Pete Pistone’s NASCAR Cup Series Power Rankings after the Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
1. Denny Hamlin — His solidly consistent season continued with a third-place finish on Sunday that included Hamlin leading 33 laps. He’s finished in the top five in four of the five races in 2021 and has finished top five in four of the last five Phoenix races.
Driver Rating: 113.4
Point Standings: 1st
Previous Ranking: 1st
2. Kyle Larson — The Hendrick Motorsports driver overcame a challenging day for a seventh-place finish. Larson started from the rear due to unapproved adjustments after inspection and had two speeding penalties but still notched his fourth top-10 finish of 2021.
Driver Rating: 107.8
Point Standings: 5th
Previous Ranking: 2nd
3. William Byron — The hot start to the 2021 Cup Series season rolled on at Phoenix for Byron. He has finished in the top 10 in the last three races, matching his longest Cup streak over the three full seasons in the series.
Driver Rating: 94.4
Point Standings: 9th
Previous Ranking: 4th
4. Martin Truex Jr. — His first win of the season was also Truex Jr.’s first career Phoenix victory. He led three times for 64 laps on his way to career win No. 28 as Truex Jr. ended a 29-race winless drought dating back to last June at Martinsville Speedway.
Driver Rating: 102.3
Point Standings: 4th
Previous Ranking: 6th
5. Christopher Bell — His first year as a member of Joe Gibbs Racing is going very well in the early going. Bell took home another top-10 finish when he finished ninth Sunday in Phoenix.
Driver Rating: 97.2
Point Standings: 8th
Previous Ranking: 5th
6. Chase Elliott — Last November’s Phoenix race winner wasn’t able to make it back-to-back wins at the track. Elliott started from the rear after not passing inspection but was able to make his way through the pack to notch a fifth-place performance.
Driver Rating: 97.4
Point Standings: 6th
Previous Ranking: 3rd
7. Joey Logano — He led 143 laps, Logano’s most ever at Phoenix, but got his second second-place finish of 2021. The Team Penske driver has won only one of the last six races after leading over 100 laps.
Driver Rating: 106.8
Point Standings: 3rd
Previous Ranking: 10th
8. Brad Keselowski — He started from the pole and led 19 laps. Keselowski ended up with his third top-five finish of 2021, and the Team Penske pilot has finished in the top four in the last two Phoenix races.
Driver Rating: 102.9
Point Standings: 2nd
Previous Ranking: 9th
9. Kevin Harvick — It was an uphill climb for Harvick, who took the green flag from the 18th starting spot Sunday. But the Stewart-Haas Racing driver recorded his 16th straight top-10 finish at Phoenix to break the track record.
Driver Rating: 96.2
Point Standings: 7th
Previous Ranking: 7th
10. Michael McDowell — A mediocre homecoming for the Arizona native. McDowell ran middle of the pack most of the afternoon and posted a 23rd-place finish.
Driver Rating: 76.4
Point Standings: 11th
Previous Ranking: 8th
Dropped Out: None
