You might’ve wondered why there wasn’t an update to the NASCAR Power Rankings. Well, we will say that the writer of those rankings got a bit lazy. However, we’ve now had two races one at Texas, and most recently at Talladega so it is time to update these NASCAR Power Rankings.
The Bottom 10 Drivers
- 15. Kevin Harvick
Kevin drove his butt off at Talladega to get disqualified. None the less he finished sixth at Texas. Kevin has won before at all the tracks left on the schedule, but can SHR bring him a car fast enough?
- 14. Kyle Busch
He’s finished 20th, 34th, and 25th in the last three races. Needless to say, it’s been a rough three-week span for the 8 team and their driver.
- 13. Joey Logano
Joey was helping his old teammate Brad K lead for a good amount of laps. He showed speed but didn’t get the result he or his team would’ve hoped.
- 12. Ross Chastain
A 2nd place finish at Texas, and then taken out early from an accident at Dega. The Roval is a different animal and Ross hasn’t exactly been great road racing this season.
- 11. Chase Elliott
He’s not finished outside the top fifteen since the fuel mishap at Watkins Glenn. He is definitely building positive finishes toward next season.
- 10. Bubba Wallace
Bubba has stepped it up for sure in the playoffs, but he didn’t get the finish he wanted or some would say needed last week.
- 9. Martin Truex Jr.
Since the playoffs have started this team hasn’t grabbed one top fifteen finish. With him only having a seventeen-point buffer on the cutline it’s going to be nerve nerve-wracking race for his fans.
- 8. Tyler Reddick
He’s been in and around the top fifteen each week, but he needs to grab some top tens and a win or two if he wants to make it to the championship four.
- 7. Ryan Blaney
Atta boy, Blaney grabbed his third career Talladega victory and locked himself into the round of 8. If they can build on this watch out NASCAR.
- 6. Christopher Bell
This weekend’s race is where this team started their awesome run to Phoenix last season. Bell has finished in the top ten in three out of the last four races. Is he about to give us all a case of deja vu?
NASCAR Power Rankings Top 5
- 5. Brad Keselowski
It’s kind of funny, before I started covering the sport I really didn’t care for Brad. However, I’ve been on this RFK bandwagon for a while now. Arguably could’ve won Talladega, but was involved in an accident.
- 4. Chris Buescher
I’m riding strong with this team and driver though more so than the bossman. I even had him making it to my championship four on the Belly Up Racing Super Show a few weeks ago.
- 3. Kyle Larson
Kyle started the playoffs on fire, winning at Darlington and then finishing in the top five the next two weeks. His luck hasn’t been great the last two weeks, but he just needs to be solid this weekend and he will make it to the round of 8.
- 2. Denny Hamlin
Since leaving Darlington, Denny has done nothing but win at Bristol and finish in the top five in every other race.
- 1. William Byron
The win at Texas honestly didn’t shock me too much. This team has done this before this season. William then came and helped push Ryan to victory lane at Talladega.
Let’s Wrap This Up
These road course races, and especially this week are always about field position until the last lap. So, you may be asking who should I pick this week Chris? I’ll give you the obvious choices first. If you don’t at least consider Christopher Bell, or Tyler Reddick this week you are a moron. I could even go as far as throwing a driver like Buescher in that mix as well.
Of course, you can’t ever count Allmendinger out on a road course either. Now as for a sleeper pick or two. Keep an eye on some of the “pit strategy” teams like Michael Mcdowell, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, or even Alex Bowman. All of those teams are willing to gamble for field position with pit strategy, and if the cautions fall their way could easily shock some people. Either way, I’ll be watching that’s a guarantee, but will you?
The Bank of America Roval 400 will be on NBC this Sunday with the green flag set to drop around 2 PM EST.
Featured Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
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