Ty Gibbs takes top spot in NASCAR Power Rankings after COTA
Ty Gibbs takes the top spot in the NASCAR Power Rankings after another top-five finish.
Goodyear drops off the list after its one-week run atop the standings while a Chevrolet driver moves back into the top 10.
NBC SPORTS NASCAR POWER RANKINGS
NASCAR official says ‘work to be done’ after dozens of penalties called at COTA
NASCAR issued a total of 40 penalties in the Cup, Xfinity and Truck races for short cutting the course.
1. Ty Gibbs (Last week: 2) — Gibbs has yet to win at the Cup level, but he has continued to show that he will check off this goal in the near future. He has been the most consistent driver this season with a series-best five top-10 finishes and a series-best average finish of 7.8. Gibbs's worst finish this season is 17th at Daytona.
2. Martin Truex Jr. (8) — The regular-season champion last season, Truex has sole possession of the points lead after the first six races. He has the second-best average finish in the series (8.8) and four consecutive top-10 finishes. Truex's worst finish through six races is 15th at Daytona.
3. Christopher Bell (9) — Bell started his season with a third-place finish at Daytona and back-to-back finishes of 33rd or worse at Atlanta and Las Vegas. In the three races since, he has won at Phoenix, finished 10th at Bristol and finished second at COTA. Bell is back to being a contender each week.
4. Denny Hamlin (3) — Hamlin led three laps at COTA and won stage 2 after making the decision to stay out while other drivers made pit stops. The strategy put him further back in the field during the final stage, one that ran without cautions. Hamlin, who won at Bristol, finished 14th.
5. Kyle Larson (4) — The Las Vegas winner, Larson was inside the top five during the second stage before Bell spun him. Larson fell to 36th. A fuel-only stop during the final stage gave Larson some of his track position back but he finished 17th after drivers with fresher tires passed him. Larson has a win and a fifth-place finish in the last four races. He also has two finishes of 14th or worse.
Can anyone challenge Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports in Cup?
The two organizations have won five of the first six points races and led nearly two-thirds of the laps run this year.
6. William Byron (10) — Byron snapped a two-week skid Sunday at COTA. He started from pole, led 42 of the 68 laps and won his second race of the season. Byron's season has lacked some consistency, but he is the first repeat winner this season.
7. Ross Chastain (NR) — Chastain remains winless through the first six races this season, but he has the third-best average finish (10.0) in the series. He has four top-10 finishes in the first six races and no DNFs. Sunday's seventh-place finish at COTA marked the first time in four races at the road course Chastain had finished outside the top five.
8. Ryan Blaney (5) — Blaney scored nine stage points at COTA, but he spun during the final stage. He recovered and finished 12th. Blaney has posted top-five finishes at Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix but has finished outside the top 10 at Bristol and COTA. He is third in the Cup standings.
9. Chris Buescher (8) — Buescher missed out on stage points at COTA but left Texas with an eighth-place finish. He has four top-10 finishes in the last five races. A crash at Las Vegas after a tire came off is the only hiccup.
10. Brad Keselowski (7) — Keselowski entered Sunday's race winless on road courses. He left in the same position after a difficult day in which he spun multiple times and finished 33rd. The bad news for Keselowski is that he fell three spots to 16th in the Cup standings. The good news is that the series next heads to Richmond where Keselowski has two wins and 14 top-10 finishes.
Dropped out: Goodyear
