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NASCAR updates driver power rankings ahead of Sonoma

Stephen Samraby:Steve Samra•06/08/23•

SamraSource

NASCAR at Sonoma
(Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

An updated NASCAR driver power rankings has been released ahead of what should be an exhilarating weekend at Sonoma.

Pat DeCola of NASCAR.com updated his rankings following an exciting, newsworthy weekend at Gateway for the NASCAR Cup Series. While Chase Elliott was missing in action due to a suspension stemming from an incident with Denny Hamlin, some of the best drivers in the world made their presence felt.

Kyle Busch emerged victorious from the fold, so it’s no surprise he jumped up the power rankings, but it may shock some to see he moved up five spots to No. 1. Check out the full rankings below, as the two-time NASCAR champion can now stake his claim to the top spot.

Updated NASCAR driver power rankings ahead of Sonoma:

  1. No. 8 Kyle Busch (+5)
  2. No. 24 William Byron (-1)
  3. No. 12 Ryan Blaney (+4)
  4. No. 19 Martin Truex Jr. (-1)
  5. No. 5 Kyle Larson (-1)
  6. No. 1 Ross Chastain (-4)
  7. No. 11 Denny Hamlin (+1)
  8. No. 4 Kevin Harvick (-3)
  9. No. 22 Joey Logano (+5)
  10. No. 20 Christopher Bell (-1)
  11. No. 45 Tyler Reddick (-1)
  12. No. 6 Brad Keselowski (-1)
  13. No. 17 Chris Buescher (+3)
  14. No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+1)
  15. No. 99 Daniel Suarez (+5)
  16. No. 9 Chase Elliott (-4)
  17. No. 23 Bubba Wallace (-4)
  18. No. 48 Alex Bowman (-1)
  19. No. 54 Ty Gibbs (-1)
  20. No. 34 Michael McDowell (NR)

As you can see, Busch’s third victory of the season with Richard Childress Racing catapulted him ahead of Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron for the top spot. Busch has been a phenomenal addition to RCR thus far, and there aren’t many limits on how far take things.

Continuing, Team Penske saw two of their drivers make some big leaps in DeCola’s rankings for this week. Ryan Blaney moved up four spots to No. 3, while Joey Logano jumped up five spots into the top ten at No. 9 in the rankings, as well.

Additionally, Daniel Suarez was victorious at Sonoma last season, and he’s heading in the right direction entering the weekend. He gained five spots at Gateway to move from No. 20 to No. 15, and can possibly climb into the top ten if he’s victorious once again.

Regardless, Sonoma is always a fascinating track to watch, and it should be a great race this weekend, but we’ll see how different the power rankings look following NASCAR’s trip out to the West.