Following Martinsville, the NASCAR Power Rankings are undergoing another change. Mainly, William Byron is the top driver in the Cup Series. The season is starting to shape up to be Hendrick versus Joe Gibbs so far.
Hendrick Motorsports was the center of attention. They had the ruby red cars, the matching firesuits, 1500 Hendrick employees in attendance, and all four teams had speed. Hendrick was great, others struggled to find their footing.
Once again, the racing wasn’t great at Martinsville. There are serious issues with the short track package and it was on full display on Sunday. But we can only make our judgments based on the cards we are dealt.
1. William Byron – Hendrick Motorsports (+2)
Until further information comes out, William Byron is the top driver in the Cup Series. Three wins on the year and he is going to try and make it even more in a hurry.
How do you follow up a six-win breakout season? How about a 10-win season? Byron is well on his way to achieving that if he keeps winning at this pace.
2. Kyle Larson – Hendrick Motorsports (-)
Just behind Byron is Kyle Larson. I’d argue that the floor for Larson on any given day is higher than Byron. However, Byron has the wins to claim the top spot in the series.
Larson is going to likely stay in one of these two top spots unless someone else emerges as an elite talent. Keep an eye on him in the coming weeks, another win could be coming. He now leads the points standings this season.
3. Denny Hamlin – Joe Gibbs Racing (-2)
So, Denny Hamlin couldn’t get it done at Martinsville. He won Stage 2, but pit stops would be the end of his chances at winning.
William Byron undercut the field and was first to pit under green in the final stage. It was a solid strategy and it helped put Hamlin behind all of the Hendrick cars. Not the top driver but still in the mix.
4. Tyler Reddick – 23XI Racing (+3)
Tyler Reddick is showing even when he struggles he can come away with solid finishes. P7 and he struggled to get there, but he managed to do it.
I like what this team is doing lately. Five top-10 finishes in the last six races and three straight now heading into Texas. Reddick could pick up his first win of the season this week.
5. Martin Truex Jr. – Joe Gibbs Racing (+1)
So, P18 isn’t the greatest thing ever. However, he didn’t have as bad of a day as others and he’s banked some goodwill on the season so far in the NASCAR Power Rankings.
After five weeks in the top-10, Truex Jr. finally finished outside of that group. It’s strange for him to move up after a performance like that but it will all make sense. Or it won’t, but I will explain myself.
6. Ryan Blaney – Team Penske (+3)
Another driver moving up in the NASCAR Power Rankings due to a solid finish. Even though he struggled, Blaney and his team used a two tire stop to get him another top-5 finish on the season.
No win yet on the year for Blaney. However, his consistency and maturity have both been impressive.
7. Alex Bowman – Hendrick Motorsports (+3)
Alex Bowman is now stringing together a lot of good runs. He is going to move up this week, mostly due to a couple of other driver struggling and having poor races.
Bowman was P8, the worst of the Hendrick drivers at Martinsville. But still a solid run and he should be happy with how he has raced this season.
8. Chase Elliott – Hendrick Motorsports (NR)
Well look at this! Chase Elliott is going up on the NASCAR Power Rankings board. Two top-5 finishes in a row and Elliott is looking like his old self again.
Martinsville was the first time in a long time that I felt like the No. 9 car had winning speed. It didn’t play out that way, but it was there. This team is only going to go up from here.
9. Christopher Bell – Joe Gibbs Racing (-5)
That win at Phoenix carries a lot of weight. However, a P35 finish has to be punished one way or another. These rankings are strange, sometimes it’s just hard to put a driver over another one.
Then by the time you get to the end of the list you remember who had been running well not even a week ago. Bell falls mostly due to uncertainty around where to put him.
10. Ty Gibbs – Joe Gibbs Racing (-2)
I really wanted to see more out of Ty Gibbs this weekend. He just didn’t have the speed to keep up and his car could not move through traffic, at all.
Gibbs is having a very good sophom*ore campaign so far. He is going to win a race sooner than later and once that happens, he could go on a string of wins. It’s hard to say right now, but for now he hangs on in the NASCAR Power Rankings.
Elliott in, Chastain out of NASCAR Power Rankings
So, Ross Chastain is out of the NASCAR Power Rankings for now. I feel like looking back I gave him too much credit and leeway previously. Chastain could win at Texas this week and be No. 5 on the list again soon.
These rankings are hard. How much do you weigh the most recent performance against previous ones? One thing is for certain, Hendrick and Gibbs are the top of the field and it’s up to everyone else to catch up.
