| Rank | Driver | Change | Comment |
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| 1 | Tyler Reddick | indicator_neutral | A second-place finish in the Brickyard 400 marked Tyler Reddick's ninth top five and 15th top 10 of the season, both of which are only one off of his career best marks in those categories. That's put Reddick firmly in play for the regular-season championship and much more. |
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| 2 | Ryan Blaney | indicator_neutral | The tension over Ryan Blaney's radio was obvious well before the pivotal restart that sparked his tirade where he called Kyle Larson NASCAR's "golden boy." Blaney was very animated over the radio as he tried to find a way around Brad Keselowski with Kyle Larson closing in, even telling his spotter to stop talking while he was in the corners at one point. |
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| 3 | Kyle Larson | indicator_rising | The natural next step following Kyle Larson's Brickyard 400 win was to discuss exactly when he'll add a Daytona 500 win to his growing list of accolades. For what it's worth, Larson was leading the Daytona 500 at the white flag in 2017 before running out of fuel coming off Turn 2. |
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| 4 | Christopher Bell | indicator_rising | With just four races to go in the regular season, eight drivers remain within 100 points of regular-season points leader Kyle Larson. Christopher Bell is the last of those at 98 points back of the lead in the championship standings. |
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| 5 | Chase Elliott | indicator_falling | Realistically speaking, the regular-season championship seems to be shaping up as a battle between Larson, Reddick and Chase Elliott. Elliott currently sits second in the standings, 10 points back of Larson for the lead. |
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| 6 | Alex Bowman | indicator_falling | Alex Bowman's win at Chicago was well-timed, because it now allows his season to survive misfortune in the summer months. After only having one DNF in the first 17 races, Bowman has failed to finish two of his last five starts after an engine failure at Loudon and a crash at Indianapolis. |
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| 7 | Brad Keselowski | indicator_rising | We were about two laps away at Indianapolis from Brad Keselowski somehow stretching his fuel load all the way to the checkered flag and another "I cannot believe he saved that much fuel" episode akin to Joey Logano's at Nashville. Stuff like that illustrates just how much more effective, efficient and sophisticated fuel mileage strategies have become with the skills of today's crew chiefs and today's drivers. |
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| 8 | Bubba Wallace | indicator_rising | Bubba Wallace's surge toward getting back in the playoffs has come just in time, as the final four races of the regular season are all on tracks where he runs very well. Wallace led 80 laps at Richmond last year, and he should've had a top-five finish there this fall before a botched final pit stop. |
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| 9 | Joey Logano | indicator_falling | Since the month of June began, Joey Logano has alternated between finishing in or near the top five or well outside of it from week-to-week. That trend has continued over the last two races, as Logano followed up a fifth-place finish with a crash and DNF at Indianapolis. |
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| 10 | Chris Buescher | indicator_falling | If Chris Buescher ekes into the playoffs by a small margin, remember Indianapolis: Buescher spent much of the race two laps down after tire problems, but the final two overtime restarts allowed him to make up both those laps via the free pass and salvage a 22nd-place finish. With every point mattering in Buescher's situation, that could prove pivotal by the time the checkered flag falls in the Southern 500. |
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| 11 | Daniel Suarez | indicator_rising | There aren't a lot of men in the world who would be able to get away with what Daniel Suarez is doing, which is competing in the NASCAR Brasil Series race at Interlagos just days after getting married. It certainly helps Suarez that his bride-to-be, Julia, is the daughter of F1 legend Nelson Piquet. |
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| 12 | William Byron | indicator_falling | William Byron's hard crash out of the Brickyard 400 marked the end of a decade-over-decade trend, as each year of the Brickyard 400 ending with a 4 had seen the No. 24 go to Victory Lane with Jeff Gordon behind the wheel. Gordon's win in the inaugural event in 1994 was followed by wins in 2004 and 2014. |
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| 13 | Ross Chastain | indicator_rising | Given the level he's reached over the last two years, Ross Chastain missing the playoffs in 2024 would be a fairly stunning development. With Chastain now just seven points above the cut line, that scenario is in real jeopardy of playing out. |
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| 14 | Todd Gilliland | indicator_rising | Todd Gilliland's recent performances, including a season-best sixth-place finish in the Brickyard 400, has put him at least on the graphic when it comes to the playoff bubble. Gilliland sits 20th in the Cup standings, 118 points back of the cut line. |
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| 15 | Martin Truex Jr. | indicator_falling | Barring an absolutely epic and virtually unprecedented collapse over the next four races, Martin Truex Jr. should be assured of making this year's playoffs on points. But he'd already be in the playoffs had it not been for an ill-timed caution in the closing laps at Richmond back in March. Expect Truex to go to Richmond in a few weeks with redemption at the forefront of his mind. |
