BACK TO GALLERIES
Power Rankings: Kevin Harvick set to turn loose in May?
By Pat DeCola | Published: April 26, 2021 21
1 of 21
NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 NASCAR Cup Series drivers after the race at Talladega Superspeedway and before Sunday's race at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET, FS1).
2 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
20. Tyler Reddick (Not ranked last week)
Season-high: 18
Season-low: Out
Comment: Another seventh-place run now gives Reddick three top-eight finishes in the past four races after notching just one finish inside the top 20 through the season's first five. He made his second-ever start in 2019 at Kansas and notched a top 10 then, so he could keep it rolling.
3 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
19. Ryan Newman (+1)
Season-high: 18
Season-low: Out
Comment: Newman has just one top 10 in the past seven races and just two on the season, but Sunday's 13th-place run netted him his third-most points in a 2021 race (24). One of Kansas Speedway's first winners, his first three races there (second, second, first) were a lot better than his most recent nine (no top 10s).
4 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
18. Kurt Busch (-4)
Season-high: 6
Season-low: 18
Comment: The No. 1 team is just way off at the moment — especially compared to a few nice weeks to open the season -- now averaging a 22.58 finish over the last seven races. The former champ rattled off five Kansas top 10s in six races from 2017-on until last fall's 38th-place run.
5 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-2)
Season-high: 12
Season-low: Out
Comment: Naturally, Stenhouse's worst finish of the season came at arguably his best track — Talladega gonna Talladega, as they say. Not typically known as an intermediate-track ace, that checks out at Kansas, where he's yet to land a top 10 in 16 starts, though he has just one finish outside the top 20 since 2017 (and it was for an electrical issue).
6 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
16. Chris Buescher (--)
Season-high: 14
Season-low: Out
Comment: Buescher continues to rack up mid-pack, lead-lap finishes — so, points for consistency — but it's looking more and more like he'll need to snag a win to be one of the 16 playoff drivers. He's earned a pair of top 10s at Kansas in the past, though each came in his previous role in the No. 37 car.
7 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
15. Matt DiBenedetto (+3)
Season-high: 18
Season-low: Out
Comment: You can really feel the momentum building for Matty D. and Co., and at this point it would be a bigger surprise if he continues to stay winless through the whole season. It's unlikely the breakthrough is coming this weekend, however, as DiBenedetto has never finished in the top 10 at Kansas in 12 starts.
8 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
14. Michael McDowell (+3)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: Out
Comment: While seeing a McDouble would've been a tasty surprise, McDowell's near-superspeedway redux was still a breath of fresh air for a No. 34 team that hadn't found the top 10 since Miami. The Daytona 500 champ has never finished in the top 10 at Kansas in 19 starts, but did notch a pair of top 20s last year.
9 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
13. Alex Bowman (-1)
Season-high: 8
Season-low: 17
Comment: In a vacuum, Bowman's 19.71 average finish over the last seven races is ... not great. Luckily for him, two of those races finished with a trip to Victory Lane and top-three result. Good chance he sparks a new streak of success this weekend at Kansas, where he's averaged a finish of 8.3 across seven starts for Hendrick Motorsports.
10 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
12. Austin Dillon (+1)
Season-high: 11
Season-low: 16
Comment: Dillon has now bettered his finish every race since Bristol, with now two straight top 10s. He's pretty much always been at least above average at Kansas (one finish outside the top 20 since 2015) but all three of his top 10s came in 2016 or earlier.
11 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
11. Kyle Busch (-1)
Season-high: 6
Season-low: 14
Comment: An 18th-place run ended a mini-streak of two top 10s, but we're guessing Busch will gladly take the 26-point day at Talladega with some of his best tracks on the horizon. Sure, Busch has had his doldrums at Kansas, but he also has just one finish worse than 11th there since 2014.
12 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
10. Kyle Larson (-4)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: 14
Comment: Larson literally didn't get a chance to show what he was capable of on Sunday, as his car had a race-ending mechanical issue and he ran just three laps. As such, he now has three finishes of 18th or worse his last four races. He'll look to regain his footing at Kansas, where he had four top 10s in his last six starts.
13 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
9. Chase Elliott (-2)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 10
Comment: Elliott now has an uncharacteristic four top 10s in the last nine races, with no victories. Here's the silver lining for Chase Nation: he's super good at Kansas, with a win and an average finish of 5.9 over the last seven races there. The defending champ's title defense might just be casually late to the party, and it might be arriving this weekend.
14 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
8. Christopher Bell (--)
Season-high: 8
Season-low: 16
Comment: Talladega snapped a two-race top-10 streak for Bell, but he was still the top-finishing Toyota on Sunday. With a top-10 finish in last fall's race and past track success in both lower series, keep an eye on the sophomore on Sunday.
15 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
7. Kevin Harvick (+2)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 9
Comment: Talladega — somehow — was Harvick's best race in both finish and laps led since the Daytona 500. We're about to enter into his sweet spot of the schedule, though, so prepare yourselves for those first 10 races to look a lot different than the stretch we're about to hit. Harvick has 12 wins at the four May tracks that NASCAR has previously raced at.
16 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
6. Brad Keselowski (+5)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: 11
Comment: Ah, that's more like it. After looking like a title contender the first five weeks and then failing to find the top 10 the next four, Keselowski rebounded for his first win of the season and sixth-ever at 'Dega. He hasn't been quite as prolific at Kansas, but he has been excellent — with two wins in his career and four top-six finishes over his last five races there.
17 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
5. Ryan Blaney (--)
Season-high: 5
Season-low: 15
Comment: While he wasn't able to add another Talladega win to his credit, Blaney did keep his hot start rolling with his seventh straight top-11 finish. He's finished in the top 10 in half of his 12 Kansas starts, though three of the last four were 20th or worse.
18 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
4. Joey Logano (-1)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: 4
Comment: Obviously not his fault, it's not too often Logano finishes a race that poorly — Talladega's 39th-place run was his worst since finishing 39th at Kentucky in 2016. The most recent winner at Kansas, Logano should have a strong bounce-back weekend in store.
19 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
3. William Byron (+1)
Season-high: 3
Season-low: 18
Comment: Lukewarm take: if there were a 2021 version of The Big Three, it would probably include Byron. After a runner-up showing at 'Dega, his 10.3 average finish is tied with Harvick and only trails Denny Hamlin's 7.0 — and he has a win while they don't. And guess what? With three straight Kansas top 10s, he's likely to stay hot.
20 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2. Martin Truex Jr. (--)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: 7
Comment: Truex -- who literally almost never finishes in the top 20 at Talladega -- held true to form on Sunday. Not a reason to worry for the 2017 champ, however, as he's an A-plus driver everywhere else, including Kansas. With two wins and five top fives in his last eight starts there, it shouldn't take long to re-establish his dominance.
21 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
1. Denny Hamlin (--)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 4
Comment: Hamlin finished 32nd after wrecking out at Talladega, but you know you're on one if you get back-to-back speeding penalties before that and are still considered a threat to win the race. Such was the case Sunday for 2021's best driver so far, who now heads to Kansas as the defending race winner and victor in two of the past three.