The NASCAR Cup Series season is nearing its halfway point after 16 races of 36 on the schedule. The non-points All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway is up next at 8 p.m. Sunday on FS1.
Below are The Observer’s NASCAR power rankings for the week of June 7. This list is updated each week.
HONORABLE MENTION
Kyle Busch (previously unranked) finished in the top-10 in the last three races, and in the top-five in the last two events at Charlotte and Sonoma. Busch led at least one lap and finished in the top-10 each stage of the last three races. The No. 18 team has been a relatively consistent presence among the race leaders since their win at Kansas.
William Byron (-2) was involved in a late-race accident at Sonoma with 76 laps of 92 completed for his first DNF this year. Byron finished in 35th, his lowest finish in 2021 to break a streak in which he hadn’t finished lower than 11th in the previous 13th races.
TOP 3
3. Martin Truex Jr. (+1) bounced back from three bottom-half finishes at Dover, COTA and Charlotte with a third-place finish at Sonoma. Truex didn’t lead any laps in the latest race, but he challenged eventual winner Kyle Larson in the final stage and earned his sixth top-five finish this season.
2. Chase Elliott (+1) moves up a spot after two second-place finishes in a row behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Larson. Elliott led the second-most laps (13) at Sonoma compared to Larson’s 57 laps led. He raced Larson hard running a similar pit strategy throughout the race and garnered his fourth top-three finish in a row.
1. Kyle Larson (no change) completed another all-stage sweep at Sonoma after winning all four stages at the Coca-Cola 600. Larson sits 47 points behind Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin after Sunday and has the most stage wins of any driver this season with 11, which more than doubles Hamlin’s five stage wins, the second-most in the series.