NASCAR Power Rankings: Christopher Bell closes in on top spot
The power rankings have only a little bit of movement. After all, there is not another dirt race this year for the Cup drivers, so performance Sunday night at Bristol Motor Speedway doesn't mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things.
That is, unless you're Christopher Bell. The win made him the series points leader and most importantly allows him to breathe a little easier this year than he did last year when it took him until July to win a race (at New Hampshire).
What to write about this week? How about we look at these drivers and how much justice they do to their car number.
1. William Byron (Last week: 1)
Byron drives the famed No. 24 car, which many still associate with Jeff Gordon. All six of Byron's Cup wins came in the No. 24. He still has a long way to go to catch the 93 of Gordon. They are the only two drivers to win in the No. 24.
2. Christopher Bell (LW: 4)
Bell has five wins in his Cup career. They all have come in the No. 20 car, and that ranks him third behind Tony Stewart (33 in the No. 20) and Matt Kenseth (15 in the No. 20). There is one other driver on this list who has won in the No. 20 — Joey Logano won two races in his Joe Gibbs Racing tenure as the replacement for Stewart.
3. Kyle Larson (LW: 2)
Larson has won 14 races in the No. 5 car, the most of any driver. And there have been some stout drivers in the No. 5 — Terry Labonte won a title in that car and 12 races total, while Geoffrey Bodine won seven, Kasey Kahne won six, Mark Martin won five and Kyle Busch and Ricky Rudd each won four. Cotton Owens, Neil Bonnet and Morgan Shepherd are among the drivers who won with that number. Larson has won 20 races overall in his Cup career.
4. Ross Chastain (LW: 3)
Chastain has his two career Cup victories in the No. 1 car. No driver has won more than four races with that number — Jamie McMurray and Donnie Allison lead the list at four apiece. Kurt Busch earned three of his career wins with that number.
5. Alex Bowman (LW: 5)
Bowman, much like Byron, would have a hard time matching the all-time great in the No. 48, which Jimmie Johnson drove to 83 wins and seven Cup titles. Bowman has five of his seven career Cup wins in the No. 48 and ranks second.
6. Tyler Reddick (LW: 8)
Reddick, who won three races at RCR before going to 23XI Racing this year, earned his first win in the No. 45 at Circuit of the Americas. The number has only won nine races in Cup, with Eddie Pagan winning four races in 1956-57. The number has won three times in the last year with both Kurt Busch and Bubba Wallace winning in it last season.
7. Kyle Busch (LW: 7)
Busch is the new driver of the No. 8 and got his first win in that number earlier this year at California. Joe Weatherly won 20 times with the number and Dale Earnhardt Jr. won 17. Busch, who has 61 career wins, has enough seasons left in him that he might be able to challenge those drivers in wins in the No. 8. Busch is the all-time leader in the No. 18 car with 56 wins.
8. Kevin Harvick (LW: 6)
Harvick is the undisputed king of the No. 4 car with 37 of his 60 career Cup wins. Rex White won 26 in the No. 4 from 1959-1962. Harvick also is the all-time leader in the No. 29 car with 23 wins.
9. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 9)
Truex has won 12 of the 20 races won by the No. 19 car. Next best is Carl Edwards with five. Truex also has the most wins of anyone in the No. 78 with 17.
10. Joey Logano (LW: 10)
Both Logano and Fireball Roberts have won 30 races in the No. 22 car, and trying to rank one above the other would be tough considering their significant success and different eras. Bobby Allison won 17 in the No. 22.
On the verge: Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Austin Cindric, Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass, and sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass.
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