Four NASCAR Ford drivers remain in the 2024 Playoffs, and unsurprisingly, Ryan Blaney’s recent performance puts him at the top of the list in the updated Power Rankings from Kansas to Talladega, meaning that he’s a championship favorite in 2024.
According to the latest power rankings on NASCAR.com, Blaney – who drives the No. 12 Ford Mustang Dark Horse – is No. 1 on the list of 12 drivers, even though his average finish this season is the worst of his career since joining Team Penske. However, in spite of two setbacks in the last five races, where he wrecked out on Lap 1 at both Darlington and Watkins Glen, he’s still the strongest driver in the Playoffs field. He’s also been historically good at Talladega, so he could easily put his No. 12 Mustang in Victory Lane and sail straight to the Round of 8.
Joey Logano is the next-best NASCAR Ford driver, slotting in eighth. His No. 22 Mustang hasn’t posted a top-10 finish since winning at Atlanta almost a month ago, but he’s had solid runs and accumulated 30 points in the last three races. However, his recent runs at Talladega haven’t been all that great – nine of his last 10 races there have resulted in finishes outside the top 10.
Chase Briscoe is ranked 11th. While he looked pretty strong heading into the Round of 12, he’s cooled off in recent weeks, especially last week at Kansas when he had a dustup with Kyle Busch. Talladega could be a challenge for his No. 14 NASCAR Ford team, putting him in danger of Playoff elimination.
Finally, Austin Cindric is ranked dead last in this week’s list. He suffered a 34th-place result at Kansas, but the good news is that the driver of the No. 2 Mustang is typically pretty good at superspeedway-style races like Talladega. That means he could very well rebound this weekend and end up with a berth in the Round of 8 with a win.
No Comments yet