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Power Rankings: How drivers fared during the season

Celebrities Visit Build - November 12, 2019

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 12: Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. attend the Build Series to discuss the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Championship at Build Studio on November 12, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Daniel Zuchnik/Getty Images)

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While the 2019 NASCAR season is over, we at NASCAR Talk will continue our popular Power Rankings feature periodically through the offseason.

We’ll dive deep into the statistics and overall team performances over the next couple of months, starting with today’s evaluation of how Power Rankings evolved over the 2019 season, as voted upon by NBC Sports’ NASCAR writers.

While it’s not surprising that the Championship 4 drivers were all voted into the rankings the most number of weeks, there were definitely a few surprises:

1. Kyle Busch: Not only was the driver of the No. 18 Toyota the series champion and regular-season champion, he also was the king of NBC Sports’ Power Rankings. Busch was the only driver to be ranked in the top 10 for all 38 weeks. He either was ranked or tied for No. 1 in the rankings 17 times - including 10 weeks in a row at one point - more than any other driver. He was in the top five for 32 weeks. But there were a few close calls: In three of the weeks, he was last in the rankings, almost falling out of the top 10.

2. Kevin Harvick: Appeared in the Power Rankings 34 times, second-most of all drivers. He led or was tied for the No. 1 spot four times. Next to Busch, Harvick was one of the most consistent selections by NBC Sports’ writers, making the top five in 23 weeks.

(tie) 3. Denny Hamlin: Even though he fell short in the championship race, Hamlin had nothing to be ashamed of, particularly in the Power Rankings. The Virginia native spent 33 weeks in the rankings. He was ranked or tied for No. 1 in nine of those weeks, including five weeks in a row. He was ranked in the top five for 22 weeks.

(tie) 3. Martin Truex Jr.: Like Hamlin, Truex was also ranked for 33 weeks. Started slow but really picked up the pace. He was either selected No. 1 or tied for the top spot five times. He was chosen for the top five a total of 20 times.

5. Joey Logano: The 2018 NASCAR Cup champ fell short of successfully defending his title this past season but still had a strong campaign. He was in the rankings for 32 weeks, including being No. 1 or tied for it three weeks. He was selected in the top five for 21 weeks.

6. Brad Keselowski: It was an up-and-down season for the 2012 Cup champion. He made it into the rankings 24 times but soared to the top spot just once and was in the top five for 12 weeks.

7. Kyle Larson: Much like Keselowski, Larson had an inconsistent season when it came to being recognized in the rankings. He was selected for 22 weeks but reached the top spot just once. He also was in the top five for eight weeks.

8. Ryan Blaney: He was voted into the rankings 19 weeks, coming on particularly strong in the second half of the season. His highest spot in any given week was second in the rankings, which he achieved just once. He was in the top five for eight weeks.

9. Chase Elliott: Inconsistency on the track translated to inconsistency in the Power Rankings. Even though he earned three wins during the season, Elliott made the rankings just 19 times - and was ranked No. 1 twice - as well as being ranked in the top five 13 times.

10. Kurt Busch: The older brother of the 2019 champ had a decent first season with Chip Ganassi Racing, including a win at Kentucky. Busch made the Power Rankings 17 times this season, including eight times being voted in the top five.

Others who received votes: Here’s the rest of those who were voted in and how many weeks they appeared in the rankings: Clint Bowyer (13), William Byron (11), Erik Jones (11), Jimmie Johnson (10), Ryan Newman (9), Alex Bowman (9), Matt DiBenedetto (7), Aric Almirola (7), Christopher Bell (5), Daniel Suarez (5), Chris Buescher (4), Ross Chastain (4), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (3), Tyler Reddick (3), Bubba Wallace (2), Austin Cindric (2), Paul Menard (1), Ryan Preece (1), Greg Biffle (1), Justin Haley (1), Cole Custer (1), Chase Briscoe (1), Justin Allgaier (1) and Matt Crafton (1).

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