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Power Rankings: Christopher Bell holding steady after consecutive top fives
By Zach Sturniolo | Published: July 26, 2022 21
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NASCAR.com's Zach Sturniolo steps in to rank the top 20 NASCAR Cup Series drivers after the race at Pocono Raceway and before Sunday's event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, IMS Radio, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
20. Chase Briscoe (-2)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 20
Comment: Despite dropping couple notches in this week's rankings, Briscoe continued a steady run with a 15th-place finish at Pocono. His last four races have produced results of 14th, 16th, 15th and 15th. And prior to a 34th-place finish at Nashville, Briscoe was 13th at Sonoma. He was just a couple laps -- and contact with Denny Hamlin -- away from scoring his first career win last year at the Indianapolis Road Course. Maybe he rights that wrong on Sunday.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
19. Austin Dillon (+1)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: Out
Comment: After three straight weeks of disappointing runs, Dillon notched his first Pocono top 10 in 17 starts, sliding up the pylon to P10 after Sunday's race. It's the No. 3 team's first top-15 finish since Nashville, where Dillon crossed the line 14th. Road courses aren't his strong suit, but he did finish 11th at Sonoma, so there may be optimism for the Richard Childress Racing group.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
18. Erik Jones (+1)
Season-high: 14
Season-low: Out
Comment: It shouldn't come as too big a surprise Jones managed another top-10 finish at Pocono, his career seventh there and most at any track. The No. 43 team has led 21 laps in the past three races but struggled at Sonoma and Road America. Good news: He finished ninth at Circuit of The Americas, so maybe that can translate to success at the Indy Road Course.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
17. Kurt Busch (-3)
Season-high: 12
Season-low: Out
Comment: Busch had a quick car on Saturday and made it to the final round of qualifying. Unfortunately, that's where Busch's weekend ended as his qualifying crash left him unable to compete Sunday. Pending medical clearance, he'll look to get back behind the wheel this weekend in Indy.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
16. Aric Almirola (--)
Season-high: 11
Season-low: Out
Comment: Almirola rebounded from an early spin at Pocono to finish 13th and on the lead lap Sunday. It's his second top 15 in the last three races, but the No. 10 team needs more momentum heading into the final five races of the regular season in order to make a bid for the playoffs.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
15. Austin Cindric (-2)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 19
Comment: Cindric's hot summer stretch cooled considerably at Pocono after an early spin and resulting tow left him multiple laps down. The rookie never recovered and finished 31st, six laps down. Cindric is known for his road-racing abilities, however, so this weekend could be where he gets back on track.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
14. Tyler Reddick (+3)
Season-high: 7
Season-low: 20
Comment: How about that for a bounce-back week? After two straight finishes outside the top 20, Reddick showed up to Pocono and walked away with a runner-up finish for his second top-two finish in the last four races. The other, of course, was his Road America win. Have to imagine he's optimistic heading back to a road course this weekend.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
13. Alex Bowman (+2)
Season-high: 5
Season-low: 15
Comment: An 11th-place finish might not be the ultimate goal for Bowman, but it's one he needed for about the last two months. Pocono marks his best finish since a 10th-place run at Charlotte in May. He finished 12th at Road America, so maybe the horrible span of three DNFs in the last five races can officially be left behind.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
12. William Byron (--)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 16
Comment: Byron came away 12th at Pocono, but his day probably should have been better. The No. 24 team was issued an equipment interference penalty at Lap 122, the race's lone penalty during green-flag pit stops. That pass through pit road mired Byron mid-pack, but a decent result nonetheless for the No. 24 Chevrolet.
