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Power Rankings: Does Earnhardt Jr. crack the top two?

Our Power Rankings are far from a scientific formula. In fact, it's the perfect blend of analytics and bias against your favorite driver. And you think we dislike your favorite driver, so it makes sense, right? Direct all your complaints to us at happyhourmailbag@yahoo.com.

1. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 1): Can you imagine the reaction if Johnson passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the last couple laps? Of course, the chances of that happening were slimmer than they otherwise would have been given the two drivers' Hendrick relationship, but Johnson could have done some serious damage to his popularity with the pass. And yes, Johnson is popular, Vader-haters. Though if you look at the rest of the top five, Johnson easily would have been the second-most popular choice for the win.

2. Kevin Harvick (LW: 2): An eighth-place finish after a fair amount of front-end damage isn't a bad way to survive Talladega. Harvick's car got dinged up in the first big crash of the day, but his team worked on the car, put a bunch of tape and pieces on the front and got it working like a high-speed do-it-yourself home improvement project. And hey, since Harvick finished eighth, the Bloomin' Onions were free again on Monday. Not only is Harvick destroying everyone in the points standings, he's making NASCAR fans fatter.

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 8): Sunday's win was the 24th of Earnhardt Jr.'s career. He has six multi-win seasons and in five of those seasons, he's gotten his first win at a restrictor plate race. In his four one-win seasons, he doesn't have a restrictor plate win. If past results are any indication of future success, Junior is going to have another win or two coming this year. And it won't be surprising.

4. Kurt Busch (LW: 3): The most notable moment of Busch's race might have been the incident involving Trevor Bayne. And no, it really wasn't Busch's fault. Bayne's car washed up the track a bit and Busch got near his left quarterpanel, taking the air off that part of his car. Bayne's car snapped around and away went the crash. Busch got around it and after he fell towards the back of the pack, worked his way to 12th on the final lap.

5. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 6): Truex beat Harvick at Talladega to cut into his points lead ... by two points (Harvick was three sports behind Truex but led a lap). Barring some sort of collapse, Truex is going to make the Chase via points. Yeah, we sound like a broken record, but given the team's struggles in the first half of last year, it can't be repeated enough how good they've been in 2015.

6. Joey Logano (LW: 5): For the second time in three races, Logano was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had nowhere to go when Bayne's car started crashing and he got a ton of damage. Though his ton of damage wasn't nearly the ton of damage that other drivers got and his car was fairly fixable. He ended up two laps down in 33rd place and the first car a lap(s) down.

7. Ryan Newman (LW: 11): The best decision Newman made in the final laps of the race might have been abandoning Tony Stewart's aggressiveness in the low line. Stewart was one of the only drivers trying to make things happen in the late laps and Newman was with him on the backstretch. However, Newman jumped back in line on the high side when he realized Stewart wasn't making much progress and stayed there until the last lap chaos. He ended up seventh while Stewart finished 19th.

8. Matt Kenseth (LW: 4): Kenseth was the pied piper of his line. Except his line was not very close to the leaders in the late stages of the race. He finished 25th, just his second finish outside of the top 20 in the past eight Talladega races. Yeah, Kenseth has become one of the better restrictor plate racers in NASCAR, but we feel comfortable saying Sunday's race wasn't entirely indicative of drivers' plate-racing ability.

9. Kasey Kahne (LW: 8): Kahne was also caught up in the early crash and finished a whopping 30 laps down. After finishing 34th, he's now ninth in the points standings and 108 points behind Kevin Harvick. However, five of the top six drivers have wins and Kahne is third among drivers who haven't been to victory lane this season. We're still betting he doesn't have to wait until the fall for his first win.

10. Jamie McMurray (LW: 10): The guy who is second? McMurray, who is seventh in the standings. The 2013 fall Talladega winner finished 11th on Sunday and is quietly putting together a fantastic season. So far, he's had the speed he showed in flashes in 2014 and has been a bit more consistent. After a slow start, McMurray has finished in the top 20 in seven of the last eight races. The finish outside the top 20? 21st.

11. Paul Menard (LW: NR): Menard finished third and is 11th in the points standings. We'll paraphrase what we think Menard would say when asked about his finish and say "Good run for our Menards Chevrolet." While he has two top-five (and top-10) finishes in 2015, he's finished in the top 15 seven times so far. If that keeps up, Menard is once again going to be in the Chase discussion at Richmond.

12. Aric Almirola (LW: NR): The streak of slow and steady is continuing. Almirola is 12th in the standings and a point behind Menard after finishing 15th. He also finished 15th at Daytona and still doesn't have a top 10 all season. But with nine finishes in the top 20, Almirola is simply letting other drivers fail while he maintains. And maintains. And maintains.

Lucky Dog: Ryan Blaney, Sam Hornish Jr. and Josh Wise (Tie): Blaney finished fourth, Hornish was sixth and Wise was 10th. It was the best career finish for Blaney and Wise and the best finish of Hornish's season.

The DNF: We'll give it to David Ragan, who was in his last ride at Joe Gibbs Racing before he heads to Michael Waltrip Racing at Kansas.

Dropped out: Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!