NASCAR Power Rankings: Joey Logano jumps to the front

After a crazy rollercoaster of a racing season, the Power Rankings have concluded that a driver and team on top of the world one week can be lost in another hemisphere the next week.

The term “momentum” seems to have faded from the NASCAR Cup Series lexicon.

The latest to jump to the top of the rankings is Joey Logano, who won last Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a late-race surge (and fresher tires). Logano thus became the first driver locked into a Championship Four spot in Phoenix Nov. 6, and he also advanced four spots in the NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings to first.

Joining Chase Elliott (five) and Tyler Reddick (three), Logano is in high-flying company as one of only three drivers with at least three wins this year. And he scored one at exactly the right time with a championship-finale spot on the line.

1. Joey Logano (No. 5 last week) — Logano punches his ticket to the Phoenix championship run and his pursuit of a second title.

2. Denny Hamlin (No. 2 last week) — Hamlin finished a solid fifth at Las Vegas and is plus-6 points to the cutline entering Homestead-Miami Speedway. He has had six top 10s in the past seven races.

3. Chase Elliott (No. 1 last week) — Elliott was mysteriously absent from the jousting at the front Sunday at Las Vegas and finished 21st with no laps led.

4. Ross Chastain (No. 9 last week) — Chastain lost Sunday’s race to a surging Joey Logano but showed power, leading a race-high 68 laps.

5. Chase Briscoe (No. 6 last week) — Briscoe continues to defy the doubters. He finished fourth at Las Vegas to extend his streak of top-10 runs to four.

6. Ryan Blaney (No. 3 last week) — Blaney ran into a series of issues Sunday (including his anger at other drivers) and slumped to a