Music City brought the action this weekend. Let’s get into the NASCAR Power Rankings and who is the best of the best this week. There has been a bit of movement lately. A few teams that were really strong early on this year and then fell back in recent weeks found speed again.

There were issues with passing. However, that was a consistent theme throughout the week, not just a Sunday night thing. Corey Heim lamented that passing was too difficult at the front of the field to fully make a move on Rajah Caruth for the win. Connor Zilisch said much of the same about chasing Justin Allgaier in the Xfinity Series.

The NASCAR Power Rankings have changed, and we are ready to crown a new leader after this week. I’m sure you know who I’m talking about.

1. Ryan Blaney – Team Penske (+3)

Ryan Blaney had a great night at Nashville. He won a stage, led the most laps, and ended up winning the race. Jonathan Hassler called a great race from the pit box, and it paid off in the end. Blaney is the top driver in the NASCAR Power Rankings as a result.

Team Penske has all four cars, including Josh Berry, in the winner’s column this season. As a result, they could be the favorites to win the championship for a fourth straight season.

2. William Byron – Hendrick Motorsports (-)

I really liked what I saw from William Byron and his ability to bounce back after the disappointment of Charlotte a week ago. He finished P5 by the end of the race, but was really fast all night long.

Byron needed a few things to go differently on pit road and on the track in order to contend for the win. However, his battle with Blaney and Denny Hamlin in Stage 2 was really fun to watch and made the race

3. Christopher Bell – Joe Gibbs Racing (-2)

After getting into the wall, Christopher Bell rallied to a P10 finish. He was determined to drive back through the field and did just that.

Four straight top-10 finishes and seven in the last eight races. Bell is on the verge of winning another race very soon. Bell drops from the top spot in the NASCAR Power Rankings, but he will likely be back.

4. Kyle Larson – Hendrick Motorsports (-1)

A terribly slow car in qualifying, Kyle Larson had to fight back all day. He dropped down to like 36th at one point and it looked like he was going to be a non-factor all day.

Avoiding getting lapped in Stage 1 definitely helped him rally back. P8 on the day, but he drops for being too slow in qualifying and again, almost getting lapped.

5. Denny Hamlin – Joe Gibbs Racing (+2)

Finally, a race where Denny Hamlin puts it all together again. P3 and a stage win, as well as his third fastest lap award of the season. I believe he leads the series in that stat at this point in the season.

Hamlin is expecting a baby boy any day now. He had Ryan Truex on standby this weekend in case he needed to leave for the birth of his child. Still, he stayed focused and put up his best run since Bristol.

6. Ross Chastain – Trackhouse Racing (-1)

This weekend, Ross Chastain was better in qualifying. However, he faded late in the Nashville race and out of the top-10. That’s why he drops one spot in the NASCAR Power Rankings.

Trackhouse Racing is giving him faster cars on Saturdays. That will only help him to win in the future as we enter the second half of the regular season.

7. Chase Elliott – Hendrick Motorsports (-1)

I really do think we are seeing major issues with Chase Elliott, but his consistent top-20 finishes are hiding it. Elliott faded to P15 this week and while it is great that he held onto that streak, what good is it if he can’t win races?

I’m not sure if Elliott can get more out of the cars that he is being given or if Alan Gustafson has to do something differently. Either way, without a points win this year, this team isn’t going to compete for a championship.

8. Joey Logano – Team Penske (+1)

Whenever Joey Logano is happy after a race he didn’t win, you have to be wondering what he is hiding. Logano was all smiles after his P4 finish. He’s really starting to ride this momentum after the win at Texas.

Keep an eye on Logano, he was really strong on Sunday, but almost quietly so. He didn’t defend his Nashville win from a year ago, but walks away with another top-five finish.

9. Chase Briscoe – Joe Gibbs Racing (-1)

I really like what Chase Briscoe is doing lately. While he faded back to P17 on Sunday, he won his second straight pole award of the year. He leads the Cup Series in poles, meaning the speed is there.

