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Power Rankings: Pocono to Watkins Glen
By Pat DeCola | Published: July 30, 2019 21
Gerald C. Donaldson | NASCAR Digital Media
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Gerald C. Donaldson | NASCAR Digital Media
NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers after the race at Pocono Raceway and before Watkins Glen International.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
20. Chris Buescher (--): Buescher has yet to land in the top 10 on any road course race in his career but consistently finishes in the 11-20 range. That first top 10 is coming.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
19. Daniel Suarez (-2): Watkins Glen likely offers Suarez's best shot remaining to make the playoffs via a win, with a pair of top-four finishes there in his first two starts.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
18. Paul Menard (+1): Menard has never finished in the top 10 in 15 tries at Watkins Glen. His playoff chances appear likely to dwindle over the remaining regular-season races, starting this weekend.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
17. Jimmie Johnson (+1): Not only is Johnson mired in a slump and is 0-for-17 in his career at Watkins Glen, he has the next five races to find a way into the playoffs while working with a new crew chief. Still, if there was ever a driver to get it done, it's Seven-Time.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
16. Ryan Newman (-2): Newman also is 0-for-17 in his career at Watkins Glen, with even worse results in general. The veteran has just three top 10s and 20 laps led total in that span of nearly two decades.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
15. Clint Bowyer (+1): Bowyer is a notable road course racer and has a 10.0 average finish at Watkins Glen over his most recent four races there. He'll have a shot to compete this weekend, and he really needs a good finish.
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Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
14. Kyle Larson (+1): Presuming he doesn't once again need a backup -- no guarantee based on the past two weeks -- Larson should be starting in the front at Watkins Glen. He has started sixth or better in each of the last five years, with two finishes of sixth or better over his last five.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
13. William Byron (-1): Byron placed eighth at Watkins Glen last year and notched his two best finishes of the year over the last four races. He could be a sleeper Sunday.
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Matt Sullivan | Getty Images
12. Erik Jones (+1): Two races at Watkins Glen for Jones, with two top 10s -- including last year's top-five effort. Things seem to be coming together for the young talent at the right time, and it could culminate this weekend.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
11. Alex Bowman (-1): Things are improving on road courses for Bowman, but -- like the former driver of the No. 88 -- road courses aren't his forte. Still, he has improved his results there each time out, from 36th in 2014 to last year's 14th-place finish.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
10. Chase Elliott (-2): Watkins Glen couldn't come at a better time for Elliott, the defending race winner. Mired in a rough stretch that dates back to Michigan, the Hendrick Motorsports driver should be able to set the ship straight Sunday.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
9. Aric Almirola (--): With no top 10s in his career at Watkins Glen, Almirola isn't likely to break his recent mini-swoon. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver has just one top 10 since Sonoma Raceway (seventh, Daytona International Speedway).
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Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
8. Ryan Blaney (+3): Blaney won the series' second-most-recent road course race at Charlotte Motor Speedway last year, but he's no slouch at Watkins Glen. The Team Penske driver notched an eighth-place finish in 2017 and has a 10.0 average finish there the past two seasons.
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Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
7. Kurt Busch (--): Busch has the unlikely distinction of owning the most starts at Watkins Glen -- 18 -- without a victory. Thankfully for him, he doesn't need one to get into the playoffs, as he recently won at Kentucky Speedway.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
6. Brad Keselowski (--): Keselowski looked primed to be the next big thing in road-course racing, popping off three straight runner-ups at Watkins Glen from 2011-13. Since then, he has just two top 10s combined at WGI, Sonoma and the Roval.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
5. Kevin Harvick (-1): Harvick tends to be a little better at Sonoma than Watkins Glen, though he does have a win at the latter in 2006. Last year was his first top 10 at the track since 2015 and just his third since 2011.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
4. Martin Truex Jr. (-1): The Sonoma winner is expected to be competitive for the win once again this weekend. Truex owns eight top 10s in just 13 WGI races and has finished top two the past two years.
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Chris Trotman | Getty Images
3. Denny Hamlin (+2): Hamlin has a pretty solid chance to make it two in a row this weekend. Sunday's Pocono Raceway winner is the 2016 Watkins Glen winner, and Joe Gibbs Racing seems to be locked in at "The Glen" as a whole the past few years.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
2. Joey Logano (--): Despite an average finish that looks mediocre on paper (16.3), Logano has a win and a top 10 in half of his 10 Watkins Glen starts. No reason to think he won't challenge for the win this weekend.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
1. Kyle Busch (--): Busch is head and shoulders the favorite this weekend. He's the only driver in the field with multiple WGI wins and has the most top fives (6), top 10s (12), poles (2) and laps led (247). Without a wreck of some sort, any driver will need to go through him to find Victory Lane.