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Power Rankings: From Dover’s double to a playoff decider at Daytona
By Zack Albert | Published: August 25, 2020 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
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NASCAR.com's Zack Albert ranks the top 20 NASCAR Cup Series drivers after the doubleheader weekend at Dover International Speedway and ahead of Saturday's regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.
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20. Christopher Bell (-1)
Comment: Eight consecutive finishes outside the top 10 -- including runs of 22nd and 27th at Dover -- have the No. 95 bunch sliding in the wrong direction. Playoff hopes hinge on a last-second shot at Daytona, where Bell has had moderate success in other national series.
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19. Cole Custer (+1)
Comment: With a postseason berth already in hand, Custer can let it ride at Daytona. Clean finishes of 11th and 10th in Dover's twin 311s helped offset a messy three-race patch that preceded the Monster Mile.
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18. Tyler Reddiick (-1)
Comment: A pair of results in the teens didn't exactly rattle the concrete at Dover, but his record at Daytona holds some promise for the rookie. He has one Daytona win in each the Xfinity and Gander Trucks ranks.
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17. Austin Dillon (+1)
Comment: The No. 3 driver returned from his one-race absence after a positive COVID-19 test with some encouraging results -- a 15th in the Dover opener with a ninth-place finish in the Sunday capper, his second top 10 in his last three starts.
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16. Erik Jones (--)
Comment: Placing 12th and 22nd at Dover didn't help Jones' slim chances for making the playoff field on points. Instead, he'll need to reproduce some Daytona magic at a place he's won twice -- once in the annual 400-miler in 2018 and earlier this year in the non-points Busch Clash.
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15. Matt DiBenedetto (-2)
Comment: "Dover killed us," was the fairly candid assessment from DiBenedetto after mundane finishes of 20th and 17th in the doubleheader. The No. 21 driver will have to hold serve at Daytona to make the playoffs for the first time in his career.
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14. William Byron (--)
Comment: Dover yielded a split decision for the young driver of the No. 24. After landing with a Saturday thud in 28th place, Byron righted his course on Sunday with a fourth-place run -- amazingly, his first top-five finish of the season.
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13. Jimmie Johnson (+2)
Comment: The weekend at a friendly Dover venue went according to plan for Johnson -- finishes of seventh and third, plus a harvest of points at all four stage breaks. Though Daytona looms, Johnson is now in proper striking distance to gain playoff eligibility in his final full Cup Series season.
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12. Alex Bowman (--)
Comment: After a damage-slowed 21st-place finish Saturday, Bowman broke a lengthy drought by driving home fifth. That result marked the No. 88's first top-five run since mid-May at Darlington, a span of 19 races between them.
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11. Clint Bowyer (--)
Comment: Dover represented a virtual playoff clincher for the driver of the No. 14 Ford. His Saturday strength -- top fives in each stage, plus a sixth-place finish overall -- provided him with the third-most points of any driver in the Dover opener.
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10. Kurt Busch (-2)
Comment: The driver of the No. 1 absorbed his worst finish of the season -- 40th after an early crash -- then rallied for 13th Sunday. That finish helped to redeem the weekend and officially clinch playoff eligibility for the eighth straight season.
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9. Kyle Busch (+1)
Comment: Appropriately for two races that measured 311 miles each, Busch's finishes (in order) were 3 and 11. He clinched a playoff spot, then hinted at replicating Tony Stewart's 2011 march to the championship. Stewart won his third title by famously going winless in the regular season, then prevailing in five of the 10 playoff races. Maybe that victory column goose egg is a sign.
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8. Aric Almirola (+1)
Comment: His top-10 streak may have faded, but Almirola continues to be among the more consistent drivers on the Cup Series roster. He'll need to spend time in the top-five neighborhood more often to make a deep playoff run.
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7. Ryan Blaney (--)
Comment: His playoff fate has long been settled, but Blaney has just one top-10 finish in his last seven starts. Some hope glows at Daytona considering his recent record on superspeedways -- first, second and first in his last three starts.
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6. Joey Logano (--)
Comment: The No. 22 driver's two wins this year seem like faint memories, but his recent run of six straight top-10 outings have Logano on the right track with the regular season winding down.
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5. Chase Elliott (-1)
Comment: Driver No. 9 endured a mixed-bag type of weekend at Dover, blending a fifth-place finish with an unappetizing 39th. He's the most recent Daytona race winner, sort of -- Saturday's 400-mile regular-season finale won't include the road-course layout that he ruled a week and a half ago.
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4. Brad Keselowski (+1)
Comment: Not exactly a flashy weekend for the Team Penske veteran at Dover, but a pair of top 10s will get the job done. Keselowski carries his reputation as an adept superspeedway racer into Saturday's race, but good fortune has most often come his way at Talladega rather than sister track Daytona.
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3. Martin Truex Jr. (--)
Comment: The best average finish of the Dover weekend belonged to Truex: We're no math majors, but the average of 2 and 2 is ... 2. Those pair of runner-up finishes come on the heels of five consecutive third-place results. The wins haven't quite come, but few have been stronger than Truex this summer.
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2. Denny Hamlin (--)
Comment: Speaking of the consistently fast, Hamlin revealed during the Dover weekend that among the No. 11 team's preseason goals was to reach 10 wins. Sailing to victory Saturday has Hamlin and his crew 60 percent of the way there.
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1. Kevin Harvick (--)
Comment: Harvick's early coronation as the regular-season champ reaffirms why he's held this top Power Rankings perch for so many weeks this season. Seven wins, oodles of speed and nearly error-free performances keep him there.