Power Rankings: Johnson on track - Power Rankings: Johnson, Hamlin on different skids

There have been seven Sprint Cup Series races run so far in 2011 and six different drivers have visited Victory Lane.
None have been named Johnson and Hamlin.
The two drivers who teamed up to win fourteen races a year ago are both on the schneid as the season races closer to the quarter mark.
However there are two completely different feelings about the start inside both camps.

Denny Hamlin is still looking for his first checkered flag this season. (AP)

Although Jimmie Johnson has yet to take a checkered flag this year he's been far from uncompetitive. The five-time champion has three top 5- and four top-10 finishes to show for his effort, which have added up to a third place spot in the Cup standings only thirteen behind leader Carl Edwards.
Johnson may be disappointed that he hasn't won yet in 2011 but understands just how difficult a proposition it is with the competition level as high as it is today. In Johnson's mind by just being in contention to win and practicing consistency will lead to multiple trips to Victory Lane.
"We all want to win," Johnson said. "I think certainly the larger the number is and the more questions are asked then it becomes a focus for that particular driver. For myself personally, I feel like we're knocking on the door and I've always believed that if you run consistently in the top five, you're going to have your shots and you're going to win your fair share of races.
"We've been doing that these last few weeks. I feel like we're getting stronger and better and our opportunities are out there in front of us. Hopefully we can close, you never know. This sport is very, very difficult and you don't know when you're going to win next."
The positive outlook by Johnson and company in the face of their winless drought is something Denny Hamlin is having a tough time replicating.
After yet another disappointing night in Texas, where Hamlin carried a two-race winning streak prior to Saturday's Samsung Mobile 500, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver slid to 20th in the standings and a whopping 82 out of the top spot.
Some have pointed to Hamlin's disappointing end to last year's title run when he spun at the Homestead finale and lost the championship race to Johnson as having a carryover effect this year. But Hamlin does not see it that way.
"I think what probably makes this year different is we didn't end the year on a positive note," acknowledging the frustration level. "Every other year, like '08 and '09, we've finished the year with some wins. The last couple races is what sets us up for being one of the favorites in the following year.
"But then, I give everyone a warning that it's going to be slow, let us get there and it's typically what happens. I think what people were attributing this year's slow start to is the last couple races of last year. I know in my mind it has nothing to do with it, but it's just the way people see it -- like it's a letdown from last year. I honestly don't believe that."
But the bottom line is for whatever the reason Hamlin has been uncompetitive through seven races of the new campaign.
While Johnson has shown signs a win could come any week, things will need to change in a hurry for Hamlin if he is to have any hopes of piling up the win total he amassed last season.