Martin Truex Jr. holds on to the top spot in this week’s NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings after finishing second at Michigan, his fourth consecutive top 10.
This week’s rankings also sees three Ford Performance drivers move up the Power Rankings and another Toyota Racing driver cracking the top 10.
NBC SPORTS NASCAR POWER RANKINGS
1. Martin Truex Jr. (Last week: 1st) — He has not finished worse than seventh in the past four races, a run that includes a win at New Hampshire. He had a car capable of winning at Michigan. Truex swept the first two stages and led the second-most laps before finishing second. This was another consistent performance that kept him 57 points ahead of a teammate in the battle for the regular-season championship.
2. Denny Hamlin (2) — His third-place finish at Michigan was his third consecutive top-three finish. He lost out on points to Truex and had to recover from his car stalling on pit road, but he was able to drive through the field when necessary. Hamlin and his team are heating up at the right time.
3. Kevin Harvick (8) — Finished eighth at Michigan. This was his fourth consecutive top-10 finish. He has not won in his final season, but he has continued to stack points as the playoffs approach.
4. Chris Buescher (10) — He moved into the top 10 last week with a win at Richmond. He followed that performance by leading the most laps at Michigan and holding off Martin Truex Jr. to get his second straight win this season. Next up are two road courses where he has previous top-10 finishes.
5. Brad Keselowski (9) — Buescher won while Keselowski finished fourth after leading 15 laps. The 2012 Cup champion still seeks his first win with RFK Racing, but he has four top-10 finishes in the past five races.
6. Joey Logano (4) — His 14th-place finish at Michigan continued a recent stretch of inconsistent finishes. He finished eighth at Chicago, 17th at Atlanta, second at New Hampshire, 35th at Pocono, fourth at Richmond, and 14th at Michigan.
7. Kyle Larson (6) — Three of the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers crashed at Michigan after running in the top 10. Kyle Larson completed the entire race and finished fifth. This was his first top-five finish since New Hampshire.
8. Kyle Busch (3) — He finished last after crashing in the opening stage. He has three wins on the season, but he has one top-five finish in the past four races. The other three results are 21st or worse with two DNFs.
9. Bubba Wallace (NR) — He only has one top-10 finish in the past four races, but he has continued to put distance between himself and the cutline by focusing on points in the first two stages and avoiding mistakes. He finished 18th at Michigan but scored the second-most stage points (16) behind Truex (20).
10. William Byron (7) — Started seventh and put himself in contention for points in the first stage. Crashed on the final lap of stage 1 while racing Hamlin and Corey LaJoie at the back of the top 10. His best finish in the past four races is 14th at Pocono.
Dropped out: Chase Elliott (5)