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Power Rankings, powered by Mack Trucks: No question Jimmie Johnson has plenty left in tank
By Pat DeCola | Published: March 3, 2020 21
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NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 NASCAR Cup Series drivers after the race at Auto Club Speedway and ahead of Sunday's race at Phoenix Raceway.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
20. Austin Dillon (-5)
Comment: With Chevrolet's sudden resurgence, Dillon should see some better results in 2020 than he produced last year, but Auto Club wasn't one of them. Phoenix likely won't be, either, as Dillon has just one top 10 in the spring race (2016) and an average finish at the track of 20.6.
Comment: With Chevrolet's sudden resurgence, Dillon should see some better results in 2020 than he produced last year, but Auto Club wasn't one of them. Phoenix likely won't be, either, as Dillon has just one top 10 in the spring race (2016) and an average finish at the track of 20.6.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-5)
Comment: Phoenix historically hasn't been a strong track for Stenhouse, but something clicked in 2017 where his only top 10s out west produced an average finish of 6.0.
Comment: Phoenix historically hasn't been a strong track for Stenhouse, but something clicked in 2017 where his only top 10s out west produced an average finish of 6.0.
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Stacy Revere | Getty Images
18. Clint Bowyer (-8)
Comment: Despite winning the Busch Pole for Sunday's race, Bowyer's 2020 hasn't gotten off to a smooth start. With just two top fives in 29 Phoenix starts and an average finish of 18.3, the Arizona track doesn't signal a turning point for him, though the SHR driver does have three top-11 finishes in the last four races there.
Comment: Despite winning the Busch Pole for Sunday's race, Bowyer's 2020 hasn't gotten off to a smooth start. With just two top fives in 29 Phoenix starts and an average finish of 18.3, the Arizona track doesn't signal a turning point for him, though the SHR driver does have three top-11 finishes in the last four races there.
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Katelyn Mulcahy | Getty Images
17. William Byron (+1)
Comment: Call this a gut feeling, but Phoenix feels like a track Byron will come to master in what should be a lengthy career. He notched a top 10 there in the fall of his rookie season after leading 15 laps in the spring race.
Comment: Call this a gut feeling, but Phoenix feels like a track Byron will come to master in what should be a lengthy career. He notched a top 10 there in the fall of his rookie season after leading 15 laps in the spring race.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
16. Chris Buescher (--)
Comment: Buescher, who finished 16th at Fontana, finished 16th in both Phoenix races last year. He's in a better ride now with Roush Fenway Racing, but let's face it -- he'll probably finish 16th on Sunday.
Comment: Buescher, who finished 16th at Fontana, finished 16th in both Phoenix races last year. He's in a better ride now with Roush Fenway Racing, but let's face it -- he'll probably finish 16th on Sunday.
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Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
15. Erik Jones (+2)
Comment: Jones netted his first top 10 of the season Sunday and should have a shot at another one at Phoenix, a track he's taken well to early. The JGR driver was 29th in this race last year but owns a 10.7 average finish in his six other starts.
Comment: Jones netted his first top 10 of the season Sunday and should have a shot at another one at Phoenix, a track he's taken well to early. The JGR driver was 29th in this race last year but owns a 10.7 average finish in his six other starts.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
14. Aric Almirola (NR)
Comment: The SHR crew chief changes haven't seemed to set the world on fire thus far, but Phoenix could be a good measuring stick of if it's working for Almirola. Though he has just five top 10s in 18 Phoenix starts, he seemed to hit on something there lately with two top fives in the last three races.
Comment: The SHR crew chief changes haven't seemed to set the world on fire thus far, but Phoenix could be a good measuring stick of if it's working for Almirola. Though he has just five top 10s in 18 Phoenix starts, he seemed to hit on something there lately with two top fives in the last three races.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
13. Kurt Busch (+6)
Comment: It certainly feels like Busch has at least one win in him in 2020, but don't count on it coming at Phoenix. Though he's won here in the past, it was all the way back in 2005, and the former champ has just a 17.7 average finish his last six races there.
Comment: It certainly feels like Busch has at least one win in him in 2020, but don't count on it coming at Phoenix. Though he's won here in the past, it was all the way back in 2005, and the former champ has just a 17.7 average finish his last six races there.
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Matt Sullivan | Getty Images
12. Kyle Larson (-4)
Comment: Larson's Fontana result -- 21st -- is actually quite impressive, as he got put multiple laps down after a shove from Denny Hamlin forced him to pit road. A Phoenix win feels like just a matter of time for the talented driver, with top 10s in half his starts ... four of which are top fives that have come in the last seven races.
Comment: Larson's Fontana result -- 21st -- is actually quite impressive, as he got put multiple laps down after a shove from Denny Hamlin forced him to pit road. A Phoenix win feels like just a matter of time for the talented driver, with top 10s in half his starts ... four of which are top fives that have come in the last seven races.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
11. Matt DiBenedetto. (+2)
Comment: DiBenedetto continues to impress in 2020, and though he's never had a top 10 at Phoenix, he should roll on this weekend. The Wood Brothers Racing driver was 13th at Phoenix last fall, and his Penske cohorts tend to perform well there.
