Power Rankings: Phoenix to Miami

NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks every Championship 4 driver across all three NASCAR national series ahead of the races at Homestead-Miami Speedway, by order of who is most likely to win the championship in their respective series.

Driver: Tyler Reddick, Xfinity Series

Rank: 12

Comment: There certainly are some things going for Reddick this weekend -- he's the defending pole winner, finishing fourth as a non-playoff driver last year, and finishing runner-up at intermediate track Texas two weeks ago. He's led laps in just four of his last 17 races, however, and it'll be tough to win without seeing the front of the field.

Driver: Daniel Hemric, Xfinity Series

Rank: 11

Comment: A Hemric championship would be great momentum as the driver transitions to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series next season, but he'll need some things to fall into place Saturday. Hemric has six straight top-10 finishes, but still has yet to find Victory Lane in his Xfinity Series career -- something the title winner likely will have to do.

Driver: Noah Gragson, Camping World Truck Series

Rank: 10

Comment: Gragson's pole and runner-up finish at Phoenix came at the perfect time for the No. 18 team, which had been struggling a bit. In the five races prior, the young driver had a 10.0 average finish after putting together a figure of 6.7 in the previous six races.

Driver: Martin Truex Jr., Monster Energy Series

Rank: 9

Comment: It feels weird to rank Truex this low -- especially since I'd never count out Truex Jr. and crew chief Cole Pearn, the defending race winners and series champs -- but of the four Cup guys remaining, Truex has had the least success the second half of the season. The No. 78 team has recovered a bit the past four races, but there are more question marks surrounding the group than there have been in the past.

Driver: Justin Haley, Camping World Truck Series

Rank: 8

Comment: I wouldn't rank the 19-year-old Haley as a favorite to win Friday, but he's really got a legitimate shot based on how he's performed in the playoffs. He just won at Texas on another 1.5-miler, and before his oil leak this weekend at Phoenix he had compiled a 3.0 average finish in the five races prior.

Driver: Brett Moffitt, Camping World Truck Series

Rank: 7

Comment: As far as Miami experience goes, Moffitt runs pretty thin with no Truck Series starts and his last appearance being 2015 in the Cup Series (31st). However, the mustachioed driver just won at Phoenix -- his fifth trip to Victory Lane this season -- and his worst finish in the last three races is third. He'll put up a fight Friday.

Driver: Joey Logano, Monster Energy Series

Rank: 6

Comment: Logano has been arguably the toughest competitor on the track the second half of the playoffs and his third Championship 4 appearance ensures he'll be comfortable with the pressure Sunday. That said, the Monster Energy Series champion has also been the winner of the race in every year of this format, and Logano is the only Championship 4 driver with no Miami wins. And his 14.9 average finish is worst among the Championship 4.

Driver: Johnny Sauter, Camping World Truck Series

Rank: 5

Comment: The path to the Truck Series championship likely goes through Sauter, last year's runner-up and 2016 champion. He has been the best driver in the series this year and has ripped off seven top-10 finishes in his last nine races.

Driver: Cole Custer, Xfinity Series

Rank: 4

Comment: Custer's NXS competitors know their task is a tall one with him in the mix. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver is the defending winner of the race (as a non-playoff driver), stomping the field to a tune of 182 laps led. He's the only one of the four Xfinity Series championship drivers with a Miami win, and he'd be the favorite if ...

Driver: Christopher Bell, Xfinity Series

Rank: 3

Comment: ... Bell weren't in the field, as he almost wasn't. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver needed the win at Phoenix to advance, and proved his future might be the brightest in the sport. Bell doesn't fold under pressure, and he won the Truck Series title last year with a runner-up finish. Given how well Bell has run this year it would be a surprise to not see him leading late.

Driver: Kevin Harvick, Monster Energy Series

Rank: 2

Comment: Harvick could've easily taken the top spot here; it's really a toss-up between he and Kyle Busch, as it has been all season. Last year was the first Miami race since 2012 in which Harvick didn't lead a lap, and his nine career top fives at the track are the most in the series -- five more than the next highest playoff driver. It would take a catastrophe for Harvick to not be fighting for the title in the closing laps.

Driver: Kyle Busch, Monster Energy Series

Rank: 1

Comment: And Busch is likely the guy Harvick will be battling with. We've seen "Rowdy" get it done at Miami before, winning the race and the title in 2015, and his his 322 laps led are most among all full-time drivers. He's been exceptional in 2018, and a title at the end of the (Skittles) rainbow would be a fitting closing chapter.