The Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was eventful to say the least, especially for the NASCAR Ford drivers in the championship. The latest Power Rankings post-Vegas reflect the chaos and triumph that these drivers experienced, and it’s good news for one driver – but not the other.
The Power Rankings posted on NASCAR.com show where each of the eight Playoff-eligible drivers stack up. Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse, isn’t quite dead last, but he’s close. The 2023 Cup Series champion had a rough race in the Nevada desert that began with a wrecked car in practice, forcing him to start at the tail end of the field after switching to his backup car.
Then, during the race, he was running decently before he was swept into a multicar crash that severely damaged his race car. He finished the race several laps down in 32nd, and thus, his championship hopes are more of a longshot than they were heading into Vegas. He now slots in seventh in the Power Rankings among eight drivers, but that could change at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend, a track that he’s been historically good at.
On the complete other end of the spectrum, Joey Logano is sitting pretty as the top driver in this weeks rankings. Logano’s No. 22 NASCAR Ford team was initially eliminated from the Playoffs, but he gained a spot in the Round of 8 when a competitor was disqualified. Thus, Logano’s shot at earning a third Cup Series title is alive and well – and he sealed the deal by winning at Vegas, ensuring that he’s got a spot in the Championship 4.
It’s worth pointing out that one of his two championships was earned by winning at Homestead. He also has five straight top-six finishes at the track, so it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that he could turn his next trip on the 1.5-mile racetrack into a trophy.
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