NASCAR shakes up Power Rankings ahead of New Hampshire

This Sunday’s USA TODAY 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway marks the halfway point in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.

To this point in the season, Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing have been the two dominant teams. Hendrick and Joe Gibbs have accounted for 12 of the 17 wins this season and currently make up half of the playoff field. And so, it should come as no surprise to see nothing but Hendrick and Joe Gibbs drivers in the top-five of NASCAR.com‘s latest power rankings.

But as for who takes the top spot headed into New Hampshire, that spot is reserved for Kyle Larson.

1) Kyle Larson

Larson, a three-time winner this season, holds onto his No. 1 ranking for another week despite a P34 finish this past Sunday at Iowa. He was involved in a Lap 219 wreck which ruined his day but before that, he often looked like he had the best car among the field.

While he’s never taken the checkered flag in Loudon, he has been close multiple times. He finished P3 last season and has tallied four other top-three finishes at the track. Look for him to once again be in the mix this time around.

2) Chase Elliott

For the first time since 2022, Elliott sits atop the points standings. As for this ranking, he retains his No. 2 spot following a P3 finish at Iowa. Elliott has been a points machine of late, recording eight top 10s in his last 11 starts, finishing no worse than 15th during that stretch.

New Hampshire is far from one of his best tracks, as he has finished outside the top-10 in seven of his 10 starts at the track. He did, however, finish P2 in 2022.

3) William Byron

Byron is the biggest riser in this week’s rankings, moving up four spots from last week. A runner-up performance at Iowa will do that. Byron hasn’t been nearly as strong since winning three of the first eight races of the season, but now has two top 5s in his last four starts.

Byron won’t be one of the favorites at New Hampshire based on his career at the 1.058-mile track. In six starts, his best finish is 11th in 2020 and ’22.

4) Denny Hamlin

Hamlin has uncharacteristically had back-to-back duds at Sonoma and Iowa, respectively. He went a lap down early at Iowa and later found himself involved in the Lap 219 wreck. He finished P24 following a DNF the week prior at Sonoma.

Despite the recent form, Hamlin is a three-time winner this season and had five consecutive top 5s before Sonoma. He will undoubtedly be a trendy pick this Sunday as he’s gotten to Victory Lane three times in Loudon and has a 9.4 average finish across 30 starts.

5) Martin Truex Jr.

Truex Jr. sneaks into the top-five this week after a 15th-place finish at Iowa. He’s riding a five-race streak of placing outside the top-10 but in all likelihood, that streak is coming to an end at New Hampshire. Simply put, this IS Truex’s track.

He has finished no worse than 12th in his last nine starts dating back to 2016 and took the checkered flag this past season. Look for him to be in competition for his first win of the campaign and to clinch a playoff spot in his final full-time season in the Cup Series.

NASCAR Power Rankings 6-20

Ranking	Driver
6)	Tyler Reddick
7)	Brad Keselowski
8)	Ryan Blaney
9)	Christopher Bell
10)	Ross Chastain
11)	Joey Logano
12)	Alex Bowman
13)	Chris Buescher
14)	Bubba Wallace
15)	Ty Gibbs
16)	Chase Briscoe
17)	Daniel Suárez
18)	Austin Cindric
19)	Kyle Busch
20)	Todd Gilliland