Skip to content

Official Site Of NASCAR

Home Click to view NASCAR Cup Series NewsNASCAR Cup Series News Click to view NASCAR Xfinity Series NewsNASCAR Xfinity Series News Click to view NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NewsNASCAR Camping World Truck Series News Click to view eNASCAReNASCAR Click to view NASCAR RootsNASCAR Roots Videos Photo Galleries Results Standings Weekend Schedule Click to view DriversDrivers Click to view Driver StatsDriver Stats Historic Results Click to view Buy TicketsBuy Tickets Click to view Camping InfoCamping Info Click to view Fantasy LiveFantasy Live Click to view BetCenterBetCenter Click to view Mobile AppMobile App Click to view NASCAR PodcastsNASCAR Podcasts Click to view NASCAR ShopNASCAR Shop Click to view My ProfileMy Profile
  • Most Recent
  • Power Rankings
  • Paint Scheme Preview
  • Fantasy Fastlane
  • XMost Recent@nascarcasmDriver WinseNascarFantasy FastlaneLineup GalleryMemorable MomentsNASCAR CompetitionNASCAR RootsPaint Scheme PreviewPower RankingsThrough the YearsTrack Winners
X

Power Rankings: Ryan Blaney riding pair of top 10s into Atlanta

By Pat DeCola | Tuesday, March 16, 2021
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
1 of 21
View Fullscreen
NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 NASCAR Cup Series drivers after Phoenix Raceway and before Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2 of 21
View Fullscreen

20. Ross Chastain (Not ranked last week)


Season-high: 20
Season-low: Out
Comment: Apart from a crash at the Daytona Road Course that left him with a 39th-place finish, Chastain has averaged a finish of 16.5 in the other four races, which is borderline playoff material. His two Atlanta Cup starts came more than two years ago, and netted finishes of 30th and 31st.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
3 of 21
View Fullscreen

19. Ryan Preece (-2)


Season-high: 15
Season-low: Out
Comment: Preece's two top 10s to open the season are starting to feel distant, with an average finish of 20.67 since. In a pair of Atlanta starts to his name, he owns a best finish of 26th.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
4 of 21
View Fullscreen

18. Bubba Wallace (Not ranked last week)


Season-high: 13
Season-low: Out
Comment: Wallace picked up his best finish of the season at Phoenix, flirting with the top 10 toward the end of the race before settling in 16th. He now heads to Atlanta, where he's bettered his finish in each race — 32nd to 27th to 21st last year.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
5 of 21
View Fullscreen

17. Chris Buescher (-1)


Season-high: 16
Season-low: Out
Comment: Buescher seemingly has settled around that mid-teen part of the pack, seeing his last four finishes range from 11th to 19th to 14th to 18th albeit with one brilliant stint at the front of the field at Miami. Perhaps he finds his way back into the top 10 at Atlanta, where he finished ninth in 2019.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
6 of 21
View Fullscreen

16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+2)


Season-high: 16
Season-low: Out
Comment: It's surprising Stenhouse hasn't landed a top 10 so far this year given how well he's run — and above expectations. His Atlanta story is honestly kind of similar. Six of the JTG-Daugherty driver's eight finishes there are better than 20th yet he has just one top 10 (2016).
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
7 of 21
View Fullscreen

15. Alex Bowman (--)


Season-high: 8
Season-low: 15
Comment: Bowman has been consistently inconsistent this year, but a 13th-place showing at Phoenix should be considered a net-positive after an early spin put his race in question. He's never finished in the top 10 at Atlanta, but all three of his Hendrick starts there were inside the top 20.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
8 of 21
View Fullscreen

14. Kyle Busch (-3)


Season-high: 6
Season-low: 14
Comment: And just like that, back to the doldrums for the No. 18 team. Busch will look to rebound from a 25th-place run at Phoenix this weekend at Atlanta, a track that has been very good to him (two wins, runner-up last year) over his Gibbs years.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
9 of 21
View Fullscreen

13. Austin Dillon (+1)


Season-high: 11
Season-low: 16
Comment: Dillon would likely be in the top 10 in points had his Daytona Road Course outing gone better, but he's still performed reasonably well overall. He's gotten close to the top 10 a couple of times at Atlanta before, including last year's 11th-place run.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
10 of 21
View Fullscreen

12. Michael McDowell (--)


Season-high: 10
Season-low: Out
Comment: McDowell finished outside the top 20 for the first time this season, but top 25s obviously won't hurt his case to finish inside the top 30 in points and make use of his provisional playoff berth. A rough Atlanta history faces him this weekend, though he did finish a career-best 24th in two of the last three races there.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
11 of 21
View Fullscreen

