Ridiculously early 2019 NASCAR power rankings: Who's the '19 favorite?

Ridiculously early 2019 NASCAR power rankings: Who’s the favorite for next season?

HOMESTEAD, FL - NOVEMBER 18: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, races Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY Toyota, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2018 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /

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HOMESTEAD, FL – NOVEMBER 17: Kyle Larson waits by his garage for the first NASCAR Monster Energy Series practice of the day on November 17, 2018 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, FL. (Photo by Michael Bush/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

5. Kyle Larson

All power ranking done three months before cars even hit the track require some leaps of faith, and this is admittedly one. Larson won zero times in 2018, clearly not having the kind of season he and many fans and pundits expected, and he had to be one of the most disappointed drivers overall.

Yet it’s telling that at Homestead, the Championship 4 was all thinking that the one driver who might crash the party and steal the win was … Larson. He looked the part for a big chunk of the race until his continuous tango with the outside wall bit him.

If the aero rules prove to be confounding, it might take someone willing to run where most drivers will not to conquer them. That’s undoubtedly the driver of the 42, and it would be a massive surprise to see him go winless for a second consecutive season.

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