Throughout its history, NASCAR's general tendency had been to respect the sanctity of Easter Sunday. While it had held some Cup races on Easter when circumstances forced their hand, the expectation when the Cup Series schedule was released each year was that Easter would be blotted out as the first designated off weekend of the year.
That changed this year, as NASCAR sought to capitalize on a unique event by presenting the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway to a primetime Easter evening audience. While NASCAR felt their potential television audience was a fair tradeoff -- and were proven right when the race's television numbers were revealed Tuesday -- I was not so inclined as to also forego an Easter break.
After focusing on my Easter devotions and finishing Lent, I sought to deepen my understanding of my own Catholic understanding which this year entailed my sitting down and reading the Four Gospels. I took a step back and watched Bristol just as a fan while spending time with my family back home. And so, this week's Power Rankings had to wait a little bit.
Now with Easter past us, the Power Rankings are back and very much reflective of what occurred on the final lap at Bristol. After being two of the three central characters in a finish that will be talked about for years to come, both race winner Kyle Busch and runner-up Tyler Reddick headlined the biggest movers in the Power Rankings as they gained five spots apiece. Joey Logano enjoyed a big boost from his third-place finish, as he also gained five spots this week.
Unfortunately, upward mobility throughout the top 15 for several drivers meant that two veterans were punished rather harshly for poor results: Martin Truex Jr. was the biggest loser by plummeting eight spots, and Kevin Harvick was just behind him with seven spots lost.
Here's a look at our updated rankings in their entirety:
| Rank | Driver | Change | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Blaney | -- | Ryan Blaney put his family's dirt racing pedigree to great use at Bristol, channeling Grandpa Lou, father Dave, and uncle Dale to finish fifth. Blaney remains three points out of the points lead, but continues to lead these power rankings. | |
| 2 | Ross Chastain | -- | Ross Chastain really needed the rain to wash away the rest of the race at the end of Stage 2. If rain had ended the race, Chastain would have won the race with a dying motor. Instead, the race resumed and Chastain's engine went kaput, relegating him to 33rd. | |
| 3 | Chase Briscoe | It was obvious fairly early into his move that Chase Briscoe's slidejob for the win wasn't going to stick. Still, Briscoe led 59 laps and earned style points for both recovering from a spin early and for sending it at the end. | ||
| 4 | Chase Elliott | -- | After multiple self-spins in practice, it looked as though Chase Elliott might be in for a long weekend at Bristol. Instead, he finished eighth, allowing him to maintain the Cup Series points lead. | |
| 5 | Tyler Reddick | For a second, it looked like Tyler Reddick might win his first race the exact same way David Pearson famously won the 1976 Daytona 500. While he wasn't able to get up to speed in time to make it across the line first, Reddick served notice that he should be NASCAR's next first-time winner. | ||
| 6 | William Byron | Bristol Dirt sullied a month-long hot streak for William Byron. Byron spent most of Sunday mid-pack and finished 18th, his worst run since scoring the same finish at Phoenix. | ||
| 7 | Joey Logano | Pay close attention to Joey Logano's recent results, because he's scored two-straight top three finishes at Martinsville and at Bristol. That bodes well entering Talladega, where Logano has won three times. | ||
| 8 | Kyle Busch | If you haven't started thinking about Kyle Busch's legacy, consider this: There are only nine drivers in NASCAR Cup Series history who have 60 or more wins. After Bristol, Busch is now one of them. | ||
| 9 | Alex Bowman | It's easy to self-spin on dirt, and Alex Bowman did just that early on at Bristol. But it's also fairly easy to recover from such spins, as Bowman did by coming all the way back to finish sixth. | ||
| 10 | Christopher Bell | It was a surprise that Christopher Bell didn't lead any laps at Bristol, as he qualified second, stalked the leader on numerous occasions, and clearly had a very fast car. Bell's ascension continues after a rough start to 2022. | ||
| 11 | Daniel Suarez | Tyler Reddick losing Bristol in a heartbreaker ended up overshadowing Daniel Suarez also showing strength in looking for his first victory. Suarez led over 50 laps at Bristol for the second year in a row, banking on rain to end the race past halfway before he eventually finished 12th. | ||
| 12 | Austin Dillon | The winner of the first-ever Truck Series race on dirt at Eldora in 2013, Austin Dillon was having another strong run until his motor quit mid-race going down the front straightaway. Dillon was lucky not to take a direct hit as he slowed in front of traffic, but he was left to lament a 31st place finish. | ||
