The Round of 8 rumbled on at the final intermediate track of the 2023 season. Homestead-Miami Speedway hosted the 4EVER 400 for the NASCAR Cup Series. Serving as the middle race for the Round of 8, Homestead became the wild card of this round for the playoff drivers. Chaos hit the race when Kyle Larson used barrels of sand to help him brake onto pit road. After the cleanup, the remaining laps saw intense racing that led to massive playoff implications. Once again, Homestead proved why it should return as the rightful season finale race of each NASCAR series. However, fans will have to settle for it being third to last. With the late race drama, how did that shuffle the Pit Pass Network Power Rankings for Week 31? After Week 30 saw a new number one crowned, will this week offer more change?
#10 – Ross Chastain
Previously Ranked: Honorable Mention
It is not common that driver moves back into the power rankings after wrecking out. However, the 4EVER 400 significantly changed after the Kyle Larson caution. One driver who suffered for that change was Ross Chastain. Prior to John Hunter Nemechek sparking this incident, Chastain was running near or in the Top-5 for the bulk of the afternoon. He continued to demonstrate that the Trackhouse 1 car has rediscovered that early season speed.
#9 – Martin Truex Jr
Previously Ranked: 9
It has been a rough playoffs for Martin Truex Jr. Last week, Truex finally managed to nab his first Top-10 of the playoffs. To start this weekend, Truex grabbed the pole for the race. Things were trending up. However, Truex slowly moved down the running order throughout the race. He quickly lost the lead and fell down the lower Top-10. His day came to an end after blowing his engine during the Denny Hamlin caution.
#8 – Tyler Reddick
Previously Ranked: 7
Much like last week, Tyler Reddick falling a spot in the power rankings is not due to him having a bad race. He finished third after running Top-10 for the bulk of the day. However, a driver behind him had a better day. While he did finish third, his finish is not indicative of how he ran all race long.
#7 – Chris Buescher
Previously Ranked: 5
Down two spots this week, Chris Buescher had a bad weekend at Homestead. The 17 car was slow in practice, did not qualify well, and then backed it up with a bad Stage 1. A tight handling car saw Buescher slide to the back of the pack. By the time the team had made the car better, Buescher was trapped a lap down. Even after the adjustments, Buescher’s car never matched his playoff competitors.
#6 – Ryan Blaney
Previously Ranked: 8
The other Ford driver still in the playoffs had a fantastic day. Ryan Blaney won Stage 2 and looked primed to drive away with the win. Luckily, Larson decided to hit the barrels instead of plowing through Blaney’s bumper on the incident that brought out the caution. While Blaney had the lead on the restart, his battle with Denny Hamlin saw him lose the lead and then two more spots on the following restart. Blaney’s long run car did not have enough time to track down Christopher Bell. Still, a second place finish and leaving Homestead above the cutline is a great day.
#5 – Brad Keselowski
Previously Ranked: 6
Similar to Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski was having a great race prior to the Larson caution. Keselowski led 16 laps and ran Top-5 through Stages 1 and 2. A bad restart saw Keselowski fall lower in the Top-10. Then, he got trapped a lap down due to pitting prior to the Larson caution. After taking the wave around, Keselowski got caught up in the Chastain accident and broke a toe link. Keselowski managed to limp home four laps down.
#4 – Denny Hamlin
Previously Ranked: 3
Name a better duo than Denny Hamlin and attempting to run drivers into the outside wall. Hamlin and the 11 team consistently took the strategy to pit late and take advantage of fresher tires. This worked well in Stage 2, where Hamlin climbed through the field to finish the stage in fifth. Hamlin’s day turned sour after a mechanical failure saw him collide with the wall in Turn 1.
#3 – Christopher Bell
Previously Ranked: 5
Christopher Bell is surging ahead in these power rankings as the season winds down. Back to back Top-2s sees Bell sit third in the rankings. More importantly though, Bell’s win locks him into the Championship Four for the second straight year. However, Bell did not look like a race winner during Stage 2. Something was clearly wrong with the car, as Bell almost fell a lap down before the Stage 2 break. Whatever adjustments the team made clearly worked, as Bell shot out of a cannon on the post-Larson caution restart.
#2 – Kyle Larson
Previously Ranked: 1
Prior to the closing laps of Stage 2, it looked like Kyle Larson was going to run away with the race. Larson led a race high 96 laps and usually pulled away from the field when leading. However, poor tire/car management (plus lapped traffic) during the closing laps of Stage 2 saw Larson lose the lead to Ryan Blaney. Larson never reclaimed the lead. Instead, he attempted to close the gap during entry to pit road in the final stage. In the process, he was unable to slow enough to remain behind Blaney. His mistake led the 5 team to their eighth DNF on the year and cost him a Top-5 finish.
#1 – William Byron
Previously Ranked: 2
Back to the top of the power rankings this week is William Byron. After leading 13 laps during Stage 1, Byron quietly fell back into the Top-5. For most of the race, that is where Byron remained. During the final restarts, Byron managed to pass Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney to take a late lead. However, his car simply did not match the speed that Christopher Bell found. A solid Top-5 and a safe points cushion heading into Martinsville equals a good weekend for the 24 team.
Honorable Mention
Kyle Busch – Another week of Kyle Busch and the 8 team missing the mark. Busch was firmly a mid-pack car on Sunday.
Kevin Harvick – Despite the race being in his honor, Kevin Harvick never flashed great speed throughout the 4EVER 400. Even when the Larson caution gave Harvick great track position, the lack of speed saw Harvick unable to keep his Budweiser throwback scheme in the Top-10.
Joey Logano –Â Three straight solid races for Joey Logano keeps him as an honorable mention.
