The NOCO 400 at Martinsville might have been the toughest race to do power rankings based on. When looking for consistency from a driver for the entire weekend, this race had little to none. Between some drivers showing speed in practice and qualifying then sputtering during the race, other drivers have costly penalties during the race, and the caution during green flag pit stops throwing running order for loop, this week was not fun. All of this before Talladega, which should throw even more chaos into these power rankings. With all that said, the power rankings are completed and ready for your viewing pleasure. How did a frustrating Martinsville race shake up the power rankings?
#10 – Denny Hamlin
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked
Denny Hamlin returns to the power rankings for the first time since Week 3. Ignoring the Bristol dirt race, Hamlin is coming off two strong performances at short tracks. Hamlin would have returned to the power rankings after Richmond if not for speeding penalties that significantly hurt him. Luckily for Hamlin, he was able to avoid those at Martinsville. Hamlin led 36 laps during Stage 3 and looked to be the car to beat. His track position was hurt after the Anthony Alfredo caution and Hamlin was unable to move his way back to the lead. Still, a Top-5 is nothing to sneeze at.
#9 – Kyle Busch
Previous Ranking: 6
The largest drop in this week’s rankings is Kyle Busch. His inconsistency this year has to be driving his fans crazy. Since Las Vegas, Busch has seldomly shown the early season race winning speed. Bristol dirt was a step in the right direction, then this week happened. Martinsville was his worst race of the season so far. Busch consistently ran outside the Top-20, even falling down a lap at one point during the race. Whatever speed Busch demonstrated early in the season has left his RCR car.
#8 – Brad Keselowski
Previous Ranking: 9
Another week, another Brad Keselowski strong run without the finish to back it up. Once again, Keselowski runs at/near the Top-5 for a good portion of the race only to finish outside the Top-10. This week, the Alfredo caution hurt Keselowski the most out of any driver. In what is turning out to be a Matt McCall special, Keselowski waited until the end of the cycle to pit, which screwed Keselowski more since he did not have the track time to make up for the pit stop. Keselowski got stuck in traffic and only fell backwards from there.
#7 – Tyler Reddick
Previous Ranking: 7
Another driver who was on the wrong end of the Alfredo yellow flag was Tyler Reddick. Much like Keselowski, Reddick was running securely in the Top-10 for the bulk of the day. After the caution, Reddick never found his way back up to the front. As a result, Reddick found himself with a finish outside the Top-20.
#6 – Kevin Harvick
Previous Ranking: 8
Unlike the previous two drivers, Kevin Harvick’s poor finishing result was not due to the Anthony Alfredo caution. Harvick was one of the few drivers who had already pitted to remain on the lead lap at the time of that caution. Although that caution did not harm Harvick’s running order, the JJ Yeley caution did. During the pit stop after that caution, Harvick’s crew failed to tightly secure one of his tires, causing damage and bringing the 4 car back to pit road. If not for that issue, Harvick would have likely ended up with a Top-5 finish. Due to the strength of his run however, Harvick still boosted his ranking by a couple of spots.
#5 – William Byron
Previous Ranking: 3
Oh how the mighty have fallen. After COTA, it was difficult to make an argument against Byron as the top driver each week. Now, Byron’s stock is slipping quickly. As discussed last week, Byron’s runs have been lopsided to the early portions of the race. Especially in his two wins, Byron starts out as the front runner, slides back into the middle-to-back of the Top-10, then catches a lucky break in the closing laps. However, Martinsville was simply bad once qualifying wrapped up. After starting eighth, Byron only managed to run 39.3% of his laps in the Top-15.
#4 – Ross Chastain
Previous Ranking: 5
Up one spot from last week is Ross Chastain. There is not too much to say for Chastain at Martinsville. For the bulk of the race, Chastain ran around the Top-10. He was one of the many drivers who fell a lap down due to the Alfredo loose tire. Unlike Reddick and Keselowski, Chastain was able to maneuver his way to a Top-15 finish. On to Talladega.
#3 – Christopher Bell
Previous Ranking: 2
Off the back of his Bristol dirt win, Christopher Bell had a bit of down week this weekend in Virginia. From the start, Bell did not have the speed that he has shown throughout this season. A mediocre qualifying run before running mid-pack all race is what fans saw from Christopher Bell. Nothing terribly, but nothing of any promising quality either. Much like last season, expect Bell to have a better performance in the Fall at Martinsville.
#2 – Alex Bowman
Previous Ranking: 4
Much like Ross Chastain, there is not too much to say about Alex Bowman’s weekend at Martinsville. Outside of Kyle Larson, none of the Hendrick cars seemed particularly good this past weekend. Bowman qualified outside the Top-20, but was able to run in the Top-15 for almost 90% of his laps. He failed to secure his seventh Top-10 of the season with his 11th place finish. For the power rankings, it was an Alex Bowman race: consistent speed in 7th-15th position and finishing better than what his speed would suggest.
#1 – Kyle Larson
Previous Ranking: 1
For the third straight week, Kyle Larson reigns supreme on the power rankings. Honestly, this was the easiest driver to rank this week. Although his win felt a bit flukey, at least Larson ran Top-10 the entire day, unlike if Joey Logano won. With his two tire stop during the last caution of the race, Larson was able restart on the front row. It was only a matter of when Larson would be able to pass the subpar car of Logano’s. Larson’s recent momentum will be tested at the superspeedway, where he notoriously runs poorly.
Honorable Mentions
Joey Logano – Despite finishing second, Joey Logano did not have much consideration for cracking the Top-10. Logano was slow all race long, including being lapped on more than one occasion. While the result is nice, the entire race is considered for these power rankings.
Chris Buescher – An early penalty for equipment interference severely hampered Chris Buescher’s day. He was able to recover for a Top-15 finish, but it was not enough to keep him on this week’s power rankings
Chase Briscoe – A driver on the rise is Chase Briscoe. Arguably, Briscoe was the best car on Sunday. This continues a recent run of strong performance for Briscoe. However, the past two races have been on tracks where Briscoe is expected to thrive.
