NASCAR Cup Series: Way-too-early 2021 power rankings

Way-too-early 2021 NASCAR Power Rankings: #4 and #3

Does anybody really think that Kyle Busch will have another miserable season in 2021? Sure, he still won a race for the 16th consecutive season in 2020, tying him for third place on the all-time list of consecutive winning seasons, but it took him until the antepenultimate race at Texas Motor Speedway in the round of 8. At that point, he had already been eliminated from playoff contention, marking his earliest elimination and first non-Championship 4 appearance since 2014 and the earliest ever elimination for a reigning champion. Don’t be surprised to see him back in victory lane multiple times in 2021 and potentially back in the Championship 4 for a sixth time in seven seasons as well.

All throughout the 2020 season, Brad Keselowski was the silent lurker behind the Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin show who nobody wanted to acknowledge as a legitimate championship contender. This was the case despite the unfounded rumors that Team Penske’s preseason crew chief swaps were supposedly a way of forcing him out. So when Harvick was unexpectedly eliminated following the round of 8 for the first time since 2016 and Hamlin didn’t have much speed in the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway, Keselowski was in position to capitalize. Unfortunately for him, he came up shy to Chase Elliott, and numerous bad pit stops cost the 2012 champion along the way. His first Championship 4 appearance since 2017 still resulted in his best finish in the standings since his 2012 title, but he felt that he could’ve finished one step higher, especially since his #2 Ford in the season finale was the same car that dominated at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Richmond Raceway earlier in the year. Will he get redemption in 2021?