The Spring season is kicking my butt almost as bad as Martin Truex Jr. wanted to kick Denny Hamlin after the race at Richmond. Either way, I’ve already made my humble readers wait three extra days for these power 2024 NASCAR Power Rankings. I do want to throw out some humble appreciation to anyone who takes the time to read these as well though! Seriously like thanks!
Let’s get after the latest update to the power rankings though. I will say this season has been a fun challenge in ranking my top fifteen drivers each week. Because the performances the Cup Series drivers or at least a majority of them are putting on each week have made trying to be fair when ranking drivers that much more difficult.
The Bottom Five
- 15. Brad Keselowski
A pair of Top-10s for us on Easter! 👊🏼 pic.twitter.com/UpKlkDWRpw
— RFK Racing (@RFKracing) April 1, 2024
I will say Brad has got something figured out on the short tracks. He finished solid at Bristol and last week at Richmond. Martinsville does fall into the category of short track so maybe he can keep it rolling, however, with everyone else performing better than Brad more consistently. It’s going to be a hard climb back up the 2024 NASCAR Power Rankings.
- 14. Chris Buescher
I believe this is the more solid team at RFK Racing, but its going to be a hard climb up the rankings if he can’t get into victory lane. He finished 14th in the Spring race and then 8th in the fall at Martinsville. So, ideally, the team would hope to continue the increase in finishing position again.
- 13. Bubba Wallace
23XI Racing’s Achilles heal though is once again the pit stop and it cost Bubba a solid finish. Bubba has a pretty good history at the paperclip, so he could rebound for sure this week.
- 12. Joey Logano
Eyes on the 🕰️ this Sunday at Martinsville
16 Top-10’s in the past 20 #NASCAR Cup starts at M’Ville @CocaColaRacing #CokePartner @FordPerformance pic.twitter.com/ctxy5qKZfu
— Joey Logano (@joeylogano) April 4, 2024
Joey being Joey. He grabbed a second-place finish and ran solid all day at Richmond. Heading into Martinsville he has the best average finish in the last six races. So, you would think the climb continues for Joey right?
- 11. Chase Elliott
If you haven’t checked out the weekly picks piece. Well, then you would know I’m feeling good about Chase heading into this weekend. He had a solid run at Richmond and has a pretty good history at Martinsville. For Elliott nation as a whole, I hope the positive runs continue.
2024 NASCAR Power Rankings 10th to 6th
- 10. Ty Gibbs
The second-year driver started well at Richmond but for whatever reason just didn’t have the same speed or handling in his car as his JGR teammates. I will keep a close eye on Ty in practice and qualifying to see what kind of car his team brought to the paper clip before betting on or against Ty this weekend.
- 9. Alex Bowman
Alright Kaleb, your boy impressed. I know the finish didn’t reflect that but early he was running really well. He most likely would’ve finished well had it not been for a questionable yellow being thrown after Kyle Busch smacked the wall. Alex is trending up and Martinsville is a pretty good track for Alex and HMS as a team hopefully it continues.
- 8. Ross Chastain
We struggled to find a good balance in our @BuschBeer @TeamChevy Camaro especially when the track dried out and we switched from wet to slick tires. Looking forward to hitting another short track next weekend at Martinsville to keep getting better! pic.twitter.com/zdVA3dSBIg
— Ross Chastain (@RossChastain) April 1, 2024
Ross is one of the few drivers who did drop a position in this week’s edition of the power rankings. He started third and slowly but surely fell back once the green flag dropped. I’m not so sure his slide will stop either, unless the Trackhouse team can bring Ross a front-row qualifying effort it may be enough. Especially with Ross’s mirror driving skills.
- 7. Tyler Reddick
It was a quiet day for Tyler in my opinion. You didn’t see him leading laps, but you also didn’t hear about him being in any trouble on track or on pit road. If he can keep that up this weekend after the struggles he had last year at the “paperclip” it would be a win.
- 6. Martin Truex Jr.
Short-track drama on a Sunday! pic.twitter.com/PtRE0YgMgh
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 1, 2024
I liked the anger from the veteran after the race. Was it warranted, maybe not so much. He has one win in the last six races at Martinsville so he knows what it takes and nothing is sweeter than victory. Especially after how the race ended for him recently.
The Top Five
- 5. William Byron
Everything you need to know before Martinsville. 👇 https://t.co/5gVdj1SnZ0
— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) April 4, 2024
After kicking everyone’s butt at COTA, he went to Richmond and was relatively quiet. That’s not a bad thing either sometimes a quiet weekend can be okay in the grand scheme of the Cup Series season. Martinsville wasn’t kind to the 24 bunch last year. However, he won this race in 2022 and led over 200 hundred total laps. He knows what it takes to take home the grandfather clock. So, keep an eye on William this weekend to contend
- 4. Christopher Bell
Do you Yahoo ⁉️@CBellRacing will be running this beautiful Yahoo! scheme at Martinsville 🟣⚪️ #NASCAR #racing #TeamToyota pic.twitter.com/E9LFEX4nOX
— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) April 2, 2024
Another guy who had a strong weekend at Richmond car-wise but eventually got stalled out. He’s had some success in recent years as well at Martinsville and he’s been one of the fastest Toyota’s week in and week out this season. So, I don’t think you can count him out again this week.
- 3. Ryan Blaney
We fought all night, but were in an up-hill battle from the jump. Thank you to our partners and families for all of your support this Holiday. Looking forward to Martinsville. pic.twitter.com/v9xumddgrx
— Ryan Blaney (@Blaney) April 1, 2024
Richmond wasn’t kind to Ryan. Neither was the COTA of Bristol. He’s not been able to manage a top-ten finish since Phoenix. That should change this weekend. Ryan has the second-best finishing average in the last six races at Martinsville. Oh and he won here in the fall, some say propelling him to the championship win.
- 2. Kyle Larson
The sheer will and determination of Kyle Larson is only to blame for his third-place finish last weekend after being spun by Bubba Wallace late. I’m beginning to sound like a broken record with this but expect him to contend strongly again this weekend too. He drives a HMS car, and is Kyle freakin Larson what else would you expect?
- 1. Denny Hamlin
He won the race. End of the story at this point in the week. It’s time to move on and you better watch out for Denny Hamlin. My colleague Kaleb talked about it on a recent episode of the Sports Stove Podcast this week. Denny is one of the best drivers at Martinsville.
The White Flag
You know the deal though, was your driver left off of this week’s edition of the 2024 NASCAR Power Rankings? If so drop a comment below and let me know! It’s always fun to talk about racing.
Richmond was a “boring” strategy race, and because of multiple reasons. The lack of tire fall-off is a major one. Plus even the best drivers last week at Richmond started to even out with everyone and couldn’t pass. Is that again an aero issue? Or is it due to the tire fall off or lack thereof? Either way, I think everyone can agree. Let’s add some horsepower and softer tires on the short tracks and let these guys go race. I promise the show will be better for everyone. Will Martinsville be different? Or are we doomed for another “boring” strategy race?
If you are looking for more specific choices or picks you know where to go. As for what to expect? The Toyota camp in general is going to be strong. Or at least based off what we’ve seen each week recently. It’s also Martinsville, and Hendrick Motorsports drivers tend to perform here as well. So, I don’t expect the dominance amongst JGR and HMS to stop at all once again this weekend. Either way I will be tuned in on FS1 Sunday around 3 PM EST.
Featured Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images
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