BACK TO GALLERIES
Power Rankings: Alex Bowman proving to be weekly contender for wins
By Pat DeCola | Published: March 29, 2022 21
1 of 21
NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 NASCAR Cup Series drivers after the race at Circuit of The Americas and before Sunday's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX).
2 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
20. Austin Dillon (--)
Season-high: 12
Season-low: 20
Comment: A top-10 finish on a road course might as well be a win for Dillon, who needed a good weekend and got it. Both RCR cars had great days at COTA and will look to carry that momentum to Richmond, which has been one of Dillon's better tracks since 2018.
3 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
19. Erik Jones (Not ranked last week)
Season-high: 17
Season-low: Out
Comment: Jones already wrecked out of two races so his finishes are weighted down by that, but he still already topped his top-five total from 2021 and is a third of the way to his top-10 count from last year through just six races. Richmond might present a problem, however, as he has just one top 10 there in nine tries and it came back in 2017 while running for JGR.
4 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
18. Christopher Bell (Not ranked last week)
Season-high: 13
Season-low: Out
Comment: Bell quietly has put together three top 10s in the past four races after a crash and engine failure in the season's first two. He was money at Richmond last year as well, notching a pair of top-four finishes.
5 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
17. Kurt Busch (-5)
Season-high: 12
Season-low: 17
Comment: COTA was Busch's worst points day (five) since early September of last season, when he scored exactly one point at ... Richmond. That plus no top 10s at the Virginia track since 2017 make it seem like a rebound isn't likely this weekend.
6 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
16. Denny Hamlin (-1)
Season-high: 5
Season-low: 16
Comment: Six races, no top 10s, on pace for a career-worst 24.0 average finish. We know things will turn around eventually, but that's the reality for Hamlin with the regular season nearly a quarter over. Perhaps a trip home to Virginia, where he was a runner-up in both Richmond races last year, will help.
7 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
15. Austin Cindric (+2)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 17
Comment: Cindric made it back into the top 10 for the first time since his Daytona 500 triumph, leading laps for the first time since then as well. He competed in this Richmond race last year, though he finished 28th after starting 38th.
8 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
14. Aric Almirola (--)
Season-high: 11
Season-low: Out
Comment: Almirola's first three races: all top 10s. His last three races: all non-top 10s. With an average finish of 9.33 over his last three Richmond races, it feels more likely than not he gets back in the swing of things this weekend.
9 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
13. Daniel Suárez (+3)
Season-high: 13
Season-low: Out
Comment: Though it was a disappointing finish for him, Suarez's 15 laps led at COTA were his most in nearly a year, dating back to pacing 58 circuits at Bristol in the dirt last spring. He turned in a pair of quality Richmond finishes last year (16th, 17th) for then-fledgling Trackhouse (and look at 'em now). Given what we've seen from that team in 2022, he could be in the mix for the win this weekend.
10 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
12. Chase Briscoe (-2)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 15
Comment: Briscoe has led laps in four of the past five races after leading in just three total all of last year, though he still has just two top 10s to show for it. Not much to mention about his two Richmond Cup starts last year; they were pretty run-of-the-mill (22nd, 16th; no laps led).
11 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
11. Tyler Reddick (+2)
Season-high: 7
Season-low: 13
Comment: Reddick has shown speed all season and, with three top-seven finishes in the past four races, is finally starting to get the results to match. He's been shut out of the top 10 at Richmond in Cup through three races, though not awfully (15.3 average finish).
12 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
10. Kyle Busch (-6)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: 10
Comment: After a pair of up-and-down races that resulted in finishes outside the top 25, Busch has now spent more weeks outside the top 10 in points than in it. It's entirely conceivable he shifts his season in the right direction this weekend at Richmond, where he has six total wins and eight straight top 10s.
13 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
9. Kevin Harvick (-3)
Season-high: 5
Season-low: 9
Comment: Speaking of the top 10 in points, Harvick has yet to see it at all, though he's right on the cusp. Richmond is one of a handful of tracks where he has 40-plus starts, so perhaps he can ride some added familiarity to his first top five of the season this weekend.
14 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
8. William Byron (+3)
Season-high: 8
Season-low: 16
Comment: Byron is on pace for the worst average finish (18.0) since his rookie season in 2018 (22.1) and yet he's already a '22 winner and is sixth in points. The No. 24 driver was seventh in this race last year, though that stands as his only top 10 at Richmond.
15 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
7. Joey Logano (-5)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: 7
Comment: Logano just could not get things going in the right direction at COTA in one of the roughest races for the former champ in recent memory. Honestly, it stood out so much because it's such a rarity for the 2018 champ, and it would be a shock if he isn't right back in the mix at Richmond, where he has two wins overall and three top fives in the last four.
16 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
6. Alex Bowman (+2)
Season-high: 6
Season-low: 13
Comment: Bowman very nearly became the season's first two-time winner, and he's starting to look like a potential every-week contender. As the defending spring Richmond winner, he should have another shot at staking his claim again this weekend.
17 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
5. Martin Truex Jr. (--)
Season-high: 4
Season-low: 8
Comment: Though for good reason, it feels like the JGR cars are getting slept on a bit in the early going here -- including Truex. Richmond, on paper, looks like the track where the Toyota organization makes its first imprint on 2022, though. With three wins in the past five Richmond races, including the last one, look for Truex to be the one to benefit.
18 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
4. Ryan Blaney (+3)
Season-high: 4
Season-low: 10
Comment: Though it was only for one lap at COTA (and Auto Club), Blaney has led in every race this year as the No. 12 continues to flex its speed week-in, week-out. That performance will be put to the test this weekend at Richmond, where Blaney has one top 10 in 11 starts and it was exactly 10th.
19 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
3. Ross Chastain (+6)
Season-high: 3
Season-low: Out
Comment: In terms of actual heat and momentum, no driver is hotter -- the only question is how long this streak of performance lasts. All signs at the moment point to this driver/team combo being the real deal, and Chastain should have a shot to replicate the first top 10 of his career at Richmond last fall.
20 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2. Kyle Larson (-1)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 2
Comment: And there it is -- Larson's first drop from the top spot since Martinsville 2021. He should perhaps still be viewed as the title favorite, but with a 21.3 average finish (albeit with a win), that has softened a bit. He won at Richmond in his CGR days, so it's not out of the question that he could roll into the track this weekend, dominate and then once again quiet any doubters.
21 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
1. Chase Elliott (+2)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 4
Comment: Though still winless, Elliott is outrunning the '21 champion and is equally title-worthy himself, hence the top spot. After no top 10s through his first four Richmond races, he's averaged a finish of 8.125 over the last six.