Briscoe has to start finishing these races better. He is another driver that I won’t be shocked to see in Victory Lane in the next month or so.

10. Carson Hocevar – Spire Motorsports (NR)

After pissing off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and finishing P2 for the second time this season, I have to put Carson Hocevar in the NASCAR Power Rankings. Spire Motorsports has a star on their hands.

Hocevar was not going to apologize for his actions on Sunday. Will that come back to bite him? Maybe.

LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — Bubba Wallace sees NASCAR having all the momentum possible right now with different media partners.

Perfect timing then for NASCAR’s “In-season Challenge” to debut, right?

Well, Wallace forgot that was about to debut.

“For me to forget about it and remember how exciting it was when they announced, I think it’s going to be big for the fans to tune in and and give them a little bit more … you’re just invested more,” Wallace said.

Kyle Larson just tried his latest attempt at “the Double” of the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. Count him among those who didn’t realize NASCAR’s new in-season competition had its field of 32 set after Sunday night’s Cup Series race at the Nashville Superspeedway.

“I just really haven’t seen anything promoted about it, so I think it’s easy to forget about it,” Larson said.

NASCAR announced this new in-season competition in May 2024, so drivers can be forgiven for being focused on the second half of the season.

The format is simple: 32 drivers race for seeding over the next three races starting at Michigan on Sunday and concluding at Pocono on June 22. Drivers are seeded by their best finish for the five-race competition starting at Atlanta.

Then it goes to single elimination with the field cut to 16 at Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four at Dover and the final two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The winner gets $1 million, and that does get drivers’ attention as part of the new media rights deal that includes TNT.

“It’s going to be something fun that you pay attention to, and there’s good money on the line,” said Larson, the 2021 Cup Series champ. “So, you’ve just got to be really consistent throughout.”

Chris Buescher of RFK Racing is among those who didn’t realize this challenge is starting. He needs race victories after losing points for a penalty at Kansas in May. The prize is nice.

“That’s real money,” Buescher said. “But I don’t want that to change how we go to the race track. We need to figure out how to win races. There’s a lot more than that on the line at the end of the year.”

Three-time Cup Series champ Joey Logano compared this event’s prize to the money up for grabs in the All-Star Race and this new competition like a stage win.

“This is a little longer thing, but it’s a race within the race,” Logano said. “So you’re not willing to give up a lot to do that, right?”

Denny Hamlin was excited when the In-season Challenge was first announced. Then he saw the courses for this competition, and his enthusiasm dimmed with the number of road courses included.

“Truthfully, we’re going to get pretty lucky or have such a good draw that just things kind of work out,” Hamlin said. “I wish it was more conventional ovals, but I think that’s just the way the schedule works out. And it’s unfortunately not probably my prime part of the season.”

Brad Keselowski and his No. 6 Ford for RFK Racing went into Nashville at 32 — right on the line to be included in that chase for seeding. He hadn’t given the competition much thought focused on this season. But he thinks it will be fun once it starts.

“It’s good for the sport, good for our fans and it’s a competition,” Keselowski said. “If there’s competition, we want to win it. But that said, I think our heads down on one week at a time, in some ways one day at a time. … And it’s hard to look further ahead than that.”

Team Penske all set for the playoffs

With Ryan Blaney’s first victory of the season at Nashville Superspeedway, Team Penske now has its three drivers qualified for the NASCAR Cup playoffs even with Nashville the first race of the second half of this year.

Blaney, who hadn’t won since November, joined Austin Cindric, who won at Talladega, and three-time Cup Series champ Joey Logano, a winner at Texas. Josh Berry, whose Wood Brothers Racing team has a relationship with Team Penske, also won at Las Vegas.

Michael Nelson, president of Team Penske’s NASCAR operations, said it was nice to have that pressure off all the teams.

