1 |
Ross Chastain |
— |
An example of where your reputation can hurt you came when Ross Chastain got shoved into Austin Dillon in Turn 5 by Kyle Larson. Chastain wasn’t at fault, but Dillon gave Chastain a shot in the esses thinking he had run through him. |
|
2 |
Chase Elliott |
|
Although a pit road miscue prevented him from building on his road course legacy, Chase Elliott remains the regular-season points leader after leading a good chunk of laps at Sonoma. Elliott’s lead over Ross Chastain now stands at 16 points. |
|
3 |
Ryan Blaney |
|
For a driver who complained mid-race about not being able to pass, Ryan Blaney sure fared well at Sonoma. Blaney finished sixth, matching his finish from the first road course race at COTA. |
|
4 |
Kyle Busch |
|
In the past five races, Kyle Busch’s finishes of third, second and second are sandwiched in-between a 33rd at Darlington and a 30th at Sonoma. Sometimes, that’s just the way the (M&M’s) cookie crumbles. |
|
5 |
Kyle Larson |
|
Kyle Larson looked like his 2021 self through the opening stage at Sonoma, leading the first 26 laps from the pole before being set back by strategy. A four-race suspension to Cliff Daniels for losing a wheel will be a major blow to Larson. |
|
6 |
William Byron |
|
A ninth-place finish at Sonoma was much needed for William Byron. For Byron, it marked his first top-10 finish since winning at Martinsville all the way back in April. |
|
7 |
Joey Logano |
|
A 17th-place finish seems like nothing to write home about, until you consider all the points Joey Logano gained at Sonoma. Logano used strategy to finish second in Stage 1 and win Stage 2, piling up points in the process. |
|
8 |
Christopher Bell |
|
Christopher Bell was a non-factor at Sonoma, experiencing steering issues on Saturday before finishing 27th on Sunday. For Bell, it’s his third-worst finish of 2022. |
|
9 |
Kevin Harvick |
|
A slow pit stop cost Kevin Harvick a chance at the victory, but he was able to finish fourth anyway in one of his strongest runs of the season. Harvick now has three top-five finishes in the last five races. |
|
10 |
Alex Bowman |
— |
Though Alex Bowman didn’t experience the sort of trouble Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott did, he might have taken it. Bowman’s 16th-place finish was the lowest of any Hendrick driver despite pit road miscues for both Larson and Elliott. |
|
11 |
Denny Hamlin |
— |
Rather than take a top-20 finish, some of the Joe Gibbs Racing teams elected to pit with under 10 to go in hopes that a late caution would come out and allow them to leapfrog the field. But that never came, leaving Denny Hamlin with a 31st-place finish. |
|
12 |
Chase Briscoe |
— |
Not much was seen or heard from Chase Briscoe on Sunday, but he ended up with a solid 13th-place finish. For Briscoe, that ties his second-best finish since the start of May. |
|
13 |
Martin Truex Jr. |
|
Like Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. also came to pit road late in a last-ditch effort to gain track position if a caution came out. Unfortunately for Truex Jr., he finished 26th, without the luxury of a win in the bank to soften the blow. |
|
14 |
Austin Dillon |
|
After just missing out on a top 10 in 11th, Austin Dillon continues to top 15 his competition to death. Trouble is, that may not be enough to point his way into the playoffs. |
|
15 |
Austin Cindric |
|
Watch out for Austin Cindric in the summer months. Cindric’s fifth-place finish was his best since winning the Daytona 500, and he’s trending upward just in time for several more road course races in the lead-up to the playoffs. |
|
16 |
Daniel Suarez |
|
Shoutout to Daniel Suarez for calling his shot. During a rain delay at Dover, Suarez said he wanted a piñata for when he got his first Cup win. Sunday at Sonoma, a taco-shaped piñata met its demise via a victorious Suarez fist. |
|
17 |
Michael McDowell |
|
After starting fourth and finishing third, Michael McDowell had arguably the most complete race weekend of his Cup career at Sonoma. And thanks to that, he now has a new personal-best for top-10 finishes in a season. |
|
18 |
Kurt Busch |
|
Kurt Busch slots in at 18th in this week’s Power Rankings, the same result he ended up with at Sonoma. That was… |
Read More: NASCAR Power Rankings: Toyota teams take hit after struggles at Sonoma