SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s Power Rankings – August 23, 2023

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.

The second straight road course race took place for NASCAR over the weekend at Watkins Glen International. Here’s a look at this week’s “Power Rankings” after the “Go Bowling at The Glen:”

1. Martin Truex Jr.

A ho hum day in many ways for Truex Jr. who came from the 19th starting spot to finish sixth at Watkins Glen. But he has not finished worse than seventh in the last six races and has already surpassed his number fo top-10 finishes from a year ago with number fifteen coming on Sunday.

Point Standings: 1st
Last Week: 1st

2.  Denny Hamlin

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver started from the pole and never left the top-five all afternoon at Watkins Glen. Hamlin has had a strong second half of the summer stretch and is looking to head into the Playoffs with momentum and confidence.

Point Standings: 2nd
Last Week: 3rd

3. William Byron

His summer of struggles came to an end Sunday at Watkins Glen in a big way. Byron led 66 laps on his way to win number five of the season. The performance ended a streak of five straight runs outside the top-10 and put a lot of pep in the step of the No. 24 team.

Point Standings: 3rd
Last Week: 5th

4. Chris Buescher

The Roush Fenway Keselowski driver scored his 11th career top-10 road course finish with a seventh place Watkins Glen run. Buescher has also set a career high for top-10 finishes this year with eleven.

Point Standings: 7th
Last Week: 2nd

5. Kyle Larson

The Hendrick Motorsports driver could not score a third consecutive Watkins Glen win despite having a top-five car. But a pit road speeding penalty and late race dust-up with Austin Dillion added up to a disappointing 26th-place finish.

Point Standings: 5th
Last Week: 4th

6. Tyler Reddick

Started eighth and finished eighth for another Top-10 effort. Reddick is looking to ride a string of consistency and momentum into the Playoffs with just a race left the in the regular season.

Point Standings: 12th
Last Week: 7th

7. Bubba Wallace

The 23XI Racing driver delivered exactly what he needed to Sunday at Watkins Glen knocking down a 12th-place performance. Wallace holds the final Playoff spot heading into the regular season finale Saturday night at Daytona.

Point Standings: 14th
Last Week: NR

8. Ty Gibbs

His second half improvement during the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s rookie Cup Series season continues to be steady. Gibbs stayed inside the top-five most all day at The Glen taking the checkered flag in fifth-place.

Point Standings: 16th
Last Week: NR

9. Ryan Blaney

A top-10 finish for Blaney after a poor qualifying effort gave him a 23rd place starting spot. He again was the best finishing driver of the Team Penske trio at Watkins Glen.

Point Standings: 9th
Last Week: 9th

10. Michael McDowell

A complete reversal of fortune for McDowell a week after winning at Indianapolis. Two pit road mistakes and finally an electrical issue handed McDowell a first to worst place finish in 36th.

Point Standings: 17th
Last Week: 6th

Dropped Out: Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain