NASCAR Power Rankings post-Phoenix
We are back for another week of NASCAR power rankings. This time it's the post-Phoenix report.
Remember, these power rankings are based on the level the driver is racing at. They are not based on the team drivers drive for, and it's not always about results.
These rankings may look similar to the actual standings for some drivers, but they do not always reflect the points tally. With that being said, here are our top-16 power rankings after Phoenix.
16th. Chase Elliott (Last Week: 12th)
After a so-so start to the year, where the Hendrick driver failed to get a top ten through three races, Phoenix looked to be a bounce-back race for Elliott. He qualified 3rd, but after struggling the entire race and coming home a season-low 19th, the HMS driver drops four spots and is at risk of not being involved at all in next week's power rankings -- unless he has a spectacular bounce back at Bristol this weekend.
15th. Bubba Wallace (Last Week: 14th)
Phoenix was another race that was hard to judge for Wallace. Of course, back-to-back top 5's at the superspeedways, and a 5th place start in Vegas -- although not finishing the race well -- garnered Wallace into 14th in the rankings. This week Wallace stayed around 14th to 20th almost the entire race. It was an average race for him, and he doesn't fall far in these rankings at all, but he will need to avoid a third straight bad result in Bristol. Wallace currently sits 14th in the standings.
14th. Kyle Busch (Last Week: 6th)
Busch suffers the second-largest drop in the rankings of everyone this week. His photo finish in Atlanta places him in the top tier, along with a decent race in Vegas. Phoenix was easily the worst race of the year for RCR and Busch, considering he finished 22nd and was never in contention for a top 10.
13th. Joey Logano (Last Week: 3rd)
Logano drops the most this week. We gave him the benefit of the doubt in the first three races just because of the pure speed he had. All three races were front row starts, and he was in contention to win each race, but the results were obviously not where they needed to be. This time around in Phoenix, Logano didn't show that same speed and finished 34th with just three points. Logano sits 30th in the standings.
12th. Christopher Bell (Last Week: Unranked)
Welcome to the list, Chris! Maybe we were a bit harsh to not have him in the top 16 before, but after this race, Bell obviously joined the list. He had the fastest car in practice, and although he didn't challenge much in the first two stages, Bell was in fact the man to beat in Phoenix. It was utter domination in the final stage for Bell. He now has two top ten's on the year and a win through four races.
11th. Brad Keselowski (Last Week: 15th)
Brad Keselowski finally had a great weekend all around. In fact, he has gotten better each week. With 33rd place finishes at Atlanta and Daytona, Keselowski got back on track in Vegas and topped that out with a 4th place in Phoenix alongside teammate Chris Buescher in 2nd. Overall this was the best weekend for RFK this year, and Keselowski moves up to just outside our top ten.
10th. Daniel Suarez (Last Week: 11th)
Suarez just slightly moves down in ranking position, in fact, because of the previously mentioned Keselowski. Once again, Suarez is still on the high of his win at Atlanta, but it's not like that's the only reason he is here. Suarez just missed out on a top ten with a 13th-place finish in Phoenix and currently sits 10th in the standings, and in our power rankings.
9th. Chase Briscoe (Last Week: 9th)
Chase Briscoe stays exactly where he was last week. The best driver in the Stewart Haas Racing camp right now is Briscoe. He has been fast at every track, even if it hasn't shown in the standings. He had the most speed in Atlanta, but an aggressive move late in the race took him out. It's safe to say Briscoe has surprised a lot of people and a 9th-place power ranking is here because of merit. He also finished 9th in Phoenix, adding another top 10 to his resume. He seems like a potential race winner this week at Bristol. Briscoe also has an average qualifying position of 10th.
8th. Martin Truex Jr (Last Week: 8th)
Yet another driver stays where he's at. MTJ is now 3rd in the standings but we don't have him higher on the list because he hasn't had that race-winning speed just yet. He has been consistent, which is why he has so many points, but a couple of 7th-place finishes don't exactly show the race-winning speed we know JGR cars to have. If Truex gets a top 5 or a win in Bristol, he will more than likely shoot up the rankings.
7th. Ty Gibbs (Last Week: 10th)
Gibbs has had a great start to the year, which was why he was 10th in last week's rankings, but Phoenix was probably the best race in his Cup career so far, and a great way to continue to build on a solid sophomore year. Gibbs dominated the first two stages and finished 3rd overall. If he continues this way, he could be a Championship Four threat.
6th. Tyler Reddick (Last Week: 13th)
Reddick had a nightmare start to the year but was one lap away from winning in Vegas. He kept that same speed with a stage one win, a second place stage two, and a top ten. Reddick is back on form and 6th is about where he should be.
5th. Ross Chastain (Last Week: 7th)
The Watermelon Man moves up a couple of spots this week. It was yet another top ten for Ross with his 6th-place finish. Chastain now has earned a top ten in three out of the first four races, also with an average finishing position of 9.5. It's only a matter of time before Chastain gets his first win of the year.
4th. William Byron (Last Week: 5th)
Willy B. also jumps up a spot. The Daytona 500 winner got points in both stages in Phoenix but slid back during the race to finish 18th. Although the finish isn't what Byron wanted, he still has been consistently fast, and unlike Chastain, his win is what puts him over Chastain in our mind.
3rd. Denny Hamlin (Last Week: 4th)
Denny racked up a couple of 3rd place finishes in the stages to grab 16 extra points this race. Like Byron, Hamlin slid down and finished 11th after a rough final stage, including a spin. Still, Hamlin has shown race-winning speed at every track, and Phoenix was no different.
2nd. Kyle Larson (Last Week: 2nd)
After dominating Las Vegas, achieving all 60 points on the table, Larson had a mildly average Phoenix, finishing 14th. He never looked to be a threat in this race, but he stays 2nd because of his great start, and the Vegas domination. Larson sits 2nd in the standings.
1st. Ryan Blaney (Last Week: 1st)
For the 2nd week running, Blaney leads our power rankings. Basically, no one in the top 5 did enough to overtake Blaney, and Ryan certainly didn't do anything to lose it. The defending NASCAR Cup champ has had a fantastic start to the year and got another top 5 in Phoenix. Blaney also leads the standings.
So, that's this week's edition of the power rankings. Each week, a new addition will be added, and we will have updated rankings based on the past race.