Tyler Reddick vaulted to the top spot of this week’s power rankings with his victory Monday at Michigan International Speedway.
Not only did he have the best car, he won with it. And that might sound easy, but it doesn’t even happen half the time. He also was one of the few drivers in the power rankings who didn’t have an issue during the race.
The victory certainly solidified Reddick as a championship contender. With two races left in the regular season, it seems like a good time to write a championship outlook for each of these 10 drivers.
1. Tyler Reddick (Last Week: 3)
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Reddick has never made the Championship 4 in Cup, but he has won two Xfinity titles so is familiar a little bit with the pressure. His inconsistency in capitalizing when it appears he has a chance to win won’t make him a favorite to win the championship. But his consistency with 17 top-10 finishes makes him a favorite to be among those to make the final four.
FINAL LAP: Tyler Reddick wins FireKeepers Casino 400
2. Denny Hamlin (LW: 1)
Hamlin hasn’t won since Dover, and a driver typically needs to win to capture the title. He also recently had a five-week slump of finishes that have made it a little bit of a frustrating season. The key for him will be limiting mistakes and/or the anger of the racing gods.
3. Kyle Larson (Last Week: 2)
Larson will be a championship favorite. But it also wouldn’t be surprising to see him not make the Championship 4 with his feast-or-famine type of results.
4. William Byron (LW: 8)
Byron put himself back into the championship conversation with a second-place run at Michigan, just his second top-5 finish in the last seven races. It is easy to forget that Byron won three of the first eight races this year. Can he get that mojo back?
5. Chase Elliott (LW: 4)
Elliott, like Reddick, has been one of the most consistent drivers this year. He has gone seven races, though, without a top-5 finish and will need to turn that around to be a threat.
6. Christopher Bell (LW: 5)
With the championship at Phoenix, that is Bell’s type of track. Can he get there as part of the Championship 4? He has done so the last two years and just when you doubt him, he rattles off results that make you think he’ll be back.
7. Brad Keselowski (LW: 9)
Keselowski doesn’t seem to have the consistent speed and results to be a championship threat just yet. Close. But not yet.
8. Ryan Blaney (LW: 6)
If anyone knows something about performance not mattering in August to win a championship, it’s Blaney. So who cares that he has had two finishes outside the top-10 in the last two races? He can get hot at the right time.
9. Bubba Wallace (LW: 7)
Wallace first needs to make the playoffs. And that means no more days like he had at Michigan, where through no fault of his own, he got collected in someone else’s incident. Easier said than done.
10. Ty Gibbs (NR)
Gibbs also needs to first make the playoffs. It would be his first Cup playoffs ,so while he won the Xfinity title in 2022, this year’s playoffs will be perceived as another learning experience for him.
Dropped out: Joey Logano (LW: 10)
On the verge: Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Martin Truex Jr.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR 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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