With the Texas race being so chaotic, this week’s power rankings consist of a mix of those who made it through all the wrecks and those who appeared strong before being in an accident.
The top-two didn’t change: Kyle Larson, who finished fourth, remains atop the list and William Byron, who suffered damage when he collided with Cole Custer, remains second despite a 13th-place finish.
Here are the rankings for this week before the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway this weekend.
Dropped out: Austin Cindric (Last Week: 10)
On the verge: Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon, Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace
10. Joey Logano (Last Week: NR)
Logano has just one top-5 in 11 races this year. But it was his win Sunday at Texas, and that gets him on the list.
Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, & more postrace interviews from Texas
9. Tyler Reddick (LW: 8)
Reddick had a disappointing day at Texas as he had contact with Daniel Suarez late in the race. He finished 21st.
8. Alex Bowman (LW: 7)
Bowman had a slow pit stop and later got caught up in a wreck, ending his day after 172 laps. But he had finished third in the opening stage, a sign of the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s strength.
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7. Chase Elliott (LW: 5)
A two-tire stop for track position wasn’t good enough to keep Elliott up front at Texas. He finished a disappointing 16th.
6. Ross Chastain (LW: 9)
Chastain said he didn’t have confidence in his car early but then he did late in the race, where he nearly rallied to win. He settled for second. But still a good day.
5. Christopher Bell (LW: 4)
Bell finished ninth at Texas after not finishing top-10 in the first two stages. A decent day but expected more from the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.
4. Denny Hamlin (LW: 3)
Hamlin’s day ended early when his engine expired. He had finished on the lead lap for the first 10 races before Texas.
3. Ryan Blaney (LW: 6)
Blaney finished third but didn’t have anything to match Penske teammate Joey Logano at the end at Texas.
NASCAR Cup Series: Würth 400 highlights
2. William Byron (LW: 2)
Byron appeared to be one of the drivers to beat until the contact with Custer on pit road. He was the leader at the time but the damage to his car was too much for him to control the race.
1. Kyle Larson (LW: 1)
Larson was in control of the race — he led a race-high 90 laps — but a bad restart on Lap 245 resulted in him losing the lead, and he never got it back over the final 26 laps.
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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