Kyle Larson maintains the top spot in the NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings after beating Chris Buescher by .001 seconds at Kansas Speedway.
The top 10 saw some more shakeup as one Toyota driver fell off the list and a Ford driver continued to move up.
NBC SPORTS NASCAR POWER RANKINGS
1. Kyle Larson (Last week: 1) — Larson headed to Kansas with the most stage wins (six) and the most laps led (570). He led another 63 laps and scored 17 stage points before winning his second race of the season. Larson continues to lead the Cup standings heading to the midpoint of the regular season.
2. Denny Hamlin (2) — Hamlin’s strategy of saving gas nearly led to a win, or at least a top-10 finish. A late caution for Kyle Busch changed the dynamic of the race and led to Larson’s win. Hamlin still finished fifth after leading a race-high 71 laps and winning stage 1.
3. Chase Elliott (4) — Elliott continues to show that he is back to form after missing several races last season due to injury. He worked his way into contention for the win at Kansas in the final stage and he crossed the line third. Elliott has finished fifth or better five times in the last six races while winning once.
4. Martin Truex Jr. (6) — Truex remains winless yet he is second in Cup standings and only 29 points behind Larson. He has the best average finish (8.9) in the series and no DNFs. The 2017 Cup champion was consistent again at Kansas as he scored 10 stage points and finished third.
5. Alex Bowman (7) — Bowman sustained damage during the race and struggled with handling in all three stages. He capitalized on the late caution for Busch by taking two tires. Bowman restarted inside the top 10 and crossed the line seventh. This was his third consecutive top-10 finish and his seventh of the season. Bowman has not finished worse than 10th at Kansas in a Next Gen car.
6. William Byron (3) — Kansas was a lost weekend for Byron. He showed speed in practice but started 36th after hitting the wall in qualifying. He reached the top 10 early in the final stage but faded to 23rd by the end of the race. Byron has finished 33rd and 23rd in the last two Cup races.
7. Noah Gragson (8) — Gragson continues to deliver for Stewart-Haas Racing. Last weekend at Kansas, he raced inside the top 10 in all three stages after qualifying a career-best third. Gragson finished ninth, his third consecutive top 10 finish and fifth of the season. Gragson’s average finish is now a career-best 16.6.
8. Tyler Reddick (5) — Reddick won last season’s playoff race at Kansas and finished ninth in last season’s spring race at Kansas. He did not enjoy the same amount of success last weekend. Reddick made contact with the outside wall multiple times and only scored three stage points. He led seven laps during a day that featured multiple green flag pit cycles but crossed the finish line 20th. Since Reddick’s win at Talladega, he has finished 11th (Dover) and 20th (Kansas).
9. Kyle Busch (NR) — Busch spun from fifth and sent the race to overtime. He restarted 21st and raced his way to eighth in the final two laps of the race. Busch, who struggled with consistency earlier this season, has now finished top 10 in three of the last four races while scoring stage points in three of these races. He has also improved in qualifying. Busch started fourth at Talladega, first at Dover and fifth at Kansas.
10. Ty Gibbs (9) — Gibbs started his weekend strong by qualifying sixth. He scored points the first two stages but had to make a pit stop on Lap 254 that dropped him one lap behind the leaders. Gibbs remained a lap down the rest of the race. He finished 32nd, his worst result of the season. Gibbs still remains eighth in the Cup standings.
Dropped out: Bubba Wallace
