Week 7 NASCAR power rankings: Martin Truex Jr. takes over top spot

Sunday's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway had a late plot twist, with a caution throwing a wrench into what seemed like a surefire Martin Truex Jr. victory and giving his teammate, Denny Hamlin, the win instead.

Power rankings are more a reflection of recent overall performance than strictly results, though, and the new driver leading the way isn't the one who captured the checkered flag in Richmond.

1. Martin Truex Jr. (Last week: 4)

Truex did everything right Sunday, leading 228 laps but falling victim to a caution with two laps to go and then losing the race in the pits and finishing fourth. He did prove one thing, though (if he hadn't already): His rough ending to 2023 is behind him. He's going to be in the thick of the fight for the Cup Series championship.

Truex extended his points lead to 14 over Kyle Larson, and despite having no wins, it feels like he's the most consistently competitive driver. The next chance for him and the field will be on another Virginia short track in Martinsville on Sunday for the Cook Out 400.

2. Kyle Larson (Last week: 1)

Larson dropped out of the top spot although he led 144 laps and finished third despite his spin in the closing stages. He didn't back up his win from a year ago, but he'll have another shot in Martinsville to defend an early 2023 victory.

3. Christopher Bell (Last week: 3)

Lost in the shuffle of Sunday's finish was that Bell might have won going away had he not speeded on pit road during a late stop. He was on the same late-pitting strategy as eventual winner Hamlin, running ahead of him before the costly mistake. He still rebounded to a solid sixth. Given the speed of the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas on short tracks, he'll be a threat in Martinsville, too.

4. Denny Hamlin (Last week: 7)

Hamlin made sure to give credit where it was due after his win Sunday, and he should also probably thank NASCAR for turning a blind eye to what clearly should have been a penalty for jumping the final restart. Regardless, he'll look to stay perfect on the short tracks in Martinsville, where he has won five times (although not since 2015).

5. Ty Gibbs (Last week: 2)

Gibbs slips a bit after his quiet race in Richmond, but he still joins his JGR teammates in the top five. He had a tough time rebounding from a speeding penalty and finished 16th, yet he remains fourth in points in his breakout campaign.

6. William Byron (Last week: 6)

Byron didn't make much noise at Richmond but wound up with a solid seventh-place finish, which is also where he sits in points. He'll move back into the top five with a strong showing in Martinsville, where he won in spring 2022.

7. Tyler Reddick (Last week: 5)

Like Byron, Reddick didn't have blinding speed at Richmond and yet wound up with a solid 10th-place finish, which he'll take on a track that has not been kind to him over the years. Unfortunately for him, though, Martinsville is another track where he has struggled throughout his career. He has never led a lap in eight starts and has a best finish of eighth there.

8. Chase Elliott (Last week: 11)

Elliott had perhaps his best race of 2024 on Sunday, leading the first five laps and finishing fifth with a car that was fast all race. He is a consistency machine with no finishes worse than 19th this season, but this was his first top-five since 2023's regular-season finale at Daytona. Baby steps.

9. Chris Buescher (Last week: 10)

Buescher didn't back up his win from last summer, but he did come through with yet another solid finish (ninth) to improve his top-10 streak to four races. He hasn't had the same success at Martinsville as he's had on the other short tracks throughout his career, never leading a lap there in 17 starts, but last fall he earned his career-best finish on the "paper clip" of eighth. He'll look to build upon that Sunday.

10. Joey Logano (Last week: not ranked)

Hello there Logano, it's nice to see you near the front again. The two-time Cup champion returns to the rankings with a runner-up finish Sunday, but he still has work to do in points as he remains outside the playoffs in 19th. We'll see if he can build on his momentum at Martinsville, where he has had success with more than a thousand laps led and 18 top-10s in 30 starts despite only one win.

11. Ross Chastain (Last week: 9)

Chastain ran near the front early on at Richmond but faded as the race went on, finishing an unremarkable 15th. He continues his consistent but dominant 2024 campaign, and we should probably expect more of the same from him at Martinsville. Despite his viral "Hail Melon" move in the fall of 2022, Chastain only has one additional top-10 finish there.

12. Ryan Blaney (Last week: 8)

It's been a forgettable past few weeks for the reigning Cup Series champion, who will be glad to put one of his worst race tracks behind him. His struggles at Richmond are a bit strange given how strong he is otherwise on the short tracks, and thankfully for him, Martinsville gives him a great opportunity to bounce back at a track where he won last fall. He will be one of the favorites on Sunday.

13. Alex Bowman (Last week: 13)

Bowman had a fast car in Richmond but got caught on the wrong pit strategy. A caution midway through the race, when Kyle Busch hit the wall, trapped him a lap down. He didn't make up the lost track position and finished 17th, but he remains solidly in the playoffs. His speed is promising for a driver with a lot to prove in 2024.

14. Brad Keselowski (Last week: 15)

Keselowski bounced back from his expectedly rough outing on the road course with a solid eighth-place finish in Richmond, which was about where he ran for most of the race. He remains squarely on the playoff bubble — he's seven points ahead of John Hunter Nemechek for the final spot — and Martinsville should provide him with another solid shot to compete up front. He has won twice at Martinsville.

15. Bubba Wallace (Last week: NR)

Wallace had one of his most impressive races of the season, one good enough for him to crack the power rankings for the first time in several weeks. However, he didn't do himself any favors in maximizing his finish as he spun Larson in the final laps, creating a ripple effect in which he lost many positions on pit road during the ensuing stop and finished 13th.

16. Josh Berry (Last week: NR)

Last season, Berry finished second in the spring Richmond race after a beneficial caution catapulted him to the front on strategy. This time around, he ran second on speed for a sizable portion of the race, but slow pit stops doomed him to an 11th-place finish. He has shown himself to be a short-track ace despite an otherwise underwhelming start to 2024, so Martinsville could be another strong showing for the 33-year-old rookie.

Dropped out: Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe, A.J. Allmendinger