By getting back to victory lane for the first time in more than a year, Ryan Blaney locked himself in the round of 8 of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. How did his 0.007-second victory affect the NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings?
Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney has just three career NASCAR Cup Series victories to his name, including one in each of the last three seasons.
But two of these victories have come in the playoffs, and the most recent of these two victories came in Sunday’s/Monday’s 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway to lock him into the round of 8 of the four-round, 10-race playoffs for the second time in the last four seasons.
How did Blaney’s victory in this 188-lap race around the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) high-banked Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama affect the NASCAR Cup Series Power Rankings?
These NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings were calculated using a formula, which you can see here. But before they are revealed, take a look below at some of the highlights of this edition of these rankings.
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NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings Analysis
As a whole, these formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings didn’t change much as a result of Ryan Blaney’s victory. In fact, five of the drivers ranked in the top six entering the 1000Bulbs.com 500 stayed in the top six, and in their exact same positions.
All 12 of the remaining playoff drivers experienced some kind of issue in this race, so nobody aside of Blaney, whose move up the power rankings was tied for the second biggest among all drivers, really stood out.
There is still one driver who is ranked in the top eight despite the fact that he does not currently sit ahead of the round of 8 cut line with only the race at Kansas Speedway remaining on the round of 12 schedule.
This driver, like Blaney, made a move up the power rankings that was tied for the second biggest among all drivers, and he did so after effectively going on damage control after his involvement in a multi-car crash toward the end of stage two. He ended up recording the third best finish among the 12 playoff drivers at Talladega Superspeedway.