Christopher Bell takes top spot in NASCAR Power Rankings after Homestead
Christopher Bell takes the top spot in the NASCAR Power Rankings after winning at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace both move up after scoring top-10 finishes.
NBC SPORTS NASCAR POWER RANKINGS
1. Christopher Bell (Last Week: 4th) — Christopher Bell is becoming NASCAR’s Mr. October in the Next Gen era. Homestead marked his third playoff win from below the cutline in two seasons. It punched his ticket back to the Championship 4.
2. Kyle Larson (1) — He dominated early at Homestead while leading 96 laps and winning the first stage. He crashed into the sand barrels at the entrance of pit road and finished 34th. Larson already has one of the Championship 4 spots after winning at Las Vegas.
3. William Byron (2) — He delivered another consistent performance during the playoffs. Byron scored 16 stage points and finished fourth. He moved to 30 points above the cutline heading to Martinsville, a track where he has a Next Gen win.
4. Denny Hamlin (3) — He ran inside of the top 10 in the first two stages and battled for the lead during the final stage. He crashed into the outside wall and finished 30th after saying he had an apparent steering issue. Hamlin fell to 17 points below the cutline.
5. Tyler Reddick (7) — He started third and scored eight stage points but struggled to contend for the win at a track where he was viewed as one of the favorites due to his ability to ride the wall. Reddick finished third after a late charge and matched his career-best mark of 16 top-10 finishes in a single season.
6. Bubba Wallace (9) — He started second and led nine laps but struggled with handling for much of the race. Wallace’s team made significant adjustments during the caution for Larson hitting the sand barrels and salvaged a sixth-place finish.
7. Chris Buescher (5) — He missed out on stage points and spent much of the race a lap down. Buescher was able to get back on the lead lap in the final stage but finished 21st. He fell into a must-win situation heading to the elimination race at Martinsville.
8. Brad Keselowski (6) — He scored eight stage points early but lost his track position after making his green flag pit stop in the final stage. Larson brought out the caution and trapped Keselowski one lap down. Keselowski finished 28th after sustaining damage in a multi-car crash.
9. Chase Elliott (7) — He qualified 16th and missed out on stage points while running outside of the top 10. He finished 15th, his fourth finish of 14th or worse in the past five Homestead races. The No. 9 is 76 points out of the final transfer spot to the Championship 4 on the owner side.
10. Martin Truex Jr. (10) — He started from pole and led 10 laps. He scored 11 stage points but finished 29th after an engine issue cut his day short. Truex fell to 17 points below the cutline heading to Martinsville.
