What about that race we saw on Sunday? The first-ever street course in NASCAR and it didn’t disappoint at least from my perspective. Even though all of our regulars got their butt’s kicked by Shane Van Gisbergen we still have to update the NASCAR Power Rankings. So let’s see where your driver fell after Chicago.
15th to 11th: Potential Too Spare?
- 15. Bubba Wallace
CAUTION!
We’ll have #NASCAROvertime in Chicago! pic.twitter.com/TzuufHk8Aa
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 3, 2023
Bubba’s street course weekend ended on a cruddy moment being one of the last cautions. Bubba has been up and down this season but a trip back to an oval like Atlanta will do him some good. I fully expect a bounce-back run for this team this weekend.
- 14. Brad Keselowski
Bro we just got Legacy’d pic.twitter.com/nuyC9XmSh4
— RFK Racing (@RFKracing) July 2, 2023
Brad’s day in Chicago didn’t start off, too well considering he was “Legacy’d” going into turn six very early on in the race. The 24th place finish, definitely isn’t what he wanted considering how well his teammate ran. Atlanta should be a good rebound for this team though.
- 13. Ty Gibbs
Ty impressed me again, especially on the street course. He was quietly around the top fifteen all day and even came away with a top-ten finish. Ty is learning and that’s what’s important for his future in the sport. I for one am scared to see what he can become.
- 12. Tyler Reddick
… and now @TylerReddick has a problem! https://t.co/ZuDZtzUOSA pic.twitter.com/bEWb2laus4
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 3, 2023
Not sure if he’s driving the struggle bus now or if Harvick still is either way another “blah” weekend strikes this team. He fell victim to the treacherous turn six tire barrier and it killed his day. This team needs to start righting the ship or they will be a very early exit from the playoffs I fear.
- 11. Joey Logano
Joey does what Joey does, I swear. If he’s got a top-ten car, he will get that finish which he did finishing 8th on Sunday. If he wants to be around to defend that championship he needs more wins, and of course, more wins means higher spots in these NASCAR Power Rankings.
NASCAR Power Rankings: 10th to 6th
- 10. Ryan Blaney
It’s been a rough four-week span since his Coke 600 win, Ryan has finished outside the top thirty in three out of four weeks. Now two of those were technical courses and Ryan has never been a GREAT road racer. The other bad performance came after the massive hit he took in Nashville. Ryan can rebound and I expect it but hopefully, it’s sooner rather than later.
- 9. Kevin Harvick
After some horrible luck in Nashville and another “blah” performance on the street course, Kevin has dropped to his lowest spot on the NASCAR Power Rankings. Will he stay here or drop a lower is the real question?
- 8. Chris Buescher
Top-10 road course machine. ? @Chris_Buescher‘s streak of Top-10 finishes on road courses is the best of all NASCAR Cup Series drivers. pic.twitter.com/hHDEKsSHej
— RFK Racing (@RFKracing) July 3, 2023
A top ten on the first-ever street course, and he’s made the jump into the top ten. It could be a bit early because I would like to see more speed and consistency out of this team on the intermediate tracks, but they are slowly and surely figuring something out.
- 7. Denny Hamlin
Denny took it too hard a bit too early Sunday. I think we easily would’ve seen Denny up front and contending all day had it not been for that incident early. Heading to Atlanta as long as Denny can keep his car clean he should be around at the end this weekend and back on the rise.
- 6. Ross Chastain
Back-to-back for @TeamTrackhouse.
This team is hitting its stride this summer. pic.twitter.com/uG08rfuK1v
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 3, 2023
An awesome win at Nashville was followed up by a not-so-great weekend on the streets of Chicago. This was a bit surprising for me but I’m not worried yet, if the poor finishes start back up like before Nashville I might start to get a bit worried but for now solidly in the top ten NASCAR Power Rankings.
The Bowties Lead the Top Five
- 5. Christopher Bell
.@CBellRacing goes for a slide! ? pic.twitter.com/fQW9GGXBGJ
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 3, 2023
The stage one and stage two winner on Sunday, but fell victim to pushing a bit too hard in his fight back to the front. He wasn’t the only one of his peers it happen to though so no big penalty. I expect this team to keep growing and battling for the right to be the best JGR car right now.
- 4. Martin Truex Jr.
Here comes @shanevg97 for the lead … but a caution!!! ? pic.twitter.com/crV1uEMZcK
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 3, 2023
Martin ran around the top five early, it was after the late pit he had to make that he got trapped in the pack. Once he was in the pack a lot like Bell he just pushed too hard at the wrong times and got into the tire barriers. Martin is still my top Toyota driver right now easily, but he’s got some competition in his teammate.
- 3. Kyle Busch
‘@KyleBusch SLIDES into the tire barrier! #NASCARChicago
? : @NBC and @Peacock pic.twitter.com/nP5LIzlatE
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 2, 2023
You’ve all seen this man, slide his car into the tire barriers early right?! I figure he was done for the day after that but once again Kyle showed me. Kyle drove back up to a top-five finish. He easily could be in talks for number one in the coming weeks.
- 2. Willam Byron
Byron misses the corner!
Harvick goes around!
The field comes to a stop! #NASCARChicago pic.twitter.com/46OrqrjjJE
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 3, 2023
Willy B, some would say caused the infamous “log jam” with the four and seven cars. He still was able to grab a top-fifteen finish though. William lost one spot but only because his teammate has been on a top-ten tear since leaving Charlotte.
- 1. Kyle Larson
Once again Kyle Larson is the top driver, I know he hasn’t won in a few weeks. The lack of winning isn’t worrisome to me especially since in the last four weeks the lowest he’s finished has been 8th. The long game is the picture, yes you want wins but you also want to win championships.
What A Two Week Stretch
In a two-week span, these teams and drivers will have raced on the first-ever street course, and intermediate that races a lot bigger. You really get to see the skills of each driver in a very short time on each of those tracks. Do I have any picks this weekend? Hmm…I mean I could go with the obvious choices but everyone knows to choose those guys. If you are looking for an underdog selection, keep an eye on Gibbs, or Bowman. Both have the speed and need wins to secure playoff spots. If they can survive the chaos and be around at the end then they can compete for the win.
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