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Power Rankings: Talladega to Dover
By Pat DeCola | Published: April 30, 2019 21
Cindy Gonzalez | NASCAR Digital Media
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Cindy Gonzalez | NASCAR Digital Media
NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers following the race at Talladega and ahead of the race at Dover.
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Chris Graythen | Getty Images
Driver: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Rank: 20
Change: -2
Comment: Stenhouse faltered on the final lap at Talladega, derailing an otherwise decent day at one of his best tracks. His Dover numbers on the surface aren't encouraging (two top 10s in 13 starts), but he notched a top 10 last fall and has mostly been a top-15 car at the Delaware track for several years running.
Rank: 20
Change: -2
Comment: Stenhouse faltered on the final lap at Talladega, derailing an otherwise decent day at one of his best tracks. His Dover numbers on the surface aren't encouraging (two top 10s in 13 starts), but he notched a top 10 last fall and has mostly been a top-15 car at the Delaware track for several years running.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Driver: William Byron
Rank: 19
Change: --
Comment: In two Dover races last year, Byron improved on his starting position (17th, 22nd) to his finishing position (14th, 19th) by three spots -- exactly what you want to see out of a rookie in his first Cup shots at one of NASCAR's most challenging tracks.
Rank: 19
Change: --
Comment: In two Dover races last year, Byron improved on his starting position (17th, 22nd) to his finishing position (14th, 19th) by three spots -- exactly what you want to see out of a rookie in his first Cup shots at one of NASCAR's most challenging tracks.
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Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
Driver: Erik Jones
Rank: 18
Change: -1
Comment: Jones could sneakily turn some heads this weekend. Still mired in a stretch of just one top 10 in eight races, he's seemed to have a handle of Dover from the jump, with an average finish of 12.2 and a fourth-place effort last fall.
Rank: 18
Change: -1
Comment: Jones could sneakily turn some heads this weekend. Still mired in a stretch of just one top 10 in eight races, he's seemed to have a handle of Dover from the jump, with an average finish of 12.2 and a fourth-place effort last fall.
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Driver: Paul Menard
Rank: 17
Change: -1
Comment: Menard's 16th-place effort at Dover last fall was his best showing there since the 2016 spring race -- and the only one inside the top 20. With no top fives and just three top 10s in 23 starts, expectations are low for the No. 21 car this weekend.
Rank: 17
Change: -1
Comment: Menard's 16th-place effort at Dover last fall was his best showing there since the 2016 spring race -- and the only one inside the top 20. With no top fives and just three top 10s in 23 starts, expectations are low for the No. 21 car this weekend.
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Driver: Jimmie Johnson
Rank: 16
Change: -4
Comment: There was a time when the series would head to Dover -- and the assumption was that Johnson would win the race before cars even hit the track. Still, he did win this race two years ago and it's hard to argue against 11 wins and a ridiculous 3,105 laps led (more than double anybody else).
Rank: 16
Change: -4
Comment: There was a time when the series would head to Dover -- and the assumption was that Johnson would win the race before cars even hit the track. Still, he did win this race two years ago and it's hard to argue against 11 wins and a ridiculous 3,105 laps led (more than double anybody else).
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Driver: Alex Bowman
Rank: 15
Change: Not ranked last week
Comment: With six races and six finishes of 20th or worse, it'd be easy to write Bowman off this weekend. He's riding high off a career-high finish, however, and led 26 laps in this race last year.
Rank: 15
Change: Not ranked last week
Comment: With six races and six finishes of 20th or worse, it'd be easy to write Bowman off this weekend. He's riding high off a career-high finish, however, and led 26 laps in this race last year.
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Driver: Ryan Newman
Rank: 14
Change: +1
Comment: Newman has three career wins at Dover -- second only to Johnson -- and has four straight top-11 finishes in 2019. Call me crazy, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Newman grab one of his late-career sneaky wins this weekend.
Rank: 14
Change: +1
Comment: Newman has three career wins at Dover -- second only to Johnson -- and has four straight top-11 finishes in 2019. Call me crazy, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Newman grab one of his late-career sneaky wins this weekend.
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Driver: Austin Dillon
Rank: 13
Change: +1
Comment: Dillon has only started in the top 10 twice in 11 starts at Dover ... not a great strategy at a track that's known for being hard to pass. Still, he's notched two top 10s in his last five races there, and four top 16s.
Rank: 13
Change: +1
Comment: Dillon has only started in the top 10 twice in 11 starts at Dover ... not a great strategy at a track that's known for being hard to pass. Still, he's notched two top 10s in his last five races there, and four top 16s.
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Driver: Daniel Suarez
Rank: 12
Change: +1
Comment: Is this the week? Suarez is in the midst of a breakout season and Dover has been a tremendous track for him, with top 10s in each of his four starts. A win is certainly in the cards.
Rank: 12
Change: +1
Comment: Is this the week? Suarez is in the midst of a breakout season and Dover has been a tremendous track for him, with top 10s in each of his four starts. A win is certainly in the cards.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Driver: Clint Bowyer
Rank: 11
Change: -4
Comment: Sure, Bowyer is 0-for-26 at Dover. But last year's runner-up owns 14 top 10s, a 13.3 average finish and once had a nine-race stretch (2011-15) in which he placed in the top 10.
