For much of the 2022 season, there was one spot in these Power Rankings that I left largely untouched from week to week. Chase Elliott took the top spot in the spring, and I didn't take it away until the end of the regular season just a little over a month ago at Daytona.
Since then, the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs have had to make Elliott prove that he has been the top driver in Cup this season, and likely the favorite to win the Cup Series championship. But sure enough -- even after adversity at Darlington and Texas -- Elliott is proving just that, with no more explicit illustration than his dramatic last lap pass to score the victory at Talladega.
Elliott has now regained the top spot in the CBS Sports NASCAR Power Rankings, moving up from third last week to take the lead from Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron. After a 25-point penalty following Texas, Byron would be one of the biggest losers in this week's Power Rankings, with his five spots lost matching Corey LaJoie and Harrison Burton while being second in spots lost only to the injured Alex Bowman (-6). Meanwhile, Erik Jones and Aric Almirola would lead the way in spots gained as both moved up six places.
Here's a look at our updated rankings:
| Rank | Driver | Change | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chase Elliott | Chase Elliott now has two Talladega wins, giving him the same amount of victories at that track as his father. Bill Elliott famously won Talladega in 1985 by coming back from two laps down under green, and then won there again in 1987. | ||
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | -- | One week after their run-in at Texas, the racing gods decided it would be a lark to have Denny Hamlin and William Byron run together in the draft. Byron's pushes ended up helping Hamlin lead six times for a total of 20 laps. | |
| 3 | Ryan Blaney | Ryan Blaney narrowly missed out on his first win of the season, with second place being his best finish in all of 2022. It's also his best finish overall since his last win -- at Daytona in August of 2021. | ||
| 4 | Ross Chastain | Ross Chastain has found another gear again just in time to potentially advance to the Round of 8. His 36 laps led at Talladega were the most he's led since he paced the field for 80 laps at Richmond. | ||
| 5 | William Byron | Give William Byron credit for going for it, but his aggression at the front of the field didn't pay off with stage points. Byron didn't score any, which doesn't help him make up for the points he lost via penalty after Texas. | ||
| 6 | Kyle Larson | Perhaps Kyle Larson has added superspeedway skills to his racing portfolio. Larson was a factor all day at Talladega, leading eight laps and earning points in both stages before fading through the pack late. | ||
| 7 | Daniel Suarez | Should he hang on at the Roval and make the Round of 8, Daniel Suarez will be one step closer to obliterating his career-high in the championship standings entering this year. His previous best was 17th in 2019. | ||
| 8 | Chase Briscoe | Sunday marked the first time in his Cup career that Chase Briscoe has scored consecutive top 10 finishes. Briscoe followed up a fifth at Texas with a 10th at Talladega. | ||
| 9 | Austin Cindric | If Austin Cindric can advance to the Round of 8, he'll have a chance to finish eighth or better in the final championship standings. A Cup rookie hasn't done that since 2006 when Denny Hamlin finished third in the final standings. | ||
| 10 | Joey Logano | Joey Logano managed to recover from being collected in an early crash, but ended up as the last car on the lead lap in 27th. The only solace was a fifth-place finish in stage one availing him some extra points. | ||
| 11 | Christopher Bell | Christopher Bell is going to have to look for positives entering the Roval, so here's one he can take comfort in: His first Cup win came on a combination oval and road course at Daytona in 2021. | ||
| 12 | Tyler Reddick | -- | Sunday's race could have been much different had Tyler Reddick not run out of fuel while leading on the final lap of stage two. Reddick paced the field three times for 11 laps, but ultimately finished a lap down in 28th. | |
| 13 | Erik Jones | It's good to be in the company of a King: Erik Jones' 12 top 10s this season are the most for the No. 43 since Richard Petty had 14 back in 1987. | ||
| 14 | Michael McDowell | Michael McDowell's second top five of the season matches his career-high in that category, which was first set in 2019 and matched last year. McDowell's finish was also his 12th top 10, blowing away his previous high in that category. | ||
| 15 | Justin Haley | -- | Justin Haley earned props over the radio from Chase Elliott for the way he pushed the eventual race winner to a stage two victory. Haley was a factor in the finish, but crossed the line in 15th. | |
| 16 | Brad Keselowski | Come next spring, Brad Keselowski is going to have to make absolutely sure his gauges are right at Talladega. Both of his Talladega races this year were spoiled by pit road speeding penalties under green. | ||
| 17 | Chris Buescher | Chris Buescher has to have had next weekend's race circled on his calendar for some time. Buescher finished third at the Charlotte Roval last year, sparking a recent string of road course success. | ||
| 18 | Bubba Wallace | -- | Bubba Wallace was uncharacteristically quiet for a superspeedway race, as the handling of his car never seemed to be to his liking. Wallace never found the front and finished 16th. | |
| 19 | Austin Dillon | Very quietly, Austin Dillon carried the banner for RCR late in the race at Talladega. Dillon picked up the slack after Tyler Reddick's troubles and finished 13th. | ||
| 20 | Kevin Harvick | Kevin Harvick spoiled crew chief Rodney Childers' 600th NASCAR race by speeding on pit road during his final green flag stop. Sometimes, the crew chief reserves the right to say the driver dropped the ball. | ||
| 21 | Aric Almirola | Aric Almirola has led 75 laps since Kansas last month, including 36 laps each at Bristol and Talladega. That's more than he led in all of 2021, where he led 51 laps in a win at New Hampshire. | ||
| 22 | Kyle Busch | It's going to be interesting to see how Kyle Busch performs on superspeedways once he moves over to RCR next season. His first opportunity will be in the Daytona 500, a race that Busch was never able to win during his career at Joe Gibbs Racing. | ||
| 23 | Cole Custer | -- | Cole Custer was part of the equation at Talladega, as he found himself leading lines of cars on multiple occasions. Custer would end up leading two laps, but only finished 21st. | |
| 24 | Todd Gilliland | Todd Gilliland was a force at the front late in the going, leading one lap and putting himself in the mix for the win before finishing seventh. Gilliland ended up as the highest-finishing rookie in what was a very impressive showing. | ||
| 25 | Martin Truex Jr. | Very little was seen from Martin Truex Jr. at Talladega, who is now seemingly playing out the string of a lost 2022 season. Truex led one lap, but finished 26th. | ||
| 26 | Alex Bowman | Should Alex Bowman be able to return for the Roval next week, he has enough skill as a road racer to make a must-win scenario a realistic one. Bowman finished second at COTA in the spring. | ||
| 27 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | The only major accident of the day at Talladega came off Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s bumper, as he turned Harrison Burton in traffic to trigger an eight car wreck. Stenhouse would recover to earn some stage points before finishing 22nd. | ||
| 28 | Ty Dillon | -- | Ty Dillon's day got off to a rough start, as he brought out the first caution of the day when the right side window blew off of his car and fell onto the racing surface. Dillon would end up finishing 23rd. | |
| 29 | Corey LaJoie | So much for the momentum that Corey LaJoie had. LaJoie would crash out after blowing a tire while Spire Motorsports teammate Landon Cassill had a strong run in 11th. | ||
| 30 | Harrison Burton | Harrison Burton's superspeedway rookie experience started on his roof at Daytona and finished in a crash in Turn 1 at Talladega. Hopefully the biggest and fastest tracks are kinder to him in 2023. |
