NASCAR Power Rankings: William Byron kept the top spot in the NASCAR Power Rankings after finishing seventh at Talladega. Another multi-time winner fell multiple spots after failing to finish the superspeedway race while one Toyota driver made a significant move up.
Drafting-style races are often unpredictable, as evidenced by multiple drivers scoring their first top-10 finish of the season in Talladega. Byron used the race to continue adding to his impressive resume, avoiding incidents and crossing the line in seventh place. He has finished seventh or better in the last five races, including two victories.
Chase Elliott followed up his win at Texas with a solid performance at Talladega, scoring 12 stage points and finishing 15th. He lost some positions in the final stage while trying to make the third lane work but avoided the last-lap incident, which allowed him to maintain his third place in the Cup standings.
Kyle Larson finished 21st for the second consecutive week, but it was a significant improvement compared to his struggles at superspeedways last season. He also maintained his spot atop the Cup standings, which he shares with Byron, as the only driver to lead more than 500 laps this season.
Tyler Reddick’s victory at Talladega was a major highlight of the race. After crashing in the Daytona 500 and finishing 17 laps down at Atlanta, Reddick’s performance at Talladega was a testament to his progress. He avoided a spinning Michael McDowell on the final lap and passed Brad Keselowski to capture his first superspeedway win in a Cup car.
Martin Truex Jr. remains in contention for the regular-season championship despite yet to win this season. He is 15 points behind Larson and tied with Byron for the best average finish in Cup this season.
Denny Hamlin has faced some challenges in recent races, falling in the Cup standings after late-race issues. He finished 37th at Talladega after being involved in an incident with John Hunter Nemechek.
Bubba Wallace’s streak of four consecutive top-15 finishes came to an end at Talladega when he was collected in an incident involving multiple Toyota drivers.
Alex Bowman had a quiet race at Talladega, scoring a stage point, working on fuel-saving, and avoiding the last-lap incident. He crossed the line fifth, his fourth top-five finish of the season.
Chase Briscoe’s pursuit of a third consecutive top-10 finish was hindered by an issue with his tires and an incident caused by Christopher Bell. Despite the setbacks, he was able to finish 12th.
Ty Gibbs has fallen from his strong start to the season, with four consecutive finishes outside the top 10. He had previously had five top-10 finishes and three top fives in the first six weeks of the season.
Christopher Bell’s last-lap incident collected a good portion of the field, bringing an end to the wild race at Talladega.
