The Pit Pass Network Cup Series Power Rankings return after a one week hiatus. The Power Rankings took a week off for the All-Star Race. After the Coca-Cola 600, the power rankings have returned for Week 11. The past two weeks of North Carolina-based racing have been a mixed bag. While the historic feel of North Wilkesboro was great, the on-track racing was subpar. Meanwhile, the rain put a damper on the festivities in Charlotte. However, once the cars got on track, the Coca-Cola 600 again thrilled audiences with great racing and excitement. With that said, NASCAR should be happy with how things have turned out.
For this week’s power rankings, will the All-Star race be included? No. While every driver on mentioned in the power rankings participated in the main event of the All-Star Race, it is still simply an All-Star event. All-Star events in other sports do not count toward any sort of power rankings. Neither will they here. With that said, how did the Coca-Cola 600 alter the power rankings this week?
#10 – Kevin Harvick
Previous Ranking: 8
Once again, this week for power rankings were difficult due to how well most of the top performers ran. Kevin Harvick slides down a couple of spots this week. However, this is not due to a bad performance. Harvick finished second in Stage 2 and ended the day in eleventh after a late spin. However, his recent performances have seen a slight decline (despite his second at Darlington). Other drivers have been on the rise during this mild stretch for Harvick.
#9 – Brad Keselowski
Previous Ranking: 7
Bad luck hit RFK Racing during Stage 3. After finishing first and third in Stage 2, both RFK drivers experienced rotten circumstances. For Brad Keselowski, a loose wheel brought him down pit road while the race was still under green flag, where he lost two laps. While riding in the back later in the stage, Keselowski broke loose coming out Turn 2 and made contact with Todd Gilliland. Any potential of a good finish vanished for Keselowski in the third stage. It is a shame too since he was running Top-5 for the majority of the first 300 miles.
#8 – Kyle Busch.
Previous Ranking: 10
Kyle Busch powers ahead into the eighth spot this week with a solid running at the Coca-Cola 600. Busch averaged a seventh place running position and usually found himself running between fourth and eighth. However, for a driver who complains about the driving of others, Busch turned himself into a bit of wrecking ball. Contact on pit road spoiled the day for a few drivers while Busch was almost clearing himself into the front bumper of several drivers. Also, Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr had a tense back and forth during the last green flag run of the race.
#7 – Denny Hamlin
Previous Ranking: 6
It seems that Denny Hamlin has finally moved on from his rivalry with Ross Chastain. Now, he is getting embroiled into one with Chase Elliott. After Elliott ran into the wall while battling Hamlin, the son of Awesome Bill from Dawsonville decided to hook a left and wreck Hamlin into the fence during Stage 2. This action has led to Elliott receiving a one race suspension. Hamlin has handled the situation in the most-Hamlin way possible: complaining on Twitter/his podcast.
Meanwhile, Hamlin drops a spot in the power rankings due to poor results the past couple of weeks.
#6 – Ryan Blaney
Previous Ranking: 9
Ryan Blaney shoots up the power rankings after a dominate performance on Monday. Blaney led a race-high 163 laps, only ran 4 laps outside the Top-15, and averaged a third place running position. From Stage 2 on, the race was Blaney’s to lose. Restart after restart, Blaney was able to power his Ford to the front and hold off challenges from William Byron, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Larson. Blaney finally snaps his winless streak and brings Ford back to victory lane for the second time this season.
#5 – Christopher Bell
Previous Ranking: 4
Due to the length of the Coca-Cola 600, the track changes massively. These changes are the ultimate challenge for teams to maintain their cars to run at a high level all race. For Christopher Bell, his team was unable to keep up with the track. Bell led 48 laps early in the race. However, he faded badly as the race dragged on. In the end, Bell finished a measly twenty-fourth.
#4 – Ross Chastain
Previous Ranking: 3
Unfortunately, there is no edition of Can You Blame Ross? for this week’s power rankings. During the first half of the race, Chastain around the Top-10. He never flashed the same speed he had at last year’s race. During Stage 3, Chastain got caught up in the fender crunching on pit road that led to Chastain running off his usual pace. Overall, the Coca-Cola 600 was a big miss for the Trackhouse team.
#3 – Martin Truex Jr
Previous Ranking: 4
Outside the stretch from Dover to Darlington, Martin Truex Jr has had a very quiet season. Much like Alex Bowman, his results have been solid without the significant race winning speed expected from a Joe Gibbs ride. The Coca-Cola 600 was no different. Truex ends up with a Top-5 after quietly running well all race. It was a 2023 Martin Truex Jr race: no laps led but stayed in the Top-15 essentially for the entire race.
#2 – Kyle Larson
Previous Ranking: 1
If these power rankings were considering the All-Star Race, Kyle Larson would still be number one. He dominated the All-Star Race after slapping on fresh tires early in the first half of the race. Larson turned the All-Star Race into a snoozer and gave the field a “old-fashioned [butt]-whooping”. Fast forward to the Coca-Cola 600, Larson had a solid run going until he brought out the last caution of the race. While racing in the Top-5 on a restart, Larson fell victim to the ole-NASCAR Thunder 2004 issue: too tight turning into spinning out loose. Larson’s dethroning (for this week) is down to number one’s success rather than his recent DNFs though.
#1 – William Byron
Previous Ranking: 2
William Byron and Kyle Larson are going to hot potato number one back and forth all season long it seems. After Larson went on a dominate run, Byron has responded by putting together two great races back to back. Byron won at Darlington and put together a better race than Larson on Monday. It was Byron’s usual formula: show strong speed early, fade into the mid Top-10, then wind back up battling for the lead late. Byron’s pit crew (and pit stall) pushed Byron to the lead on multiple restarts. With Byron leading the second most laps and finishing second, Byron moves back on top of the power rankings.
Honorable Mentions
Tyler Reddick – Once again, strong race from Tyler Reddick. He led 28 laps and finished in the Top-5. If one of the back drivers slips up at WWT Raceway, Reddick will return to the power rankings.
Chris Buescher – Chris Buescher won Stage 2 and looked to be a contender for the race win. However, bad luck struck when the bunch up on pit road hurt Buescher’s car. For the remainder of the race, Buescher ran outside the Top-20 while his crew worked on fixing his car. With the chaos at the end, Buescher was able to drive his way to a Top-10.
Bubba Wallace – Three straight Top-5s for Bubba Wallace has turned his season around completely. Despite being shoved by Aric Almirola during the rain delay, Wallace responded by putting together another great run.
