Power Rankings: Can Michael McDowell win again at Watkins Glen?

NASCAR.com's Zach Sturniolo substitutes for regular host Pat DeCola this week and ranks the 20 hottest Cup Series drivers after the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course and before Watkins Glen International on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

20. AJ Allmendinger (--)

Season-high: 18
Season-low: Out

Comment: On paper, the Indianapolis road course seemed like the perfect opportunity for Allmendinger to stay in the playoff hunt -- or even win his way into the postseason. Instead, a 26th-place finish caps a hat trick of one-lap-down finishes outside the top 25. Up next: Watkins Glen, the site of Allmendinger's only other Cup Series victory back in 2014.

19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-3)

Season-high: 12
Season-low: Out

Comment: It's not been the easiest month for Stenhouse, whose 25th-place result at Indy marked his worst since placing 34th at the Chicago Street Course. His record at Watkins Glen isn't exceptional, with a best finish of 15th, but the good news is that's where he finished in two of the last three races at the Glen (2019, 2022).

18. Bubba Wallace (-3)

Season-high: 13
Season-low: Out

Comment: Wallace kept his nose clean in Indianapolis and mustered a decent 18th-place finish. But Michael McDowell's victory and Daniel Suárez's stellar points day suddenly leaves Wallace just 28 points to the good in the playoff picture. In four starts at the Glen, Wallace hasn't finished better than 23rd. Stage points would serve him well in Upstate New York before heading to Daytona to close the regular season.

17. Ty Gibbs (--)

Season-high: 16
Season-low: Out

Comment: Gibbs had an up-and-down Sunday at the Indy road course after winning Saturday's Xfinity race there. The rookie rallied from the rear to finish 12th in the Cup race after an early spin off the front bumper of Shane van Gisbergen. He had a 26th-place finish at Watkins Glen in his track debut a year ago. His playoff hopes may depend on a win.

16. Daniel Suárez (+3)

Season-high: 9
Season-low: Out

Comment: Suárez did just about everything right at Indianapolis. After winning the pole, the Trackhouse racer paced the field for six laps and was consistently a top-three car. But a long pit stop where his air hose was caught beneath the left-front tire sank the No. 99 Chevrolet from winning contention. A third-place finish and excellent stage points have him in position to strike into the playoffs, but a 28-point gap means he'll need to cut significant ground on Wallace over the next two weeks. Better news: Suárez has finished inside the top five in three of his five Watkins Glen starts, including a fifth-place finish a year ago.

15. Ryan Blaney (-2)

Season-high: 3
Season-low: 15

Comment: Blaney's 13th-place finish at Indy was his third straight top-15 result, but it certainly hasn't been the prettiest stretch for the No. 12 Team Penske group. Blaney has scored just two top 10s in his past nine races, a stretch dating back to June. He's hit or miss at the Glen, with one top five (fifth, 2019) and another top 10 (eighth, 2017) in six starts.

14. Michael McDowell (+4)

Season-high: 14
Season-low: Out

Comment: That's certainly one way to show you belong in the NASCAR Playoffs. McDowell dominated the Indy weekend, posting the fastest lap in practice, qualifying fourth and leading a race-high 54 of 82 laps en route to his second career win on Sunday. The No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team has been for real and proved it in a big way Sunday. His sixth-place finish at Watkins Glen last year marked his first top 10 at the track in 13 starts. Going back-to-back would be an incredible feat for both driver and organization, but McDowell proved it's absolultely not out of the question this time around.

13. Tyler Reddick (+1)

Season-high: 3
Season-low: 15

Comment: Indianapolis was a significant step in the right direction for Reddick and the No. 45 team over at 23XI Racing. A fourth-place finish after qualifying second meant Reddick finished about where he belonged, exiting with a clean day without any execution hiccups. After finishes of 16th (Richmond) and 30th (Michigan) in races at which he could have fought for the win, a fourth at Indy should produce a smile. In two Watkins Glen starts, Reddick has finishes of 10th and seventh. Good opportunity to capitalize on fast cars again this week.

12. Joey Logano (-1)

Season-high: 1
Season-low: 14

Comment: The Indianapolis road course and Logano are not on great terms. For the second time in three years, the two-time champion walked away with a 34th-place finish and crash damage. Watkins Glen on the other hand? A decent relationship with Logano, who has three top-three finishes in the last seven races there, including a 2015 win. The downside -- four finishes outside the top 20 between 2016's runner-up performance and last year's third-place finish.

