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

Way-too-early 2021 NASCAR Power Rankings: #26 and #25

The veteran Michael McDowell had a career year in 2020 with a 23rd place finish in the championship standings and an average finish of 20.9. After entering the year without ever recording more than three top 10 finishes in a two-year span, he recorded four top 10 finishes, and all four came at tracks other than superspeedways; he hadn’t finished a non-superspeeedway race in the top 10 since 2016. He hasn’t been confirmed as the driver of the #34 Ford for next year, but he is expected back for a fourth season at Front Row Motorsports.

John Hunter Nemechek probably had the best rookie season of any of the rookies in the stacked 2020 class in terms of outperforming his equipment. Straight of the gate, he was recording results that would be impressive for anybody in Front Row Motorsports equipment, much less for a rookie who landed his ride as a result of an unplanned three-race stint late in the 2019 season. Most impressively, he recorded five top 16 finishes in the first nine races, and he finished in ninth place at the challenging Darlington Raceway. He ended up recording career-high finishes of eighth at Talladega Superspeedway in both races at the track later in the season. The first of those results easily could have been an upset win if not for late contact. He hasn’t been confirmed as the driver of the #38 Ford for next year, but he is expected to return.