Power Rankings: Elliott’s title defense about to go full throttle?

NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs drivers after the Round of 8 opener at Texas Motor Speedway and before the Round of 8's middle race at Kansas Speedway.

8. Joey Logano (-5)

Season-high: 2nd
Season-low: 11th
Comment: One of the playoffs' most consistent drivers thus far began the Round of 8 on the wrong foot after his engine expired suddenly at Texas, resulting in his worst finish since Daytona in August. While he has a hole to climb out of, the 2018 champ could be in the mix for the win at either of the remaining tracks this round. After all, he's the defending victor of this Kansas race.

7. Martin Truex Jr. (-2)

Season-high: 2nd
Season-low: 10th
Comment: After a run-in with Daniel Suarez saddled Truex with a third straight non-top 10 for the first time since Dover to Charlotte in the spring, the No. 19 Toyota driver is in precarious playoff positioning. Like Logano, however, he could win either of the next two weeks -- he has won three of the last four at Martinsville and owns two wins and eight top 10s in the past nine Kansas races.

6. Brad Keselowski (+2)

Season-high: 2nd
Season-low: 15th
Comment: Keselowski notched his fifth top-seven finish of the playoffs at Texas, further building the momentum that may just push this lame-duck No. 2 driver to the Championship 4. Kansas looks like a spot for him to continue rolling, with two career wins and top-four finishes in four of the last five races there.

5. Chase Elliott (+2)

Season-high: 1st
Season-low: 10th
Comment: Given Elliott's up-and-down results in the playoffs thus far, it's fortunate for him that he's still very much within striking distance of making the Championship 4 on points. The 2018 winner of this race -- as well as the defending Martinsville winner -- Elliott should have a say in the final outcome the next two weekends, and he might just be defending his title in Phoenix.

4. Kyle Busch (--)

Season-high: 2nd
Season-low: 14th
Comment: Busch has now led double-digit laps in back-to-back races for the first time since Pocono, earning consecutive top 10s for the first time since Road America/Atlanta and positioning himself on the right side of the bubble heading into strong tracks for him the rest of the way. Busch won at Kansas in the spring and has been a top-10 machine there since overcoming his midwest woes starting in 2014.

3. Ryan Blaney (+3)

Season-high: 4th
Season-low: 15th
Comment: Blaney isn't leading a ton of laps -- he led just 40 across his three 2021 wins -- but continues to be one of the most consistent drivers throughout the playoffs after a top-six result at Texas. Kansas, however, is where things could potentially fall apart. While Team Penske as a whole tends to run well there, five of Blaney's last seven races there have resulted in finishes of 20th or worse with two outside the top 30.

2. Denny Hamlin (--)

Season-high: 1st
Season-low: 6th
Comment: The No. 11 team has been so good in 2021 it was able to incur a disaster-filled race with enough damage to derail his day at Texas and still come away 11th. Hamlin won back-to-back races at Kansas from 2019-20, but his other four most recent finishes there were all outside the top 10. Still, he's in great shape and should feel moderately comfortable with Martinsville as a safety net next week.

1. Kyle Larson (--)

Season-high: 1st
Season-low: 14th
Comment: Not that he was ever in danger of failing to advance, but everything seems to be clicking and headed in the right direction for Larson and the No. 5 team right now like they were midseason. With two weeks extra to prepare for Phoenix, he'll be the unquestioned favorite going into the Championship 4, but don't count him out as a potential spoiler the next two weekends, either. His somewhat underwhelming Kansas numbers (16.6 average finish) are a bit of a misnomer -- he has led a bunch of laps in three of the last five races there.