1. Denny Hamlin:
Hamlin took the lead in this week’s Power Rankings with a quick pit stop during a late caution and held on in overtime to win the Goodyear 400 for his second straight win and now leads our Power Rankings.
“I owe it all to the No. 11 Toyota Sports Clip crew,” Hamlin said. “They stole that win from William Byron for me. And an assist should go to Kyle Larson, because he stole that win from Ryan Blaney for me.”
2. William Byron:
Byron started from the pole and dominated throughout, but couldn’t catch Denny Hamlin in overtime and had to settle for second.
“I led 243 of 297 laps,” Byron said. “So, to say I’m disappointed with a second-place finish would be a huge understatement. I deserved that win as much as I didn’t deserve winning the Daytona 500.”
3. Tyler Reddick:
Reddick mounted a late challenge for the win at Darlington, but couldn’t hang with Denny Hamlin on a late restart and eventually finished fourth.
“They call the Darlington Speedway ‘The Lady In Black,'” Reddick said. “And you saw her cause several spins. Why does she do it? Who knows? My guess is she was so bored watching that race, she just wanted to try and add a little excitement to it.”
4. Christopher Bell:
Bell finished third at Darlington as Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin took the win.
“That’s five wins for JGR Drivers,” Bell said. “Stated differently, that’s five wins for JGR drivers who are not grandsons of Joe Gibbs or the son of Tony Stewart.”
5. Chase Elliott:
Elliott finished eighth at Darlington and is currently ranked fifth in the Power Rankings.
“Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle showed up in the Fox booth in a shirt with no sleeves,” Elliott said. “In Dawsonville, Georgia, that fashion is all the rage, mostly at funerals, weddings, and proms.”
6. Ryan Blaney:
Blaney came home fifth at Darlington, posting his second top 5 result of the year.
“If Kyle Larson doesn’t spin,” Blaney said, “I win that race. I don’t even know why Kyle was out there; he had already wrecked his car. I guess he was just turning out some meaningless laps for practice. He could have just as easily done that on a simulator. That is, if he was allowed on a simulator.”
7. Ross Chastain:
Chastain finished seventh at Darlington.
“I think if there’s one takeaway from Sunday’s race,” Chastain said, “it’s that there are no fellow drivers, much less people, in the Carson Hocevar Fan Club. And I believe I’m a subject matter expert when the subject is drivers who are not liked by everyone.”
8. Joey Logano:
Logano finished 13th in the Goodyear 400.
“I’m winless this year,” Logano said. “And my best finish so far is an eighth. Right now, I don’t look like a championship contender. But I still look like a three-time Cup champion.”
9. Bubba Wallace:
Wallace finished 21st at Darlington.
“Throwback Weekend is always a big deal at Darlington,” Wallace said. “Especially for consumers who are suckers for new, overpriced merchandise.”
10. Kyle Larson:
Larson crashed out early at Darlington when he spun on Lap 4 and made contact with the wall, putting him in the last spot on our Power Rankings.
“My No. 5 Chevy won the fan vote for best throwback paint scheme,” Larson said. “I was so excited, I lost it.”
