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Power Rankings: Aric Almirola a top-10 machine to open 2022 season
By Pat DeCola | Published: March 8, 2022 21
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NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 NASCAR Cup Series drivers after the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and before Sunday's Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Phoenix Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX).
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
20. Bubba Wallace (-1)
Season-high: 13
Season-low: 20
Comment: There's still plenty of room for improvement here, and yet Wallace is on pace for, by far, his best average finish (15.3) and should top his previous laps led high (62) with 12 already through three races. His lone top 10 in eight Phoenix starts came in 2018, so this weekend marks a nice proving ground for him.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
19. Christopher Bell (Not ranked last week)
Season-high: 13
Season-low: Out
Comment: Bell impressively charged to the pole at Vegas and turned it into his first top 10 of the season -- and a much-needed one at that. He rattled off a pair of ninth-place finishes at Phoenix last year, so look for him to keep it rolling.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
18. Brad Keselowski (--)
Season-high: 14
Season-low: 19
Comment: We anticipated speed bumps in Keselowski's foray into driver/ownership, and 2022 so far has not been especially kind to the 2012 champ on track. He's winless at Phoenix, but has largely been a top-10 presence there from his title-season on.
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17. Ross Chastain (Not ranked last week)
Season-high: 17
Season-low: Out
Comment: Like his teammate a week ago, Chastain looked headed toward his first career Cup win before fading to a top-five finish. He's yet to land in the top 10 at Phoenix, though his best two efforts there did come last year (19th, 14th).
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16. Kurt Busch (--)
Season-high: 15
Season-low: 17
Comment: Like his teammate Wallace, Busch has not touched the surface of his 2022 potential and is still hovering around the top 10 in points with an average finish (13.3) that would be his best since 2019 (13.1). His one and only win at Phoenix came nearly two decades ago, but he's laid down almost 12,000 laps of experience on that track; a win this weekend would not be the biggest shock.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
15. Chase Briscoe (-4)
Season-high: 11
Season-low: 15
Comment: Briscoe had himself an eventful race at Vegas, which unfortunately ended with a 35th-place finish after a wreck. Interestingly, his latest Phoenix race also finished with a 35th-place result after a wreck.
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14. Austin Dillon (-2)
Season-high: 12
Season-low: 15
Comment: While Dillon was unable to compete for the win like a week ago, he finished just shy at Las Vegas of his second 2022 top 10. It'll be interesting to see if he handles Phoenix any better in the Next Gen -- he has just two top 10s in 16 starts there.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
13. William Byron (+1)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 14
Comment: The Byron breakout at Vegas could be seen from a mile away, and he delivered with his first top five of the season (and also, technically, his first top 30 of the season). Phoenix has had the markings of a track he's likely to win at in his career, compiling four top 10s in eight starts so far.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
12. Austin Cindric (-2)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 17
Comment: Vegas was an unexceptional race for the rookie, who dropped from the points lead all the way to fourth after finishing 19th. Phoenix was an excellent track for him at the Xfinity Series level with his 2020 title win coming there, which he followed up the next spring with another W.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
11. Aric Almirola (+4)
Season-high: 11
Season-low: Out
Comment: There is one driver to earn a top 10 in all three races so far, and you're looking at him. If you're wondering if SHR is back, Almirola -- the team's only winner a year ago -- is already more than halfway to his 2022 top-10 total. He has just seven Phoenix top 10s in 22 starts, but six of them have come in the last nine races.
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10. Ryan Blaney (-3)
Season-high: 7
Season-low: 10
Comment: Vegas was not a banner day for Team Penske -- something that is not often said -- and Blaney got caught up in a mess that left him 36th. He's led in all three races so far, though, and should be fast again at Phoenix.
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9. Denny Hamlin (-4)
Season-high: 5
Season-low: 9
Comment: Hamlin deemed himself the "worst driver on the track" with the "fastest car" at Vegas. Don't expect the veteran's woes to continue as he catches on with the Next Gen. Always a threat to win at Phoenix, he could snap out of it this weekend.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
8. Tyler Reddick (+1)
Season-high: 8
Season-low: 10
Comment: Finally, Reddick has something to show for all that early speed with his first top 10 of 2022. It hasn't quite clicked for him at Phoenix, but it's a track that rewards aggression. It's only a matter of time he works his way into the top 10 there, too.
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7. Alex Bowman (+6)
Season-high: 6
Season-low: 13
Comment: It doesn't matter how they came -- as far as the record books are concerned, Bowman's wins are real, and they make for spectacular T-shirts. Hendrick cars continue to be the class of the field, so the Arizona native could make it two in a row.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
6. Kevin Harvick (+2)
Season-high: 6
Season-low: 8
Comment: We've yet to really hear from Harvick on track, with a quiet start and just one lap led ... but we know he's lurking, ready to strike. Oh, hey, look at that -- Phoenix is up next. Funny how that works out.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
5. Joey Logano (-3)
Season-high: 3
Season-low: 5
Comment: Pegged by many as a potential winner for Vegas, Logano was largely a non-factor at one of his best tracks this past weekend. Luckily for him he's good just about everywhere, including Phoenix -- where he has a win and three top threes in the last four races.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
4. Martin Truex Jr. (+2)
Season-high: 4
Season-low: 6
Comment: Truex turned in his first top 10 of the season at Vegas, but he's been mostly solid throughout all three races with an 11.3 average finish (fourth-best among full timers). He was exceptional at Phoenix last year, winning in the spring and nearly capturing his second title in the fall before landing runner-up to Kyle Larson.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
3. Kyle Busch (+1)
Season-high: 3
Season-low: 4
Comment: Certainly a man on a mission in 2022, Busch was thisclose to winning in his hometown on Sunday. His first win of the season is likely right around the corner, and as soon as this weekend -- he's nothing short of amazing at Phoenix and recently had a span of nine top fives in 10 races there (2015-20).
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2. Chase Elliott (+1)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: 3
Comment: Elliott wasn't the one battling his teammate for a win this week, but he did still nab his second top 10 of the season. His one Phoenix win claimed the 2020 title for him, and he's riding a four-race top-seven streak there.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
1. Kyle Larson (--)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 1
Comment: It's going to be tough to budge Larson from this spot if he's in contention for the win in the closing laps every weekend -- he's going to wind up on the happy side of that equation more often than not. His last Phoenix trip went well for him, obviously, but so did the previous five -- all top sevens.