NASCAR Power Rankings: New Cup Winner Carson Hocevar Joins List

The hurricane has arrived in the power rankings. Carson “Hurricane” Hocevar earned his first career victory Sunday at Talladega, and that has him in the power rankings this week. Here are my rankings heading into the May 3 race at Texas Motor Speedway. On the verge: Christopher Bell, William Byron, Austin Cindric, Ryan Preece, Daniel Suarez, Bubba Wallace 10. Brad Keselowski (Last Week: 10)RFK Racing No. 6 Ford Keselowski got caught up in the big one at Talladega but his team was able to repair his car so he could continue. He ended up 31st, so his second-place finish in the opening stage added nine points to his total. 9. Chris Buescher (Last Week: Not Ranked)RFK Racing No. 17 Ford Oh, so close. Buescher finished just behind Hocevar, who beat him to the line by 0.114 seconds. Buescher didn’t have much help up front there at the end. But it was a strong run to get him back in these rankings. 8. Carson Hocevar (Last Week: Not Ranked)Spire Motorsports No. 77 Chevrolet Hocevar earned his first career victory and jumped to eighth in the Cup standings. He probably feels like he’s on top of the world, and he should. 7. Chase Briscoe (Last Week: 6)Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota Briscoe made a mistake on pit road and then got caught up in the big wreck. He finished 29th at Talladega. On to Texas. 6. Ryan Blaney (Last Week: 5)Team Penske No. 12 Ford Blaney finished fifth in the opening stage before getting caught up in the big wreck. Yes, that was a theme for many on this list. 5. Ty Gibbs (Last Week: 4)Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 Toyota Gibbs got caught up in the big wreck but was able to continue … until likely damage from that wreck resulted in a tire failure and Gibbs’ day over into the wall. He led 17 laps but finished with just three points. 4. Kyle Larson (Last Week: 3)Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet Yes, Larson, too, was caught up in the big wreck. He finished 40th (last) in the race. But he was in good company in that big crash. 3. Chase Elliott (Last Week: 7)Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet Elliott wasn’t in the big one and finished fourth in the race. He only scored two stage points, but he was there at the end and in position in case the leaders tangled. 2. Denny Hamlin (Last Week: 2)Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota A speeding penalty on his first pit stop hurt Hamlin, who didn’t get back on to the lead lap until late in the race. He led 28 laps but finished 15th. 1. Tyler Reddick (Last Week: 1)23XI Racing No. 45 Toyota Reddick finished 14th, but he also signed a contract extension with 23XI Racing. So while that doesn’t add to his total of five wins this year, it probably felt as good as a victory.