I should insert that 300 GIF we’ve all seen before where he asked “Are you not entertained?!” Especially after that amazing three-wide finish in Atlanta. With that being said though two races are officially done. That means it’s time to drop the first edition of the 2024 NASCAR Power Rankings.
2024 NASCAR Power Rankings #15-11
- 15. Ty Gibbs
š„²
(Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/yTpSh1yfI5
— Team 54 (@Team54Updates) February 27, 2024
Ty will start the 2024 NASCAR Power Rankings at the bottom for me. Not because he’s been horrible though. He sits currently 14th in points and grabbed a top-ten finish last week. Ty is going to go up this list that isn’t the question. The question is how fast he goes up from here.
- 14. Brad Keselowski
Two weeks in a row, he had a strong car and was in the front a lot. He was even able to lead some laps but got nothing to show for those performances at the end of the day. RFK showed speed on the intermediate tracks last year, Brad has to start getting good finishes this week.
- 13. Joey Logano
Trouble on the final lap of the stage! pic.twitter.com/FXNmRF1IZ2
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 25, 2024
Joey’s season has matched his old Penske teammate. He has led laps, and been around the front of the field. However, he also has nothing to show for those strong cars; sitting thirty-first in the current points standings. Vegas has been good to Joey so the momentum could very well start this week.
- 12. Martin Truex Jr.
MTJ isn’t typically the best “drafting” style of driver. However, he was able even after being involved in a few accidents to grab two top fifteen finishes in a row and is sitting tenth in driver points right now.
- 11. Alex Bowman
Vegas isnāt so bad when you play your cards right š¤š¼ pic.twitter.com/wEuUanrW0w
— Alex Bowman (@Alex_Bowman) March 7, 2022
If the caution flag drops a few seconds later he’s easily the winner of the Daytona 500. However, lady luck bit them hard in Atlanta when he was wrapped up in the early accident putting him five laps down early. He sits ninth in driver’s points right now, and he’s pretty good at Vegas.
The Next Five-Up
- 10. Kyle Busch
Lightning McQueen vibes rnā”ļøš«£ pic.twitter.com/tXcbbYc0i6
— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) February 26, 2024
Those are the races we’ve all been accustomed to get from this man. KFB as some call him was a part of one the if/not the best motorsports finishes in recent history at Atlanta. Not to mention he’s your current points leader. The infamous Daytona 500 still evades Rowdy Busch for another season.
- 9. Ross Chastain
He shot the gap while taking the white flag of the Daytona 500. I don’t blame him for the bad finish. Then he came out and grabbed some early-stage points last week before getting caught speeding on pit road and just didn’t seem to recover. Ross wasn’t as prevalent on tracks like Vegas last season though so lets see if they’ve improved the cars.
- 8. Bubba Wallace
The start of the season, while even suffering some damage to his car early in the race has been great. Two top-five finishes in a row at two challenging tracks to even survive at is pretty cool. Las Vegas is next, and he hasn’t historically had the greatest of luck there. Let’s see if he can continue the roll.
- 7. Tyler Reddick
For whatever reason lady luck doesn’t give many drivers good luck on those drafting-style tracks anyway and Tyler was one of the many left out. I expect a better finish this week as long as the car is there for Tyler.
- 6. Denny Hamlin
Heavy damage for Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin. pic.twitter.com/MAiB2claRE
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 25, 2024
A lot like his employee, below him in the first edition of the 2024 NASCAR Power Rankings. Denny has been on the wrong end of a few incidents in both of the first two races. Las Vegas is a track though where accidents will most likely be more minimally collective and Denny has won here before.
The Top Five
- 5. Chase Elliott
Contact between the Nos. 1 and 9, and @chaseelliott goes sliding! pic.twitter.com/EpSMyr7RPe
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 25, 2024
Chase and his team somehow even after all the accidents that Chase was involved in Atlanta got into the top fifteen for the finish. Watch out, if the luck starts to improve for Chase on the track this could be a quietly dangerous car to watch.
- 4. Christopher Bell
Green flag … and a big crash on Lap 2 at Atlanta! š³ pic.twitter.com/SmNWR36kej
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 25, 2024
Atlanta wasn’t kind to C Bell. He was however able to grab a pretty good finish at Daytona and survived all the carnage. I think Christopher will be one of the cars from Toyota to watch this weekend in Vegas. These mile-and-half tracks suit Christopher’s driving style way better.
- 3. Kyle Larson
As we approach this weekend's race at Las Vegas, here are Kyle Larson's career stats at the 1.5 mile track.#kylelarson #Nascar #nascarcupseries #larson #hendrickmotorsports #kylelarsonracing #lasvegasmotorspeedway pic.twitter.com/kYtKaOEW5t
— Larson Land (@LarsonLand) February 29, 2024
Two strong showings for Kyle Larson before being caught up in someone else’s mess. Similar to Bell, I think Kyle is going to be a car to watch this weekend and his recent stats here help that case even more so.
- 2. William Byron
DAYTONA 500 CHAMPIONS!!! pic.twitter.com/QUlK4JONUo
— William Byron (@WilliamByron) February 20, 2024
The Daytona 500 winner, to start the season following your best season yet is a good way to start the new season. Atlanta wasn’t kind to any of the HMS stable but I think we all expect a huge turnaround in Vegas.
- 1. Ryan Blaney
I thought for a split second before seeing the replay that he had won that photo finish. It was so awesome to watch those drivers keep it together and not crash. Pretty good start to the champions’ defending season. Could’ve been better had lady luck not bit him in Daytona though.
The Wrap-Up
Alright, the first edition is complete. Who should be in the top fifteen in your opinion? Either way, though I think we can all agree that while it may not be AS exciting as what we saw in Atlanta. Las Vegas will put on a good show in its way.
I think HMS is probably going to be the strongest team collectively which isn’t a surprise. However, the Ford camp has shown speed in qualifying so anything could happen. Plus Toyota hasn’t had the best luck and that will probably start to turn around also. So at 3:30 PM EST this Sunday on Fox when the green flag drops. I’ll be sitting on my couch, will you?
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