SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s Power Rankings

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.

Here’s how Sunday’s Foxwoods Casino Resort 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway impacted this week’s Power Rankings:

1. Kyle Larson  – He was the best of the Hendrick Motorsports stable with a seventh-place finish, better than the last two outings for Larson. However, Sunday was the first race with no Hendrick Motorsports car in the top 5 since the Bristol Dirt race in March.

Driver Rating: 108.5
Point Standings: 2nd
Previous Ranking: 1st

2. Chase Elliott – Rough finish for Elliott in New Hampshire who, after posting finishes of third and sixth in the opening two stages, fell back to take the checkered flag with a disappointing 18^th place run.

Driver Rating: 99.7
Point Standings: 5th
Previous Ranking: 2nd

3. Kyle Busch – His race was literally over before it started as Busch spun on the wet racing surface just after the green flag flew. He was credited with a last-place finish and, not surprisingly, was anything but a happy camper when all was said and done.

Driver Rating: 99.4
Point Standings: 4th
Previous Ranking: 3rd

4. Denny Hamlin– A 10^th place finish is what Hamlin was able to salvage Sunday in New Hampshire after being forced back to pit road late for a lug nut issue that cost the Joe Gibbs Racing driver a shot at staying in contention for win number one of the season.

Driver Rating: 107.0
Point Standings: 1st
Previous Ranking: 4th

5. Alex Bowman – Not a horrible day for Bowman, who ended up ninth for a top-10 finish. But, like the rest of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates, he was surprisingly not much of a factor on Sunday.

Driver Rating: 88.3
Point Standings: 11th
Previous Ranking: 5th

6. Christopher Bell – An Xfinity Series race win on Saturday followed up with a second-place effort in Sunday’s Cup race added up to a very good New Hampshire weekend for Bell. He’s finished runner-up in two of the last three races this season.

Driver Rating: 84.4
Point Standings: 15th
Previous Ranking: 10th

7. William Byron – Things continue to be a struggle for Byron and company after such a strong start to the season. The No. 24 team was credited with a 21^st-place finish in New Hampshire.

Driver Rating: 97.1
Point Standings: 3rd
Previous Ranking: 6th

8. Martin Truex Jr.  – One of the victims of the controversial start to the race when the track was slick. Truex Jr. did recover from damage in the incident to soldier on and register a 12^th-place finish.

Driver Rating: 97.6
Point Standings: 7th
Previous Ranking: 7th

9. Aric Almirola – Career win number three came for Almirola in New Hampshire and with it a potential Playoff berth for the Stewart-Haas Racing driver. It was only his third top-10 finish of 2021 but it may have been the biggest win of Almirola’s Cup Series career to date.

Driver Rating: 64.8
Point Standings: 23rd
Previous Ranking: NR

10. Kurt Busch – A letdown for Busch after his Atlanta win the week before. He ran middle of the pack most of the day and eventually slid back to cross the finish line in 16^th.

Driver Rating: 82.0

Point Standings: 14th
Previous Ranking: 9th

Dropped Out: Tyler Reddick