Power Rankings: Ross Chastain looking like a big-time force in 2024
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NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 NASCAR Cup Series contenders after Kyle Larson's win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and before Sunday's race at Phoenix Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
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20. Austin Cindric (-2)
Season-high: 18
Season-low: Out
Comment: Cindric followed his strong top-five finish at Atlanta by sinking to his worst showing of the young season at Vegas with a P29. He's qualified in the top eight for each race so far, however, so perhaps he can take that speed and turn it into his first Phoenix top 10 in his fifth attempt Sunday.
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19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+1)
Season-high: 16
Season-low: Out
Comment: Obviously not the same kind of start that last year's Daytona 500 winner got, but Stenhouse has been pretty decent thus far; he'd be knocking on the door of the top 10 in points if he hadn't been caught up in a wreck in this year's "Great American Race." And now, for his next trick -- figuring out how to land in the top 10 at Phoenix. He's only done so twice in 22 starts, both of which came in 2017.
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18. Erik Jones (Not ranked last week)
Season-high: 18
Season-low: Out
Comment: Everything needs to be looked at with a grain of salt since we're just three races in, but it feels worth mentioning that Jones, reunited with Toyota this year, is on pace for his best average finish (15.7) since a career-best in 2018 (14.0) while running Toyotas for Joe Gibbs Racing. All four of his Phoenix top 10s came in those days, as well, and it wouldn't be a shocker to see him replicate that once again Sunday.
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17. Alex Bowman (-1)
Season-high: 13
Season-low: 17
Comment: Vegas was viewed as a potential spot for Bowman to break back into the Cup win column. While he did lead a handful of laps, No. 48 faded back to 18th. Missed opportunity, because the Arizona native has been dreadful at his home track, having just one top 10 as a full-time Cup driver there.
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16. Chris Buescher (-5)
Season-high: 11
Season-low: 16
Comment: Buescher led twice as many laps as points he earned at Vegas ... with two and one of each, respectively. He'll look to rebound at Phoenix, where he has just two total top 10s across 16 starts ... but they've each come in the last two years, and he landed in the top five in last fall's championship race.
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15. Brad Keselowski (+2)
Season-high: 11
Season-low: 17
Comment: Keselowski is still in search of his first top 10, but a P13 at Las Vegas might've felt like a breath of fresh air after matching P33s at Daytona and Atlanta to open the season, two races he was projected to do quite well in. The 2012 champ has remarkably never won at Phoenix despite a couple of poles and littany of strong results there during his Team Penske days.
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14. Bubba Wallace (-4)
Season-high: 10
Season-low: 14
Comment: Wallace's hot start hit a major halt at Vegas, with an issue on pit road completely derailing his afternoon and sinking any hopes of three straight top fives to open the year. He finally picked up his first Phoenix top 10 since 2018 in last fall's finale, so maybe he rights the ship Sunday.
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13. Chase Elliott (+2)
Season-high: 13
Season-low: 17
Comment: This is officially the latest in the season Elliott has ever gone without landing a top 10, but there are still plenty of signs of encouragement here as No. 9 is still picking up plenty of points to be knocking on the door of the top five. He's had standout runs at Phoenix in the past (including winning the race for his first title in 2020), so maybe this is the week it all comes back together.
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12. Daniel Suárez (+1)
Season-high: 12
Season-low: Out
Comment: Following up last week was going to be nearly impossible, but still, Suárez very nearly turned in consecutive top 10s for the first time since Texas/Talladega in the playoffs with a P11 at Vegas. That's where he finished in the Phoenix finale a few months ago, also. Would you be surprised if he cracks it on Sunday? We wouldn't.
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11. Christopher Bell (-5)
Season-high: 4
Season-low: 11
Comment: Bell, for whatever reason, has a tendency to have sort-of rocky starts to seasons, as evidenced by his top five in the 500 ... followed by a pair of finishes outside the top 30. Phoenix will be an interesting one for him: No. 20 has finished in the top 10 in half of his starts there, but he has yet to lead a lap in the desert.
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10. Joey Logano (-2)
Season-high: 5
Season-low: 10
Comment: You can already tell: Logano is going to have one of the most interesting seasons of anybody in the field. He clearly has the speed (three straight front-row starting spots), but drama seems to follow him (beef with Ty Gibbs, webbed glove, etc.) Get your popcorn ready -- the three-time Phoenix winner will very likely make some noise this weekend, too.
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9. Tyler Reddick (+5)
Season-high: 8
Season-low: 14
Comment: Reddick was the only other driver out on the track Sunday that seemed like he was possibly on the same plane of existence as Kyle Larson, so that runner-up (and, honestly, near-win) should be commended. He's finished third in consecutive spring races at Phoenix, so he'll likely be in the mix once again this weekend.
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8. Denny Hamlin (-4)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 8
Comment: Early-season rankings can get so janky. For instance, Hamlin landed his first top 10 of the season but lost spots after getting leapfrogged by some big-jumpers. No. 11's longterm prospects are still excellent, and he should have a strong weekend in store at Phoenix, one of his best tracks (10.8 average finish).
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7. Kyle Busch (-4)
Season-high: 3
Season-low: 7
Comment: Sunday was a frustrating one for Busch, who led 18 laps, scored 18 points ... and finished 26th. Phoenix should offer a nice rebound spot for Rowdy, seeing as he might be the guy to beat there now that the "Cactus King" Kevin Harvick will be watching the race from the FOX broadcast booth.
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6. Ty Gibbs (+1)
Season-high: 6
Season-low: 8
Comment: Gibbs continues to impress, picking up his fifth career top-five finish this past weekend at Vegas to give him consecutive top 10s for the first time since Richmond/Bristol Dirt last year. He didn't crack the top 20 in either of his two Phoenix results, but the way things are going that'll likely change this weekend.
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5. Ross Chastain (+7)
Season-high: 5
Season-low: 14
Comment: Chastain took a bit of a step back last year after his mesmerizing runner-up points finish in 2022, but early returns so far indicate he's going to be a force to be reckoned with once again in 2024, much to Ryan Blaney's chagrin. It'll be quite fun to watch, however, and these two might wind up battling once again at Phoenix, where just a few months ago Chastain won the race, but Blaney won the title.
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4. Martin Truex Jr. (+5)
Season-high: 9
Season-low: 10
Comment: Late in the race, it looked like Truex was going to nab his first top five since ... checks notes ... Michigan, but he faded at the end and finished seventh. Still, there's enough here to think No. 19's playoff woes could be behind him. Truex's one win at Phoenix came in this race in 2021, so he could keep it rolling.
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3. William Byron (-2)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 4
Comment: Byron landed back in the top 10 after a brief hiatus at Atlanta, but it's still a bit of a downer in a race he was projected to win. Lucky for him, he's the defending winner of this race, too, so expect to see him at the front of the field once again.
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2. Ryan Blaney (--)
Season-high: 2
Season-low: 5
Comment: Back-to-back top threes for Blaney, one of which was nearly a win, as he heads back to the track where he hoisted the big trophy last fall. Champ doing champ things. No. 12 can't win the title on Sunday, but he can do something he failed to do last fall, and that's win the race outright. And he just may do that.
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1. Kyle Larson (+4)
Season-high: 1
Season-low: 5
Comment: Aaaaand we're back. Larson feels like a slam dunk Championship 4 bet this year and -- despite what his crew chief said after the win -- appears to be in a league of his own at times more than any other driver in the field. It's entirely conceivable Larson never relinquishes this spot the rest of the way. He's that good.