It was a pretty easy call to keep Denny Hamlin atop the heap here, even with that finish of 24th at Iowa. Fact is, no one else is putting together any sort of serious run at the No. 1 spot in our weekly Power Rankings.
William Byron won Sunday and is certainly the type of driver, with the type of team, that could eventually unseat Denny and maybe even win a championship this year. Or at least head into the playoffs with a big head of steam.
Part of Byron’s disappearing act after the Daytona 500 was due to bad luck and, prior to Sunday, bad guesses on fuel mileage.
But of late, the only dude seriously raising his hand and wanting to be noticed is Chase Briscoe, especially on Saturdays. At Iowa, that was his sixth pole of the season and fourth straight front-row start. He’s also now posted three runner-up finishes in the past four weeks.
Notice where he’s sitting in our rankings.
While we’ve been waiting on someone like Byron, Kyle Larson or Chase Elliott to get their butts in gear and start collecting trophies, maybe it’ll be Briscoe who turns those seconds into firsts and takes the biggest and hardest step in sports — from consistent contender to steady winner.
1. Denny Hamlin
Burns a mulligan at Iowa, goes to Watkins Glen, where he’s occasionally pretty good.
2. Chase Briscoe
Runner-up in 3 of last 4 starts. How much longer will he be “the other Chase?”
3. Kyle Larson
Spent Sunday in Iowa playing pinball and being the pinball.
4. Chase Elliott
Part of Larson’s pinball game. Finished outside the top 10 for second straight week.
5. Bubba Wallace
Fell as deep as 32nd at Iowa, came back to save a sixth. Will recent run of good finishes survive a road course?
6. Alex Bowman
Another week, another good finish. No win yet, but more top 10s than Ferlin Husky.
7. William Byron
Someone at the EPA should talk to him about updated fuel efficiency standards.
8. Ryan Blaney
Last three finishes: 8th, 7th and 4th. But it’s off to Watkins Glen, where he’s rarely good.
9. Christopher Bell
Can’t put two good finishes together and, frankly, at times, we forget he’s still around.
10. Ty Gibbs
Eyeballing the points battle. Back-to-back finishes of 21st ain’t helping the playoff cause.
— Email Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com
