The scales are not balanced in NASCAR right now. Usually there are some drivers and teams trending upward with their performances, while a corresponding number are trending in the opposite direction. This season, however, the Nextel Cup Series seems to have only a few teams that are consistently finishing well while the majority of teams have been unable to string together top finishes.

STREAKING

JEREMY MAYFIELD
Things are coming around again for Mayfield.

A short burst of top finishes in March landed the Evernham Motorsports driver on my list of those drivers who were streaking early in the season.

But that momentum was not sustained and Mayfield went six straight races without a top-10 finish.

The last three weeks have seen the Kentucky native post three straight top-10 results, including his fine second-place effort at Pocono Raceway last Sunday.

That impressive result moved Mayfield up four places in the championship standings.

He sits 11th, just two points out of 10th place.

JIMMIE JOHNSON
There's little question that Johnson is the hottest Cup driver.

Over the past seven races, the Hendrick Motorsports driver has six top-five finishes, two of them wins, including a victory last Sunday at Pocono Raceway.

Johnson’s wins haven’t come through luck as he and his team have been dominant.

The No. 48 Chevrolet has led one-third of all laps run during that seven-race stretch.

At Pocono, Johnson even overcame an official’s error on a pit-stop sequence -- an error that put his car back in traffic and in danger of not making the finish on fuel.

Didn’t matter, Johnson won anyway.

He's second in the championship standings, 58 points behind Dale Earnhardt Jr.

DALE EARNHARDT JR.
Different week, same story.

Junior didn’t make his presence felt much last Sunday at Pocono Raceway and he certainly wasn’t a contender for the win.

Yet, when the checkered flag fell, there was that red No. 8 Chevrolet finishing sixth.

Whether intentional or not, Junior’s team is taking a page out of the championship formula used by Matt Kenseth’s group en route to last year’s title.

Junior has 11 top-10 finishes in 14 races this year, the most of any driver, and he holds the championship lead for the seventh straight race.

BOBBY LABONTE
The 2000 Cup champion is one of those who has had troubles with consistency lately.

After running off four straight top-10 finishes in May, three of them top-fives, Labonte finished 13th at Charlotte and 25th at Dover.

Last Sunday's run at Pocono Raceway was a remarkable effort from Labonte and his team -- perhaps creating the momentum needed to vault into the summer.

Just past the halfway point of the Pocono race, a hold was ground into the bottom side of the oil filter on Labonte’s car.

During the ensuing caution, his team effected repairs without losing a lap, after which Labonte drove up through traffic to record a fine third-place finish.

Watch this team.

They can be factors in the “Chase for the Championship” this fall.

CASEY MEARS
The sophomore Cup driver from Bakersfield, Calif. is creeping forward, and impressing many along the way.

Near the end of last season many rumors were flying that Mears would lose his ride.

There were whispers that could happen because Mears didn't do as well as expected in his rookie season.

But Mears got a late-season vote of confidence from team owner Chip Ganassi, who pushed aside the rumors and reaffirmed that Mears would return in 2004.

There has been measurable progress this year for Mears, especially lately in the form of four top-10 finishes in the last six races.

Mears was a solid 10th at Pocono Raceway last Sunday.

Top-five finishes are the next step forward for this team.

STRUGGLING

RYAN NEWMAN
For a third straight week, Newman ran into difficulties during a race and those difficulties left him with a poor finish.

After finishing 35th at Charlotte and 24th at Dover, Newman was running in the lead group late in last Sunday’s event at Pocono Raceway when Robby Gordon slipped while attempting a pass.

Newman was bumped and crashed into the Turn 3 wall, resulting in a 30th-place finish.

Rocket Man is still in the top 10 in the championship standings, but just barely, holding only a two-point advantage over Jeremy Mayfield.

RUSTY WALLACE
Expectations come into play with this veteran driver.

Based on past performance, we expect to see the 1989 Cup champion contending for wins and recording top-10 finishes on a pretty regular basis.

While Wallace has a win this season, he only has six top-10 finishes in 14 races.

In the last six races, Wallace has only one top-10 result and three finishes in the 30s.

Last Sunday at Pocono Raceway, he lost the brakes while screaming into the tough second corner, crashing both himself and Michael Waltrip.

Wallace is 15th in the championship standings, but 541 points behind leader Dale Earnhardt Jr.

That means he’s got work to do to get into the “Chase for the Championship.”

RICKY CRAVEN
Craven pretty much said it best at Pocono Raceway last Sunday after he fell out with an engine failure, finishing 34th.

“I can't imagine it gets much harder than this," he said.

"It was a year ago we went to Victory Lane. It was a year ago we were still top 10 in points. We hit a head wind somewhere along the middle of last year. It's a lot of people doing a lot of hard work and probably not feeling like we're getting much for it. All I can say is keep after it.”

Craven has yet to record a top-10 finish this season.

STERLING MARLIN
Here’s a driver and team that have kind of hung in a place they don’t want to be.

The two-time Daytona 500 winner has only three top-10 finishes this season, and he has come home 27th or worse in five of the last six races.

Last Sunday at Pocono Raceway, Marlin was having a decent day when Bobby Labonte had his “oil down” problem just past the halfway point.

Marlin was hit by one of the cars that spun in the oil, and he ended up finishing 31st after repairs.

NASCAR
This one’s different, but fitting for my list of those struggling.

The talk after the last two Cup races hasn’t been about who won, but about the extended caution periods and difficulties in race procedure rules applications on the part of officials.

All the competitors understand how complicated running these races has become due to rules rightly implemented in the name of safety, and the great parity of teams competing in the sport.

Still, a good official is one who does his job and pretty much goes unnoticed during a game, and that hasn’t been the case the last couple of weeks.

Here’s hoping for a smooth race at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday with no issues, so the post-race focus will be where it belongs, on the drivers, the cars and the racing.