It is enough to keep Hamlin atop the NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings heading into the Easter break this weekend.
This week’s rankings features one new driver in the top 10. Daniel Suarez climbs into the rankings for the first time this season after his fourth-place finish Monday.
Power Rankings after Bristol
1. Denny Hamlin (Last week: No. 1) — While the final restart didn’t go his way at Bristol, he finished third. Hamlin is the only driver in the series to score six top-five finishes in the first seven races. His average finish this year is 4.7.
2. William Byron (Last week: No. 4) — Scored a career-high fifth consecutive top-10 finish Monday at Bristol. He placed sixth. Since starting the season with finishes of 26th and 33rd, he has not placed worse than eighth.
3. Martin Truex Jr. (Last week: No. 3) — He won a stage and led 126 laps at Bristol (after winning the Truck race earlier in the day) before a tire issue ruined his finish and he placed 19th. That snapped his streak of four consecutive top 10s.
4. Kyle Larson (Last week: No. 2) — Car was damaged less than a quarter of the way into the Bristol Cup race when Christopher Bell spun and Larson couldn’t avoid the car. Larson’s 29th-place finish snapped a streak of four consecutive top-10 finishes, including a win.
5. Joey Logano (Last week: No. 7) — Despite limited dirt experience, he led the final 61 laps to win at Bristol. He’s won one race, finished runner-up twice and was leading on the last lap of the Daytona 500 when contact with teammate Brad Keselowski wrecked both.
6. Ryan Blaney (Last week: No. 5) — Placed eighth to earn his fourth consecutive top-10 finish, which includes a win.
7. Brad Keselowski (Last week: No. 8) — Placed 11th at Bristol, giving him three finishes of 11th or better in the last four races.
8. Kevin Harvick (Last week: No. 6) — Finished 15th at Bristol. Has two top 10s in the last four races and two finishes of 15th or worse in that span.
9. Daniel Suarez (Last week: Unranked) — Led a career-high 58 laps, finished second in stage 2 and placed fourth at the end to give Trackhouse Racing its best finish.
10. Kyle Busch (Last week: No. 9) — Overheating issues early forced him to pit under green and fall off the lead lap. He got back on the lead lap and placed 17th.
Dropped out: Austin Dillon (No. 10)
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Power Rankings: Another strong run keeps Denny Hamlin No. 1 originally appeared on NBCSports.com