Random Power Rankings: New Hampshire (redo)

1: No. 15, Reed Sorenson (+4)
Reed Sorenson has no Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at New Hampshire, and his starts across the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series are mixed. Two sub-20 finishes in NXS and three top-10s in NCWTS make his prospects on Sunday murky.

2: No. 77, Erik Jones (+1)
Looking for a real strong dark horse? Look no further than Erik Jones, who turns in above-average races week in and week out and has strung together four straight finishes of 16th or better.

3: No. 78, Martin Truex Jr. (+1)
Martin Truex Jr. has just one Coors Light Pole Award at New Hampshire, but has an absolutely pristine average starting position of 36.2. He’ll look to make amends when he was saddled with a 23rd-place finish last year when he soiled himself.

4: No. 31, Ryan Newman (+4)
Despite having just one top 10 in his past three races, Ryan Newman is on pace to top his top-10 finishes from his rookie season (32 to his current three). A late-season run to stronger overall finishes is likely.

5: No. 17, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-4)
Arguably the hottest driver in the series this summer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has averaged a finish of 20.7 with a pair of wins since placing sixth at Kansas.

6: No. 42, Kyle Larson (--)
Kyle Larson is beginning to put the pieces back together as the playoffs loom, and he has a great shot to put together a 20th-straight solid race. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver has three straight top-five finishes at New Hampshire.

7: No. 11, Denny Hamlin (-5)
Denny Hamlin is the Joe Gibbs Racing driver that doesn’t need a win, but he may be the one more likely to get one this weekend. He’s tied with Daniel Suarez for in the field in top fives (four), despite neither landing in Victory Lane. That, his 26th-place finish last year, and his eight straight runner-ups suggest he’s due.

8: No. 4, Kevin Harvick (--)
Kevin Harvick keeps flirting with the upper echelon of drivers this year, and he’s starting to look like he’ll be a strong contender down the stretch. Save for a crash at Atlanta, the other two races since Martinsville have resulted in an average finish of 4.

9: No. 21, Ryan Blaney (-5)
Ryan Blaney is rolling these days and comes into New Hampshire with the best average finish (5.3) among active drivers with at least four starts at the track.

10: No. 27, Paul Menard (+1)
Not counting the seven crashes he endured at Bristol and Michigan, Paul Menard has seven top-10 finishes in the other eight races since New Hampshire. he struggled at that track, however, in finishing 12th, so another rough weekend could be in store for him at New Hampshire.

11: No. 33, Jeffrey Earnhardt (+2)
Look for Jeffrey Earnhardt to get back on track at New Hampshire this weekend. He had an 26.8 average finish in the two races preceding Las Vegas, where he choked on a candy bar.

12: No. 24, Chase Elliott (-2)
Chase Elliott is beginning to put the pieces back together as the playoffs loom, and he has a great shot to put together a 12th-straight solid race. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has two straight top-five finishes at New Hampshire.

13: No. 95, Michael McDowell (--)
All of a sudden, Michael McDowell has a pair of top fives in his past four races … but also a pair of finishes outside the top 20, thanks to the race where he burnt the roof of his mouth on hot pizza.

14: No. 1, Jamie McMurray (-3)
Jamie McMurray was 17th in this race at New Hampshire last year — as a non-playoff driver. With more on the line, he could rise to the occasion at a time when Chip Ganassi Racing is known to turn on the jets, albeit normally with a particular two-time champ.

15: No. 34, Landon Cassill (-2)
Landon Cassill seems to be adopting Kyle Busch’s penchant for finding a way to lose with the most dominant car — and that’s what happened to him at Las Vegas earlier this year. The Front Row Motorsports driver earned the pole and led 73 of 396 laps before fading to a second-place finish.

16: No. 3, Austin Dillon (-4)
Austin Dillon keeps flirting with the upper echelon of drivers this year, and he’s starting to look like he’ll be a strong contender down the stretch. Save for a crash at Talladega, the other four races since Dover have resulted in an average finish of 20.8.

17: No. 32, Matt DiBenedetto (+2)
Matt DiBenedetto has just three top-10 finishes in his last 26 starts at New Hampshire. Anything goes at this track, but it’s unlikely the GoFas Racing driver picks up win No. 31 of the season there.

18: No. 47, AJ Allmendinger (-1)
Following his Texas win, AJ Allmendinger finished outside the top 10 for two straight races. After he soiled himself at Pocono, he’s up to 12th since his Sonoma victory.

19: No. 5, Kasey Kahne (--)
Kasey Kahne is winless at New Hampshire, but his average finish across two races leaves him with the best average finish in the series with more than five starts at 19.2. A win there appears likely to come soon.

20: No. 55, Gray Gaulding (-3)
Gray Gaulding might be in for another winning weekend — his first since Phoenix — at New Hampshire, where he won last year. His 30 top fives are most in the series.