SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Power Rankings – September 5
Check out this week’s rankings from Pete Pistone.
Pete Pistone will unveil “Power Rankings” each week of the NASCAR season. Check out this week’s edition of the NASCAR “Power Rankings” below, and listen to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) on the SiriusXM app and web player now.
1. TYLER REDDICK
On a night when he battled sickness behind the wheel, Reddick somehow managed to muscle his way home to a 10th place finish and with it clinched the regular season points championship. He scored 11 top-10 finishes in the last 13 races and looks to carry that momentum into the Playoff opener Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Last Week: 1st
2. KYLE LARSON
It looked like Larson was going to cruise to Victory Lane Sunday night when he by far had the fastest car in the field leading a race-high 263 laps. But a series of events toward the end of the race shuffled him back a touch and he settled for a fourth place finish.
Last Week: 2ndd
3. CHRISTOPHER BELL
Nice weekend for Bell who won Saturday’s Xfinity Series race and came back to score a third-place Southern 500 finish. Bell has two Cup wins heading into the Playoffs but can’t afford to add to his six DNFs so far this season.
Last Week: 5th
4. DENNY HAMLIN
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has four top-10 finishes in the last six races after his seventh-place Southern 500 performance. The No. 11 team is another group that needs to up its recent runs now that the Playoffs are here.
Last Week: 4th
5. RYAN BLANEY
The defending series champion had his night cut extremely short when Martin Truex Jr.’s mistake wiped out Blaney and the No. 12 Team Penske Ford. A two lap Southern 500 was not what Blaney anticipated Sunday night.
Last Week: 3rd
6. CHASE ELLIOTT
Once again just an okay performance for Elliott on Sunday night with an 11th-place finish. The former Cup Series champion and the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 team needs to find another gear in the Playoffs if Elliott is going to be a factor.
Last Week: 6th
7. WILLIAM BYRON
The former Darlington winner didn’t really have any chance to show what he had in the Southern 500. Byron was caught up in a crash and left Sunday night with a very disappointing 30th place finish.
Last Week: 7th
8. JOEY LOGANO
He started from the 23rd spot but made his way through the field with a combination of speed and attrition. When the checkered flag flew Logano ended the night with a very quiet eighth-place finish.
Last Week:
9. BRAD KESELOWSKI
The May Darlington winner did not have the same performance this time around at “The Track Too Tough to Tame.” The best Keselowski could do in the Southern 500 is put a 14th-place finish on the board.
Last Week:
10. KYLE BUSCH
He ended the regular season with finishes of fourth, second and another runnerup finish to Darlington race winner Chase Briscoe on Sunday night. But it wasn’t enough to keep Busch out of the Playoffs and thrown into the role of spoiler for the rest of the season.
Last Week: NR
Dropped Out: Bubba Wallace
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