By Noah Poser, Staff Writer
Going into this past weekend, all eyes were on Christopher Bell as he looked to become the first driver to win four races in a row since Jimmie Johnson back in 2007.
Unfortunately for Bell, he was unable to replicate the historic feat, but that didn’t stop a different type of history from being made by another driver at Las Vegas.
In just his fifth race driving for the Wood Brothers, Josh Berry was able to capture the lead late, passing Daniel Suárez with 16 laps to go en route to his first career Cup Series victory. The win, when you pair it with Harrison Burton’s victory for the team last season at Daytona, combines to mark the first time the Wood Brothers have won a race in back-to-back seasons since 1986-1987.
More importantly for Berry, however, is that the win locks him into the playoffs. It’s also his second consecutive top five finish. That’s good enough to vault him into this week’s Kickin’ the Tires NASCAR Power Rankings, which sees plenty of movement from last week, including a change at the No. 1 spot.
1. William Byron (Previous: 2)
Season Stats: 1 Win, 3 Top 5s, 4 Top 10s, 110 Laps Led, 1 Stage Win
Bell may have three wins, but it’s Byron who’s proven to be the most consistent driver in the early stages of the season. In the first five races, he has four finishes of sixth or better, with the lone blemish being a 27th at Atlanta. Additionally, he sports an average finish of eighth, has led at least one lap in every race this season, and extended his points lead over Bell to 29 points ahead of Homestead.
2. Christopher Bell (Previous: 1)
Season Stats: 3 Wins, 3 Top 5s, 3 Top 10s, 114 Laps Led, 1 Stage Win
Bell and co. had an off day in Vegas. He was never really in contention for the win, picking up just a single stage point before settling for a 12th place finish. Although, the day could’ve been much worse if not for quick thinking from crew chief Adam Stevens, who directed him into the pit stall of his JGR teammate to allow them to tighten a loose wheel, settling for a penalty that sent him to the rear as opposed to what could have been a short vacation for some crew members.
3. Kyle Larson (Previous: 3)
Season Stats: 2 Top 5s, 3 Top 10s, 73 Laps Led, 2 Stage Wins
Larson was as fast as he’s been all season, leading the most laps of any driver (61) and winning a stage before a mixed bag of strategy resulted in just a ninth place finish. Surely Larson and his team will be left wondering what could’ve been after failing to capitalize with such a strong car, but luckily for them, one of Larson’s best tracks, Homestead, awaits.
4. Alex Bowman (Previous: 9)
Season Stats: 4 Top 10s, 19 Laps Led
The good news is he and the team finally had a good Saturday. After starting near the back multiple times this season, Bowman had a much better qualifying session at Vegas and started sixth. The bad news is he had to come from the back anyways after an unscheduled pit stop under green and then again after a speeding penalty on pit road. He managed to recover as he’s done all season, finishing seventh, but you have to wonder what more this team could achieve if they could get out of their own way.
5. Chase Elliott (Previous: 7)
Season Stats: 1 Top 5, 3 Top 10s, 2 Laps Led
As he did last weekend at Phoenix, Elliott took a car that probably wasn’t a top 10 car and ended up there anyways, finishing 10th for the second race in a row. He had to overcome a speeding penalty to do it this time, but the effort was good enough to collect a third consecutive top ten finish. The consistency is there, even if the race-winning speed seems to be lacking.
6. Tyler Reddick (Previous: 5)
Season Stats: 2 Top 5s, 2 Top 10s, 43 Laps Led
Reddick was quick at Vegas just as he was at Phoenix, but the result was the same as he suffered a second straight finish of 20th or worse, ending up 24th. He led 34 laps, however, and now heads to Homestead, where he will surely be one of the favorites to find his way to victory lane.
7. Josh Berry (Previous: NR)
Season Stats: 1 Win, 2 Top 5s, 2 Top 10s, 74 Laps Led, 1 Stage Win
The newest NASCAR Cup Series race winner is one of, if not the hottest driver in the sport right now. The expectations were relatively tame for Berry and the Wood Brothers entering the season after a few down years for the team, but they’ve hit the ground running. After winning at Vegas, Berry vaulted up the standings and now sits 13th in points after five races. He’s finished in the top five in back-to-back races and ranks among the top five in the series in laps led. This win was no fluke.
8. Denny Hamlin (Previous: 6)
Season Stats: 1 Top 5, 2 Top 10s, 9 Laps Led
It just wasn’t Hamlin’s day in Vegas… at the racetrack at least. The car never really had the speed necessary to allow Hamlin to push his way into contention. He started 15th, finished 25th and was never a threat throughout the day. Onwards to Miami.
9. Ross Chastain (Previous: NR)
Season Stats: 1 Top 5, 2 Top 10s, 39 Laps Led
It’s about time Chastain gets a finish indicative of the speed he had throughout the race, even if he could have perhaps done better still than the fifth place finish he ended with if he had just a bit more luck. Regardless, it was a much-needed solid day for him and Trackhouse as a whole placing two team cars in the top five. Chastain has been the epitome of consistency following an early season DNF at Daytona, finishing 12th or better in every race since.
10. Ryan Blaney (Previous: 10)
Season Stats: 1 Top 5, 2 Top 10s, 23 Laps Led, 1 Stage Win
Blaney wrecked in practice, got his car fixed and proceeded to have one of the fastest cars in the race. But it wasn’t meant to be as he was never quite able to secure the track position he needed to showcase that speed. His weekend was further marred by issues on pit road and eventually another crash that ended his race and relegated him to a 35th place finish. He’s probably hoping the old adage “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” rings true for him.
11. Joey Logano (Previous: 11)
Season Stats: 247 Laps Led, 1 Stage Win
Is Logano the most deserving driver to put in this final spot? It’s hard to say. The results don’t really justify it over guys like Chris Buescher or Kyle Busch. But with that said, it’s clear Logano is one of the fastest drivers in the series week in and week out. He led 40 more laps Sunday at Vegas to push his total to a series-leading 247 laps led… and then proceeded to finish 15th. That elusive top 10 is still evading him, but the speed is there for the No. 22 team.
Next up: Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric, Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suárez