Pistone: Power Rankings - Power Rankings: Drivers not named J.J. getting theirs

Many of those who have been turned off by NASCAR recently point to Jimmie Johnson's dominance as one of the reasons.
Johnson's five straight championships and multiple trips to Victory Lane every year have been historic, but not everyone enjoys watching a dynasty.

Jimmie Johnson barely misses his first win of the season after Kevin Harvick steals the glory in Fontana. (US Presswire)

But although Johnson has again gotten off to a consistent start to the season and will certainly be a player for the title once the playoffs begin in September, he has yet to score a victory in 2011.
In fact, there have now been five different faces in Victory Lane through the opening five races of the season. That's a far cry from a year ago when Johnson had already claimed three of the first five wins.
Last summer there was a streak of 10 different winners in a row so there's a ways to go yet to match the run of even a year ago. Still, it's interesting to note the 2011 campaign has not only seen various drivers in Victory Lane but all have represented different organizations.
Trevor Bayne (Wood Brothers), Jeff Gordon (Hendrick Motorsports), Carl Edwards (Roush Fenway Racing), Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing) and Kevin Harvick (Richard Childress Racing) have spread the wealth around the garage area.
It's still a bit premature to make a call that the competition level in the series is completely even. Hendrick will no doubt flex its muscle with Johnson and company poised to lead the way, as the 48 team has done over the last five years. RCR shows no signs of slowing down from last year's near win in the championship race. Roush Fenway has returned to the solid form that brought multiple championships to Jack Roush. And despite their mysterious engine woes, JGR is a formidable contender to win regularly and challenge for the crown.
There's a good chance the string of different winners will continue with Martinsville, Texas and Talladega all on the schedule horizon.
That might be the trick to interest those fans that have grown weary of the Johnson dynasty.

POWER RANKINGS
Current	Driver	Previous
1	Carl Edwards	1
He wasn't as strong at Fontana as many predicted, particularly with the reputation of Roush Fenway Racing's intermediate track prowess. Still finished sixth to keep his top 10 finishing streak alive in the early season and took over the Sprint Cup point standings lead in the process.
2	Kyle Busch	4
Busch absolutely dominated Sunday's race in Fontana, leading 151 of the 200 laps. But the late-race restart proved to be his undoing and Busch could not hold off eventual winner Kevin Harvick or second place finisher Jimmie Johnson in the final nine-lap dash to the checkered flag. Still showed great poise in handling his disappointment afterward, which will ultimately be a big factor in Busch being able to contend for a championship.
3	Jimmie Johnson	5
He's been shut out of Victory Lane so far but outside of the Daytona 500, Johnson has hardly been a non-factor. He was right in the thick of Sunday's battle for the win and, despite coming up short, knocked down a runner-up finish to continue his ascension in the Cup standings.
4	Ryan Newman	3
He has three top 5 and four top 10 finishes to start the season after Sunday's fifth-place finish in Fontana. Newman continues to impress in the early going and should be in the win picture before too long. Talladega?
5	Kevin Harvick	8
Maybe the best closer in the Sprint Cup Series, Harvick charged from seemingly nowhere to steal the win away from Busch and Johnson on Sunday and score his first career win at the California native's home track. After his win at Michigan last summer, Harvick and the RCR stable must now be considered favorites at two-mile tracks. That bodes well for the organization with two stops coming up later this year at MIS.
6	Kurt Busch	2
Things have gone a bit sour for Busch and the Penske Racing team since their strong Speedweeks in Daytona. They had an ill-handling racecar Sunday on a rough day that was punctuated by a smack into the outside wall. Busch may have his hands full righting the ship at Martinsville this Sunday.
7	Kasey Kahne	10
The Team Red Bull tandem of Kahne and Brian Vickers both posted top 10 finishes on Sunday. Kahne has been in the front of the pack at every race this season and his success with crew chief Kenny Francis has helped raise the entire organization's effort.
8	Matt Kenseth	11
The stealth-like Kenseth turned in another one of his patented quiet performances Sunday with a fourth-place finish to show for his efforts. The inconsistency that plagued the No. 17 team last season has been erased in the early part of 2011.
9	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	7
Fontana is not one of Earnhardt's best tracks so a bit of a moral victory for Junior to come out of Sunday's race with a 12th-place finish. He had another weekend when the car the team started the events with was not quite right, but adjustments throughout both practice and the race paid off with a decent run.
10	Jeff Gordon	6
He was never a factor, even in the top 10 on Sunday. Gordon had a relatively fast car in practice but struggled trying to find grip during the race and the best he could muster was a mediocre 18th-place finish.
11	Juan Pablo Montoya	15
He won his first pole since Talladega of last season and finished 10th on Sunday to rebound from his Bristol disappointment. Montoya made his 150th career Sprint Cup Series start and produced his third top 10 of the year in Fontana.
12	Tony Stewart	9
Same song, different track. Stewart was running strong and in contention for back-to-back wins at Fontana until late in the going. He started third on the final restart with nine laps to go but fell back to 13th for ultimately a disappointing end to what should have been a much better afternoon.
13	Paul Menard	12
The early-year magic wasn't there Sunday for Menard, who unlike RCR teammates Harvick and Clint Bowyer, could not find the fast way around the track. However, a 16th-place finish was still one of his better career runs at ACS.
14	Mark Martin	13
Despite qualifying 10th, Martin struggled at Fontana. A 20th-place finish was about all the No. 5 car had in it on Sunday.
15	Martin Truex Jr.	NR
A very respectable showing for Truex Jr., at least in the early going Sunday when the MWR Toyota was in the front pack. Got shuffled back to wind up 21st in the final rundown but has shown some life of late and crept up to 14th in the series point standings.