After three solid NASCAR Cup Series races to kick off the season, there was bound to be a snoozer upcoming. Phoenix Raceway hosted that snoozer on Sunday, as the NextGen car still struggles to entertain on a track under a mile. The Shriner Children’s 500 was light in action, but definitely had championship implications. Toyota shined with their new body, spanking the field throughout the day. However, Ford looked sporty at times. Meanwhile, Chevy might be regretting not updating their body. A bit of a caution flurry mixed things up in the final stage. How did that alter the trajectory of the power rankings? What changes will there be from last week in the FitStop Performance Week 4 Power Rankings?
#10 – Ty Gibbs
Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention
With his first appearance in the power rankings, Joe Gibbs Racing officially has every driver in the Top-10. Ty Gibbs has gotten off to a strong start this season. His third place finish at Phoenix was a career best and his third Top-10 of the season. Gibbs led the majority of Stage 1 despite losing the stage win to Tyler Reddick. The middle portion of the race saw Gibbs stuck in the mid-pack due to a slow pit stop on the green flag cycle.
#9 – Chris Buescher
Previous Ranking: 10
A solid rebound effort from Chris Buescher and the 17 crew sees him up a spot this week. Buescher was one of the few who could (slowly) navigate his way through the field. After the early caution in Stage 1, Buescher pitted for fresh tires. He managed to climb to 15th before the stage break. During Stage 2, Buescher drove through the teens to finish the stage in 10th. With some pit strategy, Buescher found himself in the Top-5 during the last leg of the race. Showing off some RFK Racing strength, he drove up to second place for his first Top-5 of the season.
#8 – Ross Chastain
Previous Ranking: 8
The top finishing Chevy on the day remains stagnant in his power ranking position. Ross Chastain took advantage of pit strategy to net himself a Top-10. Much like the rest of the Chevys, Chastain found himself running mid-pack for the most of the race. He was able to hold off the better cars at the end of the race, barely slipping out of the Top-5 on the final lap to Ryan Blaney.
#7 – Ryan Blaney
Previous Ranking: 7
For most of Sunday’s race, Ryan Blaney was the best running Ford. All race long, the 12 car was sitting neatly in the Top-10. The last pit stop saw Blaney get shuffled down the order a little bit, but he was able to recover for a Top-5. Blaney’s championship defense is looking strong, despite being the only Championship Four driver from last year to not win a race yet. As his Team Penske teammate struggles, Blaney looks set for great 2024.
#6 – Kyle Busch
Previous Ranking: 3
Remember when Kyle Busch was number 1 in Week 2? Pepperidge Farm remembers. Now, Busch has dropped 5 total spots to the sixth position. Las Vegas was a bad result after a solid showing. However, Phoenix was simply ugly from start to finish. Busch qualified 30th, ran in the latter half of the field all race, and then spun out during the final stage. Honestly, his 22nd finish might have been an improvement compared to how his race went.
#5 – Denny Hamlin
Previous Ranking: 5
Another driver with no change from last week, Denny Hamlin looked to have a Top-5 steadily in hand. He led 68 laps and used the first pit box to his advantage every pit cycle. However, Hamlin lost control of his car in the final stage and spun out. Luckily for him, no one touched him (despite how close Brad Keselowski came) and he was able to continue. Similar to many in the field, Hamlin was unable to improve his position much once the final restart settled. This left him on the outside of the Top-10.
#4 – Christopher Bell
Previous Ranking: 6
After a dominant performance, Christopher Bell moves up 2 spots in this week’s power rankings. Simply put, Bell had the best car on the track. Essentially, Bell was the only car able to easily knife his way through the field. Even after his pit crew put him back in traffic during the Stage 2 break, Bell found his way to the front again. For a driver who was the first mechanical DNF in Championship Four history, Sunday’s win must have felt euphoric for Bell and the 20 team.
#3 – Martin Truex Jr
Previous Ranking: 4
The only other prominent car to be able to move through the field with relative ease, Martin Truex Jr had to do it in short order to claim his Top-10. Another questionable strategy call from James Small saw Truex leading the race without any hope of making it on fuel. When the caution never flew, Truex brought his car down for service on Lap 271. Coming back on the track in 22nd and a lap down, Truex (on much fresher tires) navigated his way to 7th by the time the checkered flag waved.
#2 – William Byron
Previous Ranking: 2
It was debatable whether to put William Byron back up to the top spot. On one hand, Byron ran around the Top-5 for the first two stages of the race. However, the field flipping saw Byron unable to move back up the leaderboard in the final stint. While other drivers struggled with that issue, his teammate did manage to do it a couple of times earlier in the race. Still, Byron remains at number 2 after a race that was better than the result.
#1 – Kyle Larson
Kyle Larson remains on top of the power rankings for one more week. However, this is mostly on the back of his dominating Las Vegas performance rather than anything he did Sunday. Larson found himself coming from the rear on numerous occasions. While he did manage to pass the most cars on Sunday, he never made it to the Top-10. Bristol will need to see the usual Larson return if he wants to keep his top spot for another week.
Honorable Mention
Daniel Suarez – A day constantly running in the teens, Daniel Suarez drops out of the power rankings based on a middling run.
Tyler Reddick – The best car for the first half of the race, Tyler Reddick once again turned heads on Sunday. He is knocking on the door of the power rankings.
Noah Gragson – If not for the field flipping in the final stage, Noah Gragson would have picked up his third Top-10 on the season.
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