NASCAR: Sprint Cup Pre-Season Power Rankings
By Mike Hutton
Number 7 and 6: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jimmie Johnson
7 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. When all you hear each week is, “when is the date, when is the date,” it means that the fandom wants to know when you’ll win again. Do you really think they’re following your wedding plans?
6 – Jimmie Johnson. It’s been a very quiet off-season for you. Didn’t you have any fun? Johnson did participate in some off-season testing, and was quite optimistic:
"“It was good to knock the rust off and get ready for the season,” Johnson said Wednesday in a media appearance at the track. “In developing a tire for the rules package, things are acting a little different than we anticipated. “I was at the Kansas test with this package and tire and we were able to create a lot of falloff. With these cool conditions (this week) and the surface here being so good still, it’s been tough to create the falloff we’re all looking for.”"
Next: Number 5