A new No. 1 has emerged in this week’s NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings.
William Byron, who will race for a Cup championship Sunday at Phoenix Raceway (coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock), moves up to the top spot. Martinsville winner Ryan Blaney climbs to No. 2 in this week’s top 10.
1. William Byron (Last week: No. 2) — While a NASCAR ruling at Martinsville gave him the final spot in the Championship 4, he wouldn’t have been in that position had it not been for his recent run. Byron has finished sixth or better in each of the last six races. He scored points in 10 of the last 12 stages.
2. Ryan Blaney (7) — After being passed for the win on the last lap at Homestead, the reigning Cup champion rebounded at Martinsville. He led the final 15 laps to take the victory in a must-win situation to go back to the Championship 4.
3. Christopher Bell (1) — Disheartening end to his championship hopes at Martinsville after he thought he had advanced to the title race. NASCAR penalized him for riding the wall on the last lap and that cost him a chance to reach the championship race for a third year in a row. His 22nd-place finish at Martinsville snapped a streak of six consecutive top 10s.
4. Kyle Larson (3) — He has a series-high six wins on the season but didn’t advance to the title race after his third-place finish at Martinsville. Larson has led a series-high 1,687 laps.
5. Chase Elliott (5) — Finished second at Martinsville but needed to win to advance to the championship race. He has three top-five finishes in the last four races but only one win this year.
6. Denny Hamlin (4) — Fifth-place finish was not good enough to advance after Martinsville. He has scored a top 10 in three races in a row.
7. Joey Logano (9) — His 10th-place result at Martinsville was his third top 10 in the last four races. That includes his win at Las Vegas.
8. Tyler Reddick (6) — Miserable day at Martinsville, finishing 34th but it didn’t matter. His last-lap win at Homestead the week before moved him into the Cup title race for the first time.
9. Alex Bowman (8) — Has finished in the top 15 in five of the last seven races.
10. Austin Cindric (NR) — Fourth-place run at Martinsville gives him two top-five finishes in the last four races.
Dropped out: Bubba Wallace (10).
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