“It’s obviously pretty awesome to have a little bit of that pressure off for the guys,” Nelson said. “And again … it gives you a chance to go out and take some chances here and there and try to rack up a bunch of wins. So now we’re grateful to be at this point with our cars this time of year.”

Careful there Hocevar

Carson Hocevar matched his career-best finish driving from 26th to second at Nashville. The 22-year-old driver in his second Cup Series season with Spire Motorsports ticked off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with his aggressive style.

Hocevar clipped Stenhouse on Lap 106 of 300, sending him into the wall and out of the race. Stenhouse said Hocevar was overly aggressive and will talk to the young driver. Just not after the race.

“No,” Stenhouse said, “that costs too much money.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

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Friends of Laguna Seca and CEO Lauri Eberhart have parted ways. The veteran motorsports executive had been in the newly created position for just over a year.

An announcement from the nonprofit organization that operates Laguna Seca Recreation Area and its famed WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca indicates that Eberhart will return to the private sector. A powerful figure in motorsports, she is founder of a major sports and entertainment law firm and served as legal counsel for major race tracks.

In the statement, the FLS board credits Eberhart with updating the facility’s business model, restructuring its management and organizing the financial structure. The nonprofit has a 55-year concession agreement with Monterey County to operate the track, with certain goals to be met over that timeline.

Her last day was Friday, May 30.

Mel Harder, named in March of this year as president and general manager, will oversee day-to-day operations. Before joining FLS, Harder served as team manager for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Every few months, the NASCAR rumor mill churns up some hearsay claiming that Dodge and/or Ram is returning to stock car racing. Said rumors occasionally gain real traction when someone important comments on them, like NASCAR President Steve Phelps did a few years back. Now, there’s another piece of potential news claiming Ram could soon re-enter the Craftsman Truck Series with hugely popular YouTuber Cleetus McFarland behind the wheel. Here’s why it might be legit.

The report comes from Adam Stern at Sports Business Journal, who is especially well-sourced when it comes to NASCAR. He published the story on Sunday claiming that McFarland, whose real name is Garrett Mitchell, could be a key piece of the puzzle for Ram’s NASCAR efforts come 2026. Stern cites “four people familiar with the matter and a document seen by SBJ” as his sources, and beyond that, the move would make a good deal of sense.

Ram is a lot like Dodge in the sense that manly marketing is everything to its brand image. Whether it’s talking about “premature electrification” in high-value Super Bowl ads or playing up the ever-ballooning machismo of truck ownership, its reputation is strong—for better and for worse. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Ram snag Mitchell, whose 4.4 million subscribers on YouTube triple NASCAR’s own viewership on that platform. Plus, he appeals to the core demographic of horsepower-hungry 20- and 30-somethings that really kinda like the idea of burnouts and Baja trucks alike.

Not only that, but Mitchell has some legit stock car racing experience. (Keyword: some.) As Stern and SBJ point out, Mitchell has made three ARCA starts so far with a pair of top-10 finishes to his credit. NASCAR made the most of that media opportunity last Sunday at Charlotte, where it dedicated a live stream to Mitchell’s in-car feed while also blasting out his post-race interview on every social channel it has. Neither Mitchell nor NASCAR is a dummy when it comes to this.

Still, it could be risky for Stellantis, Ram’s parent company, to bet so much on a relatively new driver. It’s in the middle of a CEO change as we speak, and you don’t need me to tell you that isn’t a sign of a thriving business.

The claim that Ram is seriously considering a NASCAR return isn’t unique to SBJ‘s latest story. Instead, a supposedly leaked dealer memo sparked a fresh batch of headlines saying as much back in March. Importantly, there hasn’t been any news since then saying those plans are off, and the idea that a new celebrity driver could lead the way seems to add credibility to it all. Either way, nothing has been officially announced yet, so we’ll just have to see what comes of this.

I’ll be poking around in the meantime.

Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@thedrive.com

Ryan Blaney has finally returned to Victory Lane while Carson Hocevar remains on the cusp of his first career victory, but he may have to deal with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. before he ever collects that checkered flag. 300 laps of NASCAR Cup Series action at Nashville showcased how difficult it was to pass and that Team Penske is back to their usual form after a dismal weekend in the Coke 600.

It was also a lesson in perseverance as drivers like Christopher Bell and Bubba Wallace rebounded from their early troubles that could have easily derailed their entire day. Here’s a complete look at the biggest winners and losers from the Cup race in Music City.

WINNER: Ryan Blaney for finally sealing the deal

Watch: Blaney after Nashville win: ‘Finally, nothing crazy happened’

Heading into Nashville, Blaney’s season had featured just as many top fives as it had DNFs (five), but he won’t have to worry about points racing for the rest of the regular season. The 2023 NASCAR Cup champion put together a complete race on Sunday, avoiding any drama and securing a dominant victory. The No. 12 team utilized an alternate strategy in the first stage to gain track position from his 15th-place starting position, running long and then converting that into a shorter stop at the stage break. From that point onward, he was a constant presence at the front. 

LOSER: Hocevar as his strong showing is overshadowed by another run-in

Watch: Kyle Petty analyzes ‘feather-ruffler’ Carson Hocevar

Hocevar earned yet another runner-up finish as he continues to impress in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. Unfortunately, that was all overshadowed by yet another run-in with a fellow competitor. Early in Stage 2, he was battling for 17th when he ran into the back of Stenhouse, sending him into the outside wall and ending his day. Stenhouse was frustrated, but not surprised as Hocevar has been gaining a reputation for his hyper-aggressive driving style. However, when given the chance to talk about it in post-race interview, Hocevar offered no apologies, which will serve to only anger Stenhouse more. And now the conversation is around this new feud, rather than his remarkable drive on Sunday.

WINNER: Bubba Wallace for fighting back from an early error

Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota

Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images

Wallace sped on pit road during the first round of green-flag pit stops, falling a lap down in a costly mistake. After three straight races with finishes of 33rd or worse, he did not need another bad day. Well, Wallace put his head down and slowly began to claw back what he had lost, despite how difficult it was to pass at Nashville. Wallace made his way back up to sixth in the final running order, nearly snatching a top five finish in the end.

LOSER: Chase Briscoe for failing to convert pole position to a strong result

Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images

Briscoe is still getting acclimated to his new ride at Joe Gibbs Racing, previously saying that he has been under-driving the equipment. He certainly doesn’t have that problem in qualifying, earning three pole positions including back-to-back poles in the last two races. While he managed to secure a podium finish at Charlotte, he actually faded at Nashville, only finishing 17th in the end. And this is not necessarily a knock on Briscoe, as it is reminiscent of the No. 19 team at the end of Martin Truex Jr.’s career. They have the speed, but more often than not, the final result doesn’t reflect that.

WINNER: Christopher Bell for not letting mid-race wreck derail his day

Some thought Bell’s race was over when he backed into the wall in a Lap 120 restart. But despite some damage to the rear of the car, he drove the wounded No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota back through the field, passing Ross Chastain in the closing laps to snag a top ten finish.

LOSER: Rising star Corey Heim makes an unforced error

Nearly everyone can agree that the Truck Series regular is ready for the Cup Series. Driving a fourth entry for 23XI Racing at Kansas, he finished 13th and beat all three of his teammates to finish 13th. He was having a similar run at Nashville, but impatience got the better of him on Lap 130 as he tried to clear himself up in front of Brad Keselowski. His spotter told him Keselowski was there, but the No. 67 drifted up anyway, causing him to spin and crash into the wall. Heim’s day was over, finishing 37th. There’s no doubt that Heim is a natural talent as he continues to dominate in the Truck Series, but that moment reminded the garage that he’s still a rookie in the Cup Series.

LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — Bubba Wallace sees NASCAR having all the momentum possible right now with different media partners.

Perfect timing then for NASCAR’s “In-season Challenge” to debut, right?

