NASCAR Radio Power Rankings: Who’s In, Who’s Out?

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. Revisit previous editions of our Power Rankings here.

The NASCAR Cup Series traveled to upstate New York and Watkins Glen International on Sunday. Here’s a look at the Power Rankings after the Go Bowling at The Glen:

1. Chase Elliott

He was on the receiving end of the contact with teammate Larson and when it was all over despite leading 29 laps, Elliott slid back in the final circuits and could do no better than fourth at The Glen. However, he did lock up the regular season championship, which will be beneficial in his quest for a second NASCAR Cup Series title.

Point Standings: 1st
Last Week: 1st

2. Kyle Larson

A rough and tumble ending for Larson who made contact with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott battling for position on the final restart. Larson prevailed and was able to pull away from the field at the end of the race leading just five laps on his way to win number two of the season.

Point Standings: 2nd
Last Week: 7th

3. Kevin Harvick

No shot for a third consecutive win for Harvick although he did spend some of the day in the front of the pack. Harvick faded in the second half of the race and after starting 24th put a 12th-place finish on the board.

Point Standings: 8th
Last Week: 3rd

4. Joey Logano

He was in the middle of some hard racing Sunday afternoon that also included a stint at the front of the field for 15 laps. Logano ended up coming home fourth for top-five finish number seven of the season.

Point Standings: 4th
Last Week: 4th

5. Denny Hamlin

Just a complete non-factor at The Glen for Hamlin who like most of his Joe Gibbs racing and Toyota teammates struggled again on a road course. A forgettable 20th place performance for Hamlin.

Point Standings: 14th
Last Week: 2nd

6. Ross Chastain

Not in the picture as a potential race winner but that doesn’t mean Chastain didn’t capture some attention. He made contact with Austin Dillon who in turn collected Kimi Raikkonen sending the former F1 driver out of the race, which put Chastain in the middle of more finger pointing. Oh by the way he finished 21st.

Point Standings: 5th
Last Week: 5th

7. Christopher Bell

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver had to climb out of a major hole after starting from the 28th position on Sunday. Bell did an admirable job coming from that deep in the field to cross the finish line eighth at Watkins Glen.

Point Standings: 7th
Last Week: 6th

8. Chris Buescher

The late regular season surprise driver had another good outing at Watkins Glen. While Buescher may not have been in contention to win the race he still found a way to put his eighth top-10 finish on the board and second in a row.

Point Standings: 21st
Last Week: 10th

9. Tyler Reddick

A sour afternoon for the driver in pursuit of his third win of the season and another road course victory. Things were off for the Richard Childress Racing No. 8 team at The Glen and all Reddick could muster was a seventh-place finish.

Point Standings: 13th
Last Week: 8th

10. Daniel Suarez

It was a hard-fought afternoon at Watkins Glen for Suarez and the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing team. But he battled back to finish fifth and has a very impressive six top-five finishes in 2022.

Point Standings: 12th
Last Week: NR

Dropped Out: Kyle Busch