11. Kurt Busch (-1)


Season-high: 6
Season-low: 12
Comment: We're starting to see where teams are likely going to stack up this year, and Busch is looking like a driver who will hang around 8th to 10th and perhaps notch a win or two — no small feat for one of the sport's oldest drivers. Atlanta has been a good track for him over the past two decades, seeing a trio of wins there from 2002-10 and five straight top eights dating back to 2016.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
12 of 21
View Fullscreen

10. Ryan Blaney (+3)


Season-high: 8
Season-low: 15
Comment: Two straight top 10s and a bunch of points in each? It seems things are trending the right way for Blaney and a mercurial No. 12 team, and they now head to a track where he finished fourth last year. His four previous starts to that, however, netted no top 10s.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
13 of 21
View Fullscreen

9. Christopher Bell (-1)


Season-high: 8
Season-low: 16
Comment: Comparing how well Bell's first five races this year have gone compared to last year is almost laughable, and it's been nice to see one of NASCAR's hottest young talents become a factor again. He only has one Cup start at Atlanta (18th) but has two wins there in four starts across the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
14 of 21
View Fullscreen

8. William Byron (+1)


Season-high: 8
Season-low: 18
Comment: Either Byron is finally coming into his own as a driver, Hendrick Motorsports has really hit on something this year or -- likely -- it's both. We'll see if he can roll to a fourth straight top 10 this weekend at Atlanta, where he has a best finish of 17th in three starts.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
15 of 21
View Fullscreen

7. Kevin Harvick (-2)


Season-high: 1
Season-low: 7
Comment: Harvick returned to his top-five/six form on Sunday, but the Phoenix master was never really in the mix with the leaders for the race win, which is still a bit concerning for the No. 4 team. Another good opportunity awaits, however, as Atlanta has produced two wins in the past three years for the 2014 champ.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
16 of 21
View Fullscreen

6. Chase Elliott (--)


Season-high: 1
Season-low: 6
Comment: Elliott returned to the top 10 for the first time since the Daytona 500, landing his second top five of the season. An Atlanta victory would be huge for the Georgia native, and with four top 10s in five starts, it's certainly in the cards.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
17 of 21
View Fullscreen

5. Kyle Larson (-2)


Season-high: 3
Season-low: 14
Comment: Larson picked up his fourth top 10 of the season at Phoenix and might be running the best races of his career — a scary thought knowing we're only five races into his return. Runner-up at Atlanta in 2017, he could be looking at win No. 2 of 2021 on Sunday.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
18 of 21
View Fullscreen

4. Joey Logano (--)


Season-high: 3
Season-low: 4
Comment: It really feels like there were times in each race so far this year when it looked like Logano would emerge victorious, but here he stands with zero wins. His Atlanta stats with Team Penske are better than they were when he was driving the No. 20 car and he should be in the mix once again this weekend.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
19 of 21
View Fullscreen

3. Martin Truex Jr. (+4)


Season-high: 3
Season-low: 7
Comment: Truex cashed in on his first win of the season at Phoenix, and the No. 19 team continues to improve each week. Though winless at Atlanta, he's been quite strong there for the past decade, with eight finishes of eighth or better in his last nine.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
20 of 21
View Fullscreen

2. Brad Keselowski (--)


Season-high: 2
Season-low: 7
Comment: Keselowski sure looks like Championship 4 material in the early going, and I only expect that notion to be further solidified this weekend. In his last six Atlanta showings, the No. 2 driver has a 5.2 average finish and two wins.
Saved to `My Liked Photos`
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
21 of 21
View Fullscreen

1. Denny Hamlin (--)


Season-high: 1
Season-low: 4
Comment: Hamlin has very nearly had a top 10 in every race this year (11th at Miami) and continues to run at the front of the field weekly. He won at Atlanta in 2012, but has just three top 10s since, though two have come in the last three races.
Presented By:
Leaderboard
Leaderboard
NASCAR Drive
Live Cameras
NASCAR Mobile Download
Download APP
 
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

INFORMATION

  • Help/Contact Us
  • About NASCAR
  • Careers
  • Official Sponsors
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • Accessibility
  • Site Map
  • AdChoices
  • NDM Advertising
  • Sponsorship

PRODUCTS

  • Follow Live
  • NASCAR Mobile
  • Scanner
  • NASCAR Drive
  • Fantasy Live
  • Jackpot Races
  • NASCAR Shop

INITIATIVES

  • NASCAR Green
  • NASCAR Foundation
  • NASCAR Diversity
  • NASCAR Fan Council

MORE SITES

  • IMSA
  • TrackPass™
  • eNASCAR
  • NASCAR Kids
  • NASCAR Hall of Fame
  • Official NASCAR Members Club
  • NASCAR Foundation Auction
  • Monster Energy
  • Coca-Cola

NASCAR® and its marks are trademarks of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Copyright © 2021 NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

NASCAR Logo Home
Schedule
Race Center
Standings
NASCAR Fantasy Live Logo Fantasy