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Power Rankings: Bookended by Busch brothers as June arrives
By Pat DeCola | Published: May 31, 2022 21
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NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 NASCAR Cup Series drivers after the Coca-Cola 600 and before Sunday's race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1).
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
20. Kurt Busch (-3)
Season-high: 12
Season-low: Out
Comment: For the third time in the last four points races Busch failed to register a double-digit tally as that Kansas win is lost in a sea of finishes outside the top 20. He does have one Camping World Truck Series start at Gateway, though it came 22 years ago and he finished 21st.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
19. Austin Cindric (-7)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 19
Comment: Cindric's Coca-Cola 600 came to a quicker end than he'd have liked, landing just three points after posting a P34. He's now close to dropping out of the top 20 in points and doesn't have a ton of Gateway experience to lean on (one CWTS start, P11).
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
18. Daniel Suárez (-2)
Season-high: 13
Season-low: Out
Comment: Suárez's big takeaway each weekend is that his No. 99 continues to be fast -- but it also continues to find its way into unfortunate circumstances quite often. Still, there's little reason to think he won't be a contender this weekend, it's just a matter of if he finishes on the lead lap (just eight times in 14 races this year).
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
17. Austin Dillon (-2)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 20
Comment: After briefly starting to look like a strong contender a few weeks ago, Dillon has begun to trail off in the wrong direction. Gateway, where his only CWTS start netted a seventh-place finish, lines up as a potential rebound spot for him.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
16. Erik Jones (+3)
Season-high: 14
Season-low: Out
Comment: Jones has now scored 31 or more points in three of the past five points races, knocking on the door of the top 15 in the standings. He had some strong runs at Gateway in the Truck Series (top five in 2016; 84 laps led in 2015), so this could be the weekend it all comes together for him.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
15. Aric Almirola (-1)
Season-high: 11
Season-low: Out
Comment: Almirola has led laps in just one race this year, and it was for just six circuits all the way back at Atlanta. Gateway, however, is the track he's led the fourth-most laps at in the Truck Series, while he also landed in the top 10 in all three of his starts there back in the day.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
14. Tyler Reddick (+6)
Season-high: 7
Season-low: 20
Comment: Reddick's last six races have been a tale of two ends of the spectrum, with finishes of second, second and sixth at Bristol, Darlington and Charlotte, respectively, and 39th, 30th and 30th at Talladega, Dover and Kansas. With laps led in all three of his CWTS starts at Gateway, this weekend could look a lot more like those first three.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
13. Chase Briscoe (+5)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 18
Comment: Briscoe nearly came away with his second win of the season and it would have been just as unexpected as the first -- he had no top 10s in the five races leading up to Charlotte. A single Truck Series start at Gateway saw him lead 88 laps from the pole before settling for second.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
12. William Byron (-4)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 16
Comment: Byron could still make a championship run, but for now he hasn't seen the top 10 since his win at Martinsville -- almost two months ago. He did lead 47 laps in his lone CWTS start at Gateway, though he faded to finish 17th. He could use a good weekend.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
11. Christopher Bell (--)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: Out
Comment: For the first time in his career Bell has finished in the top six in four straight races, as he and Joe Gibbs Racing as a whole stabilize for what's looking like a strong summer. A former Truck Series winner at Gateway, he could further jumble the playoff picture with his first win of 2022 this weekend.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
10. Kevin Harvick (+3)
Season-high: 5
Season-low: 13
Comment: There are signifiers that a Harvick breakout could be coming soon as he's quietly been a presence near the front of the field more weekends than not lately. Claiming his first 2022 win at Gateway would be a nice touch for the future Hall of Famer, who won his last CWTS start there in 2010 and won there in the Xfinity Series more than 20 years ago.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
9. Ryan Blaney (-4)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 10
Comment: After a nice, four-race stretch from COTA to Bristol where Blaney finished no worse than seventh, the Team Penske driver has five straight finishes outside the top 10. He does have one Truck Series start at Gateway -- a top 10 -- but this doesn't feel like the weekend he turns things around.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
8. Martin Truex Jr. (+2)
Season-high: 4
Season-low: 10
Comment: Truex, at some point, will break through for a win -- his 13.6 average finish is second among winless drivers -- and it honestly could come this weekend. It's been a while, of course, but in 2004 he won from the pole at Gateway in the Xfinity Series and led 34 laps from the pole the following year.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
7. Alex Bowman (--)
Season-high: 5
Season-low: 13
Comment: Speaking of quiet presences near the front of the field, Bowman has sneakily put together a 10-race stretch that only features one finish (a crash at Darlington) outside the top 12 -- and his win came before this streak. He should be viewed as a dark horse title contender at the moment and deserves more attention.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
6. Joey Logano (-2)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: 9
Comment: Yes, Logano won two races ago, but at the same time ... it's sandwiched on both sides by a pair of finishes 17th or worse. It's difficult for drivers to string together long chains of strong finishes this year, it seems, the typically steady Logano not excluded. His one Gateway start netted a runner-up in 2008 with 42 laps led in NXS.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
5. Kyle Larson (+1)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 6
Comment: Despite the P9 result, Larson and the No. 5 team looked just as championship worthy on Sunday as they did last year, which bodes well for the defending title winner's 2022 hopes. He seems to take well to every track, so even though he has no Gateway experience, expect him to be in the mix.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
4. Denny Hamlin (+5)
Season-high: 4
Season-low: 20
Comment: Denny Hamlin: title favorite? We're probably not quite there yet, but it's coming quickly, which is remarkable given the start to his season. Hamlin may have curbed his bad luck and will look to finish the job he started in 2006 in the Xfinity Series, when he led 169 of 200 laps at Gateway but finished third.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
3. Chase Elliott (-2)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 4
Comment: Elliott has now led in back-to-back races for the first time since Phoenix/Atlanta all while ... turning in his two worst finishes of the year (29th/33rd). Still no reason to worry for the No. 9, that points lead is well-secured -- for now.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2. Ross Chastain (--)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: Out
Comment: Every weekend, Chastain has been among the fastest drivers on the track, even if the results can be a bit mixed at times. That said, he could potentially be Sunday's favorite -- he's got the most recent Gateway win of anybody on this list, claiming a CWTS victory there in 2019.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
1. Kyle Busch (+2)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 11
Comment: If there's any driver set to go on a tear right now, you're looking at him. Toyota appears to be fully back, and "Rowdy" is leading the charge. Sunday could mark the start of an even better stretch for him, with some strong tracks on the horizon -- including Gateway, where he has three top eights and a win in three NXS starts.