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| 16 | Ty Gibbs | indicator_falling | Ty Gibbs' team picked the wrong time to start having a rash of engine problems. Another miss in the engine and subsequent 23rd-place finish has left Gibbs only 46 points above the cut line and far from secure or certain in a playoff berth. |
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| 17 | Michael McDowell | indicator_rising | The move of Watkins Glen from its traditional August date to a mid-September playoff race arguably hurts Michael McDowell more than anyone. McDowell would have had a realistic chance of winning at The Glen and getting on the playoff grid, but now has to either win Daytona or find a way to win Richmond, Michigan and Darlington. |
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| 18 | Justin Haley | indicator_falling | Rick Ware Racing continues to be NASCAR's little team that could be more than they've ever been before. Not only has Justin Haley habitually finished in the top 20, but the performance of the No. 15 team has been elevated as well: Both RWR cars finished in the top 20 in the Brickyard 400 with Cody Ware 18th and Haley 20th. |
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| 19 | Austin Cindric | indicator_rising | As I suspected, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway did indeed bring out the best in Austin Cindric. A seventh-place finish in the Brickyard 400 marked Cindric's first top 10 since his win at Gateway. |
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| 20 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | indicator_rising | About that factoid I posted last week in regards to Ricky Stenhouse and Indianapolis: He had his best Brickyard 400 weekend ever in 2024, qualifying ninth and earning an 11th-place finish, his best ever at Indianapolis. |
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| 21 | Denny Hamlin | indicator_falling | Denny Hamlin has begun his Olympic break by debating Landon Cassill on his team's expenses relative to what his assertions are in regards to NASCAR's negotiations on a new charter agreement and revenue sharing with race teams. There may be a break from racing, but a good poster knows to never stop posting. |
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| 22 | Noah Gragson | indicator_rising | Whatever happens between now and the end of the regular season, Noah Gragson's 2024 should be looked at as a resounding success. Gragson's seventh top-10 finish of the year at Indianapolis continued enormous improvement over his nightmare rookie season, which has included his average finish going from a dismal 28.2 in 2023 to an 18.7 this year. |
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| 23 | Zane Smith | indicator_rising | Zane Smith and his race team have both made incredible improvements over the last month, which continued in the Brickyard 400 as Smith ran in the top five on strategy before finishing 17th. It's a good sign moving forward for both Smith, who is likely bound for a third Trackhouse car next year, and the No. 71 team, which will replace Smith with Michael McDowell in 2025. |
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| 24 | Carson Hocevar | indicator_rising | The Brickyard 400 demonstrated both the upside and downside that Carson Hocevar possesses. He finished 12th, but did so after an aggressive three-wide move on a restart almost took out Ryan Blaney and did take out veteran drivers Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson. |
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| 25 | Daniel Hemric | indicator_rising | Daniel Hemric played the fuel mileage game to run inside the top five in the closing laps of the Brickyard 400, but ended up with nothing to show for it. Hemric had to come to pit road for fuel under green, then got taken out on the frontstretch to trigger the big wreck in Turn 1 on the first overtime attempt. |
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| 26 | Josh Berry | indicator_falling | Josh Berry is going to be a driver to watch once the Olympic break ends and NASCAR gets back to racing at Richmond. Berry's short track prowess combined with NASCAR's use of option tires at Richmond should give him a very legitimate chance to compete to win that race. |
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| 27 | Corey LaJoie | indicator_rising | It may take a little more than this for Corey LaJoie to change the narrative that surrounds him, but the way he ran in the Brickyard 400 is certainly a start. LaJoie ran up inside the top 10 at times and finished 14th. |
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| 28 | Chase Briscoe | indicator_falling | This doesn't have much basis in anything besides my own imagination, but the damage to Chase Briscoe's car at the end of the Brickyard 400 looked like something straight out of NASCAR Thunder 2004's damage model. The sort of damage you see when you hit the wall and fail the Lightning Challenge. |
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| 29 | John Hunter Nemechek | indicator_rising | Pound for pound until overtime, the Brickyard 400 may have been one of the best performances of John Hunter Nemechek's entire Cup career. Nemechek had a fast car and capitalized on a 10th place qualifying effort, leading 16 laps and finishing fifth in Stage 2. |
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| 30 | Kyle Busch | indicator_falling | It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if a good deal of Kyle Busch's current misery comes from pressing too hard trying to get the best finishes possible to make up for the way his season has completely unraveled. That seemed to be the gist of Busch's message in post-race, where he publicly apologized to his team after crashing with two laps to go trying to pick up a spot in the top five. |
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