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NASCAR Power Rankings: Ross Chastain rides wall into first place

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Marty Snider, Steve Letarte and Nate Ryan offer their reactions to Ross Chastain’s shocking, inimitable move at the end of the race in Martinsville to make the Championship 4 in Phoenix.

He’s No. 1 in your program, has No. 1 on his car, is one of four Cup championship finalists and, after Sunday’s remarkable finish, is No. 1 in last-lap strategy.

And Ross Chastain now is No. 1 in the NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings.

Chastain’s last-lap, pell-mell run to glory at Martinsville put him in the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway and added to his history of aggressive behavior.

NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings

1. Ross Chastain (No. 2 last week) -- No one else could be in this spot this week. Chastain amazed practically everyone, including many of his competitors, with his final-lap charge Sunday at Martinsville. The T-shirts should be flying out of Trackhouse Racing this week. (And, by the way, don’t try that move in your driveway).

MORE: NASCAR not likely to bar Ross Chastain move at Phoenix

2. Christopher Bell (No. 6 last week) -- Bell jumps four spots in the rankings after winning on a must-win Sunday at Martinsville. Now a winner three times this season, Bell is moving into elite-driver status.

3. Joey Logano (No. 3 last week) -- Logano is in the final four with a shot at a second title. He was seventh Sunday at Martinsville.

4. Chase Elliott (No. 4 last week) -- Elliott led 54 laps at Martinsville and rides into Phoenix with a solid shot at his second championship.

5. Kyle Larson (No. 5 last week) -- Larson finished second Sunday and was almost unnoticed in the frenzy surrounding Ross Chastain’s wild last lap.

6. Denny Hamlin (No. 1 last week) -- Hamlin will end another year Sunday without a Cup championship, having lost a Championship 4 spot to Chastain.

7. Ryan Blaney (No. 7 last week) -- Blaney finished a strong third at Martinsville but couldn’t score the win and a spot in the championship group. His season will be one of “almosts”.

8. William Byron (No. 9 last week) -- Byron failed to make the final four Sunday. His season has been a mix of ups and downs.

9. Chase Briscoe (No. 8 last week) -- Briscoe’s team made the ultimate no-tire-change gamble late in Sunday’s race, as he desperately searched for a win that would advance him into the Championship 4. The older tires didn’t last, and Briscoe came home ninth.

10. Daniel Suarez (unranked last week) -- Suarez finished 12th Sunday. What would have happened if he had gotten in the draft of teammate Ross Chastain?

Dropped out: Martin Truex Jr. (No. 10 last week).

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