring 3 top 10's over those 4 races. He won at both Atlanta and Texas, and scored top 5's on a variety of race tracks including Fontana, Phoenix, New Hampshire, Dover, Daytona, Richmond, and Homestead. He will be valuable this season; the former champ is a championship contender this season.

7-Juan Pablo Montoya, #42 Big Red/Target, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing
Montoya's 2009 season was not a fluke. He made the Chase, and then made serious headway over the last 10 races with 5 top 5 finishes (New Hampshire, Dover, Kansas, Fontana, and Martinsville). He didn't have any wins, but will always be a threat at Sonoma and Watkins Glenn, and on flat tracks like Phoenix, New Hampshire, Martinsville, Pocono, and Indy. He has also shown a great ability to compete on the 1.5 and 2 mile ovals (top 10's at Texas, Charlotte, Michigan, and Atlanta last year).

8- Carl Edwards, #99 Aflac/Subway, Roush Racing
Edwards will be somewhere between the 9 wins and 19 top 5's he had in 2008 and the zero wins and 7 top 5's he had last year. If the trend from last season continues,Edwards is best: the intermediate speedways. In that category, he had top 10's at Fontana (twice), Atlanta, Charlotte, twice at Michigan, and Homestead.

9- Kasey Kahne, #9 Budweiser, Richard Petty Motorsports
Kahne finished outside the top 10 in 9 of the first 11 events last year, and killed his chances in the Chase with 4 finishes outside the top 30. He won at Atlanta and Sonoma -- the former not so surprising given Kahne's ability to win on the 1.5 and 2 mile ovals throughout his career -- and the latter extremely shocking. He scored top 10's at Charlotte, Kansas, Dover, and Talladega during the Chase, and top 5's at Pocono, Chicago, and Bristol earlier in the season.

10- Dale Earnhardt, Jr., #88 Mountain Dew Amp Energy, Hendrick Motorsports
Earnhardt had only 2 top 5's all season (Talladega, Michigan) and no top 10's in his final 12 starts.His abilities on restrictor plate tracks and short tracks are documented.With Hendricks making over Junior and team with a huge support effect from the Martin no. 5 crew and enginners Look for Dale to start running top tens at the start