| 13 | Kyle Larson | Early on in Sunday's race, Kyle Larson was right at home at the front and on dirt. Larson used his dirt pedigree to lead 27 laps and win Stage 1 on his way to finishing fourth. | ||
| 14 | Martin Truex Jr. | Circumstances ruined another opportunity for Martin Truex to get a good finish, as he was involved in a pair of accidents and finished 21st. That makes for two-straight finishes outside the top 20 and takes the wind out of his sails after a strong outing at Richmond. | ||
| 15 | Kevin Harvick | A crash on the backstretch meant the end of Kevin Harvick's day in the dirt, as he made his exit with much sound and fury about the way the track was prepared. Harvick's 34th place finish was his worst of the season and marked his second DNF. | ||
| 16 | Kurt Busch | While it hasn't been his fault -- two accidents not of his own making and a mechanical failure -- this has been a rough four-race stretch for Kurt Busch. Outside of a sixth-place at Martinsville, Busch has three finishes outside of the top 30. | ||
| 17 | Brad Keselowski | Brad Keselowski finished 11th at Bristol, marking his best finish since the Daytona 500. Keselowski now has four top 15s in the last five races entering the spring race at Talladega, which he won last year. | ||
| 18 | Chris Buescher | There's consistent, and then there's Chris Buescher. Buescher's 15th place finish at Bristol marked the third race in a row that he's earned the exact same result. | ||
| 19 | Aric Almirola | Aric Almirola crashed out of the inaugural Bristol Dirt race in 2021, then finished 23rd in the race this year. If Almirola ends up dabbling in racing after his retirement from Cup, don't expect dirt to be a part of his schedule. | ||
| 20 | Austin Cindric | For someone who didn't grow up racing on dirt, Austin Cindric is hardly bad at it. After finishing 10th in Trucks at Eldora back in 2017, Cindric earned a solid 16th-place finish in his first Cup race on dirt. | ||
| 21 | Erik Jones | Erik Jones got the honor of driving the Tide Ride around Bristol, but it ended up both dirty and beat up at the checkered flag. Jones suffered nose damage, went for a spin, and ended up finishing 24th. | ||
| 22 | Ty Dillon | Ty Dillon had an excellent weekend at Bristol, starting seventh and finishing 10th to score his first top 10 of 2022, and his first since a career-best third place at Talladega in the fall of 2020. | ||
| 23 | Cole Custer | Cole Custer was once again fast on Saturday and earned his first career pole, but he looked snakebit again when overheating issues forced him to pit road early. But this time, Custer didn't let a fast car be for naught, recovering to finish 13th -- his best run since Fontana in February. | ||
| 24 | Justin Haley | After two disappointing outings at Richmond and Martinsville, Justin Haley got back on track with a 14th place run at Bristol. Very quietly, Haley has now earned five finishes of 17th or better in nine races so far this year. | ||
| 25 | Bubba Wallace | Call him Bad Luck Bubba: Wallace used strategy to gain track position and looked primed for a top 15 run, but an overheating issue forced him to pit road late in the race and caused him to lose multiple laps. Fortunately for Wallace, Talladega -- his home track and the site of his first Cup win -- is up next. | ||
| 26 | Denny Hamlin | There's no sugarcoating it -- with the exception of his Richmond win, it's been an awful first nine races of 2022 for Denny Hamlin, whose misery continued at Bristol with a 35th place finish after engine failure. | ||
| 27 | Michael McDowell | With a ninth-place finish at Bristol, Michael McDowell earned his first top 10 finish since the Daytona 500. That's exactly the kind of momentum boost he can capitalize on at Talladega, where he finished third in the spring of last year. | ||
| 28 | Todd Gilliland | Todd Gilliland was fast in practice at Bristol, and then backed it up come race time by finishing 17th. After cycling through several rookie drivers over the past few seasons, it looks like Front Row Motorsports has hit on something by putting Gilliland in their No. 38. | ||
| 29 | Harrison Burton | Harrison Burton earned a 20th place finish at Bristol, and he now makes his way to Talladega to commemorate the first anniversary of his first Cup start. Burton impressed for Gaunt Brothers Racing last spring at Talladega, running up front late in the going before finishing 20th. | ||
| 30 | Corey LaJoie | After a week out of the picture, Corey LaJoie makes his way back into the Power Rankings after a 19th place run at Bristol. LaJoie getting back in the top 20 likely correlated with getting crew chief Ryan Sparks back, as he returned from a four-race suspension levied after the No. 7 lost a wheel at Phoenix. |
