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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RICHMOND, VA – APRIL 30: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light Ford, leads Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images) /

#6 and #5

No. 4. Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford. KEVIN HARVICK. #6. Kevin Harvick is another one of the six former Cup Series champions in this year’s 16-driver playoff field, as he won the title back in the 2014 season. He has had a solid 2017 season, but he hasn’t been dominant by any stretch of the imagination, as he had just one win to his name in the regular season at Sonoma. In fact, he is the only driver in the top 8 of the playoff standings with fewer than two wins in the regular season. However, his consistency makes him a serious threat to win this year’s title. He may only have won one race in the regular season, but he did rack up eight top 5 finishes and 16 top 10 finishes over the 26 regular season races.

#5. Over the course of the last 12 races of the regular season, Denny Hamlin was the hottest driver by a mile. In that span, he finished in the top 5 nine times, with eight of those finishes being top 4 finishes, and two of those finishes being wins. He finished outside of the top 5 just twice in the last nine races and once in the last six races, and he ended the season with three straight top 5 finishes, including two podium finishes, one of which was a win. He has never won the championship before, but he has finished as high as 2nd place before back in the 2010 season. He may just have what it takes to claim his first career title this season.. No. 11. Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota. DENNY HAMLIN

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