Grapevine: Kahne closes on Rankings top 30

The 30-year-old American was due to have a week off from his regular Sprint Cup activities, but instead accepted a ride with rival Kyle Busch's squad and promptly won on what was only his second Truck Series start since 2004.

Kahne's victory did not improve his 35th position in the Castrol EDGE Rankings, but it did boost his score, meaning that he heads to this weekend's Bristol Sprint Cup event with a chance of overhauling Tony Kanaan, Rubens Barrichello, Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer and Ryan Hunter-Reay as he bids to crack the top 30 for the first time since last August.

Fellow Sprint Cup regulars Elliot Sadler (126) and Travis Kvapil (333) were also in action, the former's Castrol EDGE Rankings position unchanged by his seventh place, but Kvapil climbing seven spots after coming home 17th.

Former grand prix drivers Max Papis (564) and Nelson Piquet Jr (1278) were also competing. Papis finished significantly lower than he managed in the corresponding race last year and dropped four places as a result, while Piquet climbed 12 despite being eliminated in a three-car smash at half distance.

The only other Castrol EDGE Rankings action taking place last weekend occurred in the Argentina's top domestic series, TC2000, which is making its Rankings debut this year.

Series veteran Juan Manuel Silva marked his switch from Honda to Ford with a dominant win at the General Roca season opener, which was enough to move him 600 places up the Rankings to 833rd position and give him a top 50 spot in the Castrol EDGE Race for 2011.

Matias Munoz Marchesi was a shock runner-up on his Peugeot debut and was a new entry at 1170th while expected frontrunners Jose Maria Lopez (1062) and Norberto Fontana (1576) both fared badly and found themselves gaining only 130 and 270 places at a time when both would have hoped for 500 or more.

To see the full Castrol EDGE Rankings and Race for 2011, visit www.castroldriverrankings.com