Everyone who covers sports has some sort of power rankings list, don’t they? Well, why not try my hand at it I’m sure I could ruffle some feathers within the NASCAR community. So, how this is going to work is I’m going to give you a list of the top fifteen drivers in my opinion, plus one driver who just isn’t going away so far this season. Until then though, sit back and enjoy the first rendition of the NASCAR Power Rankings, Belly Up Sports style.
The Belly Up Sports Driver of the Week
So, if you haven’t noticed before at the bottom of the Belly Up Sports home page it explains why we are named Belly Up. Someone said we’d go belly up and we are still around. That is one of the things I love about this company. The passion and determination we all have I would argue are unmatched sometimes. So why not give a driver each week who is still around, and fighting for a position in the top fifteen of the power rankings some recognition? That driver this week is going to be the founding driver for Trackhouse Racing, Daniel Suarez.
Daniel’s performances on paper have been stout. He averages a top-ten finishing position so far this season. So why not rank him right? Well, it’s simple I haven’t heard Daniel’s name enough each week. While he’s got the finishes, he hasn’t consistently been running among the top drivers. Now with that being said, those bottom three spots are easily grabbable for Daniel going into Atlanta but for now, he is the very first Belly Up Sports driver of the week.
Driver’s Ranked 15th-12th
- 15. Tyler Reddick
- 14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- 13. Brad Keselowski
- 12. Chris Buescher
Listen, Tyler sits currently in the twentieth position in points. With only one top-five, oh wait, and two DNFs. Both were due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The potential is there obviously, we just need some more data to move him up or down as for now though Tyler is for sure a top fifteen driver in the cup series and deserves this spot. The bottom two spots are definitely the most up for grabs headed into Atlanta.
I know he hasn’t graced the top five finish-wise since Daytona but we are only four weeks into the season. It doesn’t feel right to have the Daytona 500 winner sitting outside the top fifteen in my NASCAR Power rankings. At least not yet anyways, we’ll see what Ricky does this weekend in Atlanta, which very much races like a superspeedway.
The RFK cars have shown a lot of growth this far into the new season. This isn’t really surprising to me seeing the success they started to have last season near the end. Brad had a good race last weekend but is averaging around a 22nd-place finish so far where as Chris is averaging around a 13th-place finish. Keep an eye on this duo, this team is coming.
11. Martin Truex Jr.
Another benefactor of the huge penalties announced this week against Hendrick Motorsports. Martin now sits in eighth place in points. Martin has led sixteen laps this year and ran in the top fifteen around seventy percent of the time. However, the on-track performance hasn’t been there for me to put Martin any higher in the NASCAR Power Rankings, at least not right now. He does have a chance to move up in the coming weeks with tracks like Richmond, and even Sonoma ahead where historically Martin is pretty good.
NASCAR Power Rankings Drivers 10th-8th
- 10. Denny Hamlin
- 9. Joey Logano
- 8. Ryan Blaney
He barely got in but when you are only averaging around a 14th-place finish each week tenth. Denny has shown speed, consistently being up front most of the race. However whether it be bad luck or bad decisions, the good finishes have lacked.
The Penske duo of Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney comes next. Both have shown good speed off the truck in qualifying but it’s like it disappears once the race starts. Blaney sits fourth currently in regular season points but is also on a winless streak, some wins and more consistency will greatly improve the Penske impact on the NASCAR Power Rankings going forward.
7. Christopher Bell
The best JGR driver currently is Christopher Bell, he’s third in regular season points and has consistently been in the top ten finish-wise in all four races but one. Christopher won’t be here long I’m sure of that, some wins are headed his way.
6. Alex Bowman
Well, until a couple of days ago Alex was your points leader. However, he also has finished in the top ten in all four races this season. With the dominance Hendrick has shown this season, it’s only a matter of when we will see Bowman in victory lane. It will be interesting to see how the appeal goes and how Alex and his team can recover from the loss of one hundred driver points.
The Top Five Minus One
- 5. Kyle Busch
- 4. Ross Chastain
- 3. Kevin Harvick
- 2. Kyle Larson
Some would say he was the “must-watch” driver headed into the season. My question though is what’s new? Kyle Busch is always a “must-watch” when he’s on the track. One win under his belt, and almost had two back in Daytona. If that happens he’s easily fighting for number one. However, almost only counts in the game of horseshoes. Kyle has been fast and will be battling with his fellow top-five compatriots all season something tells me.
Ross “Watermelon Man” Chastain, had a rough go at Phoenix due to an on-track run-in with Denny Hamlin. Before that, though he has won three stages, and led 98 laps so far this season. He and his team have shown speed early and often this season. However, the final stage has been the Achilles heel of the one car. We shall see if they can put a complete race together soon.
Kevin in what will be his final year is once again pulling the SHR team train, and some could say even the Ford team train right now. I know he doesn’t have a win like Kyle does, but I felt like his consistent and reliable drives gain him this spot for now.
Kyle Larson, the 2021 series champion. I mean come on this is kind of self-explanatory. Kyle has been on fire this year, to no surprise. He’s led the most laps in the series with 270 led, that best his HMS partner William Byron. Easily number one…with one more win right?
The #1 Driver This Week: William Byron
Alright, no surprises at the top of my NASCAR Power Rankings. Hendrick Motorsports has practically dominated the field since leaving California. William has three stage wins (tied with Ross Chastain) and has led a combined 240 laps this season. William and crew chief Rudy Fugle are working at a different level since rolling into Las Vegas. This team has not started outside of the top three in the last two races and obviously hasn’t finished outside of victory lane.
If the four-week suspension for the louver incident on Rudy does hold up after the appeal, it will be interesting to see if this team has to recover or just reload.
So, what’d you think? Any comments or concerns? Being a NASCAR fan, I know someone has a problem with something. Don’t be afraid to let me know here in the comments or on Twitter.
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