Comment: DiBenedetto continues to impress in 2020, and though he's never had a top 10 at Phoenix, he should roll on this weekend. The Wood Brothers Racing driver was 13th at Phoenix last fall, and his Penske cohorts tend to perform well there.
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Meg Oliphant | Getty Images
10. Jimmie Johnson (+2)
Comment: Feels like we should officially be thinking more 'when' not 'if' in regards to a Johnson win in his final season. Perhaps it was the car and not the driver all along that was dwindling in performance, and a classic Jimmie show in the desert -- four wins, all in the decade before last -- could be on tap.
Comment: Feels like we should officially be thinking more 'when' not 'if' in regards to a Johnson win in his final season. Perhaps it was the car and not the driver all along that was dwindling in performance, and a classic Jimmie show in the desert -- four wins, all in the decade before last -- could be on tap.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
9. Brad Keselowski (+2)
Comment: It's starting to look like there won't be a ton of dropoff to Keselowski's performance after the crew chief swaps. He has notched a pair of top sevens the past two weeks. The Penske driver has no Phoenix wins but has secured six top fives at the track.
Comment: It's starting to look like there won't be a ton of dropoff to Keselowski's performance after the crew chief swaps. He has notched a pair of top sevens the past two weeks. The Penske driver has no Phoenix wins but has secured six top fives at the track.
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Matt Sullivan | Getty Images
8. Martin Truex Jr. (-3)
Comment: After a frustrating weekend at Fontana, things aren't likely to get a whole lot nicer for Truex come Sunday. The 2017 champ has 28 starts there with no wins and just four top fives.
Comment: After a frustrating weekend at Fontana, things aren't likely to get a whole lot nicer for Truex come Sunday. The 2017 champ has 28 starts there with no wins and just four top fives.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
7. Chase Elliott (-1)
Comment: Another good measuring stick for if Chevy is the real deal or not will be Elliott, who picked up a 6.8 average finish his first five Phoenix starts before a 25.3 the last three. If he hits it this weekend, the manufacturer has found something.
Comment: Another good measuring stick for if Chevy is the real deal or not will be Elliott, who picked up a 6.8 average finish his first five Phoenix starts before a 25.3 the last three. If he hits it this weekend, the manufacturer has found something.
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Katelyn Mulcahy | Getty Images
6. Alex Bowman (+3)
Comment: Can Bowman potentially win back-to-back races? Yes. The local native has shown strength at Phoenix -- a track the 88 won at in 2016 -- and there was no denying Bowman had the fastest car on Sunday.
Comment: Can Bowman potentially win back-to-back races? Yes. The local native has shown strength at Phoenix -- a track the 88 won at in 2016 -- and there was no denying Bowman had the fastest car on Sunday.
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Meg Oliphant | Getty Images
5. Ryan Blaney (+2)
Comment: Blaney couldn't run into bad luck for the third straight week, could he? It's possible, of course, but Phoenix has been a good track for the young driver. He's the defending pole winner and finished third in each race last year.
Comment: Blaney couldn't run into bad luck for the third straight week, could he? It's possible, of course, but Phoenix has been a good track for the young driver. He's the defending pole winner and finished third in each race last year.
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Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images
4. Kevin Harvick (-2)
Comment: With nine wins -- five more than any other active driver -- everybody knows Harvick is the best at Phoenix, right? Well, he hasn't found Victory Lane since the reconfiguration and none since spring 2018, and he's been outscored by another driver on this list over the past 10 races there.
Comment: With nine wins -- five more than any other active driver -- everybody knows Harvick is the best at Phoenix, right? Well, he hasn't found Victory Lane since the reconfiguration and none since spring 2018, and he's been outscored by another driver on this list over the past 10 races there.
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Matt Sullivan | Getty Images
3. Denny Hamlin (--)
Comment: Hamlin punched his ticket to the Championship 4 last year at Phoenix for just his second win there. I say "just" because he's been quite good at the track, with top fives (13) in nearly half his starts (29).
Comment: Hamlin punched his ticket to the Championship 4 last year at Phoenix for just his second win there. I say "just" because he's been quite good at the track, with top fives (13) in nearly half his starts (29).
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Katelyn Mulcahy | Getty Images
2. Kyle Busch (+2)
Comment: And here's our aforementioned driver who's outscored Harvick the past 10 races. The facts now point to Phoenix being Busch's track -- and not Harvick's -- to lose, and he's won two of the past three races.
Comment: And here's our aforementioned driver who's outscored Harvick the past 10 races. The facts now point to Phoenix being Busch's track -- and not Harvick's -- to lose, and he's won two of the past three races.
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Katelyn Mulcahy | Getty Images
1. Joey Logano (--)
Comment: Logano didn't do a whole lot to keep his hold on the No. 1 spot, but neither did the top drivers below him do enough to usurp the Vegas winner. Plus, Logano has proven he can win at Phoenix (fall 2016), though that was followed with four straight finishes outside the top 10 ... and then two top 10s last year.
Comment: Logano didn't do a whole lot to keep his hold on the No. 1 spot, but neither did the top drivers below him do enough to usurp the Vegas winner. Plus, Logano has proven he can win at Phoenix (fall 2016), though that was followed with four straight finishes outside the top 10 ... and then two top 10s last year.