NASCAR Power Rankings - Week 23

Honorable Mention: Brad Keselowski has had 6 top 11 finishes in the last 7 races, the only outlier being the Chicago Street Race where he was taken out lap 4. After Mexico, Keselowski was 32nd in points. Over these last 2 months, he’s grinded his way into the 19th position. While still not good, it’s an incredible feat considering where this team was at the start of the year.

10. Alex Bowman had a quiet race; however, fortunately for him, so did his playoff bubble competitors. Other than a late charge by Ryan Preece, the RFK boys seemed out to lunch, other than Keselowski. Bowman’s a handy road racer, but he’s never finished better than 14th at Watkins Glen, something he’s done 3 times.

9. Bubba Wallace is hot right now. His last 3 finishes have all been in the top 7, and on a day where passing was difficult, to say the least, Bubba charged from sub 30th to a 6th place finish on the final run. Wallace is looking more and more like the #1 guy at 23XI as each week passes. 

8. Ryan Preece is even more on fire, minus the win factor. Since Michigan, he hasn’t finished worse than 15th other than a bad run at Dover, where his teammates were also off. Preece has also had 5 top 10s in that same timeframe, as well as back to back top 5s. Ryan struggled to run top 30 early, but bounced back strong in the 2nd half and finished 5th, while also overcoming a potential loose wheel. I think it’s too little too late for this 60 team and I think he misses the Playoffs, but Preece looks better than ever right now, and if he doesn’t get that first win this year, there’s a good chance we see him in victory lane early next year. 

7. To say that Christopher Bell is struggling is an understatement. Bell caused his 4th incident in 3 races, spinning Tyler Reddick out midway through the race. Never really recovered, and Bell came home 17th. Since Michigan, Bell only has 3 top 10s, compared to his 6 sub 15ths and 2 sub 20ths. His average finish is 15.2 in that time frame. Good news for Bell though, his 2 best finishes in this timeframe were both on a road course, a 2nd in Mexico and a 5th in Wine Country.

6. Ryan Blaney backed up his win from last year well, with a solid 4th place finish. If dirty air wasn’t such an issue, Blaney looked to be on cruise control to potentially winning this thing late. Blaney’s had 3 straight top 10s in a season that’s seen him struggle for consistency. His Watkins Glen stats are about as up and down as the actual racetrack is, with 3 top 10s but 2 sub 20th place finishes, including a 38th last year after he was wrecked lap 1.  

5. Kyle Larson is now tied for the 2nd longest winless streak of his lifetime at Hendrick, 11 races, matching a stretch from the end of 2023 to the start of 2024. To beat his all time record, he’d need to go another 12 races to match his drought in 2022. Fortunately, we’re at a good place to end it, as this is exactly where Larson did just that in 2022. He also won at the Glen in 2021, so it’s safe to say this is one of Larson’s best tracks.

4. This looks like a completely different race team from just a few months ago. Chase Briscoe is on fire right now, with his 4th trip to the podium in just 7 weeks. However, the Achilles heel for Briscoe is in those other 3 races, as he has an 18th, 23rd, and 35th in them. If you ask me right now though, Briscoe is my pick to win the title. I like where this team is headed a lot right now.

3. Chase Elliott looks to be slowing back down again. Whether it’s a final cool off just before the Playoffs begin to truly crank the heat up, or a return to the mediocrity but consistency the 9 has come to know over the past few years is yet to be told, but the fact that he had the speed to begin with shows us that Elliott is still one of the best in the sport and still can win at any time, including this weekend. Elliott got career wins number 1 and number 5 at Watkins Glen.

2. Denny Hamlin had a rough weekend after a self spin and mediocre speed. He finished 24th, something he hasn’t done at Iowa in a calendar year, as he finished 24th there last year. I don’t think things get much better this week at the Glen, but after? It’s smooth sailing for Hamlin.

1. William Byron is back. He’s taken his yearly slumber through the summer and he’s ready to start the Playoffs. Win #2 for Byron completes the Iowa sweep for him and shows that he’s also a title favorite, with 5 of the 10 races in the Playoffs being short track-eske: Gateway, Bristol, New Hampshire, Martinsville, and Phoenix. Byron also has a win at Watkins Glen in 2023.