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Martin Truex Jr. moves to No. 1 in NASCAR Power Rankings

NBC Sports
·4 min read
2

Martin Truex Jr. rockets to No. 1 in the NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings after a dominant performance at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Truex and Chase Elliott are the biggest movers in this week’s rankings. Truex went from fifth to first while Elliott lost multiple spots. This week’s top 10 also has one new driver.

NBC SPORTS NASCAR POWER RANKINGS

1. Martin Truex Jr. (5) — Takes the top spot after leading 254 of the 301 laps at New Hampshire. Truex put on a clinic as he built advantages of more than three seconds. He also held off multiple challengers on late-race restarts. The No. 19 team looks confident again after two finishes outside of the top 20.

2. Kyle Larson (3) — Larson recovered from a crash at Atlanta and secured his series-high ninth top-five finish of the season. The early stretches of the season were checkers or wreckers for the No. 5 team, but once the calendar turned to June, the No. 5 team has been consistent with five top-10 finishes and four top fives. New Hampshire was the latest example as Larson worked his way through the field multiple times.

3. William Byron (1) — Led nine laps during stage 1 and scored points before struggling with handling. Sustained damage after contact with Justin Haley on pit road and then had a longer pit stop to make repairs. Gambled by running long while other drivers made pit stops. Finished 24th after the strategy play and lost the points lead.

4. Denny Hamlin (6) — Delivered another quietly consistent performance after starting 20th. Finished stage 1 seventh and stage 2 fifth. Ended the day seventh in his first top-10 finish since Nashville. Hamlin is fourth in the standings with six races remaining in the regular season.

5. Kyle Busch (2) — Busch’s streak of consecutive top-10 finishes came to an end at New Hampshire as he crashed in stage 1 after hitting the wall and finished last. Shorter tracks continue to cause problems for the No. 8 team at Richard Childress Racing. Richmond, Bristol, and Martinsville will be potential obstacles as Busch tries to return to the Championship four.

Highlights: Truex Jr. wins Cup race at NHMS

For the first time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, Martin Truex Jr. captures the checkered flag at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

6. Joey Logano (8) — Started fourth and delivered a solid performance at a track where he has not won since 2014. Had opportunities on multiple late-race restarts to take the lead from Martin Truex Jr. but couldn’t close the deal. Settled for second and his sixth top-five finish of the season.

7. Michael McDowell (7) — Entered New Hampshire with a career-best finish of 17th at the 1.058-mile track. Secured one point in stage 1 and then fell off sequence with two-tire pit stops. Lost balance after running over debris, but he rebounded late and secured a career-best 13th-place finish. Kept the final spot above the playoff cutline, which was a goal for the No. 34 team.

8. Chase Elliott (4) — Struggled with handling early at New Hampshire and fell a lap down after green flag pit stops. Was able to get back on the lead lap by taking the wave around after two quick cautions for Erik Jones and Aric Almirola. Salvaged a 12th-place finish but still remained 60 points below the playoff cutline.

9. Ryan Blaney (9) — Continues to have a “feast or famine” season in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford. He finished ninth at Atlanta after three straight finishes outside of the top 30. He then put himself in a position to potentially contend for the win at New Hampshire. A pit road penalty for running over an air hose relegated him to a 22nd-place finish.

10. Tyler Reddick (NR) — Has struggled to put together consistent performances since the win at Circuit of the Americas in March. Entered New Hampshire with five straight finishes of 27th or worse. Bounced back with points in the first two stages and his first top-10 finish at New Hampshire since his rookie season in 2020. Helped deliver a turnaround as both 23XI Racing cars finished inside of the top 10.

Dropped out: AJ Allmendinger (10)