NASCAR: Five Drivers Most Likely To Win A Championship In 2017

Nov 20, 2016; Homestead, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch (18), NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48), NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Carl Edwards (19), NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano (22) before the Ford Ecoboost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

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Nov 12, 2016; Avondale, AZ, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Matt Kenseth (20) during practice for the Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 5 – Matt Kenseth

The competition over at JGR just got a little lighter with the departure of Carl Edwards. While Edwards leaving JGR doesn’t automatically boost Kenseth into the driver seat as a championship favorite, it also doesn’t hurt.

In 2016 Kenseth had a car that was capable of winning most weekends and if not for some bad luck, he would have won more races than he did last season. Kenseth made it into the Round of Eight in the 2016 Chase and in 2017 he will be looking to take it one step further by pushing into the final-four.

The key for Kenseth this season is turning those races that could have been wins into actual wins. Kenseth has no issue with consistency but he does have an issue with making cars capable of winning races actual win races. If Kenseth and the No. 20 team can turn a few of those top-five finishes into wins in 2017, they could be on their way to a championship.

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