NASCAR Power Rankings: Kyle Larson unseats William Byron at the top

Kyle Larson vaults to the top spot this week after his second-place finish Sunday at Dover Motor Speedway. He has shown the most consistent speed of any driver this year — he has six stage wins, four more than any other driver.

Larson is followed by the two three-time winners (William Byron and Denny Hamlin) and then Martin Truex Jr., who once again couldn't capitalize with one of the best cars on track.

As the series heads to Kansas, the third "traditional" 1.5-mile track of the season, we'll take a look at how these drivers did in their first two intermediates at Las Vegas and Texas and what they need to show at the next two at Kansas and Darlington (a 1.336-mile oval) over the next couple of weeks.

1. Kyle Larson (Last Week: 3)

Larson won Vegas by leading 181 laps and then finished 21st at Texas after leading 77 laps before a wheel came off his car under caution, putting him two laps down and forcing him to try to rally. It would be a surprise if the Hendrick driver is not a contender this weekend (he lost an epic battle with Denny Hamlin at Kansas a year ago) or next weekend (he won the most recent race at Darlington).

2. William Byron (LW: 1)

Byron finished 10th at Vegas and third at Texas. There's no reason to think he won't finish top-10 the next two weeks. He just needs to avoid days such as Sunday where he led 36 laps before a bad pit stop mired him in the middle of the field and he got caught up in a wreck.

3. Denny Hamlin (LW: 5)

Hamlin was eighth at Vegas and 30th at Texas (where he spun while battling for the lead). Hamlin has led laps every race this year, including 16 at Vegas and 37 at Texas. Even if he has hiccups the next couple of weeks, that wouldn't be a concern for this Joe Gibbs Racing