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NBC Sports Power Rankings: Kevin Harvick still No. 1, Kyle Busch drops to 10th

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Despite being "way off" when the No. 4 initially unloaded at Las Vegas, Kevin Harvick says he is impressed with the speed his team will be able to take away from the opening playoff race.

Even though Martin Truex Jr. passed Kevin Harvick to win the NASCAR Cup playoff opener at Las Vegas, Harvick remains No. 1 in this week’s NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings.

Harvick was the top pick of NBC Sports’ NASCAR writers for the second straight week. Meanwhile, Truex and Brad Keselowski made the biggest jumps in this week’s rankings, both going from unranked last week to tied for No. 2 this week.

The biggest drop in the rankings came from Kyle Busch, who fell from third to 10th this week and Clint Bowyer, who dropped out after being fourth last week. Busch has fallen from first to 10th in the last three polls.

Here is how this week’s rankings look:

1. Kevin Harvick (39 points): Although he fell one point short of unanimous selection, “Happy” is certainly in a very happy place heading to Richmond. Last week: First.

2. Martin Truex Jr. (33 points): Never question this team’s playoff readiness. The way he won at Las Vegas could be an indicator of even greater success in the remaining nine playoff races, potentially culminating with a second Cup championship in three years. Last week: Unranked.

2. Brad Keselowski (33 points): Rebounded from poor start to, in his words, nearly “steal” a win. Third-place finish is his fourth top five in the last five races.Last week: Unranked.

4. Kyle Larson (28 points): Overlooked rebound for eighth-place finish with a top-three car after pit penalty. Is peaking at the right time: Vegas marked his sixth top 10 in the last seven races.Last week: Seventh.

5. Chase Elliott (26 points):Scores back-to-back fourth-place finishes. Since his Watkins Glen win, he has only one finish outside the top 10. Last week: Eighth.

6. Joey Logano (13 points):Decent top 10 but made some moves he probably wants back. Still, ninth-place finish marks back-to-back top 10s for the first time since July. Last week: Fifth.

7. Ryan Blaney (12 points):Earned his first top five in five races, but his sixth top 10 in last eight races. Last week: Sixth.

8. Denny Hamlin (11 points): Car woes late at Las Vegas left him wondering what went wrong after 15th-place finish. No panic yet but a strong hometown Richmond run would help. Last week: Second.

9. William Byron (8 points): The playoff rookie was cool under fire at Las Vegas. Nice recovery from spin to finish seventh in first Cup playoff race. Last week: Unranked.

10. Kyle Busch (7 points): Hit wall, lost two laps, got back on the lead lap, ran into the back of a slower car, complained about drivers not on the lead lap. Yes, think that’s about how his playoff opener went. Oh well, he does have all those playoff points as the regular-season champ to fall back on. Last week: Third.

Others receiving votes: Ryan Newman (5 points), Chris Buescher (3 points), Alex Bowman (2 points).