Simply put, the Bristol Night Race heavily disappointed. While any expectations of a repeat of the spring race were misguided, there was excitement for the return of the same tire compound. As soon as practice ended, that excitement faded into worry. Once the race kicked off, that worry turned into a dreadful realization of how this race was going to unfold. Passing was nearly impossible. Not only for the lead, but to pass lapped traffic as well. Track position reigned supreme, with the difference between fast and slow cars barely noticeable. On the bright side, it made this week’s rankings fairly easy to sort out. Week 28 after Watkins Glen saw a jumbled rankings. How do the FitStop Performance Week 29 Power Rankings shape up?
#10 – Ross Chastain
Previous Ranking: 10
Outside of the lack of passing (or entertainment) during the Bristol Night Race, a theme of the night was non-playoff teammates outrunning their playoff teammate. Ross Chastain managed to pick up a Top-10 while Daniel Suarez struggled in the 30s. Despite missing the playoffs, Chastain put together a strong first 3 races of this final 10-race stretch. Could he potentially play playoff spoiler again this year with a win?
#9 – Brad Keselowski
Previous Ranking: 6
For how badly Brad Keselowski and the 6 team missed this past weekend, they might have fallen victim to the tire wear expectations. According to Keselowski, the team set up the car expecting severe wear. That likely explains the poor qualifying pace, which Keselowski was unable to recover from. A poor first round sees Keselowski bounced from the playoffs and down 3 spots in the power rankings.
#8 – William Byron
Previous Ranking: 8
William Byron continued his thoroughly unimpressive stretch of races on Saturday. After qualifying third, it was a consistent backslide for the 24 car. Thankfully for Byron, playoff drivers below him struggled mightily, keeping his spot in the Round of 12 safe. Something feels off about the 24 team. Bristol demonstrated some potential for a statement race, it ultimately turned into a mundane affair for William Byron.
#7 – Ryan Blaney
Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention
After a brief hiatus to the honorable mentions, Ryan Blaney surges back into the power rankings this week. The lone driver who managed to make up spots through the field, Blaney gained 16 positions by the end of the race. It was a methodical climb, but it was certainly noticed by the booth. As long as Blaney can avoid Lap 1 dramatics, he should be able to ascend in the rankings as the remaining schedule is favorable to the 12 team.
#6 – Chris Buescher
Previous Ranking: 5
A quiet yet solid night followed Chris Buescher’s Watkins Glen win. A mediocre qualifying effort kept Buescher in the mid-pack throughout the race. Unable to make gains up the leaderboard, Buescher spent his night racing around the Top-15. In the end, the 17 team brought it home a lap down and inside the Top-15.
#5 – Denny Hamlin
Previous Ranking: 7
Heading into the Bristol Night Race below the cutline, Denny Hamlin took care of business to keep his championship hopes alive. Scoring 13 stage points, Hamlin remained in the Top-5 for the majority of the race. Once his Round of 12 spot felt secured, he settled into a groove. With the passing situation known during the final stage, Hamlin did not push his car more than needed to chase the win.
#4 – Chase Elliott
Previous Ranking: 4
Out of the Hendrick Motorsports entries, Chase Elliott had the worst qualifying effort. Although it was still Top-10 worthy, it seemed that Elliott might have a tough road ahead of him Saturday night. Instead, Elliott slowly plucked away and improved his position gradually. On the final restart, an aggressive Elliott rode the top around a few cars to get to second. That is where he remained until the checkered flag.
#3 – Tyler Reddick
Previous Ranking: 1
After riding an impressive hot streak into the playoffs, Tyler Reddick had a first round to forget. Atlanta ended up being his best race of the three, salvaging a Top-10 after a pit road issue late. At Bristol, Reddick remained around 20th all race. Outside of staying out for a brief stint to end Stage 2, Reddick never sniffed the front of the field. Still, the call to stay out prior to Stage 2 netted Reddick some valuable stage points to help cushion any potential disaster. However, his mediocre runs over the past 3 races is why he falls out of the top spot this week.
#2 – Christopher Bell
Previous Ranking: 3
Christopher Bell qualified in the Top-5 and managed to finish there as well. Bell clinched his spot for the next round by the end of Stage 1, which theoretically could allow him to chase the win with no stress. Unfortunately, that was not to be due to the domination of the eventual race winner (and the problems with passing).
#1 – Kyle Larson
Previous Ranking: 2
Kyle Larson dominated the Bristol Night Race. After leading the most laps at Bristol since Cale Yarborough, this rockets Larson back into the top spot in the Power Rankings. Larson and the 5 team smoked the field. While everyone else struggled to pass lapped cars, the 5 car had a slightly easier time. Until past NextGen Bristol races, lapped traffic did not hamper the leader to allow second to catch up. Larson took off and won the race by over 7 seconds.
Honorable Mention
Carson Hocevar –Â A bit of a disappointing race for Carson Hocevar sees him slip back out of the power rankings this week.
Chase Briscoe – After coming up clutch in Southern 500, Chase Briscoe backed it up with a back-to-back Top-10s to solidify his spot in the Round of 12.
Austin Cindric – His worst finish of the Round of 16 came at Bristol for Austin Cindric. It was a 13th and a ticket to the next round.
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