NASCAR Power Rankings: Chase Elliott on the rise after Dover win

A Monday matinee at Dover Motor Speedway saw Chase Elliott get back to victory lane for the first time since July 2021.

The two-day event also provided plenty of jockeying for positions both on the track and in the NBC Sports Power Rankings.

See how the field shakes out after a trip to the Monster Mile:

1. Ross Chastain (Last week: No. 1) Chastain backed up his second career win with another impressive run at Dover to retain the top spot in the rankings. The No. 1 Chevrolet, which carried the face of Trackhouse Racing co-owner Pitbull this weekend, led a career-high 86 laps and held off Martin Truex Jr. for third in a fierce battle that required some aggressive blocks from Chastain. He may have made a new enemy along the way, but Chastain now has six top-three finishes in 11 races.

2. Chase Elliott (Last week: No. 4) Welcome back to victory lane. Wins can quickly change a narrative, and Elliott’s seems to have done just that. Although the Dover win marks his second top-five finish of the year, Elliott has only three finishes outside the top 10 all year (26th — Auto Club; 11th — Phoenix; 14th — Richmond). The 2020 champion holds a 50-point lead over Ryan Blaney in the season standings.

3. Ryan Blaney (Last week: No. 2) Speaking of Blaney, Dover did not go the No. 12 team’s way. Blaney was one of only two drivers to stay out during a late caution in Stage 2 in a gamble by crew chief Jonathan Hassler to win the stage. The gamble paid off in the short term, but Blaney finished 26th and three laps down, marking Blaney’s worst finish since crashing out at Las Vegas where he finished 36th.

4. Kyle Busch (Last week: No. 5) For the first time since the Bristol Night Race in September 2020, Busch led over 100 laps Monday, totaling