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Power Rankings: Joey Logano snaps skid ahead of strong Penske track in Michigan
By Pat DeCola | Published: August 2, 2022 21
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NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 NASCAR Cup Series drivers after the race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course and before Sunday's race at Michigan International Speedway (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
20. Bubba Wallace (Not ranked last week)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: Out
Comment: Wallace is enjoying his best stretch of the season at a pivotal time, landing his first-ever top 10 on a road course to make it three in a row in all dating back to Loudon. Michigan is the site of one of his six Truck Series wins and this could be a sneaky weekend for him to win his way into the playoffs.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
19. Kurt Busch (-2)
Season-high: 12
Season-low: Out
Comment: As of this writing, Busch remains sidelined with no word yet on his status for Michigan. A three-time winner in the Wolverine State, 23XI Racing would love to get back out there this weekend to solidify his shaky playoff standing.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
18. Aric Almirola (-2)
Season-high: 11
Season-low: Out
Comment: Almirola hasn't scored 30-plus points in a race since Sonoma and he's basically in must-win territory at this point. That said, despite just two top 10s in 18 starts, Michigan feels like it's possibly a place where he could get it done. His results there have been markedly better in his SHR days and teammate Kevin Harvick has a better handle on the track than just about anyone.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
17. Chase Briscoe (+3)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 20
Comment: Briscoe was unable to capitalize and win at home, but he's now scored 21 or more points in six of the last seven races as he looks to ensure he's in good enough standing in case there are enough winners to knock him out. He just narrowly missed out on the top 10 in last year's Michigan race and should keep humming along on Sunday.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
16. Erik Jones (+2)
Season-high: 14
Season-low: Out
Comment: Jones has arguably been one of the top 16 drivers this year, but he's still in need of a win to clinch a playoff spot. Michigan would be a mighty fine time for the Byron native to claim his first victory, though with just one top 10 in nine starts it could be a tall order.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
15. Alex Bowman (-2)
Season-high: 5
Season-low: 15
Comment: Bowman's summer of frustration continued at Indy and he's now averaging his worst finish since his first full-time year at Hendrick, despite getting off to a strong start. He landed a pair of top 10s at Michigan in 2019 but they stand as his only such finishes there in 12 starts.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
14. Daniel Suárez (-4)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: Out
Comment: Suárez was unable to hit on Trackhouse's 2022 sweet spot — road courses — once more, but his P28 at Indy snapped a four-race top-10 run. His first Xfinity Series win came at Michigan in 2016, so it could be a short stint for him outside the top 10.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
13. William Byron (-1)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 16
Comment: It's honestly baffling that 22 races into the season, the two-time 2022 winner Byron has just five total top 10s. Last year's Michigan runner-up, however, has a great shot to capitalize on his No. 24 speed this weekend and perhaps win for a third time this year.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
12. Kevin Harvick (+1)
Season-high: 5
Season-low: 14
Comment: Harvick has averaged exactly 0.59 laps led per race through the season's first 22 contests — about as un-Harvick-like as possible. It's becoming increasingly likely the five-time Michigan winner will need a win to make the playoffs, but his time out front of the field this year indicates it could be a struggle to get it done.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
11. Austin Cindric (+4)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 19
Comment: Cindric's rookie year has been pretty sensational and after a strong runner-up at Indy he could be positioning himself to make a decent run in the postseason. Michigan is an important track for the Penske organization but Cindric might not offer the best shot for The Captain to win — he finished outside the top 10 in all three of his Xfinity starts there.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
10. Tyler Reddick (+4)
Season-high: 7
Season-low: 20
Comment: Despite all the drama, Reddick still offers RCR its best shot at a title in years and he showed why at Indy, masterfully holding on for an intense OT win. Michigan should be a solid proving ground for him — Reddick hasn't finished better than 18th there in three tries.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
9. Denny Hamlin (-3)
Season-high: 4
Season-low: 20
Comment: Hamlin's season has been so delightfully bizarre — he's got two wins (almost three) to match last year's total from a Championship 4 year ... but is averaging a finish (20.0) more than double as bad as last year (8.4). He's been quite strong at Michigan the past decade-plus, so look for him to potentially get things headed in the right direction again this weekend.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
8. Joey Logano (+3)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: 11
Comment: Logano finally snapped a four-race stint of finishes 20th or worse and yet he's in impeccable playoff standing despite the skid. He'll have a great shot to further cement his postseason positioning at Michigan, a track he's been top-notch at since joining Team Penske in 2013.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
7. Christopher Bell (-1)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: Out
Comment: Bell's career season continued at Indy and he's now led double-digit laps for three straight races for the first time in his three Cup seasons. He hasn't finished in the top 10 at Michigan yet, but he hasn't been bad either in his three starts — 13th, 17th, 13th.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
6. Kyle Busch (+1)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 11
Comment: The past few weeks have felt a little different for Kyle Busch than the four that preceded Loudon and it feels like he's getting close to having his future become a little clearer than it is now. If he's shopping his talent to other teams, this weekend could be a strong showing for him — Rowdy has seven straight top sevens at Michigan.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
5. Kyle Larson (-1)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 6
Comment: Larson had been running pretty well and a bit under the radar in recent weeks, but missed out on finishing the race Sunday after a braking issue sent him careening into Ty Dillon's No. 42 at a high clip. He could certainly reestablish his dominance this weekend at Michigan where he once won three straight races, all before his Hendrick days.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
4. Martin Truex Jr. (-1)
Season-high: 4
Season-low: 10
Comment: It's been puzzling to see Truex falter on road courses — formerly his specialty — this year, but it does seem to speak more to Toyota as a whole than him individually. He's surprisingly never won at Michigan, but has come close lately with eight finishes of fourth or better from 2013-on.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
3. Ryan Blaney (+2)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 10
Comment: Blaney's last three finishes are 18th, 33rd and 26th — and yet he's moved up to second in the points standings. He's obviously got a ton of speed in his No. 12 and is still competing for wins, but remains in a tenuous playoff spot despite all that. As the most recent Michigan winner, that could certainly change Sunday.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2. Ross Chastain (--)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: Out
Comment: Quick, name a driver that makes every race he's in more interesting. The truest example of checkers or wreckers, Chastain continues to be in the mix every weekend and he likely will be again at Michigan, despite never finishing better than 29th there in four starts.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
1. Chase Elliott (--)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 4
Comment: Elliott is near-unstoppable at the moment and was essentially only out of contention for the win after getting spun at the very end, otherwise he could've been looking at a fourth victory in the last six races. Bad news for the field — he's only finished outside the top 10 at Michigan once in 11 tries. Once.