Week 20 NASCAR power rankings: Despite poor finish, new driver slides into No. 1 spot

Inclement weather again marred the Grant Park 165 on the Chicago Street Course and yet the competitors still put on an entertaining show, with Alex Bowman earning the surprise win.

Bowman, who was outside our most recent power rankings , re-enters the picture after punching his playoff ticket and breaking an 80-race winless streak. Meanwhile, a new name takes over the No. 1 spot.

Here's how the power rankings shake out leading into Sunday's The Great American Getaway 400 Presented By VisitPA.com at Pocono Raceway.

1. Christopher Bell (Last week: 2)

Finally, Bell takes over the power rankings lead. Although he finished 37th Sunday after suffering damage in a late incident on the track, he was on pace to possibly chase down Bowman for the win before the contact, which was not his fault. With Kyle Larson crashing out due to an unforced error, Bell did enough for us to make a change at the top of the rankings.

2. Kyle Larson (Last week: 1)

Despite having contending speed again, Larson ended up 39th, his second finish in the 30s in the past four races. He only has himself to blame for missing a turn Sunday while battling for second in the rain. On the bright side, he maintains control of the points lead and will be one of the favorites at Pocono, where he led late a year ago before contact with Denny Hamlin ruined his race.

3. Tyler Reddick (Last week: 3)

Reddick was chasing down Bowman in the closing circuits with a massive advantage on dry tires, but came up just short after hitting the wall on the last lap by pushing too hard. He still finished runner-up, earning his second straight podium result while also quietly climbing into the battle for the points lead due to all the other contenders not finishing well. He's only 23 back of Larson in the standings.

4. Ryan Blaney (Last week: 5)

Blaney didn't make a whole lot of noise in Chicago and yet emerged with a solid 10th-place finish. He's overdue for some of those finishes to balance out his otherwise bad luck. Riding back-to-back top-10 finishes, Blaney will look to keep the momentum going in Pocono.

5. Chase Elliott (Last week: 6)

Elliott had a top-10 run going for most of the afternoon but faded late and then got spun on the last lap to drop back to 21st. That finally ended his streak of finishing no worse than 20th all season, but perhaps that's a blessing in disguise, as a driver as talented as Elliott should be more focused on contending for wins as opposed to churning out solid-yet-unspectacular results.

6. Martin Truex Jr. (Last week: 7)

Truex's rough luck continues. He suffered damage in the late incident involving Bell and dropped deep in the field to 33rd. He remains fifth in points, but the more drivers who punch their playoff tickets with victories while he remains without one, the more concern may start to grow of the possibility of Truex being knocked out. It's highly unlikely, but the same scenario played out in 2022, when he found himself on the wrong side of the bubble.

7. Denny Hamlin (Last week: 4)

Another road course, another disastrous showing from Hamlin, who was involved in multiple incidents and finished 30th. He should be glad to put this race behind him, but it cost him dearly in his quest for the regular-season points title. (He's fourth, 42 markers back of Larson.) Hamlin should be one of the favorites in Pocono, where he has won seven times, including last year.

8. Ross Chastain (Last week: 8)

Chastain had speed at times Sunday but finished 22nd after the late-race chaos, his second consecutive result outside the top 20. It's not quite enough to drop him behind any of the drivers who entered the week lower than him, but he'll have to hope for better luck soon as he remains winless in 2024. One or two more bad finishes could make things a bit uncomfortable for the driver who's 53 points above the bubble.

9. Ty Gibbs (Last week: 14)

Although he didn't win, third-place finisher Gibbs — who had one of the fastest cars Sunday — helped himself an awful lot in points. He led a race-high 17 laps and jumped to ninth in the standings, although Bowman's win gives him a bit less breathing room if there are additional winners from behind him. Like his teammate Truex, Gibbs could really use a checkered flag to ease the stress.

10. William Byron (Last week: 12)

Much like Blaney, Byron was nowhere to be found for most of the race in Chicago until magically appearing in the top 10 in the final laps, finishing eighth. It was the type of result he needed after a miniature slump, and now he'll look to return to his lightning-quick form at Pocono, where he led 60 laps last year. He hasn't led a race in 2024 since the Coca-Cola 600.

11. Chris Buescher (Last week: 9)

Entering Sunday, Buescher had finished no worse than 11th in the past 13(!) road-course races. That ended in Chicago on a day when he just never seemed to have much pace. To make matters worse,  Bowman — who was behind him in points — won. That leaves Buescher as the final driver in the playoffs, 45 points ahead of Bubba Wallace.

12. Alex Bowman (Last week: not ranked)

Bowman probably wasn't on anyone's short list of favorites at Chicago, but despite the unconventional nature of his win, he ran near the front all race with an average running position of sixth. Much of the credit goes to crew chief Blake Harris for leaving him on the track on wet tires, but Bowman got the job done and won for the first time since Las Vegas in early 2022. He will be in the playoffs.

13. Brad Keselowski (Last week: 11)

Keselowski, maligned for his lack of road-course success, seemed poised to steal a top-five finish on strategy late in the going before dropping to 18th when the dry tires became much more advantageous. Still, that's a solid result for him at his worst track type, and he'll be glad to know there are no more such tracks throughout the remainder of the regular season.

14. Joey Logano (Last week: 10)

Was Logano even in the field Sunday? He stayed out of trouble, so there was that at least, but he finished a library-quiet 23rd in a race in which he may not have been mentioned on the broadcast even once. Not exactly the best way to build momentum off of his Nashville Superspeedway win, but thankfully for him, that won't matter until the playoffs begin.

15. Todd Gilliland (Last week: NR)

Gilliland is officially having a breakout year. He ran in the top 10 and even the top five for much of the going Sunday, finished seventh and moved to 19th in points. He won't make the playoffs without a win, but he remains one of the positive surprises of the season. With Front Row Motorsports teammate Michael McDowell departing the organization at the end of the year, he has proved himself as a worthy driver for the team to build around.

16. Kyle Busch (Last week: NR)

Busch, who had a disastrous June, stayed out of trouble and his team did its job, allowing him to come home in ninth for his first top-10 finish since Kansas eight races ago. He'll need a lot more than that to make the playoffs, but it goes to show Busch can still run near the front when nothing goes wrong for him.

Dropped out : Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, Bubba Wallace