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NASCAR: Pre-Season Top-25 Power Rankings

By Christopher Olmstead

Jul 2, 2016; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski (2), driver Kyle Larson (42), driver Joey Logano (22), driver Kyle Busch (18), and driver Kyle Larson (42) cross the restart line with three laps to go during the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 2, 2016; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski (2), driver Kyle Larson (42), driver Joey Logano (22), driver Kyle Busch (18), and driver Kyle Larson (42) cross the restart line with three laps to go during the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 5, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver AJ Allmendinger (47) during practice for the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 5, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver AJ Allmendinger (47) during practice for the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 25 to No. 21

25. What is 2017 going to hold for Patrick and the No. 10 team? Over her first four full-time seasons in NASCAR Patrick has gradually gotten better each season. Her average finish after her fourth season is about four spots better than it was after her first season and it has improved a little every season in between. That being said, her on-track performance is still average at best. Moving to Ford has bought her another year to prove that she is more than what she has done the last four seasons.. No. 10. Stewart-Haas Racing. DANICA PATRICK

24. Matt DiBebedetto is coming off of a surprising 2016 campaign that nobody is really aware of. When it comes to a small team expectations are different than that of a large team. DiBenedetto finishes nine of the last ten races in 2016 inside of the top-30. Those are the right steps for his kind of team. In 2017 DiBenedetto will be with Go Fas Racing, taking over cars that were used with the No. 44 team in 2016. Though still not in top-tier equipment, he will be in better stuff than he was in 2016. In 2017 look for DiBenedetto to turn those top-30’s into top-25’s.. No. 32. Go Fas Racing. MATT DIBENEDETTO

23. Chris Buescher finds himself at No. 23 because he won a race in 2016 and made the playoffs. I am not a big believer in that the way a driver wins a race matters. In NASCAR winning is king and if a driver finds a way to win, that’s good enough for me. At the same time, 2017 is a new season and asking Buescher to win again might be a tall task. For 2017 the task for Buescher and his team should be on consistency and if that happens he might get into the playoffs for the second season in a row.. No. 48. Team Hendrick. CHRIS BUESCHER

22. The sky is the limit for Erik Jones in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2017. Over the last two season Jones has won rookie of the year honors in both the Truck and the XFINITY Series. In 2017 Jones will be looking to win such honors for the third season in a row when he makes his debut in the No. 77 machine. The good news for Jones is that he is surrounded by good people and good equipment. The only question is whether or not he will be able to put it all together.. No. 77. Furniture Row Racing. ERIK JONES

2017 is going to be about getting back to 2015 for AJ Allmendinger and the No. 47 team. 2016 was not the season that anyone could have wanted as the wins and the consistency simply were not there. Moreover, there were times in 2016 when Allmendinger just didn’t seem to be enjoying himself. Here is to hoping that 2017 brings with it better performance.. No. 47. Team Hendrick. AJ ALLMENDINGER. 21

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