Power Rankings: Kurt Busch knocking on door of Championship 4?

8. Alex Bowman (-1)

Comment: Bowman has surprised many with his first career Round of 8 appearance, but a strong 9.67 average finish in the playoffs thus far has propelled him to championship relevance. He could get off to a good start this round as well, with a solid Kansas background behind the wheel of the No. 88, including a runner-up in spring 2019.

7. Martin Truex Jr. (-1)

Comment: Who would've guessed Kyle Busch and his teammate would combine for just one win through 32 races? After closing out the regular season strong, Truex has been up and down in the playoffs but should rebound nicely this round with Kansas (two wins), Texas (387 laps led since 2016) and Martinsville (won two straight) lining up well for him.

6. Brad Keselowski (-2)

Comment: That's four races in a row with finishes of 13th or worse since Keselowski's Richmond win, and he's no longer looking like a Championship 4 lock. He'll need to capitalize on his Kansas and Martinsville prowess (four wins combined) to elevate him back into title talk.

5. Kurt Busch (--)

Comment: Despite a start to the playoffs that has been far from perfect, Busch continues to plod along and hit his spots in the right moments. He was a top-10 finisher in each 2020 race at the three Round of 8 tracks and it's certainly still in the cards for the former champ from Las Vegas to compete for title No. 2 this year.

4. Joey Logano (+4)

Comment: Logano's confidence level appears to be at an all-time high at the moment, and there's little reason to believe he won't be a significant factor in each of these three races. Thanks to four crashes in the past seven races at Kansas, the track ranks last for him in terms of average finish but he has two wins there, one at Texas and one at Martinsville.

3. Denny Hamlin (-2)

Comment: Hamlin has fallen off his torrid pace a bit (despite winning at Talladega), but there's no reason to worry about him in the Round of 8, which heavily favors the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. Everyone knows of his success at Martinsville, but he also has won two straight at Kansas and took a trip to Victory Lane at Texas last year.

2. Chase Elliott (+1)

Comment: With six road courses on tap next year, is Chase Elliott destined for double-digit 2021 wins? We're getting ahead of ourselves, but Kansas stands as one of his few non-road-course wins and he's shown to be quite strong at Texas and Martinsville as well. A Championship 4 appearance is looking good.

1. Kevin Harvick (+1)

Comment: Of course, you could easily see Harvick winning out from here. Definitely not the most likely scenario, but he has a combined 16 wins at the final four tracks -- that's kind of a lot. It stands to reason he'll hit double-digit wins for the first time in his career, and any one of these last four -- whether it puts him into the title race or wins it outright -- seems feasible.