It is time for the regular season finale. Which means racing on the high banks in Daytona. Before they light the fuse though tomorrow night let’s throw out the final regular season NASCAR Power Rankings list. I mean we did see a race last week at Watkins Glen, and some playoff implications occurred.
Let’s Get Started With 15th to 11th
- 15. Ross Chastain
I know you probably don’t believe me BUT… we’re headed in the right direction! If that last caution falls a little differently we could’ve ran inside the top-10. I feel pretty darn good about the next 11 weeks. Next week we have 1 goal, push @Daniel_SuarezG into the playoffs! pic.twitter.com/4RQewhRFkB
— Ross Chastain (@RossChastain) August 21, 2023
Another slide down some positions on these NASCAR Power Rankings. I expected both of the Trackhouse teams to show more speed at Watkins Glen and neither did. He has been fast recently on the bigger oval tracks so don’t count him out though tomorrow in Daytona.
- 14. Chase Elliott
CHASE ELLIOTT RUNS OUT OF FUEL!
It's looking like he MUST WIN at Daytona to make the playoffs. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/73VuaqK2pN
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 20, 2023
Listen, he ran out of gas in the middle of a run. I don’t care whose fault it is at this point, it has their hands forced going into tomorrow night’s race if they want to get into the playoffs.
- 13. Joey Logano
Top-10 Finish at Watkins Glen
Crossed the line P10 and next week we’re Superspeedway Racing at Daytona in the regular season finale @shellracingus @Pennzoil @FordPerformance @Team_Penske @CocaColaRacing #CokePartner @HairClub @PlanetFitness pic.twitter.com/pPZRPVotCV
— Joey Logano (@joeylogano) August 20, 2023
I’ve been hard on Joey recently but he rebounded at Watkins Glen after a horrible showing in Indy. Not to mention he is one of the better drafting drivers in the series right now.
- 12. Bubba Wallace
Prior to @WGI, @BubbaWallace had only averaged 13 points per race on road courses in his career. On Sunday, he earned 30. pic.twitter.com/lcmf6S10s5
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 21, 2023
Bubba had two solid road course races in a row. That alone was impressive considering his track record as of late on those tracks. He’s going into Daytona currently with the last playoff spot, the big question is will he leave with that position?
- 11. Brad Keselowski
Putting both @RFKracing cars into the playoffs is something this team can be proud of. A lot of teamwork and effort went into this by a lot of people… I’m excited to see what comes next! #6NeverQuits pic.twitter.com/iyI7G3AhLL
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) August 20, 2023
He locked up his playoff spot last week when there was a repeat winner. So, he can go to Daytona and do what Brad does which is compete with no fears of wrecking out and not making the playoffs.
NASCAR Power Rankings 10th to 6th
- 10. Kevin Harvick
In his final season, @KevinHarvick will be racing for his second championship. ?
The No. 4 clinches a spot in the 2023 #NASCARPlayoffs on points. pic.twitter.com/1nipRDyQ8v
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 20, 2023
He locked himself into the playoffs as well last week like Brad. He can go into Daytona with that guaranteed at the very least so that’s a plus.
- 9. Tyler Reddick
We had an eventful day @WGI yesterday…Fought some issues with our TRD Camry. Learned a lot through out the day though! Ended up where we started. Overall a good day to get us ready for the Roval in October!! #TylerReddick #Nascar #TeamToyota pic.twitter.com/dEDFquGDtr
— Tyler Reddick (@TylerReddick) August 22, 2023
The Toyota camp always has potential on the superspeedways so I fully expect Tyler to run up front. Will he be able to avoid the inevitable wrecks though and be around when the checkered fly?
- 8. Ryan Blaney
Proud of our team for a Top-10 finish. Thanks to all of our Partners and supporters. Daytona on Deck. pic.twitter.com/U09VLw6Yov
— Ryan Blaney (@Blaney) August 21, 2023
Another really good superspeedway racer. Ryan has won at Talladega before and honestly, the Ford drivers typically have speed and at Daytona anything is possible.
