Martin Truex Jr. has quietly become the master at Sonoma Raceway.
The 42-year-old New Jersey native seemed right at home in Wine Country on Sunday, winning his fourth career race at the road course in dominant fashion. He led 51 of 110 laps to move within one win of Jeff Gordon for the most ever at the 12-turn circuit.
With 16 races completed, there are now just 10 more regular season events before the 10-week playoffs. The Cup Series is off next weekend but will return at Nashville Superspeedway on June 25 for the first of 20 consecutive races on NBC and USA Network.
So, who is the driver to beat heading into the off week? Here’s our latest NASCAR power rankings:
1. Martin Truex Jr.
Last week: 3
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One year after missing the playoffs, MTJ is starting to look like the championship favorite. Over the last nine races, he has two wins, five top-fives and seven top-10s. The season isn’t even half over and Truex already has more top-five finishes (five) than he had in all of 2022 (four).
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2. William Byron
Last week: 1
A well-timed caution gave Byron track position after his poor qualifying run. That luck netted him seven stage points, but it was clear that the No. 24 wasn’t as quick as it has typically been this season. Byron faded to finish 14th, salvaging a decent finish on a rare off day.
3. Kyle Larson
Last week: 2
It’s been feast or famine all season for Larson, with six top-fives and six finishes of 29th or worse. Sunday was a rare performance where the No. 5 team was just OK. Larson finished eighth – his first top-10 finish this season that wasn’t also a top-five.
4. Denny Hamlin
Last week: 4
Hamlin finished dead last and was the only driver not to finish the race at Sonoma. So, why does he maintain his spot in the power rankings? Well, he started on the pole, led 33 laps and won Stage 1. That typically doesn’t mean much if you crash out in the final stage, but it was a massive improvement for a driver who hasn’t finished top-10 on a road course in his last eight tries.
5. Kyle Busch
Last week: 7
Everything is starting to come together for Busch and his Richard Childress Racing team. He’s scored four straight top-10 finishes, including second at Sonoma. That makes consecutive runner-up finishes in the first two road courses of 2023 for Busch.
6. Christopher Bell
Last week: 5
Bell has been just a bit off since he won at Bristol in early April. In his last eight starts, Bell has no top-fives and three top-10s while his teammates, Hamlin and Truex, have been rolling. He finished ninth at Sonoma, scoring 10 stage points but never competing with the leaders.
7. Ross Chastain
Last week: 6
The good news? Chastain was 10th at Sonoma following three straight races outside the top-20. The bad news? Trackhouse Racing isn’t as good as it was early in the year. Chastain threw away a few potential wins when his cars were faster, and now he’s falling behind.
8. Joey Logano
Last week: first four out
Back-to-back third-place finishes put Logano back into the power rankings top-10. Like Byron and Busch, he benefited from the timing of the first caution. But the two-time champion showed that he was capable of competing, which was especially impressive when his teammates finished 25th (Austin Cindric) and 31st (Ryan Blaney).
9. Kevin Harvick
Last week: 10
Harvick has finished between ninth and 13th in eight of the 16 races this season. Sonoma was no different, as the No. 4 crossed the line 11th with just one stage point. Harvick is extremely consistent given his situation, but Stewart-Haas Racing doesn’t seem capable of producing race-winning speed right now.
10. Ryan Blaney
Last week: 8
All of Blaney’s momentum from Charlotte and Gateway was halted on Sunday. He started and finished 31st, and that’s about where he ran for most of the race. They took a chance on strategy during the final caution, but Blaney was spun twice to effectively end his race.
First four out: Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott
