Many of the top teams shined in last weekend’s Brickyard 400 and that is reflected in this week’s NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings.
Tyler Reddick remains No. 1, but he has Ryan Blaney and Indy winner Kyle Larson close behind as the series heads into the two-week Olympic break.
This week’s rankings also sees a new driver in the top 10.
This week’s NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings
1. Tyler Reddick (Last week: No. 1) — His runner-up finish at Indianapolis is his eighth top 10 in the last nine races. He had the best average running position at Indy at 7.0. Reddick has two runner-up finishes and a third-place result in the last four races.
2. Ryan Blaney (2) — Blaney was second on the first overtime restart but when leader Brad Keselowski pulled off to pit before the restart, Kyle Larson moved into Keselowski’s position in the preferred lane and quickly passed Blaney to go on to win at the Indy. Blaney finished third in the Brickyard 400. It is his fourth consecutive top 10 and his sixth top 10 in the last seven races. He has two victories during that span. Blaney had the second-best average running position at Indy at 7.4.
3. Kyle Larson (6) — Scored his series-high fourth win of the season last weekend at Indianapolis. Pit strategy put him in a position that he didn’t have to save fuel and he went from 20th to third in a 22-lap stretch late in the race. He led the final seven laps to win.
4. Christopher Bell (5) — His fourth-place finish at Indy is his sixth top 10 in the last nine races. He has seven stage wins in the last nine races.
5. Chase Elliott (3) — Finished 10th at Indy for his second consecutive top 10. It also was the second race in a row that a penalty hurt his chances for a better finish. At Pocono, he had his first pit road speeding penalty in 93 races. At Indianapolis, it was a blend line violation that had Elliott livid on the radio about the call by NASCAR.
6. Alex Bowman (4) — Collected in a crash and finished 31st at Indy after having won at Chicago and finish third at Pocono in the previous two races.
7. Denny Hamlin (8) — Won the opening stage at Indy and had a strategy to potentially win until a caution altered things. Later pitted for fuel and was collected in a late accident, finishing 32nd. He has three stage wins in the last five races.
8. Bubba Wallace (NR) — His fifth-place finish in the Brickyard 400 is his third top 10 in the last four races. Wallace also won a stage at Indy. He remains below the playoff cutline, but he is only seven points behind Ross Chastain for the final playoff spot with four races left in the regular season.
9. William Byron (7) — He finished 38th after being collected in a crash at Indy. Byron has three top 10s in the last six races. He has not led in the last eight races. He has failed to score stage points in three of the last seven races.
10. Joey Logano (10) — Collected in a crash at Indy and finished 34th. Logano has four finishes of sixth or better in the last eight races. That also includes a win.
Dropped out: Chris Buescher (9)