Rank: 11
Change: -4
Comment: Sure, Bowyer is 0-for-26 at Dover. But last year's runner-up owns 14 top 10s, a 13.3 average finish and once had a nine-race stretch (2011-15) in which he placed in the top 10.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Driver: Aric Almirola
Rank: 10
Change: +1
Comment: The Stewart-Haas Racing driver has just three top 10s in 13 Dover starts, but notched a pair of top fives in 2015 and led 64 laps last fall. Better chance than not that he's competitive this weekend, I'd say.
Rank: 10
Change: +1
Comment: The Stewart-Haas Racing driver has just three top 10s in 13 Dover starts, but notched a pair of top fives in 2015 and led 64 laps last fall. Better chance than not that he's competitive this weekend, I'd say.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Driver: Ryan Blaney
Rank: 9
Change: --
Comment: In the three races Blaney has finished on the lead lap at Dover, he's averaged a finish of 9.0. In the three races he hasn't, he's averaged a finish of 31.0. Ryan, you know what to do!
Rank: 9
Change: --
Comment: In the three races Blaney has finished on the lead lap at Dover, he's averaged a finish of 9.0. In the three races he hasn't, he's averaged a finish of 31.0. Ryan, you know what to do!
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Driver: Kurt Busch
Rank: 8
Change: --
Comment: Busch's nine Dover top fives are third-most in the series, but somewhat confoundingly his average finish (17.9) is far worse than his average start (11.4). Still, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver is solid everywhere right now, so he's a good bet this weekend.
Rank: 8
Change: --
Comment: Busch's nine Dover top fives are third-most in the series, but somewhat confoundingly his average finish (17.9) is far worse than his average start (11.4). Still, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver is solid everywhere right now, so he's a good bet this weekend.
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Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
Driver: Martin Truex Jr.
Rank: 7
Change: -2
Comment: Truex took a step back at Talladega coming off his Richmond win, but Dover should offer a good shot at redemption. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has a pair of wins at his home track and seems to always put extra juice into Dover weekends.
Rank: 7
Change: -2
Comment: Truex took a step back at Talladega coming off his Richmond win, but Dover should offer a good shot at redemption. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has a pair of wins at his home track and seems to always put extra juice into Dover weekends.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Driver: Chase Elliott
Rank: 6
Change: +4
Comment: Things couldn't be going much better for Elliott at the moment, as the series' most recent defending winner ... who now heads to his best track. The most recent winner at Dover as well, Elliott has only finished worse than fifth once in six races, and that was a still-respectable 12th.
Rank: 6
Change: +4
Comment: Things couldn't be going much better for Elliott at the moment, as the series' most recent defending winner ... who now heads to his best track. The most recent winner at Dover as well, Elliott has only finished worse than fifth once in six races, and that was a still-respectable 12th.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Rank: 5
Change: -1
Comment: Harvick is the race's defending winner and lines up as one of Dover's best drivers (behind Johnson.) It's entirely possible he breaks his somehow-winless streak to start 2019 this weekend.
Rank: 5
Change: -1
Comment: Harvick is the race's defending winner and lines up as one of Dover's best drivers (behind Johnson.) It's entirely possible he breaks his somehow-winless streak to start 2019 this weekend.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Driver: Brad Keselowski
Rank: 4
Change: +2
Comment: Since winning the fall race at Dover in 2012, Keselowski has led laps in every race at the "Monster Mile" except for three. He's notched a pair of poles in that timeframe, as well.
Rank: 4
Change: +2
Comment: Since winning the fall race at Dover in 2012, Keselowski has led laps in every race at the "Monster Mile" except for three. He's notched a pair of poles in that timeframe, as well.
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Chris Graythen | Getty Images
Driver: Denny Hamlin
Rank: 3
Change: --
Comment: Save for an axle issue that derailed his fall 2017 race, Hamlin has earned a top 10 in every Dover race since finishing 18th in fall 2015. It's a little surprising he hasn't won a race there, but there's no reason to think he can't.
Rank: 3
Change: --
Comment: Save for an axle issue that derailed his fall 2017 race, Hamlin has earned a top 10 in every Dover race since finishing 18th in fall 2015. It's a little surprising he hasn't won a race there, but there's no reason to think he can't.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Driver: Joey Logano
Rank: 2
Change: --
Comment: Last fall's third-place result broke a string of three straight finishes outside the top 10 and four in the last five for Logano, a rarity. From 2012-2015, however, he strung together eight straight top 11s, and it's likely we see more of that this weekend.
Rank: 2
Change: --
Comment: Last fall's third-place result broke a string of three straight finishes outside the top 10 and four in the last five for Logano, a rarity. From 2012-2015, however, he strung together eight straight top 11s, and it's likely we see more of that this weekend.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Driver: Kyle Busch
Rank: 1
Change: --
Comment:
Kyle Busch (--) -- There's a lot of red text on Busch's racing-reference.com page -- a sign he's incurred lots of bad luck at the "Monster Mile." Still, his three wins are second in the series and he hasn't started worse than fourth since 2015. Rowdy's reign at the top of these rankings appears safe for now.
Rank: 1
Change: --
Comment:
Kyle Busch (--) -- There's a lot of red text on Busch's racing-reference.com page -- a sign he's incurred lots of bad luck at the "Monster Mile." Still, his three wins are second in the series and he hasn't started worse than fourth since 2015. Rowdy's reign at the top of these rankings appears safe for now.