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Power Rankings: Brad Keselowski continues to be late-race factor
By Pat DeCola | Tuesday, March 9, 2021
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NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 NASCAR Cup Series drivers after Las Vegas Motor Speedway and before Phoenix Raceway.
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20. Tyler Reddick (-3)
Season-high: 17
Season-low: Out
Comment: We know Reddick is super talented, but last week's runner-up finish stands as an anomaly for his season thus far, with his other three finishes being 27th, 38th and 22nd. His first two Phoenix races didn't result in anything to write home about, but in last spring's race he battled the leaders hard early on.
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19. Ryan Newman (+1)
Season-high: 19
Season-low: Out
Comment: Newman was unable to follow up last week's top 10, but remained a top-20 car at Vegas. Though he's been up-and-down at Phoenix over the years, one of his more recent wins came at the track in 2017.
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18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Not ranked last week)
Season-high: 18
Season-low: Out
Comment: Though he's slowly still inching toward his first top 10, Stenhouse is outpacing expectations thus far this season as his 15.0 average finish would easily be a career high. He was fourth in the 2017 spring Phoenix race, but that stands as just one of two top 10s at the track in 16 tries.
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17. Ryan Preece (+2)
Season-high: 15
Season-low: Out
Comment: JTG Daugherty Racing as a whole is running well, as Preece is still 13th in points with a respectable 12.8 average finish after a 15th-place run at Vegas. He's in for an uphill battle at Phoenix, where he's finished better than 26th once in five starts (18h, spring 2020).
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16. Chris Buescher (--)
Season-high: 16
Season-low: Out
Comment: Despite being a significantly bigger factor in the Miami race, Buescher actually finished five spots better at Vegas. He's yet to finish in the top 10 at Phoenix, but does have five straight top-20 finishes.
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15. Alex Bowman (-6)
Season-high: 8
Season-low: 15
Comment: Bowman spent some time near the front of the field on Sunday, but ultimately was unable to capitalize on a third straight top 10. Despite being an Arizona native, he hasn't particularly run well at Phoenix short of his fill-in duty for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2016.
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14. Austin Dillon (--)
Season-high: 11
Season-low: 16
Comment: Dillon sure seems to be making his presence felt among the heavyweights of the Cup Series, and if he hangs around the front long enough, he'll find a way to eventually cash in on some wins. Just ... maybe don't expect that to happen at Phoenix, where he has two top 10s in 14 career starts.
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13. Ryan Blaney (+2)
Season-high: 8
Season-low: 15
Comment: After ripping off five straight top sevens to close out 2020, it was a surprise to see Blaney struggle before notching his first top 10 four races in. Perhaps he'll keep it going at Phoenix, where three of his last four finishes are sixth or better.
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12. Michael McDowell (-2)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: Out
Comment: The top-10 streak was broken (both his and Kevin Harvick's), but McDowell still mustered an OK 17th-place finish to remain in the top 10 in points. Though the Daytona 500 win will always rank first for him, Phoenix would be a close second for the Arizona native. He has a best finish of 16th (fall 2018, spring 2020).
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11. Kyle Busch (+2)
Season-high: 6
Season-low: 13
Comment: The two-time champ still has yet to lead a lap this season, but the last two weeks provided encouraging — if bumpy — races for the teetering No. 18 team. His Phoenix resume runs deep and at times in recent years he's looked unbeatable there.
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10. Kurt Busch (-4)
Season-high: 6
Season-low: 12
Comment: A bit of a ho-hum race in the follow-up to the hometown winner's fall victory, but Busch is still top 10 in points. The 20 career top 10s he has at Phoenix are tied for fourth-most at any track for him, and in only 36 races.
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9. William Byron (+2)
Season-high: 11
Season-low: 18
Comment: Another 25 laps led and a top 10 at Vegas for young Mr. Byron, as Hendrick Motorsports continues to look strong overall early. Phoenix has been a good track so far in his career, with a 13.5 average finish and top 10s in half his six starts.
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8. Christopher Bell (--)
Season-high: 8
Season-low: 16
Comment: Joe Gibbs Racing is steadily starting to put the pieces together, with all four drivers landing in the top seven at Vegas. He was middle of the pack at Phoenix last year, but did win there in the Xfinity Series in 2018.
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7. Martin Truex Jr. (-2)
Season-high: 5
Season-low: 7
Comment: That No. 19 is starting to look like the Truex of old after another top-six finish. A Phoenix win has eluded him, but a spring runner-up came in 2019. It's almost never worth betting against the 2017 champ.
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6. Chase Elliott (-2)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 6
Comment: The defending champ has just one top 10 through four races, but there's no need to panic just yet. We know the wins are coming, especially with how powerful his Hendrick teammates have been. In fact, BetMGM lists him as the favorite this weekend after he dominated the most recent Phoenix race to take home the hardware.
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5. Kevin Harvick (-4)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 5
Comment: Not even sure what to say about Harvick's odd Vegas run from the pole ... a race he never led a lap in en route to finishing 20th. Something was not quite right, but there might not be a better place on the schedule for the "Cactus King" to turn it around than Phoenix.
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4. Joey Logano (-1)
Season-high: 3
Season-low: 4
Comment: Logano led for the fourth time in four races, but never quite seemed like a viable option to win on Sunday at Vegas. Still, he's been quite strong overall this year and has a pair of Phoenix wins from 2016-on, including this race last year.
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3. Kyle Larson (+9)
Season-high: 3
Season-low: 14
Comment: That sure didn't take long. Larson is once again a Cup Series winner, and two in a row is not out of the question. His fourth-place run in this race last year -- his last before his suspension -- was his fourth straight Phoenix finish of sixth or better.
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2. Brad Keselowski (+5)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: 7
Comment: Keselowski continues to be there at the end of races, and actually got the finish he deserved out of this one with the runner-up showing. He hasn't quite yet landed in Victory Lane at Phoenix, but has two runner-ups in the last five races there.
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1. Denny Hamlin (+1)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 4
Comment: It's kind of funny -- Hamlin isn't one of the season's four winners, yet no driver seems quite on his level thus far in 2021. He's been strong at Phoenix much more often than not, and won there three races ago.
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