11. Kyle Busch (-5)

Season-high: 1
Season-low: 11

Comment: The last month has been tough for the No. 8 team at Richard Childress Racing. Busch, whose three victories are tied for second-most this year, has finished 36th or worse in three of the last five races, including a 36th-place finish at Indy after suffering engine issues. His other finishes in that stretch were 21st at Pocono and third at Richmond. He and the team will try to right the ship before the playoffs begin -- and there's reason to be optimistic heading to Watkins Glen. Firstly, he's KFB. Secondly, Busch has nabbed two wins, seven top fives and 13 top 10s in 17 starts at the road course.

10. Brad Keselowski (--)

Season-high: 9
Season-low: Out

Comment: Road courses are rarely Keselowski's strong suit, and that came through again Sunday at Indianapolis with a midpack finish of 20th. Watkins Glen, however, was quite the track for him from 2011-13 with three straight runner-up finishes. But as of late, he's cooled off with four finishes of 15th or worse in the last five Watkins Glen races.

9. Chase Elliott (+3)

Season-high: 2
Season-low: Out

Comment: And just like that, the spotlight shines again on seven-time road-race winner Chase Elliott. He led a single lap Sunday at Indianapolis but stayed inside the top three almost all day and closed on McDowell late in the going on the way to a second-place finish. The 2020 Cup champion knows he must win to make the playoffs -- a drum he's beaten since his return to action from an early-season snowboarding injury -- and Watkins Glen is arguably his best track. In six starts, he's won twice and scored four top 10s, all including his first Cup victory back in 2018. The No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team had an opportunity to win this race a year ago. They'll look to rekindle that once again this weekend.

8. Ross Chastain (--)

Season-high: 1
Season-low: 9

Comment: Indianapolis marked another fairly pedestrian run for Chastain, who stormed into the Championship 4 a season ago. A 17th-place run at Indy marked his sixth finish of 13th or worse in the past seven races since winning at Nashville to secure his playoff spot. His Watkins Glen stats don't offer a ton of insight in four starts, two in underfunded equipment, but his last two starts produced a 12th-place finish (2021, Chip Ganassi Racing) and 21st-place result (2022, Trackhouse).

7. Christopher Bell (+2)

Season-high: 1
Season-low: 10

Comment: Bell had a steady-not-flashy day at Indianapolis, leading 11 laps en route to a ninth-place finish. Watkins Glen has treated Bell quite well, with the Oklahoma native netting top 10s in each of his two starts.

6. William Byron (-2)

Season-high: 1
Season-low: 14

Comment: Byron's stats since winning at Atlanta haven't quite been up to the No. 24 team's exceptional standards, with a 14th-place finish at Indy (after starting from the rear without a qualifying attempt due to inspection issues) marking his fifth straight finish of 14th or worse. He's been hot and cold in four starts at Watkins Glen, with two top 10s and two finishes outside the top 20.

5. Kevin Harvick (-1)

Season-high: 3
Season-low: 11

Comment: Indianapolis snapped a four-race top-10 streak for "The Closer," with his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing entry finishing 23rd. While never dominant at the Glen, Harvick does have a 2006 win to his name in Upstate New York to pair with three top fives and 11 top 10s in 21 starts.

4. Chris Buescher (+3)

Season-high: 4
Season-low: Out

Comment: The steady climb for Buescher continues. His 11th-place finish at Indy ended an eight-race streak of top 10s on road courses, but the Richmond and Michigan winner sits comfortably locked into the playoffs. He scored his best finish at Watkins Glen a season ago with a ninth-place effort.

3. Kyle Larson (--)

Season-high: 1
Season-low: 11

Comment: Larson's eighth-place finish at Indianapolis was a steady showing from the 2021 champion. He returns to Watkins Glen as the winner of each of the track's last two Cup races, so the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team will surely be a favorite again come Sunday.

2. Denny Hamlin (--)

Season-high: 1
Season-low: 12

Comment: Indy snapped a three-race span of top-five finishes for the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team, but Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gabehart maximized their strategy in order to win Stage 2 and collect another important playoff point. Hamlin has four top fives in the last six Watkins Glen races, so the No. 11 could be a factor yet again this week.

1. Martin Truex Jr. (--)

Season-high: 1
Season-low: 14

Comment: Still standing tall atop the regular-season standings, Truex left Indy with a seventh-place finish for his fifth consecutive top 10 and ninth in the last 11 races. He finished 23rd in last year's Watkins Glen race, but scored top-three finishes in each of the four races prior -- including a win there in 2017.