- 7. Christopher Bell
P3. Solid day. Great car and great effort all around. One more tune up race and then it’s playoff time. Thank you @DEWALTtough & @ToyotaRacing for all the support. #DEWALTTough #TeamDEWALT #TeamToyota pic.twitter.com/lhWF9EuvAA
— Christopher Bell (@CBellRacing) August 20, 2023
He had a good run at Watkins Glen, and will probably run around the front a lot as well tomorrow night. Like everyone else though it doesn’t matter if you can’t avoid accidents and sometimes you can’t always avoid accidents.
- 6. Kyle Larson
Drama on the final lap!
Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson got together in the final two corners. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/C7E3VSvn1M
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 20, 2023
Another Chevrolet driver slid down a bit this week. I mean he was in the back of the pack at the end of the race fighting for nothing. I expected honestly for Kyle to run closer to William or even Chase before the fuel incident.
The Top Five
- 5. Chris Buescher
P7. Knew we had the speed today. and I’m proud of everybody for what they did. Much better car than last year. No trophy but if we can build on a few more things we’ll be real contenders here in ‘24
Onto shake & bake with @keselowski at @DAYTONA pic.twitter.com/R8fn32yi4J
— Chris Buescher (@Chris_Buescher) August 21, 2023
Another solid finish for Chris at Watkins Glen. I think going into the playoffs this is the guy and team you need to keep an eye on as a sleeper. They are catching on at the right time to make a run.
- 4. Kyle Busch
Race results from @WGI:
P14: @KyleBusch
P31: @austindillon3 @OkumaAmerica | @markiiieb pic.twitter.com/JdIgcLfZQZ— RCR (@RCRracing) August 20, 2023
Hey, he almost won the Daytona 500, but as I’ve said before “almost” only counts in the game of horseshoes. With that being said though you can count on RCR to bring a fast race car to Daytona.
- 3. Denny Hamlin
Today was @dennyhamlin’s best road course finish in the Next Gen car pic.twitter.com/96OxRt0zP4
— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) August 20, 2023
Another race and another top-three finish for Denny Hamlin. Denny has been showing speed as of late and is pretty good at Daytona if my memory serves me right.
- 2. William Byron
Been working towards this one, road course winners!! ? pic.twitter.com/UJFc991nAY
— William Byron (@WilliamByron) August 21, 2023
Wow. I mean I’m not super surprised but what a race for Willy B? The twenty-four team is looking to be preparing to make a run for Williams’ first championship.
- 1. Martin Truex Jr.
39 points
That’s the separation between these two in the regular season championship.
Who do you think is going to be the winner? pic.twitter.com/hAsNfzMFWp
— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) August 22, 2023
Before the race started last Sunday at Watkins Glen he and his team weren’t too confident in the car. Where did he finish you may ask? Sixth, sixth place is where he finished, seems to me right now even though they didn’t win this team is very complete and ready to compete!
Let The Sparks Fly In Daytona!
It’s the regular season finale. The last chance for someone to win their way into the playoffs for a chance at the championship. Tensions are going to be high and only rise from the drop of the green flag. My racing team counterpart part Kaleb said it best when it comes to race picks when he said “Picking five drivers I think could win wouldn’t mean anything because anybody can win at Daytona if you are at the right place at the right time. So forget projecting winners.”
It’s not always about performance on the high banks of Daytona. Sometimes it’s all about whether or not “lady luck is riding shotgun” as some would say. Nonetheless, it’s going to be a killer race and I’ll be watching because next Tuesday, August 29th Live on the Belly Up Sports Youtube Channel I will be hosting the first Racing Super Show! We are going to talk about a lot of different things I’m sure following tomorrow night’s race.
The Race will be live on NBC tomorrow night, and the green flag is set to drop around 7 PM.
Featured Image Credit: Credit: Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
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