Well, Wallace forgot that was about to debut.

“For me to forget about it and remember how exciting it was when they announced, I think it’s going to be big for the fans to tune in and and give them a little bit more … you’re just invested more,” Wallace said.

Kyle Larson just tried his latest attempt at “the Double” of the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. Count him among those who didn’t realize NASCAR’s new in-season competition had its field of 32 set after Sunday night’s Cup Series race at the Nashville Superspeedway.

“I just really haven’t seen anything promoted about it, so I think it’s easy to forget about it,” Larson said.

NASCAR announced this new in-season competition in May 2024, so drivers can be forgiven for being focused on the second half of the season.

The format is simple: 32 drivers race for seeding over the next three races starting at Michigan on Sunday and concluding at Pocono on June 22. Drivers are seeded by their best finish for the five-race competition starting at Atlanta.

Then it goes to single elimination with the field cut to 16 at Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four at Dover and the final two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The winner gets $1 million, and that does get drivers’ attention as part of the new media rights deal that includes TNT.

“It’s going to be something fun that you pay attention to, and there’s good money on the line,” said Larson, the 2021 Cup Series champ. “So, you’ve just got to be really consistent throughout.”

Chris Buescher of RFK Racing is among those who didn’t realize this challenge is starting. He needs race victories after losing points for a penalty at Kansas in May. The prize is nice.

“That’s real money,” Buescher said. “But I don’t want that to change how we go to the race track. We need to figure out how to win races. There’s a lot more than that on the line at the end of the year.”

Three-time Cup Series champ Joey Logano compared this event’s prize to the money up for grabs in the All-Star Race and this new competition like a stage win.

“This is a little longer thing, but it’s a race within the race,” Logano said. “So you’re not willing to give up a lot to do that, right?”

Denny Hamlin was excited when the In-season Challenge was first announced. Then he saw the courses for this competition, and his enthusiasm dimmed with the number of road courses included.

“Truthfully, we’re going to get pretty lucky or have such a good draw that just things kind of work out,” Hamlin said. “I wish it was more conventional ovals, but I think that’s just the way the schedule works out. And it’s unfortunately not probably my prime part of the season.”

Brad Keselowski and his No. 6 Ford for RFK Racing went into Nashville at 32 — right on the line to be included in that chase for seeding. He hadn’t given the competition much thought focused on this season. But he thinks it will be fun once it starts.

“It’s good for the sport, good for our fans and it’s a competition,” Keselowski said. “If there’s competition, we want to win it. But that said, I think our heads down on one week at a time, in some ways one day at a time. … And it’s hard to look further ahead than that.”

Team Penske all set for the playoffs

With Ryan Blaney’s first victory of the season at Nashville Superspeedway, Team Penske now has its three drivers qualified for the NASCAR Cup playoffs even with Nashville the first race of the second half of this year.

Blaney, who hadn’t won since November, joined Austin Cindric, who won at Talladega, and three-time Cup Series champ Joey Logano, a winner at Texas. Josh Berry, whose Wood Brothers Racing team has a relationship with Team Penske, also won at Las Vegas.

Michael Nelson, president of Team Penske’s NASCAR operations, said it was nice to have that pressure off all the teams.

“It’s obviously pretty awesome to have a little bit of that pressure off for the guys,” Nelson said. “And again … it gives you a chance to go out and take some chances here and there and try to rack up a bunch of wins. So now we’re grateful to be at this point with our cars this time of year.”

Careful there Hocevar

Carson Hocevar matched his career-best finish driving from 26th to second at Nashville. The 22-year-old driver in his second Cup Series season with Spire Motorsports ticked off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with his aggressive style.

Matt Kelley/AP

Hocevar clipped Stenhouse on Lap 106 of 300, sending him into the wall and out of the race. Stenhouse said Hocevar was overly aggressive and will talk to the young driver. Just not after the race.

“No,” Stenhouse said, “that costs too much money.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

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