Bob Pockrass
FOX Motorsports Insider
Shane van Gisbergen is on a hot streak, having won the last three road courses and with the previous two coming on back-to-back weeks from the pole at Chicago and Sonoma, respectively.
He still has a lot to prove on the ovals, though, as the series has ovals the next three weeks at Dover, Indianapolis and Iowa before another road course at Watkins Glen.
The drivers second and third Sunday at Sonoma — Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott — both moved up in these power rankings heading into Dover:
Dropped out: Chris Buescher (LW: 10)
On the verge: Buescher, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, Ty Gibbs, Joey Logano, van Gisbergen
10. Alex Bowman (Last Week: 7)
Bowman was going to finish 17th but a tap from Ty Dillon — who was paired against Bowman as part of the in-season tournament quarterfinals — relegated the Hendrick driver to 19th. Either way, it wasn’t the result Bowman wanted as he continues to be on the bubble to make the playoffs.
9. Ryan Preece (Last Week: 6)
Preece finished a respectable 12th at Sonoma for his sixth consecutive finish of 15th or better and his sixth top-12 finish in his last nine races.
8. Chase Briscoe (Last Week: Not Ranked)
A second-place finish was impressive for Briscoe at Sonoma as he got back on track after two finishes outside the top-20. The finish was Briscoe’s seventh top-5 of the season in his first year at Joe Gibbs Racing.
7. Ryan Blaney (Last Week: 4)
Blaney had a frustrating day at Sonoma, finding himself sent off-course a few times in his battles with other drivers. The Penske driver’s day ended four laps short of the finish in 36th.
6. Tyler Reddick (Last Week: 8)
Reddick placed sixth at Sonoma as he now has finishes of fourth, third and sixth in his last three races. The 23XI Racing driver had just three top-four finishes in the first 17 events of the year.
5. Christopher Bell (Last Week: 9)
Bell’s last good finish was nearly a month ago when he placed second at Mexico City before he drove his way to fifth at Sonoma. The JGR driver needs better finishes to have any momentum going into the playoffs.
4. Kyle Larson (Last Week: 2)
Larson was involved in a couple of incidents, and he limped his wrecked car home in 35th. It’s hard to believe the Hendrick driver’s last top-5 was in early June at Michigan.
3. William Byron (Last Week: 5)
The series points leader placed eighth at Sonoma as he also earned points in both stages as he tries to hang on for the regular-season title. He’s now up on his Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott by just 14 points.
2. Denny Hamlin (Last Week: 1)
A speeding penalty and a spin didn’t help Hamlin at Sonoma as he left wine country in 20th and nothing to taunt the crowd about. But Dover’s up next and that is a great track for the JGR driver.
1. Chase Elliott (Last Week: 3)
Elliott had fresh tires at the end, but one little hiccup cost him any shot of possibly challenging van Gisbergen for the win. But it was still quite the run for Elliott, who has four top-5s in his last five starts.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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