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11. Joey Logano (-1)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: 11
Comment: Logano's bad stretch of finishes continued at Pocono, where a 20th-place results marked his fourth consecutive finish of 20th or worse. He'll look to rebound Sunday at Indianapolis -- owned by his team owner Roger Penske -- but Logano's road-course results don't bode well either. His best finish on road courses this year is 17th at Sonoma.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
10. Daniel Suárez (+1)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: Out
Comment: What a run the No. 99 team is on lately. Suárez picked up his fourth straight top 10 Sunday, matching a career-best streak in Cup for the first time since 2017 -- his rookie year -- between New Hampshire and Watkins Glen. He scored his first Cup win at Sonoma in June, a fifth-place finish at Road America and dominated Stage 1 at COTA. Perhaps another strong finish is ahead for Suárez after finishing third at Pocono.
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9. Kevin Harvick (+1)
Season-high: 5
Season-low: 14
Comment: There's no doubt Harvick and Co. left Pocono wondering what could have been. The No. 4 car was an innocent bystander as Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain tangled, sending Chastain across Harvick's nose and ruining his top-five run. Instead, he finished 27th for his first finish worse than 12th since a DNF at Gateway in June. Road courses have treated him well in 2022 with three top-11 finishes. He and the crew hope that translates to the Indy Road Course on Sunday.
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8. Christopher Bell (--)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: Out
Comment: That's one way to back up a victory. Bell finished fourth at Pocono one week after snagging the win at New Hampshire and seems to be rekindling the hot hand he had back in the spring. Toyota has struggled mightily on road course this year, though, so maybe the top-five streak will be short-lived.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
7. Kyle Busch (--)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 11
Comment: Well, he qualified second and took the checkered flag second, but officially, Busch is credited with a 36th-place finish. He was eyeing his first top five since a runner-up result at Gateway but instead is dealt his first last-place finish since July 2021 at Loudon and sixth consecutive finish outside the top 10 this year.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
6. Denny Hamlin (+3)
Season-high: 4
Season-low: 20
Comment: Hamlin won the pole, hit the wall on Lap 1, spun out and rallied to take the checkered flag first -- all to be disqualified in post-race inspection. The 35th-place result isn't what the team wanted with two finishes outside the top 10 in the last three events, but Hamlin may have some leftover momentum (and a competitive fire) to re-add win No. 49 to his resume. Oh, and he nearly won at the Indy Road Course a year ago.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
5. Ryan Blaney (-1)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 10
Comment: Blaney did himself no favors at Pocono, sliding off Turn 3 and careening nose-first into the inside SAFER barrier at pit entrance. He sits just 22 points ahead of Martin Truex Jr. for the final spot in the playoff grid despite holding third in points overall. A win would ease a lot of concerns in the All-Star Race winner's camp.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
4. Kyle Larson (+1)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 6
Comment: A quiet fifth-place finish is the run Larson was looking for at Pocono -- well, if he couldn't find Victory Lane, anyway. It's his third top five in the last five races, and he's still looking for his first road win of the year after winning three in 2021. Is Indianapolis the week it happens?
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
3. Martin Truex Jr. (--)
Season-high: 4
Season-low: 10
Comment: Truex didn't show the same speed his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates did on Sunday, but it is worth noting two of the three were disqualified. Nonetheless, the 2017 series champion finished seventh and closed the gap on Ryan Blaney after the No. 12 team crashed out. No doubt Truex wants to win, but as long as there are no new winners, he's in for the time being.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2. Ross Chastain (--)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: Out
Comment: His series-best six-race top-10 streak was bound to end sooner than later, and it's little surprise it ends after Hamlin helped him into the wall while battling for the lead at Pocono. Chastain can throw last year's 29th-place run at the Indy Road Course out and focus on relocating some road-course magic this weekend. Trackhouse Racing has won two of the three such events this year, with Chastain scoring his first career win in March at COTA.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
1. Chase Elliott (--)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 4
Comment: Well, just like that, Elliott is a four-time winner in the Cup Series this year while no one else has more than three victories. Unique circumstances aside, Elliott has now won three of the last five races and finished second in those other two events. It's an astounding stat line and one that includes a second-place finish at Road America. Maybe he gets road win No. 1 of the Next Gen era Sunday in Indianapolis.