Power Rankings: Penske trio rises up after Talladega

12. William Byron (-3): Despite winning Stage 1 at Talladega, a 33rd-place finish leaves the young driver in a minus-27 hole with one race to go in the Round of 12. It’s hard to see the tide turning at Kansas – Byron's 30.3 average finish there is the worst among the 12 playoff drivers and his best finish is 20th.

11. Clint Bowyer (-3)
: Bowyer notched his first stage win of the year at Talladega but he still sits 11th in the playoff puzzle and coincidentally in this week's rankings. While he finished fifth at his home track of Kansas in the spring, he has just three top fives and no wins there in 22 starts.


10. Alex Bowman (-3): 
Blaney's last-lap win was really bad news for Bowman, who finds himself on the outside of advancing – a mid-race wreck contributing to that as well. He will need an effort similar to his runner-up drive at the Roval to help stave off elimination and even that may not get it done. Could it happen at Kansas? He was the runner-up in the spring race.

9. Chase Elliott (+2)
: Despite his involvement in the same wreck as Bowman, Elliott was able to rally for an eighth-place finish. He still sits 22 points behind the cutline. The reigning NMPA Most Popular Driver Award winner won this race last year and has three top-four finishes in his last four starts at Kansas. Of the drivers outside the cutline, he seems the most likely to rally to advance.

8. Ryan Blaney (+4): How his fortunes have changed. Last week, Blaney was last in these rankings. This week, the Team Penske driver is tied for the biggest rise up. YRB is locked into the Round of 8 thanks to his thrilling Talladega win and he could pad his playoff point total at Kansas. He has two stage wins and five top-seven finishes there.

7. Kyle Larson (-2): In fairness to Larson, he was playing with house money at Talladega with a Dover victory locking him into the Round of 8. That makes the 39th-place finish easy to move on from especially when Kansas – site of Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 – has seen Larson nab three straight top-eight finishes.

6. Joey Logano (+4): Logano recovered from being two laps down in the final stage to finish 11th and position himself +18 above the cutline – holder of the provisional last spot to transfer into the Round of 8. It’s hard to see the reigning champion not advancing at Kansas – a track where he has two playoff wins and led 100 laps here last fall.

5. Brad Keselowski (+1): A late wreck took away what looked to be at least a top-10 finish at Talladega for Keselowski. He still is in good shape to advance as we head to the site of his most recent win: Kansas. This has been one of his better tracks and he also has been one of the best cars all year on 1.5-mile tracks.

4. Kyle Busch (--): The playoffs have been frustrating for the regular-season champion, but he is still in good shape to advance through to the Round of 8. Prior to teaming up with crew chief Adam Stevens, Kansas was one of his worst tracks (one top five in 15 starts). Since being paired with Stevens, he has a win and five top-fives in eight starts.

3. Kevin Harvick (-1): Harvick looked to have one of the strongest cars in the spring at Kansas and this has been on the better venues for the Harvick-Rodney Childers driver-crew chief union. In 11 starts at the 1.5-mile track, they have two wins, six top fives and have led laps in all but one race there.

2. Denny Hamlin (+1)
: Lost in the great finish at Talladega was the fact that Hamlin somehow finished third and now holds the points lead. He is all but locked into the Round of 8 and competitors have to be ruing that prospect. Kansas – where he has a win -- is his "worst track left" and he has nine wins at Round of 8 tracks.

1-Martin Truex Jr. (--): 
Truex's strong opening four races of the playoffs put him in a spot where a 26th-place, 11-point day does nothing to harm his chances to advance. He swept the 2017 races at Kansas and has four top fives in his last five starts. He's also the most recent winner at a 1.5-mile track this season (Las Vegas) and should be a contender once again.

NASCAR.com's RJ Kraft ranks the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs drivers after Talladega Superspeedway and before Kansas Speedway hosts the Round of 12 finale.