Last week, the claim was made that the NOCO 400 was a tough race to base power rankings off of due to the Anthony Alfredo caution. Well, the GEICO 500 at Talladega said “hold my beer”. Superspeedways are always a bit tricky when attempting to gauge how well a driver ran. Strategy plays a huge factor in where a driver will run throughout the race. Unlike the purposefully clueless commentators, there is an understanding here when a good driver is running in thirties. It is because they are riding around back for the bulk of race to avoid any potential wrecks. When considering power rankings, how does that alter the grading of a driver? Can a driver be punished for playing a strategy to avoid an early wreck? Is a driver running at the front due to a great performance or the drafting package making it more difficult to maneuver around the lead? All of those questions were considered and answered.
Now time to present the Week 7 Pit Pass Network Cup Series Power Rankings.
#10 – Ryan Blaney
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked
Ryan Blaney has cracked his way into the power rankings for the first time this season. Once again, the selection for the tenth driver on this list was a difficult one. All three drivers that will be mentioned down in honorable mentions had strong cases to be number ten. However, Blaney edges the three of them out due to his great run at Talladega. He led 47 laps, qualified in the Top-5, and is coming off a Top-10 at Martinsville. While the winless streak has continued, Blaney has been looking better over the past three races.
#9 – Denny Hamlin
Previous Ranking: 10
Another solid run for Denny Hamlin on a superspeedway sees him bump up one spot. Hamlin qualified on the pole and ran the third most laps within the Top-15 on the day. Despite that, Hamlin did not play a huge role at the end of the race nor did he lead a lot of laps. So far, Hamlin has not been his superb-self at the superspeedways.
#8 – Brad Keselowski
Previous Ranking:Â 8
While it is hard to argue strategy with a man who has won at Talladega six times, it is odd that Brad Keselowski usually hangs back at Talladega. At Daytona and Atlanta, he attempted (and did mostly) to run near the front for the entirety of the race. Meanwhile, both he and Chris Buescher laid back until the final stretches. Clearly, the two had fast cars as they were able to drive their way to the front when it mattered. Keselowski might have had a shot at the win if Bubba Wallace does not throw that late block. Still, Keselowski finished with a Top-5 on the day.
#7 – Kyle Busch
Previous Ranking: 9
Well, this was unexpected. A continuous thread in these power rankings have been the slow descent of Kyle Busch. If not for his win, it is likely Busch would have been dropped out of the power rankings. However, Busch won and gained two spots at a superspeedway. Funny how NASCAR works. Plus, Busch either actively ignored his crew chief or accidently did not pit before the last caution of the race. Luckily for Busch, he only ran out of gas during the burnouts.
#6 – Ross Chastain
Previous Ranking: 4
Another race, another accusation of Ross Chastain wrecking drivers. This week, the lucky contestant to play Can You Blame Ross? was Noah Gragson. On the second to last restart, Gragson got loose and opened a middle lane that Chastain happily filled. Gragson seemingly threw a late block and wrecked himself (and others). Chastain did not receive much damage from the contact, but he had to pit for fuel before the final restart. This explains the mediocre finish. Other than that, Chastain ran within the Top-15 for 70% of the race, including scoring stage points in Stage 1.
#5 – Kevin Harvick
Previous Ranking: 6
Kevin Harvick barely squeaks by Chastain for three reasons. First, Harvick finished better than Chastain. Two, Harvick had 1.5% more laps in the Top-15 than Chastain did. Finally, Harvick outqualified Chastain. These two drivers have been close the entire season in their performance. Small details on a race by race basis makes the difference of one spot.
#4 – William Byron
Previous Ranking: 5
Similar to Brad Keselowski, William Byron spent much of the GEICO 500 riding in the back of the pack with teammate Alex Bowman. After placing fourth in Stage 1, Byron decided to back out of the intensity of the front draft and run in the back. The strategy paid off with a Top-10 finish and moving up one spot this week.
#3 – Alex Bowman
Previous Ranking: 2
Alex Bowman finished second in Stage 1 before running in the back with William Byron. His overall season consistency keeps Bowman in front of Byron despite finishing worse than his teammate. However, Bowman will be dropping off this list (likely) next week. After fracturing his vertebra in sprint car race, Bowman is expected to miss 3-4 weeks. For the second straight season, Bowman will miss races due to injury. Bowman’s 2023 was off to a great start. Perhaps the most consistent car for all ten races this season, Bowman’s absence will open the door for a new driver to make the power rankings.
#2 – Christopher Bell
Previous Ranking: 3
Christopher Bell leapfrogs Alex Bowman for the third spot in the power rankings this week. Bell secured his seventh Top-10 finish on the season. Not only did Bell finish in the Top-10, he also qualified there as well. For a driver who allegedly does not like superspeedway racing, Bell has proven to be quite good on the drafting tracks.
#1 – Kyle Larson
Previous Ranking: 1
Retaining his spot on top of the power rankings is Kyle Larson. Mostly based on his performance prior to Talladega, Larson’s top spot remained secured with a solid showing. Superspeedways have never been kind to Larson though, and Sunday was no different. Once again, Larson was involved in a scary looking accident. This time, he got t-boned by Ryan Preece at over 160 MPH. Thankfully, both drivers were okay after the contact. The chassis to Larson’s car broke and sent some pieces flying around the inside of the car. For whatever reason, Larson cannot find luck at superspeedways or Stewart-Haas Racing cars (for 2023).
Honorable Mention
Tyler Reddick – While Tyler Reddick did not have a bad day at Talladega, it was noticeably worse than other drivers in the back-half of the power rankings. Plus, his bad luck at Martinsville hurt his ranking as well.
Chase Briscoe – It was truly a toss up between Ryan Blaney and Chase Briscoe for the tenth spot. However, Blaney ran near the front all day while Briscoe had to claw his way back up to a Top-5 after a spin on pit road.
Chris Buescher – Another driver with strong case, Chris Buescher claimed his second Top-5 on the season. While Buescher had an edge over Briscoe due to his back marker status being one of choice, he could not rank higher than Blaney or Briscoe, who have had better races recently.
