Power Rankings: Blaney, No. 12 team turn a corner at Martinsville; Talladega takeoff incoming?
1 of 21
NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the 20 hottest Cup Series drivers after the race at Martinsville Speedway and before Sunday's race at Talladega Superspeedway (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
2 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
20. Michael McDowell (-6)
Season-high: 14
Season-low: Out
Comment: Pro: McDowell turned in his fourth-best Martinsville finish in 25 starts there this past Sunday. Con: It was for 19th place. He's been a consistently strong finisher at Talladega the past few years and should be in store for a rebound weekend.
3 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
19. Ty Gibbs (-3)
Season-high: 16
Season-low: Out
Comment: The rookie saw his top-10 streak snap at four but extended his top-20 streak to five Sunday at Martinsville. He'll take on Talladega for the second time in Cup this weekend and hope for a better result than last fall when he crashed out and finished dead last.
4 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
18. Daniel Suarez (+1)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 19
Comment: Suarez now hasn't finished in the top 10 since Vegas, but at least at Martinsville he led his most laps of the year (seven) and turned in his best finish since ripping off three straight top 10s to open the season. He has just a pair of Talladega top 10s through 12 starts — but one of them came in last fall's race.
5 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
17. Chris Buescher (+1)
Season-high: 15
Season-low: Out
Comment: While not great that Buescher was shut out of the top 10 during the short-track stretch, he did pick up his fifth top 15 of the season in the finale at Martinsville. RFK Racing has shown to be formidable at superspeedways of late, and he'll likely be in the mix Sunday.
6 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
16. Chase Elliott (Unranked)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: Out
Comment: Aaaand he's back. Elliott will likely be a quick riser here, but in the meantime, he's in a pretty significant points hole after the time missed. That said, that becomes much less of a concern if he wins — and the two-time Talladega winner should be one of the favorites this weekend.
7 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
15. Brad Keselowski (-4)
Season-high: 9
Season-low: Out
Comment: Certainly a frustrating result (24th) at Martinsville for Keselowski, who looked sporty at times and led seven laps at a track he's capable of winning at. Talladega marks another one, and the 2012 champ will be ready to put Virginia in the past come Sunday.
8 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
14. Chase Briscoe (+6)
Season-high: 16
Season-low: Out
Comment: Stewart-Haas Racing looked resilient as a whole on Sunday, with Briscoe leading much of that charge — his 109 laps led were a career-high. Talladega has gone about average for him thus far, though he did land in the top 10 there last fall for the first time.
9 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
13 William Byron (-3)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 14
Comment: What a difference a year makes as Byron, who dominated Martinsville in the spring last year, just couldn't get it going in Virginia on Sunday. Things have started to really click for him at Talladega the past few years, though — highlighted by a runner-up run in 2021 — and he should get things back in order this weekend. However, there's plenty of randomness at 'Dega that could sink his finish again.
10 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+3)
Season-high: 12
Season-low: Out
Comment: Give Stenhouse his due because we're nearly a third of the way through the season, and he's having a career year with no signs of slowing. He could easily become the season's third two-time winner this weekend if he's able to replicate the superspeedway success he seems to have any time we hit one of those tracks.
11 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
11. Alex Bowman (-3)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: 15
Comment: Bowman is still averaging a pristine — and career-best — 10.0 finish but has now been shut out of the top 10 in back-to-back races for the first time this year. He's super hit or miss at Talladega, but he did manage to pick up his fourth career top 10 there last fall.
12 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
10. Ryan Blaney (+3)
Season-high: 4
Season-low: 13
Comment: Blaney and Co. desperately needed a solid run at Martinsville, and they got it with a P7-finish to snap a three-race skid outside the top 20. He's been one of the best at Talladega the past few years and went back-to-back there in 2019-20 with two trips to Victory Lane. He could find that spark once again.
13 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
9. Denny Hamlin (+3)
Season-high: 6
Season-low: 12
Comment: Hamlin strongly indicated his team was about to turn a corner, and they competed well at Martinsville en route to the No. 11's first top five of the season. The superspeedway ace has added two Talladega wins to his resume (2014, 2020) and very well might land win No. 1 of the season this weekend.
14 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
8. Kyle Busch (-2)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 8
Comment: After looking like the man to beat earlier in the season, Rowdy has started to slip a bit with now three straight finishes of 14th or worse and two outside the top 20. Talladega is arguably his worst track from a results standpoint, and his lone win there came all the way back in 2008 ... though he did finish P3 in this race last year for his only Talladega top 10 since spring 2019.
15 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
7. Joey Logano (+2)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 9
Comment: Almost every race, it feels like Logano does something to show why he's a two-time champion. Martinsville was no exception, with Logano nearly winning after being forced to start from the rear. He's a tremendous talent at Talladega, and win No. 2 of 2023 might be just around the corner.
16 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
6. Tyler Reddick (-3)
Season-high: 3
Season-low: 15
Comment: Reddick finished outside the top 20 at Martinsville but overall had a decent day, with his 30 points matching seventh-place Ryan Blaney's net total. The 23XI driver claimed two P7s at Talladega in 2020-21 but has otherwise not finished higher than 20th in his four other starts there.
17 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
5. Kevin Harvick (--)
Season-high: 5
Season-low: 11
Comment: Harvick's finishing position doesn't tell the full story of his race, in which he led 20 laps and won Stage 2, accumulating just two points fewer than Martin Truex Jr. in third. Though he only has one Talladega win, he's been above average there in his career, with a 15.8 average finish and top 10s in 19 of his 44 starts.
18 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
4. Martin Truex Jr. (+3)
Season-high: 4
Season-low: 14
Comment: Truex has probably been the most consistently above-average-but-still-missing-something driver of the year, with no finishes outside the top 20 but also Martinsville's P3 marking just his first top five of the season. Still yet to ever win a superspeedway race, Truex has greatly improved in the category and was P5 in this race last year.
19 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
3. Ross Chastain (+1)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 7
Comment: There was no repeat 'Hail Melon' this past Sunday at Martinsville — thankfully, for everyone including Chastain's sake — but the No. 1 still led 31 laps and had a decent points day to remain neck-and-neck with standings leader Christopher Bell. Given he's the defending race winner, however, he could reclaim the lead this weekend.
20 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2. Christopher Bell (-1)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 10
Comment: Neither of last year's Martinsville winners fared well on Sunday, but Bell's still-respectable P16 was his third-worst showing of the season, to give you an indication of how good he's been overall in 2023. Interestingly, Bell has led multiple laps in four of his six Talladega starts and sat on the pole for both races last year ... but owns just one career top 10 there.
21 of 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
1. Kyle Larson (+1)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 11
Comment: We said here last week it was only a matter of time before Larson starts really pouring it on in 2023, and he didn't waste any time in doing so. The 2021 champ and superspeedways aren't the best of friends, so perhaps he won't go back-to-back, but Larson looks otherwise primed and ready for a summer of domination after landing his first Martinsville grandfather clock.