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Power Rankings: NASCAR’s top 10 prospects, 23 and under
By Pat DeCola | Tuesday, January 26, 2021
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NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the top 10 NASCAR prospects 23 years of age and younger.
Note: Drivers who fit the age requirement but have completed a full NASCAR Cup Series season or are slated to in 2021 were ineligible for consideration.
Note: Drivers who fit the age requirement but have completed a full NASCAR Cup Series season or are slated to in 2021 were ineligible for consideration.
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Honorable mentions: Tyler Ankrum, Ty Gibbs, Todd Gilliland, Brandon Jones (pictured), Ben Rhodes
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10. Derek Kraus
Age: 19
Accolades: 2019 K&N Pro Series West champ; 3 top fives, 13 top 10s in 2020 CWTS (finished 11th)
2021 ride: No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Toyota (CWTS)
Comment: Kraus fits the mold as a prospect in the truest sense of the word. He has yet to scratch the surface of his potential in the Truck Series, but in 2018 — at the age of 16 — he moved Kevin Harvick out of the way for the win in a grassroots event, which got him plenty of looks and has to count for something. If all goes well this year, he could contend for the 2021 Camping World Truck Series title.
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9. Riley Herbst
Age: 21
Accolades: 4 top fives, 17 top 10s in 2020 NXS season (finished 12th)
2021 ride: No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford (NXS)
Comment: Certainly a ranking geared more toward the future than his past (as you can see from his thin accolades), I'm going to trust in Tony Stewart's eye for talent here. I don't think "Smoke" would risk replacing a nine-win driver (Chase Briscoe, who was elevated to Cup) with a driver he didn't wholly believe in, so expect some wins (yes, plural) from Herbst in 2021 and his stock to only rise from this point on.
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8. Chandler Smith
Age: 18
Accolades: 8 top fives in 16 career CWTS races; 5 ARCA wins in 11 races in 2019
2021 ride: No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota (CWTS)
Comment: The sky's the limit for Smith in 2021. After seeing his immense capabilities in a few spot starts in 2019 and half of last season, Smith immediately vaults into title consideration with a full-time KBM ride. He might make this low of a ranking look silly by season's end.
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7. Zane Smith
Age: 21
Accolades: 2 wins, 7 top 5s, 13 top 10s in 2020 CWTS (Championship 4 runner-up); 7 top 10s in 10 career NXS starts; 2018 ARCA runner-up
2021 ride: No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet (CWTS)
Comment: I'm not sure you could find a NASCAR writer out there who predicted Smith's run to the Championship 4, and he nearly won the whole thing. He took quickly to NXS action with JR Motorsports in 2019, as well, and the future is extremely bright for the Golden State native.
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6. Sheldon Creed
Age: 23
Accolades: 2020 Truck Series champ with 5 wins, 9 top fives, 13 top 10s; 2018 ARCA champ
2021 ride: No. 2 GMS Racing Chevrolet (CWTS)
Comment: After a decent albeit unexceptional (and winless) year in the same ride in 2019, Creed turned on the afterburners in 2020 and rode five wins to the series title. That speaks to his determination to improve, and it's not out of the question he levels up on a stellar championship year and really waxes the field in '21.
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5. Noah Gragson
Age: 22
Accolades: 2 wins, 17 top 5s, 25 top 10s in 2020 NXS (finished fifth); 2018 CWTS runner-up; '18 Snowball Derby winner
2021 ride: No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet (NXS)
Comment: Missing out on last year's Championship 4 is a knock against Gragson — but one I think could potentially drive him to the 2021 title. His 8.8 average finish in 2020 was just shy of nine-win Briscoe's 8.4, so he has been right there. Noah's arc is rising.
(Sorry, sorry, trying to delete it).
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4. Harrison Burton
Age: 20
Accolades: 4 wins, 15 top 5s, 22 top 10s in 2020 NXS (finished eighth); 2017 K&N Pro Series East champion
2021 ride: No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (NXS)
Comment: After a blistering start to 2020, Burton appeared like a lock for the Championship 4. A midseason slump ensured it didn't happen, but I feel pretty confident slotting him in as a no-brainer title contender for 2021. Two wins in the final three races — his first since June — point to something clicking that wasn't previously, and there's a good chance he comes out firing this season.
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3. Sam Mayer
Age: 17
Accolades: 1 win, 2 top 5s in 6 2020 CWTS starts; 5 wins, 12 top 5s in 13 '20 ARCA starts; '20 ARCA Menards East champ
2021 ride: No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet (NXS)
Comment: JR Motorsports is investing heavily in Mayer, pegging him for the second half of 2021 for NXS competition before he enters the series full time with the team in '22. It's easy to see why — Mayer was untouchable in ARCA competition last year and then even held off his (older, title-contending) GMS Racing teammates at Bristol in the fall for his first series win. And he's not even old enough to vote yet.
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2. Justin Haley
Age: 21
Accolades: 1 Cup win; 3 wins, 10 top fives, 21 top 10s in 2020 NXS (third in Championship 4); 3 wins, 9 top 5s, 18 top 10s in 2018 CWTS (third in Championship 4)
2021 ride: No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Comment: I think this ranking will surprise some people. To me, however, Haley is not only supremely talented, he's the building block around which one of NASCAR's brightest budding organizations is laying the foundation. Kaulig's brick-by-brick, methodical approach, I believe, is going to result in the young organization becoming a Cup Series powerhouse by the middle of this decade. With Haley as the centerpiece, more Cup wins — and perhaps an Xfinity title this year — are in his near future.
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1. Austin Cindric
Age: 22
Accolades: 6 wins, 19 top 5s, 26 top 10s in 2020 NXS title season; 2017 CWTS Championship 4 (finished third)
2021 ride: No. 22 Team Penske Ford (NXS); No. 33 Team Penske Ford (Cup)
Comment: Of course, Haley is going to have to go through the reigning champ to get there. Cindric put together an incredible 2020 campaign and, remarkably, the coast has cleared (meaning Briscoe has advanced to Cup) for him to top it in 2021. Set to take over the famed Wood Brothers Racing Ford in 2022, all Cindric has to do is focus on adding to his win total this season, and it might not be too long before he's in the mix for a Cup title alongside his Team Penske cohorts in Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano.
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