NASCAR Power Rankings: Chase Elliott breaks through in Atlanta

Falling down in the NASCAR Power Rankings, Hamlin almost made his way back into the Atlanta race. But he would settle for a P31 finish after being involved in the 23-car wreck.

Hamlin was the top seed in the NASCAR In-Season Tournament. Due to the wreck, Ty Dillon knocked Hamlin out of the bracket challenge. No $1,000,000 for him.

4. Ryan Blaney – Team Penske (-1)

Team Penske was in control of the race and then they were all wrecked out, Josh Berry included. Ryan Blaney was part of that massive wreck along with the rest of his teammates.

Carson Hocevar took Blaney out of the bracket challenge. With six DNFs on the season, Blaney remains one of the best drivers in the Cup Series. If he doesn’t get wrecked.

5. Chris Buescher – RFK Racing (+2)

You could argue that, besides the drivers who have won races, Chris Buescher has had the best four-week stretch of any other driver in the Cup Series. P2, P10, P4, and P9 with a stage win during that time.

Buescher fell off during the last run to the line. But for a moment, it looked like it was going to be him and Brad Keselowski against Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman. Instead, Keselowski was on his own. Still, solid run from Buescher.

6. William Byron – Hendrick Motorsports (-1)

While Buescher has been very solid in the last month, William Byron has not been able to close out races. P28, P9, P27, and P37 in the last month. Granted, he had a very good performance at Michigan before running out of fuel in that P28 finish.

Still, Byron has to get himself back on track. His regular-season points lead could disappear in the next two weeks if he has another bad race or two. Eight races, eight weeks to close out the regular season championship.

7. Christopher Bell – Joe Gibbs Racing (-1)

Christopher Bell is in the same situation as Byron. He has to start getting back to those top-five, top-10 finishes consistently. The frustration of winning early and then missing out on wins for weeks at a time has to be mounting.

Bell has not been impressive lately. Very average. At least, average for what we expect from Bell and this 20 team.

8. Ryan Preece – RFK Racing (+2)

Ryan Preece had really solid speed again this week. RFK Racing was solid top to bottom, really. Fading late, Preece finished P15. He hasn’t let things fall apart this season. For as much credit as Elliott gets, Preece generally pulls the best performance out of his cars.

This has been a career-best season for Preece. He moves up in the NASCAR Power Rankings mostly because these other two drivers were DNFs at Atlanta. The 60 car survived another week, though.

9. Chase Briscoe – Joe Gibbs Racing (-1)

Fresh off his win at Pocono, Chase Briscoe found himself wrecked out at Atlanta pretty quickly. Another victim of that 23-car wreck. This team has the speed in qualifying each week. Now, consistency on the track is the next thing they need.

Briscoe is a star in the making. But he has to do the work. If you get Briscoe winning multiple races in the 19 car with Bass Pro Shops, and he starts to make deep playoff runs, he could easily become a fast fan favorite.

10. Ross Chastain – Trackhouse Racing (-1)

Trackhouse Racing has had many ups and downs. Perhaps having Connor Zilisch as the top driver on Saturday was a down. Ross Chastain was another driver caught up in the big wreck.

The last two weeks have been rough for Chastain. He’s not known for his road course skills, but he has the ability to put on strong performances at these tracks. It all depends on the kind of car his team shows up with.