Strategy meant as much as speed last Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, as the drivers who gave up the stage points to get track position had the upper hand when it came to vying for the win. So sorting through the Sonoma results to create the power rankings was a little bit tough, not to mention that only three drivers finished in the top 10 in the back-to-back road-course races. Those drivers were Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney and Michael McDowell.
So here are my power rankings with the series heading to the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway this weekend, the first race at the track since 2019: Dropped out: Ross Chastain (Last Week: 10), Daniel Suárez (Last Week: 9), Erik Jones (Last Week: 8), Bubba Wallace (Last Week: 7) On the verge: William Byron, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell, Daniel Suárez, Bubba Wallace How is Preece on here and not McDowell? Here's why: McDowell had a ninth and 10th in the last two races, while Preece had an 11th and eighth. That gives Preece the edge.
That and the fact Preece is 15th overall in the standings; McDowell is 21st. Hocevar doesn’t necessarily have the best finishes, but he has shown the speed that should give him confidence. He was knocked out of the lead at Naval Base Coronado, then started second at Sonoma before finishing 11th.
Buescher finished 19th at Sonoma but had posted three consecutive top-10 finishes heading into that race. Three top 10s in the last four races? Only Blaney and Larson — who both have top 10s in each of the last four races — can match that.
Bell vaults back into the power rankings after a fifth-place finish despite a broken wrist. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Bell smile as much as he did after the race Sunday. Briscoe nearly raced his way past Shane van Gisbergen in the waning laps at Sonoma, only to make a mistake and come up short.
He now has six top-five finishes this year while still seeking his first win. A power steering issue doomed Reddick at Sonoma, where he caboosed the field. He needs to find some momentum, and Chicagoland would be the perfect place for the driver who often has Jordan logos on his hood.
Blaney is just rattling off solid finishes, as his sixth-place Sonoma finish was his 13th top 10 of the year. Only three of those are top fives, but Blaney rarely has a bad race. Gibbs possibly could have won Sonoma if he didn’t stay out for the stage points.
But in a tight battle among those third to eighth in the standings, guaranteeing himself some points when they were there for the taking wasn’t a bad move. Especially when you look at the importance of regular-season points standings and their impact on the Chase field reset. Larson’s last four races are fourth, fifth, third and fourth.
He doesn’t have the win he wants just yet, but he’s the most consistent right now when it comes to finishing in the top five. Hamlin finished 26th after being spun during the Sonoma race. He very well could have finished in the top 10.
He’ll have to have a disappointing finish on an oval before he drops from the top spot on this list.
