Well, I’m sure I didn’t see that race ending the way it did. However, that’s racing, right? We never know what’s going to happen between the drop of the green flag and the drop of the checkered flag. Either way, we saw some big-name drivers, involved in a bunch of different events. So, that means it’s once again time to update the 2024 NASCAR Power Rankings again. Maybe a little bit earlier in the week though this week.
The Beginning
- 15. Todd Gilliland
While he wasn’t running the best early he salvaged that and still was able to grab a top-twenty finish. I don’t know if Todd could steal a win or not this year. However, the performances are becoming more and more consistent.
- 14. Chris Buescher
Chris winded up with a solid finish, even though I thought he might do more last week. A top-five finish is nothing to complain about and plenty to build on heading to the streets of Chicago.
- 13. Bubba Wallace
Bubba and his team salvaged the day even when the strategy call didn’t work out. He finished 7th in Nashville and will head to Chicago looking to finish better this year than last.
- 12. Joey Logano
I think the old saying goes like “Even a blind squirrel can find a nut every once in a while.” Either way, a good strategy call and a hell of a lot of luck landed Joey in victory lane. We’ll see if this was the fan that gets the flame started for Joey moving forward because he’s been pretty abysmal recently.
- 11. Brad Keselowski
Brad grabbed stage points in both of the stages but had his most likely solid finish taken away after contact with Austin Dillon. I’m not super confident in Brad this week either though, so we’ll see if he keeps this spot next week on the 2024 NASCAR Power Rankings.
2024 NASCAR Power Rankings Middle
- 10. Ross Chastain
Things looked good late for Ross. However, he was caught up in an accident when Kyle Larson clipped the apron late on a restart. As you see in the highlight above it ended his race. Ross was mid at best last year on the streets of Chicago but anything can happen.
- 9. Martin Truex Jr.
He again had a fast car but strategy calls, and some very unexpected late cautions killed his finish. Chicago is a wild card on the schedule. So with that being said again, I don’t think you can for sure say Martin won’t win. When anyone can win.
- 8. Alex Bowman
I don’t think Nashville went the way it was supposed to for many teams. However, Alex grabbed a top-fifteen finish. Will the streets of Chicago be nice to Alex? That is the real question.
- 7. William Byron
This is where things start to get tight. William dropped three spots this week alone because of how the other guys around him have stepped up their games. William has the potential to finish well this weekend. I actually will say I have a good feeling about this #24 car this weekend.
- 6. Ryan Blaney
Again another solid week for Blaney but he dropped a spot because of the step-up in performance by drivers number four and five on the list. Chicago didn’t go according to plan last year for Ryan so I’m sure they’ll be looking to rebound this weekend.
The Top Five
- 5. Tyler Reddick
Solid race at Nashville, up front most of it, and even had a chance coming to the checkers to grab another win. Tyler is on the upswing I think for sure, and is one of the best road course racers in the series so he should be okay this weekend.
- 4. Christopher Bell
In a race where track position seemed to be king, I can’t blame him for not being super patient. However, he seemed to have one of the best cars on the track and inevitably DNF’ed. Christopher is easily one to watch for me this weekend, just based on how he’s been performing over the last month or so.
- 3. Chase Elliott
He didn’t finish as well as maybe he would’ve wanted. However, he did accomplish a pretty cool feat this past weekend when he grabbed another top-twenty finish. It’s a road course style of race, and he finished third last year on the streets of Chicago. Another guy who is a favorite this week for sure.
- 2. Kyle Larson
These top two guys have just been on their collective games this season. Don’t expect anything to change this weekend for this car either after they grabbed another top-ten finish last week.
- 1. Denny Hamlin
He should’ve won that race at Nashville and had it not been for the countless cautions and overtime attempts he would’ve. As for Chicago this weekend. Well, we will see. He didn’t do great last year so I’m sure they’ll be looking to improve. I’ll be interested to see if the “rivalry” continues.
The Wrap Up
If you haven’t you need to go check out the latest piece Kaleb dropped. He summed up Nashville as I would’ve maybe even a bit better. Great racing throughout the race, and had it ended at regulation it would’ve been a solid race overall. The added drama of a ton of cars running out of gas or almost running out of gas amped everything up for sure. Either way, we did get a finish eventually, and a surprise winner for sure. We have got to move on though because it’s onto Chicago for the street course race once again.
This race had some super solid racing last year, even with how the rain put a damper on everything event-wise. I expect nothing less again. We have a returning Shane Van Gisbergen looking to defend his crown as the street course champion, and a ton of hungry guys who want wins to lock themselves into the playoffs. I’ll be watching as always, and we’ll talk about it again next week. Until then race fans!
Featured Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images
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