NASCAR Power Rankings: Hendrick trio grabs top three spots

Kyle Larson has won two of the last three races and has four top-fives this year in nine races. He has led laps in five of the last seven races.

So it makes sense to put him on top of this week’s power rankings.

And with Hendrick Motorsports now at “full strength” with all its crew chiefs back and Chase Elliott back at the track, it seems like a good time to make its drivers 1-2-3 on this list.

Where I see the top-10 drivers at this moment as the series heads to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend: 

1. Kyle Larson (Last week: 3) 

What should really worry the competition is that Larson has won at two tracks — Richmond and Martinsville — that are not traditionally his best tracks. Talladega isn’t one of his best tracks as well. Go ahead and hand him the trophy then. Just kidding. Kinda.

2. Alex Bowman (LW: 5) 

Bowman finished 11th at Martinsville but was one of the more consistent cars in the field as he ran in the top-12 most of the day. He’d be leading the points if not for his 60-point penalty and he just hasn’t seemed to have a bad day on a paved track yet this year.

3. William Byron (LW: 1)

Byron had a disappointing day at Martinsville after appearing to be one of the cars to beat in practice. In the five races since his back-to-back wins, he has only one finish better than 13th and three finishes outside the top 20.

4. Christopher Bell (LW: 2)

Bell won at Martinsville in October but wasn’t a factor Sunday. He does lead the series standings and he knows staying there could help him avoid must-win situations in playoff elimination races thanks to playoff points he could earn. The Martinsville disappointment should be easy to forget and move on.

5. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 9) 

Truex overcame a speeding penalty to earn his first top-5 of the season with a third at Martinsville and he had one of the best cars at the end of the race. He also moved up to fifth in the standings. He’s not racing like a driver who is weighing whether to come back next season.

6. Kevin Harvick (LW: 8) 

Harvick was in position to possibly win at Martinsville before a pit stop where the lug nut came off and Harvick had to limp back into the pits. He’s still third in the Cup standings. As his final season rolls on, expect him to do more taking than giving.

7. Ross Chastain (LW: 4) 

Chastain did go from starting 34th at Martinsville to finishing 13th, so there’s something to be said for that. But it still wasn’t the best day, especially at the place where he had one of his biggest career highlights. This coming weekend will be a big test as it is a return to Talladega, where Chastain won a year ago.

8. Tyler Reddick (LW: 6) 

Reddick finished top-5 in the first two stages at Martinsville but ended up losing 12 laps in the final green-flag run. But he’s still sixth in driver points and continues to show good speed.

9. Kyle Busch (LW: 7)

Busch hasn’t shown consistently great speed and his Martinsville race was one to forget as he finished 21st — his third consecutive finish of 14th or worse. He has just one top-5 and three top-10s in the seven races since his victory at California.

10. Joey Logano (LW: 10)

Logano ran in the 20s much of the day at Martinsville but a little bit of strategy and grit and a decent car at the end allowed him to finish second. Without the strategy and grit, he probably falls out of the rankings.

On the verge: Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass, and sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass.

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