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NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers after the race at Dover International Speedway and ahead of the race at Kansas Speedway.
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Chris Graythen | Getty Images
Driver: Paul Menard
Rank: 20
Change: -3
Comment: Menard has just one top 10 in his last eight Kansas starts, but it came in this race last year.
Rank: 20
Change: -3
Comment: Menard has just one top 10 in his last eight Kansas starts, but it came in this race last year.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Driver: Austin Dillon
Rank: 19
Change: -6
Comment: Dillon notched a pair of sixth-place finishes at Kansas in 2016 and has a pretty swell 11.67 average finish there over the last six races.
Rank: 19
Change: -6
Comment: Dillon notched a pair of sixth-place finishes at Kansas in 2016 and has a pretty swell 11.67 average finish there over the last six races.
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Chris Trotman | Getty Images
Driver: Jimmie Johnson
Rank: 18
Change: -2
Comment: Johnson's three wins at Kansas are tied for most in the series and his first victory in what feels like forever could come this weekend.
Rank: 18
Change: -2
Comment: Johnson's three wins at Kansas are tied for most in the series and his first victory in what feels like forever could come this weekend.
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Chris Trotman | Getty Images
Driver: William Byron
Rank: 17
Change: +2
Comment: With a crash and engine woes ending each of his Kansas races early last year, we have yet to see what Byron is really capable of there. Perhaps with Hendrick's recent uptick in performance he could be one to watch.
Rank: 17
Change: +2
Comment: With a crash and engine woes ending each of his Kansas races early last year, we have yet to see what Byron is really capable of there. Perhaps with Hendrick's recent uptick in performance he could be one to watch.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Driver: Ryan Newman
Rank: 16
Change: -2
Comment: Newman started his Kansas tenure with a pair of runner-ups and a win. He has finished in the top 10 just once in his last seven races there.
Rank: 16
Change: -2
Comment: Newman started his Kansas tenure with a pair of runner-ups and a win. He has finished in the top 10 just once in his last seven races there.
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Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
Driver: Erik Jones
Rank: 15
Change: +3
Comment: With finishes of 40th, 22nd and 35th in his first three Kansas starts it'd be easy to think he can't contend this weekend. He was seventh and fourth last year, however, and could break out under the lights.
Rank: 15
Change: +3
Comment: With finishes of 40th, 22nd and 35th in his first three Kansas starts it'd be easy to think he can't contend this weekend. He was seventh and fourth last year, however, and could break out under the lights.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Driver: Kyle Larson
Rank: 14
Change: Not ranked last week
Comment: Dover was pegged as a potential spark track for Larson, and he delivered. Expect that to continue at Kansas, where he was P3 last fall and led 101 laps in the spring.
Rank: 14
Change: Not ranked last week
Comment: Dover was pegged as a potential spark track for Larson, and he delivered. Expect that to continue at Kansas, where he was P3 last fall and led 101 laps in the spring.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Driver: Daniel Suarez
Rank: 13
Change: -1
Comment: Suarez placed seventh in his first Kansas race but has a best finish of 24th since. Oddly enough, he appears to have the speed (10.5 average start, second-best in the series) but can't put it all together (23.8 average finish).
Rank: 13
Change: -1
Comment: Suarez placed seventh in his first Kansas race but has a best finish of 24th since. Oddly enough, he appears to have the speed (10.5 average start, second-best in the series) but can't put it all together (23.8 average finish).
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Driver: Alex Bowman
Rank: 12
Change: +3
Comment: Bowman has two Kansas top 10s in his young career, though they each came in the fall race. Still, he's putting together the best races of his career at the moment and shouldn't be counted out.
Rank: 12
Change: +3
Comment: Bowman has two Kansas top 10s in his young career, though they each came in the fall race. Still, he's putting together the best races of his career at the moment and shouldn't be counted out.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Driver: Aric Almirola
Rank: 11
Change: -1
Comment: You'd think Almirola would have a little reservation about going to Kansas after fracturing his back there in an accident a few years ago. He's notched three straight top 10s since, however.
