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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SONOMA, CA – JUNE 26: Ryan Newman, driver of the #31 WIX Filters Chevrolet, leads Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Dollar General Toyota. (Photo by Blaine Ohigashi/Getty Images) /

#10 and #9

#10. One driver that has a chance to make a huge splash in the playoffs that many people seem to be sleeping on is Ryan Newman. Newman is one of the few drivers who made it to the playoffs despite the fact that he doesn’t drive for a top-tier team. While he did so thanks to his win early on in the season at Phoenix, it would be foolish to write him off as a pretender. He ended the season on a four-race streak of top 7 finishes, making him arguably the hottest driver in the field. Over the course of the entire 26-race regular season, he was able to rack up a total of six top 5 finishes and 11 top 10 finishes.. No. 31. Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet. RYAN NEWMAN

#9. Matt Kenseth is the lowest ranked driver of the six former Cup Series champions on this list, but it doesn’t mean he won’t have a good chance to win his second career title. At age 45, he is currently without a full-time ride for next season, so he is going to do everything he can to show teams that he still has what it takes to compete at the front of the field on a regular basis. Step one of that process was getting into the playoffs, which, despite not winning a race in 2017, he managed to do for the eighth straight season and 13th time since the playoffs began 13 years ago. He could definitely make a deep playoff run this year.. No. 20. Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota. MATT KENSETH

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