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Week 18 NASCAR Power Rankings

  • Writer: Luke Breitschopf
    Luke Breitschopf
  • Jul 1
  • 4 min read
Race car driver celebrates on a blue car with a checkered flag. Car has number 9 and sponsor logos. "ATL" on track in the background.

Honorable Mention: Tyler Reddick had a good performance Saturday. He arguably had a race winning car, but a pit road penalty late relegated him to deep in the field. He still rebounded for a top 5 finish, but if he wants to make it back to the top 10 for rankings, I need to see some speed in a race that isn’t a superspeedway (much less a superspeedway with only half the field still intact after stage 2).


10. Ryan Preece

Close-up of a person in a hat, text overlay reads "10 Ryan Preece, Last Week: 10." Logo at bottom says "Racing Clips and Pics."

Ryan Preece seemed to have yet another good run going before he was caught up in the lap 69 big one. Despite that, Preece still led a few laps and managed a top 15. He ran well at Mexico City a few weeks ago and won a stage at COTA earlier this year, but his best finish at Chicago is only 15th. RFK seems to be qualifying better though, and Preece will be looking for another good run.


9. Chase Briscoe

Close-up of a person in a cap, with overlay text: "9 Chase Briscoe, Last Week: 7." Logo reads "Racing Clips and Pics." Dark background.

One of the few people I’m moving is Chase Briscoe. Although we didn’t see much of him, I was not at all impressed. While running in 27th, Briscoe was swept up in the big one. Some might argue that he was riding in the back to get to the end, but the whole point of that is so that you can miss the wreck, not piledrive into it. His best street course finish is 20th, so I’m not feeling much better this week either.


8. Chris Buescher

Man in racing gear and cap, partial face shown. Text: "8 Chris Buescher," "Last Week: 9," with "Racing Clips and Pics" logo; mood serious.

Chris Buescher put together another good run at Atlanta, missing the big one with some strategy that put him on the front row as the wreck ensued behind him. From then on, he went on to lead 15 laps. Chris stalled late and ended up finishing 9th, but a solid run for the 17 is exactly what this team needed. He distanced himself on the cutline, and he‘s headed to a track where he has a top 10.


7. Ross Chastain

A person in a racing suit and cap with reflective sunglasses. Text reads "7 ROSS CHASTAIN," "LAST WEEK: 7," and "RACING CLIPS AND PICS."

Ross Chastain was also swept up in the big one tonight. However, unlike Briscoe, Ross was in 11th during the wreck, and I can’t judge him the same way I did Chase. While Chastain is a good road course racer, he has a best finish of 22nd atChicago, and a worst finish of…also 22nd.


6. Kyle Larson

Race car driver in blue suit and cap adjusts gear, text reads "6 Kyle Larson, Last Week: 5," with logos and "Racing Clips and Pics."

Kyle Larson finished at Atlanta after being caught up in q few wrecks. As a Larson fan, you’ve got to be pleased about that. Larson finished 4th in the inaugural race at Chicago, but last year, he took himself out early and finished 39th. If he keeps it clean, he’ll be fast. However, judging recently for Larson, that might be a big if.

 

5. Christopher Bell

Race car driver in black and red suit with sponsor logos, wearing sunglasses and cap. Text reads: "5 Christopher Bell, Last Week: 3." Racing theme.

Christopher Bell had a bad night, to say the least. He lost his racecar late in stage one, taking out Ryan Blaney and damaging Bubba Wallace, AJ Allmendinger, Austin Dillon, Connor Zilisch and Kyle Larson in the process. Most Bell fans will be thrilled to head to a road course, but his best finish on the streets is only 18th. He has started both races inside the top 7, however. If he can find some race pace to match his qualifying efforts, the 20 might be a factor come Sunday.


4. Ryan Blaney

Race car driver kneels by car number 12 at a racetrack. Text: 4 RYAN BLANEY, LAST WEEK: 4. Crowd and track in background. Racing Clips and Pics logo.

Ryan Blaney never got a chance to show what he had. He played blocker for Joey Logano before pit strategy shuffled him behind the pack, to which Christopher Bell KO’d him. Blaney finishes last in an unfortunate showing at a track he’s found relative success at before. He heads to a track where he finished top 10 at last year.


3. Chase Elliott

Person in racing suit with sunglasses, text reads "3 Chase Elliott," "Last Week: 6," and "Racing Clips and Pics." Mood is focused. Gray background.

Chase Elliott captures his first win of the year and his 3rd top 5 in a row on 3 completely different racetracks. Chicago is far from his best road course, but it’s a road course nonetheless. He’s looking to continue his momentum. He finished 3rd here in 2023, thanks to some strategy, but last year had a rough race and finished 21st. His qualifying here doesn’t bode much confidence either, but at the same time, no one is hotter in the garage right now.


2. William Byron

Man in a red hat with sunglasses, text overlay "2 William Byron, Last Week: 2." Racing logo at bottom, blurred background.

William Byron was also involved in the big one. I genuinely have nothing else to say as I never even saw him. He heads to a track where he has never finished worse than 13th before, while also being a sneaky good road course racer. 



1. Denny Hamlin

Text reads "1 Denny Hamlin, Last Week: 1" on a dim background. Partial face of a bearded man in a cap. Logo: "Racing Clips and Pics." Mood is competitive.

Denny Hamlin got wrecked, totaled, destroyed. But so did a lot of other people. He keeps his #1 spot, but I don’t like his road course numbers. He sat on the pole for the first ever race here, and ran decent, picking up an 11th, but since that race, Hamlin has lost his groove. Other than a 2nd at Watkins Glen and a pair of 14th’s at COTA and the Roval, his best road course finish is only 19th, with 3 sub-30th place finishes. I don’t see him staying at the #1 spot after this weekend.

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