This week, William Byron tops the NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings after scoring a top-five at Watkins Glen International.
1. William Byron:
Byron finished fourth in the Go Bowling At The Glen and leads the power rankings this week.
“I think my road course skills have really come a long way,” Byron said. “I’d say I’m as good a road course driver as Shane van Gisbergen is an oval driver.”
2. Ryan Blaney:
Blaney started on the pole at Watkins Glen, led 35 laps, and finished sixth at Watkins Glen.
“Shane van Gisbergen is almost unbeatable on road courses,” Blaney said. “And the pressure of being expected to win those races doesn’t seem to bother him. That New Zealander has ice in his veins, and luckily not ICE at his doorstep.”
3. Christopher Bell:
Bell snatched the runner-up spot at Watkins Glen.
“I tried my best to catch Shane van Gisbergen,” Bell said. “He won by over 11 seconds, so I guess I tried my best to see SVG.”
4. Chase Briscoe:
Briscoe finished fifth at Watkins Glen, recording his 10th top 5 of the year.
“The coolest paint scheme of the day goes to Cody Ware’s No. 51 Ford,” Briscoe said. “It featured the ‘Evel Knievel Museum’ paint scheme. Cody could have made it cooler if he had jumped 16 school buses at some point in the race.”
5. Shane van Gisbergen:
Van Gisbergen led 38 laps at Watkins Glen and easily won the Go Bowling At The Glen for his fourth win of the year.
“My name has become synonymous with road course racing,” van Gisbergen said. “To my competitors, ‘SVG’ might as well mean ‘Say a Virtual Goodbye.'”
6. Alex Bowman:
Bowman faded late and finished 20th at Watkins Glen.
“J.J. Yeley’s No. 44 Chevy was primarily sponsored by Syracuse Football NIL,” Bowman said. “‘NIL’ stands for ‘name, image, and likeness.’ To put today’s NIL in perspective, Syracuse’s backup long snapper probably makes more money than J.J.”
7. Denny Hamlin:
Hamlin finished 25th at Watkins Glen.
“The difference between Cup drivers and Xfinity drivers,” Hamlin said, “is often just a fraction of a second, or a fracture of a collarbone.”
8. Chase Elliott:
Elliott finished 26th in the Go Bowling At The Glen.
“There’s a chicane at Watkins Glen called the ‘Bus Stop,'” Elliott said. “A lot of drivers think that Carson Hocevar should be placed at the Bus Stop, because that guy should be taking a bus instead of driving.”
9. Joey Logano:
Logano finished 14th in the Go Bowling At The Glen.
“I’ve been relatively quiet in the regular season so far,” Logano said, “except for those times when I’m complaining about my Penske teammates.”
10. Kyle Larson:
Larson suffered early mechanical issues and finished 39th at Watkins Glen.
“I had an early brake issue that really took me out of contention,” Larson said. “If you’re the kind of driver, like me, that talks to his car, then saying ‘Stop it!’ to a car with a brake issue can be very confusing.”
Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
