The AdventHealth 400 might have been the best race of the 2023 season, especially the closing laps. It was refreshing to watch a car chase the leader over the course of several laps, working on setting the leader up for a pass. There have been too many instances where that type of race has a caution spoil that battle, leading to a messy green-white-checkered finish. Before the great finish, the racing was solid throughout. Sure, there was still the dirty air problem at times. However, the multiple grooves at Kansas allowed drivers to manage the dirty air and still find ways to pass. Still, the Hendrick Chevys (plus Ross Chastain) and Toyota dominated the day. Once again, Ford missed the mark at Kansas. With that great race in the rearview, it is time to look at this week’s Power Rankings. How different will the power rankings look after the AdventHealth 400?
#10 – Tyler Reddick
Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention
A strong Toyota race sees Tyler Reddick return to the Power Rankings. Reddick, who has been out of the power rankings since Week 6, had a solid afternoon at Kansas. Outside of spinning Kyle Larson early, Reddick’s race was uneventful. He ran about 90% of his laps in the Top-15 and averaged an eighth place running position. This, paired with a solid running at Dover, boosts him into the tenth ranking.
#9 – Brad Keselowski
Previous Ranking: 7
As mentioned earlier, it was a tough day for the Fords. Brad Keselowski was a prime example of this. Other than The Clash, Keselowski has not looked this slow on an oval all season. While he rebounded to finish within the Top-20, the Guardians of the Galaxy sponsorship did equate to hyper space speed.
#8 – Ryan Blaney
Previous Ranking: 8
Perhaps the best performing Ford on Sunday, Ryan Blaney finds himself in the same spot as he did last week. Out of all Fords, Blaney had the highest percentage of laps ran inside the Top-15 (94.4%) and best average running position (11). However, Blaney faded during the final green flag run, resulting in his sixteenth place finish.
#7 – Martin Truex Jr
Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention
A huge climb in the power rankings goes to Martin Truex Jr. After his win at Dover, the argument could have been made that he deserved a spot last week. However, his season as a whole had not been stacking up to the drivers from ahead of him. This week, it was undeniable that Truex had to be placed strongly into the Top-10. At certain points of the race, Truex looked to have the car to beat. While still managing a Top-10, it seemed that his car had a better finish in it than eighth.
#6 – Kevin Harvick
Previous Ranking: 5
With every weekend that passes, it becomes clearer that Stewart-Haas Racing is going to be lost without Kevin Harvick. While unspectacular, Harvick’s Sunday was another solid run for the veteran driver. Once again, Ford struggled at Kansas. Only one Ford cracked the Top-10 despite Harvick and Blaney running Top-10 all day. Pit strategy allowed Joey Logano to gain the necessary track position to set himself up with a great finish. Meanwhile, Harvick was unable to hold onto his Top-10 during the final run.
#5 – Ross Chastain
Previous Ranking: 4
Time for everybody’s favorite portion of the power rankings:Â Can You Blame Ross? This week, Chastain has multiple events to review. There was some early contact with Kyle Busch that led to some car tapping during a caution. Later, Christopher Bell spun out in Chastain’s area, so naturally everyone immediately assumed it was his fault. However, the prime event to look over was an incident with Noah Gragson. You be the judge: did Chastain push Gragson into the wall or did Gragson run out talent? Either way, Chastain connected with a right hook to Gragson’s face after Gragson grabbed him on pit road.
As for Chastain’s performance on Sunday, he ran inside the Top-10 all day. There were times where Chastain looked to have something for the leaders. In the end, Chastain came home with a Top-5. While he dropped a spot in the rankings, it is not due a bad performance.
#4 – Denny Hamlin
Previous Ranking: 6
If you listen real carefully, you can still hear the Kansas fans booing Denny Hamlin. Hamlin secured his first win of the season on Sunday. For someone who has been critical of Ross Chastain’s aggressive driving style, it sure did not stop him from using his front bumper to get a win. Controversy aside, Hamlin did have the best long run car in the field on Sunday. While his hypocritical pass might irk some fans, Hamlin had the car to beat.
#3 – Christopher Bell
Previous Ranking: 1
Down from the top spot this week, Christopher Bell wrecked out of Sunday’s race. He attempted to ride momentum out of turn two to get under Chastain, but something let go in his car and he went for a ride. Before the accident, Bell did not have Top-5 speed. He was running solidly in the Top-10, but never was on the same level as the Hendrick cars or his Toyota teammates.
#2 – William Byron
Previous Ranking: 3
After winning the pole on Saturday, William Byron had an adventurous day climbing his way to a Top-5 finish. Early in the race, Byron fell two laps down. Luckily, the plethora of cautions allowed Byron and his team the chance to get back into the race and make the necessary adjustments to rebound for a Top-5 finish.
#1 – Kyle Larson
Previous Ranking: 3
At the start of the race, it seemed that Kyle Larson’s run of bad luck was at it again. In the early laps of the race, Tyler Reddick spun Larson out through the tri-oval. However, Larson would not struggle to climb his way back up the leaderboard. By the end of the race, Larson managed to lead a race high 89 laps. It looked to be Larson’s race in Stage 3 until the long green flag run allowed Hamlin’s superior long run speed to factor into the result. Larson was spun out on the backstretch of the final lap. Luckily, he was able to keep the car moving and still finished in second. With his great run, Larson finds himself back atop the power rankings.
Honorable Mentions
Kyle Busch – Back to back weeks of rotten luck for Kyle Busch. He wrecked out at both Dover and Kansas. Despite his Talladega win, the past few weeks have not been good for the RCR driver. Even though he has two wins on the year, Busch’s speed has failed to live up to the standard set early in the season.
Chris Buescher –Â Falling into the woes of the Fords, Buescher slips out of the power rankings again. His car seemed to have better long run speed, but his restarts were tremendously poor. He was able to sniff the Top-10 at times, but never for long.
Chase Elliott – Since his return, Elliott’s worst finish has been twelfth at Talladega. If not for his DNF in the Daytona 500, Elliott’s average finish on the season would be 8.4. While it is going to take a few more races before Elliott will be replacing any of the drivers in front of him, he deserves the honorable mention for how well he has run since his surgery.
