BACK TO GALLERIES
Power Rankings: Does Kurt Busch have Championship 4 potential?
By Pat DeCola | Published: September 6, 2021 17
NASCAR Digital Media
1 of 17
NASCAR Digital Media
NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs drivers after the Round of 16 opener at Darlington Raceway and before the middle race at Richmond Raceway.
2 of 17
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
16. Michael McDowell (--)
Season-high: 10th
Season-low: Out
Comment: McDowell had exactly the kind of race he didn't need at Darlington: one in which he did not finish. A 37th-place result has him in a deep hole, and with no career top 10s at Richmond in 20 starts, it's unlikely a rebound happens this weekend.
3 of 17
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
15. William Byron (-7)
Season-high: 3rd
Season-low: 18th
Comment: Back-to-back finishes outside the top 30 and crashes in three of the past four weeks are sinking Byron even further after a rather difficult summer for the No. 24 driver. His lone Richmond top 10 in six starts did come this spring, but it's hard to see that happening again this weekend given the perplexing past two months for this team.
4 of 17
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
14. Christopher Bell (+1)
Season-high: 8th
Season-low: 16th
Comment: Joe Gibbs Racing cars don't tend to go four-plus races without a top 10, but Bell now has two such stretches in 2021 and currently finds himself in one. Richmond has shown to be perhaps his best track in national NASCAR series racing, however, and his fourth-place run in the spring is an encouraging sign the drought ends Saturday.
5 of 17
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
13. Alex Bowman (-6)
Season-high: 5th
Season-low: 17th
Comment: In the mid-portion of the regular season Bowman put together a seven-race stretch with two wins and six top 10s -- title territory. He's currently in a five-race run with four finishes of 16th or worse and on the wrong side of the elimination line. Luckily for him, his first win of the season before that stretch started came at Richmond, so he could return to form.
6 of 17
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
12. Aric Almirola (+2)
Season-high: 8th
Season-low: 16th
Comment: Almirola has looked more like himself the second half of the season, with just one finish outside the top 20 since Sonoma. That likely won't carry him too deep into the playoffs, but the potential to bring a top-five car to the track and sneak out another win a la New Hampshire could happen this weekend at Richmond, where he was sixth in the spring.
7 of 17
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
11. Tyler Reddick (--)
Season-high: 10th
Season-low: Out
Comment: Given his wall-riding proclivity, a pair of Darlington finishes outside the top 10 in 2021 can be considered a bit of a missed opportunity for Reddick. His hold on the final transfer spot is tenuous at best, and he'll try to bolster his position at Richmond, where he has not landed a top 10 in two starts.
8 of 17
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
10. Kyle Busch (-5)
Season-high: 2nd
Season-low: 14th
Comment: Busch's frustration was evident Sunday night after wrecking out, which netted him his third finish of 34th or worse in six races. He has historically been exceptional at Richmond with six wins, two of which came during the seven-race top-nine streak he's on there.
9 of 17
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
9. Brad Keselowski (+4)
Season-high: 2nd
Season-low: 15th
Comment: Is there some life left in Keselowski's final run with Team Penske? Perhaps, after a seventh-place showing at Darlington. As the defending winner of this race, there's some potential for a fuse to be lit this weekend to power a championship push.
10 of 17
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
8. Joey Logano (+2)
Season-high: 2nd
Season-low: 11th
Comment: Is a Logano title run back on? After closing the regular season with four abysmal races, Logano and the No. 22 team looked much more like themselves and were in the mix at the end at Darlington. He's an elite-level driver at Richmond in his Team Penske days, and it's not out of the question he adds his third win there Saturday.
11 of 17
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
7. Kevin Harvick (+5)
Season-high: 1st
Season-low: 12th
Comment: Despite being written off as a title threat by many, it's evident Harvick hasn't folded on this season and the No. 4 team continues a measured march toward improvement. In no way is the 2014 champ out of the championship chatter, and the three-time Richmond winner could dramatically shift the conversation Saturday night with a fourth.
12 of 17
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
6. Kurt Busch (+3)
Season-high: 6th
Season-low: Out
Comment: At what point do we start looking at Kurt as the Busch brother more likely to win the title? It might be now, honestly. He has had a much stronger summer and could have more wins soon, as he has led in eight of the past 12 races. He has been above average at Richmond in his career and flat-dominated the spring race for a win in 2015.
13 of 17
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
5. Chase Elliott (-2)
Season-high: 1st
Season-low: 10th
Comment: Elliott did not escape the wrath of the "Lady in Black" on Sunday, wrecking out and finishing 31st. He has had some decent runs at Richmond in the past (2018 spring runner-up), but on the whole, it's a middle-of-the-road track for him, with just four top 10s in 11 starts.
14 of 17
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
4. Ryan Blaney (-2)
Season-high: 4th
Season-low: 15th
Comment: Blaney led 17 laps from the pole Sunday but wasn't a factor in the end and finished 22nd after three straight weeks in the top two. He would've preferred to keep the mojo rolling into Richmond, where he has yet to land a top 10 in 10 starts.
15 of 17
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
3. Martin Truex Jr. (+3)
Season-high: 2nd
Season-low: 10th
Comment: There were points in Sunday's race it looked like Truex might be able to claim the lead, but it didn't quite materialize, resulting in a fourth-place run. He should have another shot this weekend to battle for a trophy, with five straight top fives -- including two wins -- at Richmond.
16 of 17
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2. Denny Hamlin (+2)
Season-high: 1st
Season-low: 6th
Comment: Of course it was only a matter of time, but now that the floodgates have potentially opened up after Hamlin's Darlington win, he could soon once again be the title favorite. For now he'll have to settle for the "1B" distinction and continue to build his case at Richmond, where he was runner-up in the spring and owns three wins.
17 of 17
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
1. Kyle Larson (--)
Season-high: 1st
Season-low: 14th
Comment: As we cross "ride the wall, literally, for half a lap while fighting for the lead" off our ever-dwindling "Things Kyle Larson Can't Do" list, it's hard not to think Larson and Hamlin will be putting on a similar show nine weeks from now in Phoenix. We're getting ahead of ourselves, so how about we focus on the likely battle they'll have this weekend at Richmond, where Larson won this race in 2017?