William Byron moves up in NASCAR Power Rankings after Watkins Glen
Martin Truex Jr. keeps the top spot in this week’s NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings after finishing sixth at Watkins Glen International.
This week’s rankings also sees a Hendrick Motorsports driver rocket up the standings after getting back to his winning ways.
NBC SPORTS NASCAR POWER RANKINGS
1. Martin Truex Jr. (Last week: 1st) — He was not a story at Watkins Glen; he just went about his business throughout the day and finished sixth. He has not finished worse than seventh in the past six races, and he has already matched his number of top-10 finishes (15) from last season with 11 races left in the season.
2. Denny Hamlin (2) — He started from the pole at a road course for the third time this season, and he spent the entire race running inside of the top five. He scored 17 points in the first two stages and continued to build momentum for the start of the playoffs.
3. Kyle Larson (4) — He had a top-five car at the track where he has won the past two Cup races. Scored 12 points in the first two stages but received a penalty during the final stage for speeding on pit road. Finished 26th after contact with Austin Dillon on the final lap sent them both spinning.
4. William Byron (8) — Entered Watkins Glen with no top-10 finishes in five consecutive races. He snapped this streak by scoring his first career road course win. He started second and delivered a dominant performance by leading 66 of the 90 laps, winning stage 2 and walking away with 19 stage points. Now he heads to Daytona, the site of his first career win.
5. Chris Buescher (3) — Scored his 11th career top-10 finish at a road course and moved into a tie with Ross Chastain for seventh in the regular-season standings. He set a career-high mark with his 11th top-10 finish in a season. His previous best was 10 last year.
6. Brad Keselowski (5) — Started 24th at Watkins Glen and finished 15th with no stage points. Continued his streak of finishing every race at the New York road course. Secured his spot in the playoffs with Byron winning the race.
7. Bubba Wallace (10) — He delivered a much-needed performance for the No. 23 team at Watkins Glen. Started 12th but ran inside of the top 10 throughout the first two stages. Lost some positions when the caution flew for Chase Elliott running out of fuel, but he worked his way back up to 12th before the end of the race.
8. Kyle Busch (NR) — A solid day is what the No. 8 team needed after a five-week stretch featuring three finishes of 36th or worse. Busch qualified inside of the top 10 and scored four points in the first two stages. He finished 14th.
9. Chase Elliott (7) — He qualified mid-pack on Saturday but worked his way inside of the top 10 before the end of stage 2 with pit strategy. He finished 32nd after running out of fuel. Daytona is his only chance to win and reach the playoffs.
10. Michael McDowell (10) — He experienced a rollercoaster day at Watkins Glen. He qualified third, took the lead from Denny Hamlin early and won stage 1. He recovered from two separate pit road penalties to put himself back in the top 10 during the final stage, but an electrical issue sent him to the garage. He finished 36th one week after winning at Indianapolis.
Dropped out: Kevin Harvick
