Chase Elliott supplants Ross Chastain at the top of the Power Rankings after his win in the Music City
• 6 min read
This season, no driver in the NASCAR Cup Series has been able to clearly assert dominance when it comes to race wins. A full 17 races in, five different drivers are tied for the lead in wins, with all in that category having two apiece. But in another category, one driver — Chase Elliott — has clearly been ahead of the competition.
In the race for the regular season championship, Chase Elliott has either led the Cup Series points standings or been tied for the lead since Atlanta in March. And whenever his lead has seemed vulnerable, he’s always responded. After a poor run at Gateway saw his lead shrink to just nine points, Elliott is now 30 points ahead of Ross Chastain in the regular season standings after getting his second win of the year at Nashville.
With Elliott’s victory, the top of our CBS Sports NASCAR Power Rankings now mirror the top of the Cup Series standings. Elliott first and Chastain second, followed by Ryan Blaney in third and Kyle Busch in fourth. While the top four all held stable, there continues to be movement throughout the Power Rankings: Kurt Busch was a big mover this week after finishing second at Nashville, while a crash and continued string of poor results has hurt Chase Briscoe.
Here’s a look at our updated rankings in their entirety:
