NASCAR Cup Series: Early 2020 power rankings

#16 and #15

Jimmie Johnson’s 2019 season was a major improvement from his 2018 season on many levels. He was simply caught up in too many incidents to make it worth anything, as he failed to advance to the playoffs for the first time in his career, and he failed to win a race for the second consecutive season and just the second time in his career. If he can keep up the momentum he gained from a speed standpoint and avoid trouble, his 19th and final full season in the Cup Series should be a successful one. He may not be able to become the first eight-time champion in series history, but it’s hard to see his career ending on a 131-race, three-plus-season win drought and a two-year playoff drought.

Erik Jones had a hot and cold second season driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, and unfortunately for him, he went cold in the round of 16 of the playoffs for the second consecutive season. While he did sign a one-year contract extension for 2020, the pressure will be on him again with Christopher Bell now in the Cup Series at the Joe Gibbs Racing-affiliated Leavine Family Racing. Can he rise to it? At his full potential, he can beat anybody; he finished in the top four in fewer races than just five drivers in 2019. At the same time, however, he finished in 30th place or lower on fewer occasions than just three other full-time and points-eligible drivers.