Austin Dillon’s last-lap victory at Richmond proved controversial, but this week’s NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings has a clear consensus at No. 1.
It’s the same driver who has been there — Tyler Reddick.
The 23XI Racing driver continues to be consistent and maintains a hold of the top spot heading into Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network).
This week’s NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings
1. Tyler Reddick (Last time: No. 1): His third-place finish is his fourth top-three finish in the last five races. Reddick has six consecutive top 10s and has moved to within five points of series leader Kyle Larson in the season standings.
2. Kyle Larson (3) — A relatively quiet Richmond race. He led 17 laps and finished seventh. He has top 10s in four of his last six Cup races. He failed to score stage points this past weekend for the first time in eight races.
3. Christopher Bell (4) — He finished sixth despite a pit road speeding penalty — the third consecutive Richmond race he has been caught speeding on pit road. Bell led 122 laps and scored 19 stage points, winning the first stage and scoring a runner-up result in the second stage. He has a series-best 10 stage wins this year.
4. Ryan Blaney (2) — He was 11th at Richmond, marking the fifth consecutive race he’s finished 11th or better. That includes a win (Pocono) and a third-place finish (Indianapolis).
5. Chase Elliott (5) — His ninth-place finish marked the third consecutive race Elliott has been ninth or 10th. He scored points in both stages for only the second time in the last five races.
6. Denny Hamlin (7) — Runner-up finish was just his second top 10 in the last eight races, but he continues to lead laps. He led a race-high 124 laps at Richmond. Hamlin had the best average running position at Richmond at 2.8. He has led in five of the last six races.
7. Bubba Wallace (8) — He had never finished better than 12th in 12 previous Cup races at Richmond and then placed fourth on Sunday to move into the final playoff spot with three races left in the regular season. He moved up a spot in the playoff standings after the penalty to Austin Dillon this week and is now three points above the playoff cutline. Wallace has four top 10s in the last five races. He scored points in both stages for the first time in last nine races.
8. Joey Logano (10) — In position to win until he was knocked out of the way on the last lap by Austin Dillon. Logano spun and hit the wall, finishing 19th. He had the second-best average running position at Richmond at 4.5.
9. William Byron (9) — His 13th-place finish was his third top 15 in the last four races, but he has not led a lap in the last nine races, the longest drought in his Cup career.
10. Alex Bowman (6) — Pit road speeding penalty added to what was a tough race at Richmond. He placed 28th. In the last four races he has a win, a third-place finish, a 31st-place result and a 28th-place finish.