Power Rankings: Will Truex Jr. cross Loudon off bucket list, regain points lead?
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NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the 20 hottest Cup Series drivers after the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and before Monday's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Noon ET, USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
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20. Austin Cindric (Not ranked last week)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: Out
Comment: Cindric paced 10 laps out front at Atlanta but ultimately fell just short of what was almost his first back-to-back top 10s of the season. Still, he turned in 30-plus points in back-to-back races for the first time since Atlanta and COTA earlier this year and finished a respectable 13th at Loudon last year.
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19. Bubba Wallace (-1)
Season-high: 13
Season-low: Out
Comment: Wallace, as per usual, looked strong at times while racing at a superspeedway (he led five laps) but his strategy didn't pan out and was slated 25th when the race was called for weather. He finally landed his first top 20 at Loudon last year, and it was a good one — he was P3.
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18. AJ Allmendinger (Not ranked last week)
Season-high: 18
Season-low: Out
Comment: 'Dinger was the last driver to lead before Byron took over and thus just missed out on his first win of 2023, slotting in third in what was still a great race for him. One place where he rarely has great races, however, is Loudon. The veteran has just one top 10 in 20 tries there.
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17. Daniel Suárez (+2)
Season-high: 9
Season-low: Out
Comment: Suárez very nearly made it a Trackhouse hat trick, landing P2 at Atlanta when the rain came out after the team won each of the last two weeks. It came at just the right time for the No. 99 team and after a top 10 at Loudon last year he could keep it rolling on Monday.
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16. Michael McDowell (+1)
Season-high: 16
Season-low: Out
Comment: McDowell and his team's aggressive strategy all year long paid off in a big way at Atlanta, where the right call late to stay out with weather hounding the track landed him P4 for a fourth top 10 in the last five races. Unfortunately it could be about to come to a screeching halt, as the veteran has zero top 10s and an average finish of 32.5 in 20 NHMS starts.
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15. Tyler Reddick (-1)
Season-high: 3
Season-low: 15
Comment: Not a lot seems to be going right for the No. 45 team at the moment, with Reddick turning in five straight finishes of 27th or worse (two of which were road courses, to add to the sting). He scored a top 10 at Loudon in his first shot in 2020 but the last two years saw him finish 13th and 21st.
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14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+1)
Season-high: 12
Season-low: Out
Comment: After a strong start, Stenhouse's top 10s have been a bit scattered — but he got one at Atlanta for the first time since May. We'll see if he can make it two in a row; his two top 10s at Loudon came back in 2014 and 2016.
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13. Chris Buescher (-1)
Season-high: 11
Season-low: Out
Comment: A top 15 isn't a "bad" day, but Buescher was certainly hoping for more after looking strong and leading 39 laps. He's never finished in the top 10 at Loudon and he pretty much finishes (23.4 average) about where he qualifies (23.7).
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12. Brad Keselowski (+1)
Season-high: 9
Season-low: Out
Comment: All in all, while Keselowski would've preferred to win, it's better than running out of fuel and a P6-finish keeps him in the playoffs. The Granite State has been friendly to Kes over the years and one of his most recent wins came there in 2020.
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11. Kevin Harvick (-1)
Season-high: 3
Season-low: 11
Comment: Harvick wasn't able to nab one more Atlanta win to bookend his career, but the pre-race moment with the No. 29 on the track and Richard Childress behind the wheel will create a lasting memory for him. The four-time Loudon winner will certainly have another shot this weekend, as he's riding five straight top-six finishes there as well.
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10. Joey Logano (-1)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 14
Comment: So much for the Atlanta sweep, as Logano led 11 laps but wasn't at the front of the field when the race was called early. He feels due for another win at his home track, however, and no doubt he wasn't satisfied with last year's P24 after leading 25 laps at Loudon.
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9. Ryan Blaney (+2)
Season-high: 3
Season-low: 13
Comment: Plenty of Fords led laps despite Atlanta being a rain-shortened event, and Blaney (20 laps led) was one of them, en route to his first top 10 since St. Louis. Penske cars always seem to run well at Loudon and Monday probably isn't an exception — look for him to keep it going.
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8. Chase Elliott (--)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: Out
Comment: Atlanta snapped a three-race top-five streak for Elliott, who still produced a decent P13 to slightly improve his positioning. He's still looking for that win, however, and there's hope for him — he was runner-up at New Hampshire last year.
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7. Kyle Larson (-2)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 11
Comment: Larson still stands as a championship co-favorite – a testament to his skill and his car's speed — but five finishes of 30th or worse from Bristol to Atlanta doesn't scream title winner. That could change in an instant, however, and he has a trio of runner-ups at Loudon while running with Ganassi equipment. He could very well be Monday's winner.
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6. Ross Chastain (--)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 7
Comment: It's a good thing Chastain got that Nashville win, because he's otherwise turned in a plethora of rough finishes from Darlington-on, with Atlanta being the worst. He's notched a pair of top 10s at Loudon each of the last two times out, however, so maybe he gets it going again this weekend.
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5. Christopher Bell (--)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 10
Comment: Bell picked up points in both stages but got re-mixed into the middle of the field at the wrong time and officially finished 23rd. He won't dwell on the mediocre day for long, however, as he clinched his playoff spot at Loudon last year and will look to make it two in a row.
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4. Denny Hamlin (--)
Season-high: 4
Season-low: 12
Comment: Hamlin had an eventful evening at Atlanta, somehow managing to recover from several issues to finish inside the top 15. Though he might not love the trophy, he loves winning at Loudon, where he has three victories and another six runner-ups.
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3. Martin Truex Jr. (-2)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: 14
Comment: Truex was strong early at Atlanta, finishing P3 in the opening stage but was slotted in a lap down in 29th when all was said and done, leading to him losing the points lead. Great chance he regains it this weekend, however, as the native northeasterner has long had Loudon on his bucket list and he's been quite good there despite no wins (11.7 average finish in 29 starts).
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2. Kyle Busch (--)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 8
Comment: In case you hadn't noticed, Busch has been pretty excellent again lately, averaging a top five (5.0) over the past seven races. He's been one of the best at Loudon (three wins, four runner-ups) so it's hard to see him slowing down this weekend.
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1. William Byron (+2)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 14
Comment: The thing about Byron's 2023 season ... is that he looks just as strong as he did at the beginning of last year, but has just kept his foot on the gas and keeps getting stronger. It speaks to his growth as a driver, and he honestly might go back-to-back for the second time this year on Monday despite having no previous Loudon top 10s (13.8 average finish).