NASCAR: Ranking the 16 playoff drivers in 2017

By Asher Fair | Sep 14, 2017

RICHMOND, VA - SEPTEMBER 09: Chase Elliott, driver of the #24 Mountain Dew Chevrolet,, Austin Dillon, driver of the #3 DOW Chevrolet,, Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Caramel Toyota, Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, Kurt Busch, driver of the #41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford, Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Hurricane Harvey Relief Toyota, Ryan Newman, driver of the #31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet, Jamie McMurray, driver of the #1 McDonald's Chevrolet, Ryan Blaney, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, Kasey Kahne, driver of the #5 Great Clips Chevrolet, Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford, Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John's Ford, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #17 Fastenal Ford, and Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, pose for a photo after making the playoffs following the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway on September 9, 2017 in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

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DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 18: Kasey Kahne, driver of the #5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, races Austin Dillon, driver of the #3 DOW Chevrolet (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /

#16 and #15

#16. Kasey Kahne ended up with the smallest amount of point in the regular season among drivers who qualified for the playoffs, and it would honestly be amazing if he even comes close to making it to the Round of 12. He finished in the top 10 in just one of the final 16 regular season races of the season, with that once being his win at Indianapolis that got him into the playoffs. However, more than half of the field wrecked out of that race, which does, in a way, make that win less impressive. And before that win, he had just one top 10 finish in the last 17 races despite the fact that he started off the season with a career-best 5.5 average finish in the first two races of the season.. No. 5. Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet. KASEY KAHNE

After his first top 5 finish of the season at Martinsville, Austin Dillon went through a stint of 16 races during which he finished in the top 12 just once. However, that once happened to be his first career victory at Charlotte, a victory he earned thanks to saving fuel at the end, which prompted many people to call the win a fluke. What saves him from being last on this list is the fact that even though his win is surrounded by mediocre and poor results, he has kind of stepped it up lately, as two of his four top 10 finishes this season have come in the last four races, including a 7th place finish at Michigan and a 4th place effort at Darlington.. No. 3. Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet. AUSTIN DILLON. #15

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