Pete Pistone will unveil Power Rankings each week of the NASCAR season. Check out this week’s edition of NASCAR Power Rankings below, and listen to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) on the SXM App now.
The NASCAR Cup Series visited Richmond Raceway on Sunday. Here’s a look at the “Power Rankings” after a visit to the Toyota Owners 400:
- William Byron
The dominating car at least in the first half of the race, Byron led a total of 117 laps at Richmond and was very much in contention for a third win of the season. However it wasn’t to be as contact and frustrations added up to him being shuffled all the way back to 24th when the final checkered flag flew.
Point Standings: 4th
Last Week: 1st
2. Kyle Larson
Some well needed good fortune combined with a fast race car and great work by his pit crew added up for Larson to score his first win of the season. The Hendrick Motorsports driveled four times for 93 laps on his way to his second Richmond victory and 20th of his Cup career.
Point Standings: 6th
Last Week: 8th
3. Ross Chastain
There were more than a few fingers pointed Chastain’s way following the race by a few unhappy competitors. However Chastain’s day looked to be relatively clean and after leading 16 laps powered his way to a third place finish.
Point Standings: 2nd
Last Week: 4th
4. Tyler Reddick
The COTA race winner from the week before had another potent Toyota at his disposal. But Reddick has challenges with a few other drivers and finally a late spin relegated him back in the pack from which he could only recover to finish 16th at Richmond.
Point Standings: 13th
Last Week: 1st
5. Alex Bowman
He hovered around the top-10 and ended up taking the checkered flag in that mix on Sunday. Bowman started from the pole after qualifying got rained out and ended up eighth for his sixth top-10 performance of 2023.
Point Standings: 1st
Last Week: 5th
6. Christopher Bell
He displayed his frustration post race with some of his fellow competitors after Bell got caught up in a few scuffles racing for position late in Sunday’s race. But he still had a strong Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and ended up coming from 21st to finish fourth on Sunday.
Point Standings: 3rd
Last Week: 9th
7. Kevin Harvick
Harvick’s changes to go back-to-back at Richmond after his August victory last season didn’t quite pan out for the Stewart-Haas Racing driver. Still by no means a bad finish as Harvick notched his third top-five of the 2023 season.
Point Standings: 5th
Last Week: 7th
8. Joey Logano
A rebound of sorts for Logano after a challenging race the week prior at COTA. The Team Penske driver came from starting 18th to a top-10 performance and a seventh-place Richmond finish.
Point Standings: 7th
Last Week: 6th
9. Kyle Busch
An outside front row starting spot didn’t materialize into much of a finish for Busch. The Richard Childress Racing driver soldiered through a relatively uneventful day to cross the finish line 14th in Richmond.
Point Standings: 8th
Last Week: 3rd
10. Denny Hamlin
Another controversial week for Hamlin who made early race contact with JJ Yeley sending the Rick Ware Racing driver into the wall. Hamlin’s adventures also included pit road speeding penalties and other assorted challenges that added up to a 20th-place finish despite leading 71 laps.
Point Standings: 12th
Last Week: 10th
Dropped Out: None
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