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Power Rankings: Kevin Harvick closing in on first win of 2022?
By Pat DeCola | Published: 28 Jun, 2022 21
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NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 NASCAR Cup Series drivers after the race at Nashville Superspeedway and before Sunday's race at Road America (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN).
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
20. Chase Briscoe (-7)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 20
Comment: Briscoe is still in possession of a win and thus remains a likely playoff driver, but four top 10s through 17 races has to be a disappointment after he collected two — including his Phoenix victory — through the season's first four weeks. He's managed to score 20-plus points in just three of the past eight races, though the accomplished road racer could certainly change the tone of his summer this weekend at Road America.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
19. Austin Dillon (-3)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 20
Comment: Since finishing runner-up at Talladega and looking like he was about to break out, Dillon has earned just one top 10 in the seven races to follow. It would've been unreasonable to expect him to buck that trend at Road America this weekend, but he's actually upped his road-course game this year with a P10 at Circuit of The Americas and just missing out on another one at Sonoma, in P11.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
18. Tyler Reddick (--)
Season-high: 7
Season-low: 20
Comment: Reddick obviously has the speed and talent to win in the Cup Series — his 249 laps led in 2022 are more than double the amount he collected in 2020-21 combined — but circumstances have saddled him with what is on pace to be his worst-career average finish (18.2). He's shown to be capable on road courses throughout his national series career, and landed a top five at COTA earlier this season. This could be the weekend he turns his season around.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
17. Erik Jones (+3)
Season-high: 14
Season-low: Out
Comment: Despite his No. 43 literally catching fire at one point, Jones narrowly missed out on his sixth top 10 of 2022 at Nashville but he continues to race with and around this year's playoff contenders. He has some work to do to get on the right side of the bubble but landed a top 10 at COTA earlier this year and it could be a decent weekend ahead for him.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
16. Austin Cindric (+3)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 19
Comment: This year's Daytona 500 champ and odds-on Sunoco Rookie of the Year obviously hasn't been bad in 2022, but just four top 10s in 17 starts isn't quite up to Team Penske's high standards. He's averaged a 7.67 finish the past three races, however, and heading to a road course – his specialty – certainly gives some hope to the team that he'll continue to build midseason momentum.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
15. Daniel Suárez (-1)
Season-high: 13
Season-low: Out
Comment: There were times at Nashville where Suárez was racing at the front of the field, but he ultimately was unable to back up his Sonoma win and was instead saddled with a fourth finish outside the top 10 in the last five races. Given Trackhouse Racing is the unquestioned team to beat on road courses at the moment and his victory was just two weeks ago, he should still feel confident heading into the weekend.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
14. Aric Almirola (-3)
Season-high: 11
Season-low: Out
Comment: Almirola has just six total laps led and five top 10s in 2022, yet has the 10th-best average finish in the series this year. Consistency counts, folks. Expect roughly another top 15 at Road America this weekend as he methodically plods his way to a playoff spot.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
13. Kurt Busch (+4)
Season-high: 12
Season-low: Out
Comment: After looking completely lost at Sonoma, the Toyotas regained their footing at Nashville, with Busch topping the bunch with a runner-up finish. We'll see if it sticks, however, as there hasn't been a ton of optimism among the manufacturer's drivers that their road-course woes have been rectified yet.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
12. Alex Bowman (-2)
Season-high: 5
Season-low: 13
Comment: Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr. – all drivers who have won championships in the past five years ... and also have a worse average finish than Bowman's 13.5. Even after Nashville's dead-last result, Bowman still continues to be slept on as having one of the best seasons in 2022, and let's not forget he very nearly won at COTA earlier this year. Keep an eye on him Sunday.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
11. William Byron (-2)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 16
Comment: While Byron's average finish isn't nearly as good as his teammate in the No. 48 — his is 17.1, tied with Michael McDowell for 17th-best – he does have two wins to Bowman's one, and we're guessing he'll take that. He's essentially been a top-10 driver on road courses in 2022 and will look to pick up his sixth such result on Sunday after notching just one in the past nine races.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
10. Christopher Bell (+5)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: Out
Comment: Bell is averaging the second-best starting position of 2022 (along with a tie for the series lead in poles, with three) and he's making the most of it. He's one of just four drivers with double-digit top 10s, and the other three have five wins combined. The No. 20 driver could be next up.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
9. Kevin Harvick (+3)
Season-high: 5
Season-low: 14
Comment: Harvick's 13 laps led in 2022 leave a lot to be desired, but let's not act like he hasn't still continued to drive at an elite level while his teammates can't seem to consistently find the top 10. One could argue that Stewart-Haas Racing hasn't quite had its "turn" where teams seemingly come alive for a few races before fading. If that comes its way, watch out because Harvick will be ready to strike.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
8. Martin Truex Jr. (--)
Season-high: 4
Season-low: 10
Comment: Truex's future is now clear for next season, and with that off his mind he nearly went out and won Nashville with his 82 laps led second-most to teammate Denny Hamlin. Pit strategy sunk his end result, but expect one of the sport's best road racers to put together a strong weekend at Road America despite Toyota's road-course troubles.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
7. Denny Hamlin (--)
Season-high: 4
Season-low: 20
Comment: Hamlin was fast all throughout Nashville in one of the more complete weekends the No. 11 group has put together this year. Things appear to really be turning a corner here and it's only a matter of time before Hamlin is viewed as one of the title favorites again.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
6. Kyle Larson (--)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 6
Comment: Nashville snapped a mini-skid of two finishes outside the top 10 for Larson, who has still been quite good but has fallen back to earth a bit this year. Interestingly, he missed out on the top 10 in both road courses this year so far – but did win the one before that at Charlotte's Roval last season.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
5. Joey Logano (--)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: 9
Comment: Logano is just always a factor, it seems, even if it doesn't show up on the pylon. In the past six races, he's led multiple laps in five of them and has two wins – despite also having three finishes of 17th or worse. He's another champ who has struggled on the road courses this year, and he'll look to get things going at Road America with three more of them on the schedule after this weekend.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
4. Kyle Busch (--)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 11
Comment: Busch is tied for the series lead with 11 top 10s and is looking the strongest he has since his last title in a five-win 2019 campaign. This weekend might not reflect it as much, but overall he's a driver that looks like a shoo-in for a Championship 4 spot.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
3. Ryan Blaney (--)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 10
Comment: Blaney is having just about as good a season as a driver could hope for while being short of any wins, but all the more reason to think a big breakout could be coming at some point. He's been one of the best out there through the first half of the season and after a P6 in both road courses so far, it's entirely conceivable he's celebrating on Sunday.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2. Ross Chastain (-1)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: Out
Comment: There isn't anybody still out there that doesn't think this guy is legit, right? It's pretty hard to fluke your way to the points lead halfway through the year, and he has a shot to come out of Road America on top – especially if Trackhouse's road-course program is as strong there as it was at COTA (where he won) and Sonoma (where Suárez won).
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
1. Chase Elliott (+1)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 4
Comment: Elliott had a not-so-good late May/early June, with three straight finishes outside the top 20. Despite that, he's remained the points leader since Atlanta and now has two wins in the past seven races – while entering this weekend as the defending winner. Things are pretty good in Dawsonville right now.