Beyond the Flag
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NASCAR Cup Series: Early 2020 power rankings

By Asher Fair

HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 17: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light Ford, and Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, lead the field at the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead Speedway on November 17, 2019 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 17: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light Ford, and Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, lead the field at the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead Speedway on November 17, 2019 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images) /
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LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE – JULY 19: Bubba Wallace, driver of the #43 Victory Junction Chevrolet (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE – JULY 19: Bubba Wallace, driver of the #43 Victory Junction Chevrolet (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

#30 and #29

#30. . No. 43. Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet. DARRELL WALLACE JR.

Darrell Wallace Jr.’s 2019 season was highlighted by his third place finish in the regular season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Other than that, it was really all about the controversy, from wrecking Kyle Busch at Watkins Glen International to throwing water on an ill Alex Bowman at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval to intentionally spinning out at Texas Motor Speedway and then being penalized for admitting it in a “what are you going to do about it?” kind of way. He finished no higher than 12th in any other race, and Richard Petty Motorsports have shown no indication of any kind of potential uptick in performance moving forward.

Front Row Motorsports, Ford. MICHAEL MCDOWELL. #29. . No. 34

While he didn’t match his career-high finish in the championship standings in the 2019 season like he did in the 2018 season, his first season driving for Front Row Motorsports, Michael McDowell had arguably the best season of his career. En route to his 27th place finish in the standings, he recorded two top five finishes. Both were fifth place finishes, with one coming in the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and the other one coming in the playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway. Entering the year, he had recorded just one top five finish in 285 career starts over the course of 11 seasons. But while he is trending in the right direction, can we rely on him to back up his impressive 2019 campaign with another good showing in 2020?

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