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NBC Sports Power Rankings: Kevin Harvick soars to No. 1 entering playoffs

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Dave Burns and Nate Ryan look back on the Brickyard 400 and look ahead to the first playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Kevin Harvick’s win in the Brickyard 400 didn’t just give him momentum going into the Cup playoffs, it also rocketed him to the top of this week’s Power Rankings with his unanimous selection by the NBC Sports’ NASCAR writers.

Harvick, who was tied for fourth last week, vaults over Kyle Busch (drops to third this week) and Kyle Larson (plummets to seventh), who were tied for No. 1 last week.

Also of note, Joey Logano finds himself back in the top 10 after falling out last week. Also a surprise entry in this week’s top 10 is Bubba Wallace (ninth). But of course, finishing third at Indianapolis will do that for a guy like Bubba.

Here is how this week’s rankings look:

1. Kevin Harvick (40 points): Starts the year winless in 19 races and now has won three of the last seven races. Nice way to head into the playoffs. He is now a threat to win at every speedway in playoffs. Last week: tied for fourth.

2. Denny Hamlin (34 points): Finished sixth in a backup car at Indy; has just one finish worse than sixth in the last eight races (29th at Darlington), plus two wins in that stretch. He’s still red-hot. Last week: tied for fourth.

3. Kyle Busch (26 points): Don’t be bothered that he is on a 12-race winless streak. He has five top-five finishes and eight top-10 results during his drought. Last week: tied for first.

4. Clint Bowyer (20 points): Starting to put together more solid races. His fifth-place finish at Indy gave him three consecutive top 10s entering the playoffs. If he can get past the first round, could become a real dark horse. Last week: tied for eighth.

5. Joey Logano (19 points): Runner-up finish broke a string of five finishes outside the top 10 for the reigning series champion. Was Indy a sign of things to come? Last week: Unranked.

6. Ryan Blaney (17 points): Five top-10 finishes in the last seven races . Needs to fix execution problems but still strong. Last week: Unranked.

7. Kyle Larson (14 points): Yes, he finished 33rd at Indy but again showed speed and was on pace to score his sixth consecutive top-10 finish. This could be a team to watch in the playoffs. Last week: tied for first.

8. Chase Elliott (13 points): With Jimmie Johnson not in the playoffs, Elliott becomes the torch bearer for Hendrick Motorsports. Is he up to the task? Also, ninth-place finish at Indy gives him four top fives in the last five races. Last week: Unranked.

9. Bubba Wallace (9 points): Earned second career top five and delivered Richard Petty his first Brickyard 400 top five as an owner. Last week: Unranked.

10. Ryan Newman (8 points): He has had to grind things out all season so it only made sense he would have to do the same thing Sunday at Indy to secure the final playoff spot. If he keeps that kind of thing up, has a good chance to reach second round. Last week: Unranked.

Others receiving votes: William Byron (7 points), Brad Keselowski (6 points), Chris Buescher (4 points), Martin Truex Jr. (2 points), Paul Menard (1 point).