NASCAR Power Rankings: Kyle Larson unseated at the top after Nashville
Cup teams are getting their last chances to race on intermediate-style tracks, ones that are more than 1 mile and have moderate banking.
They are coming off four races at those tracks (Texas, Kansas, Charlotte and Nashville) and then have upcoming races at Michigan (this weekend) and Pocono (in three weeks following Mexico City).
So the drivers who have been strong in the last month very well could be the ones who thrive in the playoffs, which has one intermediate-track race in each of the first three rounds.
That said, here are this week's power rankings following Ryan Blaney's victory at Nashville:
Dropped out: Alex Bowman (LW: 8)
On the verge: Bowman, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric, Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace
10. Chase Briscoe (Last Week: 7)
Briscoe has won back-to-back poles but saw a two-race streak of top-5 finishes end as he placed 17th at Nashville. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver led 51 laps Sunday.
9. Joey Logano (LW: NR)
Maybe a little overshadowed by Blaney's win was another top-5 finish from a Team Penske driver. Joey Logano finished fourth for his third top-10 finish in his last four starts.
8. Ross Chastain (LW: 9)
It wasn't a win but an 11th-place finish at Nashville was respectable. He is showing better speed as he started fifth. The Trackhouse driver has moved up to ninth in the standings.
7. Tyler Reddick (LW: 10)
Reddick finished second in the opening stage (thanks to some pit strategy) and wound up ninth at Nashville. A ninth might not sound great, but it was the best finish for the 23XI Racing driver in his last six starts.
6. Chase Elliott (LW: 6)
It was a meh day at Nashville for Elliott, who finished 15th. And yet he is still fifth in the standings as he consistently is finishing races — he hasn't placed worse than 20th all year. He has just one top-5 finish, though, in his last seven starts.
5. Christopher Bell (LW: 3)
Bell was involved in a wreck on Lap 119 and still came back to finish 10th. Finishes such as that amid some adversity is why people think this Joe Gibbs Racing driver can vie for the championship again.
4. Denny Hamlin (LW: 4)
Hamlin led 79 laps and finished third at Nashville in a race where he started on the front row. The JGR driver won the opening stage and stayed up front for most of the night.
3. Ryan Blaney (LW: 5)
Finally! A win for Blaney, who has had five finishes of 25th or worse and now six top-5 finishes on the year. The Penske driver led a race-high 139 laps at Nashville.
2. Kyle Larson (LW: 1)
Larson had a tough day at Nashville, his second consecutive frustrating Cup weekend. He finished this one, though, and ended up eighth as he and the team were able to improve on the car throughout the event.
1. William Byron (LW: 2)
Byron finished fifth at Nashville but moves into the No. 1 spot as he was fourth in the first stage and second in the second stage — and ran among the leaders for much of the night, maybe not as much as a week earlier at Charlotte but he continues to show he's a threat and a driver they will have to beat.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and IndyCar for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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