After Sunday’s Cup race at Sonoma, Kyle Larson moved to No. 1 in the points and No. 1 in the NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings.
Along with a new No. 1 this week, there’s a new driver in this week’s top 10.
Here’s a look at this week’s Power Rankings:
1. Kyle Larson (Last week: No. 3) — Gets a playoff waiver and then wins at Sonoma for his third victory of the season and his second in his last five Cup starts. After pitting for the final time in last weekend’s race, Larson quizzed his team about who he had to pass to take the lead and how hard he had to run. Eventually, spotter Tyler Monn told Larson to “just be you.” And Larson was. Along with winning the race, Larson took the points lead. He also has a series-high 22 playoff points.
2. Denny Hamlin (1) — Hamlin’s engine blew on the second lap and he finished last at Sonoma for the second year in a row. That snapped his streak of five consecutive top-five finishes.
3. Chase Elliott (4) — His fourth-place finish is his sixth top five in the last 10 races. He has gone from ninth to second in the points in that stretch.
4. Brad Keselowski (2) — His 13th-place finish snapped his streak of three consecutive top-three results. He has five top fives in the last eight races and has gone from 18th to seventh in the points.
5. Tyler Reddick (6) — He won a stage and finished eighth at Sonoma, giving him a top 10 in each of the last three races. He has a series-high 10 top-10 finishes this season.
6. Christopher Bell (7) — His ninth-place finish is his fourth top 10 in the last five races.
7. William Byron (5) — Bryon finished 30th at Sonoma. He had a leaking tire and later was collected in an incident. This marks the fourth time in the last six races he has failed to finish in the top 10.
8. Ross Chastain (NR) — His fifth-place finish is his second top 10 in the last three races.
9. Alex Bowman (8) — He took the checkered flag 15th. It’s his second race in a row outside the top 10 after a streak of five consecutive top 10s.
10. Ty Gibbs (9) — Hit the Turn 11 wall at Sonoma and damaged his car, finishing 37th. He had placed 11th or better in the three previous races.
Dropped out: Martin Truex Jr. (10)