Christopher Bell takes over the top spot in this week’s NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings after his New Hampshire victory.
The win continued his hot streak. He’s won two of the last five races and finished no worse than ninth in the other three races.
Josh Berry moves into the top 10 this week after his third-place finish this past weekend.
The series is off to Nashville Superspeedway for Sunday’s race at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
This week’s NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings:
1. Christopher Bell (Last week: No. 5) — He becomes the fourth driver with three victories this season after his New Hampshire win. He has five consecutive top-10 finishes in Cup, including two wins in that stretch. He’s led 26% of the laps run in the last five points races. Bell also has won five stages during that time. He ranks second in the series with 22 playoff points.
2. Kyle Larson (1) — His fourth-place finish at New Hampshire gives him five top 10s in the last seven races. That includes four top-five finishes. Larson continues to lead the series with 23 playoff points. He’s tied with Chase Elliott for first in NASCAR’s season standings but holds the No. 1 spot due to the tiebreaker of having more wins this season.
3. Chase Elliott (2) — His 18th-place finish means he’s still not placed outside the top 20 this season. Elliott has five top 10s in the last eight races. He led 41 laps at New Hampshire — that’s more than he’s led in the last eight races combined.
4. Tyler Reddick (7) — His sixth-place finish gives him four top-10 results in the last five races. He led 53 laps at New Hampshire. That’s more than he had led in the previous four races combined.
5. Brad Keselowski (3) — Placed 28th at New Hampshire but has four top 10s in the last six races. New Hampshire snapped his streak of scoring stage points in five consecutive races.
6. Denny Hamlin (4) — Finished 24th, marking the third consecutive race he’s placed 24th or worse. Hamlin did win a stage at New Hampshire. He collected 14 stage points. That’s more stage points than he scored in the previous three races combined.
7. Ryan Blaney (10) — Was headed to a top-two finish and possibly the win until he was spun by Michael McDowell in the final laps. Blaney finished 25th. He’s scored stage points in six races in a row.
8. William Byron (6) — Wasn’t a factor at New Hampshire, finishing 26th. He’s never finished in the top 10 in seven starts at that track. Byron has placed 15th or worse in three of the last four races this season.
9. Ross Chastain (9) — His 10th-place result marks the sixth consecutive race he’s finished 12th or better.
10. Josh Berry (NR) — He tied his season-best finish of third at New Hampshire. Berry has four top 10s in the last six races.
Dropped out: Alex Bowman (8)