NASCAR: Here are the best drivers heading to Indianapolis
NASCAR’S top series heads to another road course this weekend with three races remaining in the regular season, but Cup drivers will face the road course at Indianapolis, rather than the traditional oval, for the first time. The Verizon 200 at the Brickyard is Sunday at 10 a.m. on NBC.
Below are The Charlotte Observer’s NASCAR power rankings for the week of Aug 9. This list is updated each week.
Honorable mention
— Christopher Bell (previously unranked). He has four straight top-10 finishes and battled eventual Watkins Glen winner Kyle Larson late in last Sunday’s race, but was spun off course after contact with Larson. Bell still finished in seventh for his 10th top 10 this year and is seeking another road course win to follow up on his victory at the Daytona road course in February.
— Alex Bowman (-1). He didn’t have nearly as much speed as the No. 48 team has shown in earlier road course races this year. Bowman finished 20th at Watkins Glen, which was the lowest finish for a Hendrick car with the rest of the organization’s drivers in the top 10. William Byron finished sixth. Bowman has a 10.5 average finish in the last six races (14.2 average
finish this season).
Top 3
— 3. Chase Elliott (+1). Elliott moves back into the top three on the heels of his second-place finish at Watkins Glen. Elliott raced to the front of the pack, overcoming prerace penalties and a flatspotted tire during the event, but he didn't have enough time at the end of the race to catch up to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Larson for the win. Elliott has 10 top-five finishes (13 top 10s) this year.
— 2. Kyle Busch ( no change). Finished fourth at Watkins Glen behind Larson, Elliott and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. (JGR'S Denny Hamlin finished fifth.) But barring an early accident at New Hampshire, where Busch finished 37th, the No. 18 team has finished no worse than fourth in the last five races.
— 1. Kyle Larson (no change). He remains ranked in first place thanks to his latest win at Watkins Glen. Larson earned his fifth points victory of the season Sunday, finishing in the top five through all stages at The Glen and leading nearly a third of the laps. He is now tied in points for the first time with Hamlin.