NASCAR: Way-too-early driver power rankings for 2022

NASCAR rankings: Early 2022 Championship 4

4. Denny Hamlin, #11 Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: Denny Hamlin’s career has been characterized by him being among the next best, and that was again the case in 2021. Still seeking his first title, he is set to enter the 2022 season with three straight Championship 4 appearances; only one other driver has two.

3. Ryan Blaney, #12 Team Penske, Ford: I’m not going to crown him the would-be champion, but without one particular non-playoff driver in the round of 8, Ryan Blaney makes it to the Championship 4, hands-down. Considering the fact that he is one of only two non-Championship 4 drivers to finish any of the last four Championship 4 races in the top four (finished fourth on Sunday), things could have been quite different if that had happened. The fact that he had the season he had in what was considered a down year for Team Penske is a good sign as well.

2. Chase Elliott, #9 Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: From top to bottom, his two-win 2021 season was better than his five-win 2020 championship-winning season. Statistics may not show it, but how many second place finishes and laps not led came behind only the guy ranked at number one on this list? Short answer: a lot.

1. Kyle Larson, #5 Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet: Without writing a 20-page paper on all of Kyle Larson’s 2021 achievements, just remember this: what he pulled off (10 wins, five playoff wins, 2,581 laps led), he pulled off in his first year with Hendrick Motorsports. We’re not getting ahead of ourselves when we say that he has what it takes to have a better career than Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson and become Rick Hendrick’s greatest driver of all-time.

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to begin on Sunday, February 20 with the 64th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.