2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs: Round of 12 Driver Power Rankings

#3 through #1

Half of Chase Elliott’s six career victories have come at road course races, and it is true that there are no more road course races on this year’s schedule. But of the seven tracks remaining on the schedule, Elliott has won at three and finished in second place in two others. Having qualified for the round of 12 in each of his first three seasons of Cup Series competition and having advanced to the round of 8 in each of the last two, he is looking to take that next step forward this year, and unlike past seasons, he has is now a proven race winner. Nobody has won more races than he has in the last 14 months. He is set to enter the round of 12 in a sixth place tie in the championship standings coming off of his victory at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval.

Martin Truex Jr. was one of the biggest wild cards entering the playoffs considering the fact that he was a non-factor in each of the final three races of the regular season and he hadn’t won a race in nearly three months even though he co-led the series with four regular season victories. He answered those questions by winning the first two races of the playoffs and finishing the third in seventh place. The 2017 champion’s average playoff finish of 3.00 thus far is the best among all drivers, and he is set to enter the round of 12 in second in the standings.

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Kevin Harvick is the only driver included in the top three in these power rankings who hasn’t yet won a playoff race this season. But over the course of his last five starts, a fourth place finish would be considered below average. He has finished outside of the top four just once in the last five races, and his average finish during this five-race span is a series-high 3.40.

Counting back from now, he is the first driver to reach three victories, as he has won three of the last 10 races after starting the season with no top three finishes in the first 19 races. During this 10-race span, he has just one non-top seven finish, and that came about as a result of a mechanical failure. In the other nine races, his average finish is an incredible 3.56. He is set to enter the round of 12 in fifth place in the standings, but he is still the championship favorite.

The round of 12 of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is scheduled to begin this Sunday, October 6 with the Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware. Tune in to NBC Sports Network at 2:30 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of this race.