A good race on Sunday ended with some extremely questionable calls from the NASCAR command center. We saw everything great about a race at Indianapolis Motorspeedway. Strategy and tons of it down to the end of the race. So with the Olympic break upon us let’s update the 2024 NASCAR Power Rankings one more time until after Richmond on August 11th.
The Drivers 15 to 11
- 15. Chris Buescher
You couldn’t have a worse start to a race minus wrecking. He had two left rear tire issues and was two laps down insanely early. Chris ended up finishing 22nd. The next three races include Richmond and Michigan where he did win in back-to-back weekends last season. Sitting seventeen points ahead of the playoff cut line right now, he needs to back those performances up this season.
- 14. Ross Chastain
It’s been a rough four-week span for Ross. Hopefully, he can take this Olympic break and refresh himself for a late regular-season playoff run. The chances are there, especially at Michigan where he finished seventh last season. I’m not sure you can guarantee a playoff spot right now with him only setting seven points above the cutline without a win.
- 13. Martin Truex Jr.
This is another guy who I think can benefit from the break. Martin hasn’t had the best of luck week in and week out recently. It doesn’t help though when he has to climb out of a hole from the beginning of the race due to penalty. Unless we get three or four different winners in the coming weeks I think he can point his way into the playoffs. He’s honestly the only driver I believe who could only point his way. Richmond up next though, is compelling because Martin has a decent history there.
- 12. Todd Gilliland
One heck of a bounce-back week for Todd and his team. He grabbed a top-ten in the Brickyard 400. That’s another solid building block for the future of FRM. He finished 21st earlier this season at Richmond, so he has some ground to gain. Could he pull off the surprise win though at Michigan or Daytona even and upset the playoffs?
- 11. Joey Logano
Joey was running solid most of the race Sunday. He didn’t grab any stage points in either of the first two stages before getting taken out on lap 110. Penske as a team has been pretty good on the smaller flat ovals like Richmond. However, I’m not sure he’s the Team Penske car we need to watch when the Cup Series returns in two weeks.
2024 NASCAR Power Rankings Top Ten
- 10. Bubba Wallace
This was another awesome performance for Bubba Wallace. These are the performances he needs winning stages and such. He’s seven points behind Ross Chastain right now, and gaining momentum heading to tracks he’s been pretty solid at in the recent seasons/races.
- 9. William Byron
William Byron, shouldn’t be counted out at all let me just start with that. He’s not been back to victory lane since Martinsville earlier this season. However, while he’s had bad finishes a lot of those had a lot less to do with William and more about bad luck. Could he grab another win before the playoffs? Possibly, but if he knocks out some solid points paying weekends and finishes they still feel good about the playoffs approaching.
- 8. Alex Bowman
Alex grabbed some stage points at the end of stage one but was unable to grab a good finish after being involved a in late accident. He finished 17th at Richmond earlier this season but Alex has regained his confidence in the last few weeks so I think he will easily be back to competing this weekend or at least should be depending on his car.
- 7. Brad Keselowski
He was leading and was the leader at the four-hundred-mile mark this past Sunday. However, there was a double OT restart and the fuel couldn’t stretch that far. So again it is a tell of what could’ve been. His teammate went back to back at Richmond and Michigan last year so if the speed is in the car watch out for Brad.
- 6. Chase Elliott
Two weeks in a row a penalty derailed what could’ve been for Chase. Did he grab another top ten finish, yes however wins are what’s going to matter. Could he surprise some and grab a win at one of the next four races? I think he needs one to help in those late rounds of the playoffs if he makes it that far.
The Top Five
- 5. Tyler Reddick
He arguably could have three wins. Is that going to be the story of this season though for Tyler? He’s gotten super hot in recent weeks on the track and four weeks before the playoffs seems like a good time to go on a burner. It’s just you need to get those wins when you have the cars to win. Either way with his performance at Indy he easily showed why he’s a top-five driver this week on the 2024 NASCAR Power Rankings.
- 4. Ryan Blaney
Should he have a right to be mad? I mean absolutely. We heard all races how hard passing was and then to have to restart on the outside which was not the preferred lane. Yeah, I’d probably be a bit mad too. However, Ryan and his team put together another solid race, and can build on that when they head back to Richmond in two weeks I solidly believe.
- 3. Christopher Bell
It was a quiet day overall for Christopher Bell. He led laps grabbed stage points at the end of stage two and then finished top five. Could it have been better? Yes, but it was still pretty damn good. Christopher is someone who we need to keep an eye on seriously in the coming weeks, especially at Richmond, and Darlington.
- 2. Denny Hamlin
He won stage one and grabbed stage points at the end of stage two. Even led some laps and looked good late had the late cautions not come out causing him to pit for fuel and restart back in the pack he doesn’t get caught up in the accident that took out Kyle Busch and others.
- 1. Kyle Larson
Well, I knew somehow fading Larson in our weekly picks piece was a bad idea. Sure as heck he goes in and makes a drive late in the race, putting himself in position to benefit from Brad Keselowski running out of fuel. He grabbed the regular season points lead back from Chase Elliott, and added another Crown Jewel win to his resume. I don’t think you should ever count Larson fully out to win a race.
The Olympic Break Blues
The return to the oval format at Indianapolis was highly anticipated. Just because of the atmosphere racing on the oval brings. It wasn’t a bad race at all, until those questionable calls by NASCAR control. When they saw Ryan Preece’s car sitting there as the field exited turn four a caution should’ve been thrown. Consistency is key to NASCAR. That’s where I’ll try to leave that.
We shouldn’t dwell on the past. Especially not in a sport like NASCAR. Because while we have two weeks of no NASCAR racing. The sport is still going to move on and already has basically. The series heads back to Richmond when they do return on August 11th. What will we see on this trip?
Well, honestly, it’s probably more of the same. I won’t be the least surprised to see a JGR or HMS car leading early and often. However, we’ve got four races until the playoffs start so there’s not much time left to secure your spot. The intensity is about to step up more and more each week and I’m here for all of it. Until next time race fans, when we update these 2024 NASCAR Power Rankings once again.
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Featured Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images
