NASCAR Power Rankings: Ryan Blaney Tops Ford Dominance at New Hampshire

Ryan Blaney kicked off the second round of playoff eliminations in style with a commanding victory Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The win puts him safely through to the final round of elimination races, earning him a chance to race for a spot in the championship finale at Phoenix. His effort Sunday topped a heavily dominant day for Ford, too. The manufacturer put three of their drivers in the top three starting spots in qualifying and then combined to lead 275 of 301 laps. Blaney was the one who made the most of the opportunity, though. He and the team made no mistakes and cycled him to the front in the final miles, leaving Blaney to fend off Josh Berry in the last laps to claim the win. Not every playoff team will walk away from the day as happy as Blaney. Sunday's race generated some intramural rivalry between Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs, while other contenders struggled and lost ground in the effort to advance. Heading to Kansas with two races remaining to secure advancement, Ross Chastain -19, Austin Cindric -21, Tyler Reddick -25, and Bubba Wallace -29 all sit in the danger zone needing to make up ground in the next few races to remain in the championship picture.

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NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings After New Hampshire

1. Ryan Blaney, Team Penske No. 12

Last Week: 1

Blaney remains atop the rankings with an impressive New Hampshire outing, leading 116 or 301 laps to take an early second-round win, ensuring he has a spot among the final eight championship contenders. The victory allows him some breathing room in the next two races to focus on having the best possible package for the final three-race elimination round that kicks off after visiting the ROVAL. The win was Blaney's third of the season, tying him with Kyle Larson, and it extends the team's upward trajectory. The No. 12 squad now has two victories and nine top-10 finishes from the last 10 races, including three straight top-fives from the last three races. Next up is a trip to Kansas where Blaney finished third earlier this season.

2. William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24

Last Week: 2

Byron ended the New Hampshire race in third place, the highest-placed Chevrolet in the field. Knowing that Chevrolet has not had the greatest results at the track in several years makes that an impressive feat. Leaving what could be the No. 24's worst circuit of the current playoff round, Byron takes a top-five finish and retains a comfortable margin to the drop zone in the playoff standings. The coming week at Kansas could be a place they can do even better, too. Teammate Kyle Larson won there earlier this season. Byron didn't have a great race that day, finishing 25th after a tire failure, but the team will have learned from that experience and should come back stronger next week. Byron is still in an enviable position in the playoffs and just needs to avoid major issues in the next two races to advance.

3. Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19

Last Week: 5

Sunday's 10th-place finish was Briscoe's fourth consecutive top-10 finish in the playoffs, extending his step forward in results since the championship battle commenced. Briscoe and team made no mistakes and executed their strategy well, leading 19 laps on the afternoon. The only things that would have made the day better for the No. 19 team would have been more stage points and some poorer performances from their playoff competitors. As it is, Briscoe is in the safe zone in the standings with two races remaining in the round. Traveling to Kansas for the coming week's race should offer them a boost, too. Despite just one top-15 result from his first eight series starts at the track, Briscoe leveraged his move to Joe Gibbs Racing equipment to score a fourth-place finish at the circuit earlier this season.

4. Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11

Last Week: 3

While last week's New Hampshire wasn't a complete disaster, cracks are showing in Hamlin's playoff drive. He started the weekend well enough with a ninth-place qualifying effort, but he missed out on stage points in the first segment and then made contact with a teammate in the second. At the end of the race, Hamlin was 12th. The relative success of other playoff contenders saw him slip to fifth in the standings, too. Most of all, contact with Ty Gibbs brought an unnecessary distraction to he and the team. While neither driver is a stranger to inhouse grudges, in the midst of the most pressure-packed portion of the season, it is an unwanted distraction that Hamlin and the team will have to dedicate time and focus to deal with. The best thing for Hamlin after last week's race will be to put Sunday's race firmly in the rearview mirror.

5. Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports No. 5

Last Week: 5

A seventh-place finish Sunday at New Hampshire was a good start to the second round of playoff eliminations for Larson and the No. 5 team. Larson started 16th but quickly moved forward and added stage points in both segments on his way to the top-10 finish. It was an important points day to get this round of elimination races heading in the right direction from the onset. Heading to Kansas, Larson sits third in the playoff standings with a 46-point advantage to the elimination zone. He will feel very confident at the final two races in the round, too. Larson is a three-time victor at Kansas, and he dominated the spring race there from pole, leading 221 of 267 laps, to win. Larson is also a former winner at the ROVAL, and a strong start to the round has positioned Larson to advance to the final eight.

6. Joey Logano, Team Penske No. 22

Last Week: 8

He may not have gotten the win but Logano was at the top of his game Sunday at New Hampshire. The Team Penske driver put his car on pole and went on to lead 147 laps and finishing in the top two for each of the first two stage. At the end of the race, Logano slipped slightly backward to finish fourth in the race, which was his third straight top-five finish. Consistent races week to week like that make all the difference in this playoff format and right now, Logano and his No. 22 team are delivering. Sunday's effort moves them to sixth in the playoff standings with a 29-point advantage over Ross Chastain, the first driver below the cutline. Consecutive fifth-place Kansas finishes will have the No. 22 squad optimistic about extending that advantage in the next race, too. 

7. Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20

Last Week: 7

Bell took a step toward proving he is no longer a step behind his teammates with his sixth-place finish at New Hampshire. He was the highest-placing Joe Gibbs Racing driver on the afternoon and the result came just a week after his win at Bristol. Sunday's finish also marks Bell's third straight top-10 finish, which is building his momentum toward the final and most crucial races of the season. With two races remaining in the current elimination round, Bell heads to Kansas 34 points ahead of danger and heading to two tracks he can extend that gap. At Kansas, Bell has eight top-10 finishes from 11 tries including a runner-up finish there earlier this season. Four consecutive starts of third or better suggest a victory at the circuit may not be too far away, too. If Kansas isn't the spot he gets the job done, Bell is also a former winner at the ROVAL.

8. Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports No. 9

Last Week: 10

Elliott's consistency came to the fore again Sunday at New Hampshire as he overcame a disappointing qualifying effort of 27th to score a fifth-place finish in the race. Once the green flag waved, Elliott marched forward and added stage points in the second segment to help his cause, too. The top-five finish was his ninth of the season, and it came at an ideal time in the start of the second round of playoff eliminations. Just a week prior, Elliott was knocked out of the Bristol race and his playoff hopes hung by a thread. After New Hampshire, he has two top-fives from the last three races and three top-10s from the last five. Elliott is also a former winner at Kansas. While he may have left the first playoff round wondering how he survived, his chances of advancing again look bright if the team can build off of Sunday's success.

9. Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing No. 45

Last Week: 8

A fourth-place qualifying effort turned into a 21st-place race finish for Reddick, dropping him further behind in the playoff fight. The afternoon started well enough with stage points in the first segment, but brake issues throughout the distance meant that a sustainable fight at the front of the field wasn't going to be in the cards for the No. 45 team. Reddick and team soldiered on but their 21st-place finish, on a day not many playoff contenders had issues, means he lost ground. Reddick is 25 points behind safety with two races to erase the gap. At Kansas, he he is a former winner, but he hasn't finished better than 17th at the track in the three races since that win. At Charlotte's ROVAL, he finished 12th or better in all five series starts. The work is cut out for them and the No. 45 team will need to be at their best to advance in the championship fight.

10. Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing No. 23

Last Week: 6

There is little room for error in the playoffs and that room reduces each round the championship battle progresses. Unfortunately for Wallace, after many weeks of consistent top finishes, his situation took a big step backward at New Hampshire. The entire 23XI stable struggled Sunday afternoon, but on a day when very few playoff contenders took a misstep, Wallace found himself at the bottom of the pile with a 26th-place result that will be difficult to overcome. Heading to Kansas, a place Wallace does have a win at, Wallace sits last among the 12 playoff contenders needing to make up a 29-point deficit to get to safety. Without a victory in the next two races, Wallace will need some help from others to advance to the next round. He definitely cannot afford to have another poor race, like when he crashed out at Kansas earlier this season

Knocking on the Door

Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing No. 1

Last Week: N/A

Chastain is behind the cutline to advance in the playoffs, but he showed signs of progress at an important moment in the season. His qualifying result of eighth was an improvement from his average and he finished the day with a top-10 finish. However, he missed out on stage points and wasn't able to resolve his issues to move forward again until too late in the race. The team now heads to Kansas 19 points away from safety and needing to gather as many points as they possibly can in an effort to advance. Chastain is a former winner at Kansas, too. However, that win came against the run of play as it was his only top-five finish there from the last four races. He finished 18th at the track earlier this season.

Austin Cindric, Team Penske No. 2

Last Week: N/A

It will have been disappointing to Cindric and the No. 2 team to finish 17th in the race his two teammates were so fast at. Cindric never got his car going after starting the race 22nd, but he wasn't able to make up much ground and missed out on the points many other playoff contenders scooped up. With one race done in the round, Cindric leaves New Hampshire 10th in the standings and 21 points behind safety. That situation could possibly get worse next week at Kansas, too. From eight series tries, Cindric's best finish at the track is 11th. He did that twice, including earlier this season, but his average Kansas finish is only 23.6. While the No. 2 team did well to win their way into the championship fight, they seem to be on the cusp of elimination if they can't turn up the results in the next two races.

Josh Berry, Wood Brothers Racing No. 21

Last Week: N/A

The first round of playoff races were disastrous for Berry and the No. 21 team. Multiple issues made for a miserable three-race span that ended with their elimination. There is still something to race for, and the team bounced back to demonstrate their potential at New Hampshire, though. Berry qualified third and put together an impressive race with stage points in both segments and a runner-up finish, pushing Ryan Blaney all the way to the checkered flag. There have been several times this season where this team have had the speed to win races and that was on display again just a week after what might have been their lowest point of the season. That visible potential is encouraging and something the organization can foster over the next several races as they hunt more success before the end of the season.