Bob Pockrass
FOX Motorsports Insider
Kyle Larson remains atop the NASCAR Cup Series power rankings, thanks to his dominating performance at Kansas Speedway.
Once again, those behind him continue to jockey for position. Those drivers landed in their spots partly based on speed and partly based on just the ability to get to the finish and earn a good result.
The rankings will take a week off as the NASCAR All-Star Race is this weekend at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway and then return after the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend.
Dropped out: Ross Chastain (Last Week: 6)
On the verge: Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace
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10. Chase Briscoe (Last Week: Not Ranked)
A fourth-place finish gives him three finishes of fourth in the last seven races (and four top 10s in the last seven races). Certainly, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver needs to earn more stage points (he has earned points in just three stages) and be more consistent, but he has had his moments.
9. Tyler Reddick (LW: 9)
A 17th-place finish at Kansas was disappointing for Reddick. He is still sixth in the Cup standings, but four consecutive finishes outside the top 10 show this team is going in the wrong direction.
8. Chase Elliott (LW: 7)
A slow pit stop ruined a potentially solid day for Elliott, who led 29 laps at Kansas and finished second in both stages. The 15th-place finish had to hurt badly for the Hendrick driver.
7. Joey Logano (LW: 10)
Logano followed up his win at Texas and finished ninth at Kansas. Now he heads to the All-Star race, where the Penske driver is the defending winner.
6. Denny Hamlin (LW: 4)
A sour clutch ended Hamlin’s day early at Kansas, a week after an engine failure ended his race early at Texas. He’s got to hope the mechanical gremlins are done for a while.
5. Alex Bowman (LW: 8)
Bowman was sixth in the first stage and seventh in the second stage and then fifth in the race at Kansas. He still had his share of frustrations but overcame them for a solid finish.
4. William Byron (LW: 2)
A flat tire put Byron a lap down at Kansas and he finished 24th. The Kansas race was one for him to forget, as he lost the points lead to his Hendrick teammate Larson.
3. Christopher Bell (LW: 5)
Bell ran top five much of the day at Kansas. He finished third in the first stage, fifth in the second stage and then finished second in the race. This was his sixth top five of the season and eighth top 10. The JGR driver was really never a threat to win, but he was there if Larson had trouble.
2. Ryan Blaney (LW: 3)
Blaney also ran top five much of the race and wound up third at Kansas for his fifth top five of the season and sixth top 10. For a driver with four DNFs to be seventh in the standings is a testament to just how well the Penske driver has run this year.
1. Kyle Larson (LW: 1)
Larson led 221 of the 267 laps at Kansas, as he swept both stages and earned the point for the fastest lap for a perfect 61-point day. It was the Hendrick driver’s third win of the year.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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