SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s Power Rankings (02/28/22)

Pete Pistone will unveil Power Rankings each week of the NASCAR season. Check out this week’s edition of NASCAR Power Rankings below, and listen to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) on the SXM App now.

Daytona and the start of the year are in the rearview mirror, and the NASCAR regular season is off and running. Here’s a look at the Power Rankings after last week’s trip to Auto Club Speedway:

1. Kyle Larson

He was forced to come from the rear of the field, persevered after a late race incident with teammate Chase Elliott and went on to score his first win of the season. Larson led four times for 28 laps on his way to career win number 17.

Driver Rating: 98.8
Point Standings: 8th
Last Week: 10th

2. Aric Almirola

A very steady start to the year for Almirola with a strong finish in the Daytona 500 followed by a sixth-place run at Auto Club Speedway after starting 31st. He has finished in the top-10 in the last three Fontana races.

Driver Rating: 78.6
Point Standings: 7th
Last Week: 9th

3. Chase Elliott

A challenging day for Elliott that included spins, a trip into the wall once or twice and a late scuffle with Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson. The finish of 26th doesn’t dictate that overall day Elliott had Sunday in Fontana.

Driver Ratings: 70.0
Point Standings: 19th
Last Week: 5th

4. Austin Cindric

The Daytona 500 winner followed that performance up by winning the pole at Auto Club Speedway. Unfortunately, the day didn’t go quite as well for Cindric, who ended up 12th in the final rundown.

Driver Rating: 108.3
Point Standings: 1st
Last Week: 1st

5. Tyler Reddick

An impressive outing at Auto Club Speedway for the Richard Childress Racing driver, who looked like he was closing in on his first career Cup win until a late tire blowout and subsequent contact with the wall ended those hopes and send Reddick home with a 24th place finish.

Driver Rating: 87.5
Point Standings: 21st
Last Week: NR

6. Chase Briscoe

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver had his No. 14 Ford near the front of the field for a lot of Sunday afternoon’s race. Briscoe ultimately got shuffled back to finish 16th but showed he could be competitive.

Driver Ratings: 78.5
Point Standings: 5th
Last Week: 7th

7. Kyle Busch

A bid for a fifth Auto Club Speedway Cup win was challenging from the start for Busch, who had a tire go down early and fell several laps down. Still, Busch and the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team fought back to salvage a 14th place finish.

Driver Rating: 80.2
Point Standings: 11th
Last Week: 4th

8. Ryan Blaney

Tough sledding for the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford in Fontana. Blaney’s team had many challenges on pit road that cost valuable spots in the running order, and he was never able to overcome those issues, bringing home a 16th place finish.

Driver Rating: 102.6
Point Standings: 4th
Last Week: 3rd

9. Erik Jones

A major surprise from the weekend as Jones and company had the No. 43 Petty GMS Chevrolet in the spotlight. He qualified on the outside of the front row and backed that up with a very solid performance, leading 18 laps and posting an 3rd place finish.

Driver Rating: 101.9
Point Standings: 6th
Last Week: NR

10. Austin Dillon

A good effort for Dillon and the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 team as they came to life in the second half of the race and were in contention for Victory Lane. Dillon rebounded from a pit road speeding penalty to post a runner-up finish and his career Auto Club Speedway top-five.

Driver Rating: 63.0
Point Standings: 14th
Last Week: NR

Dropped Out: Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace