Tyler Reddick was arguably NASCAR’s hottest driver entering Monday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (postponed from Sunday due to rain) at Michigan International Speedway. After taking home the checkered flag, he’s definitely the hottest.
Reddick took over the power rankings pole position last week and has now claimed control of the full-season points lead as well. He also remains atop our rankings.
Here’s how the top 16 shakes out before the Cup Series heads back to Daytona International Speedway for Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400.
1. Tyler Reddick (Last week: 1)
After finishing no worse than sixth in the past six races entering Michigan, all he needed was a win, and he got it, holding off the field on two late restarts. Reddick has all the momentum at the right time — the playoffs are only two weeks away — and he must be considered in the absolute top tier of title contenders.
2. Ryan Blaney (Last week: 3)
Blaney won the race’s first stage Sunday before the rain postponed the remainder of the event. Then he had a pretty quiet Monday, but he moved to second in the power rankings because everyone else chasing Reddick was even worse. The defending series champion finished 18th after contact on a late restart with Chase Elliott, but he was near the back of the top 10 before that. He should be considered a favorite at Daytona, where he is always a force to be reckoned with.
3. Chase Elliott (Last week: 6)
Elliott’s finishing position also took a hit at Michigan thanks to the aforementioned contact with Blaney, as he came home 15th after running in the top five most of the race. Because of that, and because of the misfortunes of others, he jumped up to the third spot here. He’s very much still in play for the regular-season title, only 10 points back of Reddick.
4. Denny Hamlin (Last week: 2)
Hamlin’s race got off to a rough start when he spun unassisted Sunday before the rain came, and his car did not have the speed afterward, as he struggled to run in the top 25. (He was even lapped at one point.) Hamlin took advantage of the late-race chaos, though, stealing an eighth-place finish. He enters Daytona with a fighting chance at the regular-season title (28 points behind Reddick).
5. Kyle Larson (Last week: 4)
Larson came out of the gates superbly when the race started Sunday, taking the lead with a three-wide pass on the first lap and leading 41 circuits. However, a self-inflicted wreck Monday ended his hopes for a win. Most significantly, he dropped to fourth in points, 32 behind Reddick with only two races left to capture the regular-season crown. On the bright side, his 28 playoff points still lead all drivers, keeping him as the championship favorite.
6. William Byron (Last week: 8)
Byron once again reminded the NASCAR field of his presence. His 20 laps led Monday were his first since 10 races ago (Coca-Cola 600), and though Reddick out-dueled him on the late restarts, his runner-up finish was sorely needed. Byron has made a habit throughout his career of starting hot, cooling off over the summer and then coming on strong once again in the playoffs, so perhaps this is the beginning of this year’s surge.
7. Bubba Wallace (Last week: 7)
Wallace’s hot streak lately carried over to Michigan in the early stages, as he made an exciting three-wide pass for the lead Sunday before rain postponed the remainder of the event. His luck wasn’t as great Monday, though, as he suffered damage in the wreck with Larson and others and finished 26th. That left him one point behind Ross Chastain for the final playoff spot with two races to go. On the plus side, he could have a great shot to win at Daytona, where he is always strong.
8. Martin Truex Jr. (Last week: 9)
Truex had one of the fastest cars in the Irish Hills, but as his luck would have it in 2024, he didn’t get the finish to show for it. He hit the wall while running in the top five with a handful of laps to go and finished 24th. It was Truex’s fifth finish outside the top 20 in the past six races. (He has only two top-10s in the past 12 races.) No driver deserves this much misfortune, especially in his farewell season.
9. Christopher Bell (Last week: 5)
Bell was another one of the victims of the wreck triggered by Larson, as his race ended with a 35th-place DNF. He raced well but not spectacularly before that, and now his hot-and-cold season continues with his eighth finish outside the top 30 in 2024 and third in the past six races. With the playoffs on the horizon, the possibility of Bell either winning the Cup Series championship or being a first-round elimination seem equally feasible.
10. Ty Gibbs (Last week: 12)
After slipping dangerously close to the playoff bubble in recent weeks, Gibbs finally got back on track in Michigan. His third-place finish, combined with several of his competitors’ misfortunes, moved him back up to 39 points to the good. He ran a solid, methodical race, and though he has yet to win, he should be able to breathe easy heading into Darlington in two weeks as long as he stays out of trouble in Daytona.
11. Brad Keselowski (Last week: 13)
Keselowski didn’t win at his home track, but he scored a solid fifth-place result after being near the front throughout the final stage. He has cooled a bit ever since his power surge a few months ago but remains an under-the-radar threat for a deep playoff run. Perhaps a win at Daytona, where he ran runner-up to teammate Chris Buescher in the Coke Zero 400 a season ago, could springboard such a run.
12. Ross Chastain (Last week: 11)
Everything was going right for Chastain at Michigan until the first overtime restart, when he got spun from the top 10 and finished 25th. That’s a big hit for him to take in points, putting him only one marker above Wallace for the final playoff spot, and there’s no doubt he’ll be racing as aggressively as anyone Saturday night. He was right in the mix to win the Daytona 500 in February, so there’s never been a better time than now for him to take care of unfinished business.
13. Chris Buescher (Last week: 14)
Chastain’s bad luck was Buescher’s good luck, as he rocketed his way to sixth amid the late chaos in Michigan and improved himself to 16 points to the good playoff-wise. Now, for the third race in a row, he’ll be heading to a track he won at in 2023, and while he couldn’t repeat in his first two chances, perhaps the third try could be the charm.
14. Joey Logano (Last week: 10)
Logano’s race went sour in a hurry Monday when he brought out a caution with a flat tire. On the ensuing restart, he suffered damage in the Larson crash, ending his race. Outside of the short tracks, this has just not been Logano’s year, and while he’ll make the playoffs thanks to his Nashville win, his streak of making the championship round in every even-numbered year since 2014 seems all but guaranteed to end.
15. Kyle Busch (Last week: not ranked)
“Rowdy” may be down in 2024, but he’s not out just yet. The two-time Cup Series champion is going to fight until the bitter end to make the playoffs, and in must-win territory, he was in position to do just that at Michigan late in the going. Busch led 24 laps and finished fifth, showing he can still get the job done when he and his team are mistake-free.
16. Daniel Suarez (Last week: 15)
That’s back-to-back-to-back top-10s for Suarez, who quietly took advantage of the late-race restarts to finish eighth on Monday. Many have penciled him in as a likely first-round elimination in the playoff field, but if he can stay out of trouble and keep up his recent performances, perhaps this year’s Atlanta winner could surprise some folks.
Dropped out: Alex Bowman
