Power Rankings: Tyler Reddick rounding into form as threat to win on all track types
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NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the 20 hottest Cup Series drivers after the Bristol Dirt Race and before Sunday's race at Martinsville Speedway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR).
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
20. Chase Briscoe (Not ranked last week)
Season-high: 16
Season-low: Out
Comment: Occasionally mired in the middle of the pack, it's always nice to be reminded of Briscoe's immense overall talent, like he had on display at Bristol en route to his first top five of the season. He's got a strong shot to keep it rolling this weekend at Martinsville, where he notched a pair of top 10s in 2022.
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19. Daniel Suarez (-3)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 19
Comment: I firmly suspect Suarez will only get better from here over the summer months, but it's been a tough slog for him over the first eight races, well off his average-finish pace from last year's breakout (18.4 to 16.5). He could have a tough time of rebounding at Martinsville, where his only top 10s in 12 starts came in 2018-19. That said, Trackhouse Racing cars have a, uh, history of surprising people at the Virginia track.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
18. Chris Buescher (--)
Season-high: 15
Season-low: Out
Comment: Buescher was unable to make it two in a row at Bristol, but did manage to land inside the top 20 after a trying race on the dirt. He's had some decent Martinsville runs in the past but has yet to really contend for anything meaningful there.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
17. Austin Cindric (-3)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 19
Comment: This is somewhat apples and oranges, but to give a little context to Cindric's underwhelming sophomore campaign so far — he had more laps led (8) in his first seven Cup starts in 2021 while running full-time in the Xfinity Series than he does in the first eight races of 2023 (7). That Penske No. 2 car has a strong history at Martinsville, however, and while he was shut out of the top 10 in his first two starts there last year, he was knocking on the door in the first one (P11).
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16. Ty Gibbs (+3)
Season-high: 16
Season-low: Out
Comment: Gibbs continues to impress, and he and Christopher Bell have combined to procure 10 of Joe Gibbs Racing's 14 top 10s to date this season — notable, given JGR's other two drivers are Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. He has one prior Martinsville start — last fall — and landed P19.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+2)
Season-high: 14
Season-low: Out
Comment: Stenhouse is a driver that knows he needs to capitalize in certain spots throughout the schedule — i.e. like winning the Daytona 500, which he did — and we were witness to that once more at Bristol, where the dirt ace landed a P4. He's excelled on Bristol of both types, but Martinsville has been a challenge for him — he has just two top 10s there in 20 starts, both coming in 2017.
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14. Michael McDowell (+1)
Season-high: 14
Season-low: Out
Comment: McDowell will sometimes surprise us with occasional mastery behind the wheel, which we saw at Bristol where he spun twice — but kept driving! — before nearly still eeking out a top 10. He could use some of that expertise this weekend at Martinsville, where he's yet to land a top 10 in 24 tries.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
13. Ryan Blaney (--)
Season-high: 4
Season-low: 13
Comment: Things could be going better for Blaney and the No. 12 team, who have now turned in three straight finishes outside the top 20 after showing speed earlier this season. Martinsville should offer some respite, however, as — though he's yet to win there — Blaney has been among the top contenders at the Virginia track from 2017-on.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
12. Denny Hamlin (--)
Season-high: 6
Season-low: 12
Comment: The perennial title contender Hamlin has now been shut out of the top 10 in three straight races, with his tally for the season stuck on just two such finishes through eight weeks. If there were ever a track to get things back in order for him, however, it's Martinsville. The Virginia native has been absolutely lights out there at times, once never finishing worse than sixth in a nine-race span that included four wins. That said, none of his five victories there have come since 2015.
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11. Brad Keselowski (--)
Season-high: 9
Season-low: Out
Comment: Keselowski escaped Bristol with neither a disaster nor an evening worth writing home about, and we're guessing he'll take that 17th-place finish in stride. He was fast at Richmond and with the same rules package for Martinsville — a track he's excelled at at times — he could honestly break through for his first win since 2021 this weekend.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
10. William Byron (-6)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 14
Comment: Byron, it's fair to say, has had one of the more interesting seasons of any driver so far — clearly fast, clearly a title contender, and clearly in the wrong place at the wrong time occasionally, given that he has just three top 10s in eight races — but two of them are wins. The good news? He turned in one of the more dominant performances in all of 2022 in this race last year and he'll be one of the favorites to win again.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
9. Joey Logano (-2)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 9
Comment: Logano now has the sole distinction of being the only driver in history to both win the Bristol Dirt Race — and finish last in it, which he did on Sunday. The defending champ somewhat surprisingly has just one Martinsville win to his name — in 2018 — but overall has 16 top 10s in 28 starts there, including a runner-up in this race last year.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
8. Alex Bowman (-6)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: 15
Comment: It's a topsy turvy kind of year for Bowman, points-wise, but he had been racing incredibly well before a rough result (29th) at Bristol. He's a recent (2021) Martinsville winner, however, and he very well could break through for win No. 1 of 2023 on Sunday.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
7. Martin Truex Jr. (+3)
Season-high: 7
Season-low: 14
Comment: Truex has just two top 10s so far, but he hasn't had any bad races, with no finishes outside the top 20 and no fewer than 20 points in any race to keep him afloat in the standings. As the winner of three of the past seven Martinsville races, there's a good chance it all comes together for him this weekend.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
6. Kyle Busch (+2)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 8
Comment: Both of the previous two Bristol dirt winners landed outside the top 30 on Sunday — and they also happen to be the sport's only two active multi-time champions, if that gives you any indication of how difficult that race is. Busch somehow has just two Martinsville wins to his credit despite a strong 12.2 average finish there in 35 starts. Interestingly, they both came in 2016-17.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
5. Kevin Harvick (+1)
Season-high: 5
Season-low: 11
Comment: Harvick landed a top 10 in what will almost certainly be his final attempt at Bristol dirt, as his rejuvenation campaign continues. He'd love to add another grandfather clock to his collection this weekend as well — the 2014 champ has had solid runs at Martinsvlle in the past but has just one win at the Virginia track, and it came more than a decade ago.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
4. Ross Chastain (-3)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 7
Comment: Ross had bettered his finishing position each race over the past four weeks and generally looked headed for a win ... until he landed P28 at Bristol. No matter, however, as he's still having a hell of a season and all eyes will be on him this weekend in his first race at Martinsville since ... you know.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
3. Tyler Reddick (+6)
Season-high: 3
Season-low: 15
Comment: Reddick is racing like a man on a mission right now, and he very nearly secured a second win in the past three weeks on two tracks that couldn't be any more different. He's quickly rounding into form as a driver expected to be in contention every weekend — and no better place to showcase his emergence than Martinsville, where he has yet to find command of with just one top 10 and a 19.8 average finish across six starts.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2. Kyle Larson (+3)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: 11
Comment: Like we always thought it would be ... it looked like Bristol would wind up in the hands of Larson (75 laps led) or Bell, who did wind up going on to win while Larson was wrecked out after contact with Ryan Preece. Still, he looked amazing and he's really started to figure Martinsville out the past few years. Only a matter of time before he starts really pouring it on in 2023.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
1. Christopher Bell (+2)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 10
Comment: We said here last week that a case could be made for Bell as No. 1 and, well, he went out and made sure there was no debating it. And, in the worst possible news for the rest of the field, the season's best driver to date is also the most recent winner at Martinsville. Needless to say, good luck to his competitors. You're probably gonna need it.