Kyle Larson takes top spot in NASCAR Power Rankings after Dover
Kyle Larson has taken the top spot in the NASCAR Power Rankings after a second-place finish at Dover Motor Speedway.
Larson moved up two spots while one of his teammates moved down. A Toyota driver made the biggest leap after scoring another Cup win.
NBC SPORTS NASCAR POWER RANKINGS
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1. Kyle Larson (Last week: 3) — Larson only has one win this season — Las Vegas — yet he continues to lead the Cup standings. Larson has led the most laps this season (570) and won the most stages (six). His five top-five finishes are the most among Cup drivers.
2. Denny Hamlin (6) — Hamlin won for the third time this season, ending a two-race slide where he finished 30th or worse. Hamlin tied William Byron for the most wins in Cup this season. Hamlin is the only driver to lead laps in all 11 races this season.
3. William Byron (1) — Byron led 36 laps and scored nine stage points at Dover. He was collected in a multi-car crash that resulted in a 33rd-place finish. Prior to Dover, Byron had finished top 10 in five consecutive races while winning twice.
4. Chase Elliott (2) — Elliott, a two-time Dover winner, delivered a quietly consistent performance at the 1-mile banked concrete track. He scored points in both stages and finished fifth. Dover marked the fourth time in the past five races that Elliott finished fifth or better. This streak includes a win at Texas.
5. Tyler Reddick (4) — Reddick, who won Talladega, delivered a solid points day at Dover. He was inside the top 10 in the first two stages and ended the race 11th. Reddick remains fifth in the Cup standings after 11 races.
6. Martin Truex Jr. (5) — Truex led 69 laps and won the first stage at Dover, a track where he has four wins. He was unable to challenge for the win after damaging the front end of the No. 19 Toyota. Truex ended the day third and kept himself second in the Cup standings.
7. Alex Bowman (8) — Bowman had speed to challenge for the lead and stage 2 win at Dover. Damage to the front of the No. 48 Chevrolet limited Bowman during the final stage of the race, but he was able to finish eighth. Bowman has three top-10 finishes in the past four races.
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8. Noah Gragson (NR) — 2024 continues to be a bounce-back season for Gragson. One week after finishing a career-best third at Talladega, he qualified fifth at Dover and ended the race sixth. Gragson gained track position due to a Lap 321 caution that disrupted the final green flag pit cycle. He was able to maintain his spot in the top 10 until Lap 400. Gragson scored his fourth top-10 finish of the season and posted consecutive top 10s for the first time in his Cup career.
9. Ty Gibbs (10) — Gibbs entered Dover with four consecutive finishes of 13th or worse. He delivered a 10th-place finish at a track where he only had one previous Cup start. Gibbs remains eighth in the Cup standings and in position to challenge for his first playoff appearance.
10. Bubba Wallace (7) — The past two weeks have been difficult for Wallace and the No. 23 team. He crashed at Talladega after contact from John Hunter Nemechek. Wallace then crashed at Dover after contact from Zane Smith and fell out of a playoff spot. Next up is Kansas, a track where Wallace won in 2022.
Dropped out: Chase Briscoe