Rank: 11
Change: -1
Comment: You'd think Almirola would have a little reservation about going to Kansas after fracturing his back there in an accident a few years ago. He's notched three straight top 10s since, however.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Driver: Clint Bowyer
Rank: 10
Change: +1
Comment: For whatever reason, Bowyer just -- and the charismatic driver would likely agree with this assessment -- stinks at his home track. He's never won in 21 tries, has just six top 10s and only one in his last 11 starts.
Rank: 10
Change: +1
Comment: For whatever reason, Bowyer just -- and the charismatic driver would likely agree with this assessment -- stinks at his home track. He's never won in 21 tries, has just six top 10s and only one in his last 11 starts.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Driver: Ryan Blaney
Rank: 9
Change: --
Comment: Blaney has led laps in four straight Kansas races and owns a top-seven finish in four of the last six.
Rank: 9
Change: --
Comment: Blaney has led laps in four straight Kansas races and owns a top-seven finish in four of the last six.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Driver: Kurt Busch
Rank: 8
Change: --
Comment: Busch's 26 races without a Kansas win are most in the series, but his three top fives there have all come since 2013.
Rank: 8
Change: --
Comment: Busch's 26 races without a Kansas win are most in the series, but his three top fives there have all come since 2013.
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Matt Sullivan | Getty Images
Driver: Denny Hamlin
Rank: 7
Change: -4
Comment: Hamlin had an all-around miserable day at Dover but could rebound at Kansas. He has two top fives in his last three races there.
Rank: 7
Change: -4
Comment: Hamlin had an all-around miserable day at Dover but could rebound at Kansas. He has two top fives in his last three races there.
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Matt Sullivan | Getty Images
Driver: Brad Keselowski
Rank: 6
Change: -2
Comment: Keselowski has the third-best average Kansas finish in the series (12.8) and has led laps in 13 of his past 18 starts. After a hot start to the season, it feels like he's been quiet the past few weeks -- expect that to change this weekend.
Rank: 6
Change: -2
Comment: Keselowski has the third-best average Kansas finish in the series (12.8) and has led laps in 13 of his past 18 starts. After a hot start to the season, it feels like he's been quiet the past few weeks -- expect that to change this weekend.
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Chris Trotman| Getty Images
Driver: Chase Elliott
Rank: 5
Change: +1
Comment: Elliott appeared destined for a second straight win on Monday at Dover, and had he done so we could've been talking about three as a possibility. The HMS driver won at Kansas last fall and will again be a threat.
Rank: 5
Change: +1
Comment: Elliott appeared destined for a second straight win on Monday at Dover, and had he done so we could've been talking about three as a possibility. The HMS driver won at Kansas last fall and will again be a threat.
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Matt Sullivan | Getty Images
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Rank: 4
Change: +1
Comment: Harvick should be looked at as the favorite for the win Saturday. He's scored by far the most points (419) over the past 10 races there and owns the best average finish in the series (9.7).
Rank: 4
Change: +1
Comment: Harvick should be looked at as the favorite for the win Saturday. He's scored by far the most points (419) over the past 10 races there and owns the best average finish in the series (9.7).
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Driver: Martin Truex Jr.
Rank: 3
Change: +4
Comment: Dover winner Truex Jr. has been lights out at Kansas the past two years, even sweeping the track in 2017. Of his nine top 10s there, eight of them have been top fives.
Rank: 3
Change: +4
Comment: Dover winner Truex Jr. has been lights out at Kansas the past two years, even sweeping the track in 2017. Of his nine top 10s there, eight of them have been top fives.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Driver: Joey Logano
Rank: 2
Change: --
Comment: Logano won the pole in the fall and led 100 laps but came up short of the win. His Kansas numbers echo that, with an average start of 9.6 and average finish of 17.6.
Rank: 2
Change: --
Comment: Logano won the pole in the fall and led 100 laps but came up short of the win. His Kansas numbers echo that, with an average start of 9.6 and average finish of 17.6.
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Matt Sullivan | Getty Images
Driver: Kyle Busch
Rank: 1
Change: --
Comment: Busch has really turned things around at Kansas. Through his first 14 races the Joe Gibbs Racing driver owned just two top 10s. He has a win and hasn't finished outside the top 10 in his last eight.
Rank: 1
Change: --
Comment: Busch has really turned things around at Kansas. Through his first 14 races the Joe Gibbs Racing driver owned just two top 10s. He has a win and hasn't finished outside the top 10 in his last eight.