NASCAR Power Rankings: Denny Hamlin entrenched at top with Clash win

chonprasit

NASCAR Cup Series

Updated Feb. 6, 2024 12:10 p.m. ET

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Bob Pockrass

FOX NASCAR Insider

Does the exhibition Clash mean anything for the rest of the season?

Well, it depends on the perspective:

—Joey Logano won the 2022 Clash and the Cup title.

—Martin Truex Jr. won the 2023 Clash and the Cup regular-season title.

—Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher didn’t make the 2022 Clash main event and won the qualifying races for the 2022 Daytona 500.

—Ricky Stenhouse Jr. didn’t make the 2023 Clash main event and won the Daytona 500.

So while using the Clash as a little bit of a factor in these power rankings, it wasn’t the biggest factor in looking ahead to Daytona.

Here we go with the Daytona 500 (Feb. 18, 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX) less than two weeks away:

1. Denny Hamlin (Last week: 1)

Hamlin was on top of the list last week and won the Clash, so he certainly wasn’t going to move off the No. 1 spot. He is starting the year with swagger, and that could be a dangerous thing. If his shoulder is hurting him from offseason surgery, it certainly isn’t impacting the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s ability to handle the car.

2. Ryan Blaney (LW: 3)

The defending Cup champion needed a provisional to make the field at the Clash (thanks at least in part to a decision to go with scuffed tires for qualifying). But once in the main event, the Team Penske driver was solid with a third-place finish.

3. Kyle Larson (LW: 2)

Larson finished fifth in the Clash — the same place he finished in 2022 and the same place he finished in 2023 — and then headed to Phoenix to test an IndyCar this week as he continues preparations for the Indianapolis 500. The year has already gotten extremely busy for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.

‘You know I beat your favorite driver again right?’ — Denny Hamlin on first place finish at the Clash

4. William Byron (LW: 5)

Byron finished 10th in the Clash and moved up a spot? Yes, he does, considering his ability at Daytona and the fact he won six races last year. While he is one spot below his Hendrick teammate on this ranking, don’t take that to mean he will have any worse of a season.

5. Kyle Busch (LW: 9)

Busch once again had an impressive Clash — he is the only driver to finish top-three in each of the Clash races at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Now the Richard Childress Racing driver looks ahead to Daytona — to see if he isn’t just leading after 500 miles (as he was last year under caution) but whenever the checkered flag falls.

6. Brad Keselowski (LW: 8)

Keselowski didn’t make the Clash main event in its first two years at the Coliseum, so just making it this year seemed to be a bit of an accomplishment for the RFK Racing driver/co-owner. He finished a respectable eighth, giving him some momentum going into Daytona.

7. Christopher Bell (LW: 4)

The driver without momentum going into Daytona is Bell, who failed to make the Clash field. It was a surprise that both Bell and Blaney struggled in the qualifying session and left Bell on the outside looking in becasue there was just one provisional from 2023 driver points. But Bell will easily put this behind him, as will his Joe Gibbs Racing team.

2024 Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum highlights

8. Ross Chastain (LW: 6)

Chastain didn’t make too many friends at the Clash, where he finished 15th after tangling with Michael McDowell and Tyler Reddick. That’s OK — he probably didn’t have too many friends to begin with considering his style. But at Daytona? Anyone with a fast car has friends. And his Trackhouse Racing car likely will be fast.

9. Ty Gibbs (LW: NR)

Gibbs led a race-high 84 laps at the Clash but ended up getting shuffled out of the lead and later spun, resulting in an 18th-place finish. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, entering his second full Cup season, won’t finish that low in many of his starts this year.

10. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 10)

Truex wasn’t great at the Clash as he finished ninth, but it was good enough not to spoil any thoughts that the JGR driver should have another solid season.

On the verge: Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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