Power Rankings: NASCAR’s top 10 prospects, 23 and under in 2022

Honorable mentions: Tyler Ankrum (age 20), Hailie Deegan (20, pictured), Todd Gilliland (21), Carson Hocevar (19), Derek Kraus (20)

10. Corey Heim

Age: 19
Ride: No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota (CWTS), part-time
2021 rank: Not ranked
2021 stats: 3 CWTS starts, 17.3 average finish; 6 ARCA wins, series runner-up
Comment: Heim may be the most unfamiliar name on the list, but it won't be for long. The 1B to Ty Gibbs' 1A in the ARCA Menards Series in '21, he'll follow a similar path to his peer by running a limited schedule in top-tier equipment, albeit in a lower series. It worked out well for Gibbs, who netted four 2021 Xfinity Series wins in 18 starts — expect similar results in Heim's 15 planned KBM starts.

9. Sam Mayer

Age: 18
Ride: No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet (NXS)
2021 rank: 3rd
2021 stats: 18 NXS starts, 1 top 5, 6 top 10s; 5 CWTS starts, 3 top 10s
Comment: Mayer takes a bit of a dip here after landing in the top three last year, fresh off a 2020 Bristol win in one of his six starts that season. He ran just more than half a season at JRM last year to mixed results, but the future is bright. With a full slate ahead of him, expect a significant rebound this season with a handful of wins to remind everybody why his famous boss is so high on him.

8. Christian Eckes

Age: 21
Ride: No. 98 ThorSport Racing Toyota (CWTS)
2021 rank: Not ranked
2021 stats: 10 CWTS starts, 1 win, 2 top 5s, 5 top 10s
Comment: Eckes ran an extremely limited schedule in 2021 after piloting a full Truck Series campaign the year before, but it appears to have paid off. He finished in the top 10 in half of those starts, added his first series victory and now has a full season ahead of him in a potential Championship 4 truck.

7. Zane Smith

Age: 22
Ride: No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford (CWTS)
2021 rank: 7th
2021 stats: 1 NXS start (crash); 22 CWTS starts, 1 win, 3 top 5s, 14 top 10s, series runner-up
Comment: Smith made his second consecutive Championship 4 — in pretty dramatic fashion, notching his only win of the year to punch his ticket — and wound up finishing P2 in the standings once again. Moving over to Front Row for the upcoming season is an interesting transition, and one that could eventually line him up for a direct path to the Cup Series (perhaps if/when a 37-year-old Michael McDowell decides to hang it up).

6. Chandler Smith

Age: 19
Ride: No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota (CWTS)
2021 rank: 8th
2021 stats: 22 CWTS starts, 2 wins, 6 top 5s, 9 top 10s
Comment: If there's one driver on this list that feels too low, it's Smith. After making the Round of 8 in his rookie season last year, anything short of a Championship 4 berth (and maybe even the title itself, given the high expectations of his two-time Cup champ boss) would be a disappointment. Five-plus wins are certainly on the table for one of NASCAR's stars of tomorrow.

5. Noah Gragson

Age: 23
Ride: No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet (NXS); No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet (Cup), part-time
2021 rank: 5th
2021 stats: 33 NXS starts, 3 wins, 13 top 5s, 20 top 10s
Comment: A noticeable dip in average finish year-over-year (8.8 to 13.4) is excusable by the fact he won a career-high in races and competed in the Championship 4 for the first time. Gragson has seemingly been around forever, and it's because he has five straight full-time seasons at the national-series level. That's a ton of experience in top-tier equipment. The JRM driver has clearly grown as a driver over that half decade — he may even be the NXS title favorite — and there's a reason Kaulig is entrusting him with 14 Cup starts this year.

4. Harrison Burton

Age: 21
Ride: No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford (Cup)
2021 rank: 4th
2021 stats: 1 Cup start (20th); 33 NXS starts, 10 top 5s, 22 top 10s
Comment: Burton certainly took a step back from his four-win 2020 campaign, but has still shown enough talent to land in one of NASCAR's most historic rides for this year's rookie Cup season. His adjustment to the premier series will be an interesting one to watch, and it would sure be something if he were able to bring the No. 21 Ford back to the playoffs. The pedigree is obviously there.

3. Justin Haley

Age: 22
Ride: No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
2021 rank: 2nd
2021 stats: 31 Cup starts, 2 top 10s; 32 NXS starts, 1 win, 9 top 5s, 24 top 10s
Comment: Thirty-one Cup races is just about as close to full-time as a driver can get without declaring points, but last year's slate will prove indispensable for Haley's development. With a full 36 ahead and bigger expectations than would normally be reserved for a fresh Cup team, how Haley progresses this season could offer an indication of the kind of career he has ahead of him. All signs point to a long and prosperous one.

2. Ty Gibbs

Age: 19
Ride: TBA Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (NXS)
2021 rank: Honorable mention
2021 stats: 18 NXS starts, 4 wins, 9 top 5s, 10 top 10s; 20 ARCA starts, 10 wins, 19 top 5s/top 10s, champion
Comment: Gibbs' ARCA average finish across the whole season was an almost-unbelievable 3.0, finishing in the top four in every race save for a crash at Talladega. He only ran half the NXS slate, yet nearly tied for the series lead in wins. A Championship 4 appearance awaits, unless catastrophe strikes. He's good, folks. Really, really, ridiculously good.

1. Austin Cindric

Age: 23
Ride: No. 2 Team Penske Ford (Cup)
2021 rank: 1st
2021 stats: 7 Cup starts, 1 top 10; 33 NXS starts, 5 wins, 22 top 5s, 26 top 10s, series runner-up
Comment: Cindric lands in the No. 1 spot for the second straight season in his final year of eligibility, and it's clear he'll be racing in the Cup Series for potentially the next two decades. Taking over a perennial championship-capable ride is an *ahem* tall task for a rookie, but if there ever were a more seasoned prospect capable of filling the role, we haven't seen them.