NASCAR Power Rankings: Busch scores second win at Talladega originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
It took 15 years, but Kyle Busch finally has his second career win at Talladega.
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The two-time Cup Series champion has long struggled at NASCAR’s biggest track. On Sunday, though, Busch found himself in the right spot at the right time to score his 62nd career victory. Leader Bubba Wallace blocked Ryan Blaney one too many times, as Busch snuck past the spinning Wallace on the final lap.
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Cup Series action will continue this weekend, as they head north to Dover Motor Speedway in Delaware for a 400-mile race at the “Monster Mile.” The race is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on FS1.
So, who’s the driver to beat after the 10th race of 2023? Here’s our latest power rankings:
1. Kyle Larson
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Last week: 1
While running inside the top-five in the final laps, Larson was collected in a nasty crash and finished 33rd. Still, he’s won two of the last four races and should be the favorite at most oval tracks moving forward. Larson won at Dover in 2019 and has 13 top-12 finishes in 14 career starts at the track.
2. William Byron
Last week: 2
It was a quiet, steady seventh-place finish at Talladega for Byron – which is all you can ask for at a track with so much unpredictability. He’s still tied for the series lead with two wins this season, and only trails his teammate Larson in playoff points.
3. Christopher Bell
Last week: 5
Bell retained the overall points lead after a solid eighth-place result on Sunday. The Oklahoma native was out of the mix for most of the race, unable to score any stage points. But he capitalized on the misfortune of others in the final laps and scored his series-best seventh top-10 finish of 2023.
4. Kevin Harvick
Last week: 3
It’s not often that Harvick finishes 20th or worse in consecutive races – you have to go back to last summer to find the last time it happened. But that’s the situation Harvick’s in after finishing 21st at Talladega. He got a piece of the accident involving Larson while running near the front, limping home with an undeserved result.
5. Ross Chastain
Last week: 5
After winning at Talladega last April and finishing third in Stage 1, Chastain seemed poised for another great finish. Instead, he triggered the crash involving Larson and Harvick when he tried to fill a hole at the front of the pack. You can’t blame him for seeing daylight and taking a chance, but the late block by rookie Noah Gragson ruined Chastain’s day as he finished 23rd.
6. Kyle Busch
Last week: 10
The transition to Richard Childress Racing after 15 seasons at Joe Gibbs Racing has gone better than anyone could have imagined. Busch has two wins in 10 starts with RCR after winning twice in his final 61 starts for JGR.
7. Alex Bowman
Last week: 6
Bowman finished 13th at Talladega, giving him nine top-15 finishes in 10 races this season. He has a series-best 10.3 average finish. The only thing missing is true race-winning speed. While his teammates Larson and Byron compete in the top-five, Bowman is often a step behind.
To make matters worse, it was announced on Wednesday that Bowman would miss three-to-four weeks after suffering a fractured vertebra in a non-NASCAR race crash.
8. Joey Logano
Last week: 7
Talladega didn’t go as planned for Logano, a three-time winner at the track. He had a pit road speeding penalty early in the race before recovering to get back on the lead lap. But then he wrecked in the final laps and finished 30th – his fourth finish outside the top-25 this season.
9. Denny Hamlin
Last week: 9
Hamlin qualified on the pole and led seven laps before finishing 17th on Sunday. It was basically a microcosm of his 2023 season, where the No. 11 has speed and ultimately can’t close the deal with a good finish. Dover is another good track for Hamlin (winner in 2020), but it just feels inevitable that something will go wrong at some point in the race.
10. Tyler Reddick
Last week: 8
Since winning in Austin, Reddick has finishes of 16th, second, 22nd and 16th. He clearly thrives on road courses, but Reddick has to start performing better on other track types to become a true title contender. Dover isn’t a great place to start, where Reddick has just one top-10 in four career starts.
First four out: Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott
