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Power Rankings: Kentucky to New Hampshire
By Pat DeCola | Published: July 16, 2019 21
Gerald C. Donaldson | NASCAR Digital Media
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Gerald C. Donaldson | NASCAR Digital Media
NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers after the race at Kentucky and before New Hampshire.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
20. Paul Menard (-1): Menard has exactly zero top 10s in 23 New Hampshire Motor Speedway starts, so we aren't expecting any magic out of him this weekend.
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19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+1): Stenhouse is running out of time to make a playoff push, and New Hampshire doesn't offer a strong-looking opportunity for him to get the wheels in motion. He has just two top 10s in 11 starts, the last of which came in 2016.
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18. Daniel Suarez (—): Suarez got the pole at Kentucky Speedway, but he had a really up and down night that -- thankfully for him -- still resulted in a top 10. Loudon marks a good spot to keep things rolling, as he notched a pair of top-eight finishes his first two trips.
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17. Jimmie Johnson (-5): Johnson is one of six (!) drivers with a series-high three wins at NHMS, three of which -- including him -- are winless in 2019. "Seven-Time" also holds the most top 10s there (22), so he could break through this weekend.
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16. Ryan Newman (-1): Newman is another one of the "winless in 2019, full of wins at NHMS" crowd, though his last one came in 2011 and he has just three top 10s in his last eight races there. A win this weekend is possible, but not likely.
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15. Clint Bowyer (+1): We'll just ignore that middle part of Bowyer's NHMS career -- where he had just one top 10 from 2013-16 over eight races — and instead focus on the early and more recent. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver posted two wins in 2007 and 2010, notched a pair of seventh-place runs in 2017 and should have a shot to compete this weekend.
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14. Erik Jones (+3): Jones might be sneaky good at NHMS this weekend. He has never started worse than eighth there, and his deflated average finish of 20.3 is the result of a crash in his “Magic Mile” debut in 2017. He followed that up with a sixth-place run a few months later.
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13. William Byron (-2): Byron had a mini-run of two straight top 10s end at Kentucky, but he could get back on track this weekend. The Hendrick Motorsports driver stomped the field in Loudon just a few years ago in the Truck Series, leading 161 of 175 laps from the pole en route to victory in 2016.
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12. Kyle Larson (+2): Larson has just 16 laps led at New Hampshire, but he also has three runner-ups and another third-place run on his resume in just nine starts. If he can just find that little bit extra, a win could be in the cards for him.
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11. Ryan Blaney (+2): Blaney has just two top 10s in six NHMS starts, but they've come in his last two outings there. We've seen Team Penske dominate in New England at times, and Blaney could get in on that this weekend.
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10. Aric Almirola (—): Almirola actually had a shot at the lobster last year had the cards fallen differently at the end -- he led 42 laps and finished third. If he's got the car under him this weekend, he's capable of getting it done.
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9. Alex Bowman (—): Bowman has no top 10s in seven NHMS starts, but he has gotten better each time out in the No. 88 -- including two starts there filling in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2016. He might not be the favorite this weekend, but it wouldn't be a shocker to see him pick up his second win of the season.
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8. Chase Elliott (-1): Elliott has just one top 10 in five New Hampshire starts, but it's a little misleading. He has actually averaged a neat 10.0 finish over his last four there.
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7. Kevin Harvick (-2): Harvick is the defending race-winner and has been consistently strong at NHMS almost his entire career. This marks the best weekend yet to see a Stewart-Haas Racing revival from top to bottom -- starting with the former champ.
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6. Kurt Busch (+2): The series' most-recent winner also has a series-best three New Hampshire wins and led a race-high 94 laps from the pole in last year's race. Busch is hitting his stride at the right time.
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5. Brad Keselowski (-1): Though he has just one win, Kes has been pretty lights out at NHMS the better part of this decade. In 13 races from 2011-17, the Team Penske driver averaged a finish of 6.3.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
4. Denny Hamlin (+2): Hamlin won this race in 2017 and has a series-high three NHMS wins to his credit. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver said after Kentucky his cars have had race-winning speed, he just hasn't gotten the results. That could change in the Granite State.
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3. Martin Truex Jr. (-1): Despite it being one of his home tracks, Truex actually holds the most NH starts (25) without a trip to Victory Lane. It's likely coming sooner or later, though, as he led 83 laps last year and 137 the year before from the pole.
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2. Joey Logano (+1): The New England native had a string of four straight top-four finishes from 2014-16 (including a win) at New Hampshire before fading a bit with an average finish of 16.75 over the last four. Still, he has as good a shot as any for the win Sunday.
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1. Kyle Busch (—): Busch is the sixth and final driver with three wins at NHMS, but he has been arguably the best driver at the "Magic Mile" this decade. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver's 11 top fives are most in the series as well, and it would be a shocker to see Sunday not come down to him being in the mix.