NASCAR Power Rankings: William Byron rockets to No. 1 after Martinsville

The NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings have a new leader for the third week in a row and with good reason.

William Byron wheeled the No. 24 Chevrolet to his second win of the season (and second in four weeks) Saturday night at Martinsville Speedway.

No one fell out of the rankings this week, but Christopher Bell and Kevin Harvick are pounding on the door ready to pounce if those in the bottom half of the standings falter.

1. William Byron (Last week: No. 5) As the only repeat winner of the Next Gen era, no driver in the series wields more power right now than Lord Byron. The No. 24 Chevrolet’s recent top-tier presence has been no fluke. Since crashing out in the first two races of the season, Byron has averaged a 6.7 finish in the past six races with two wins, four top fives and no finish worse than 18th (Phoenix). By leading 445 laps in the last four races, including a race-high 212 at Martinsville, Byron is also the series’ leader in laps led and sits third in average running position (10.43). The dirt at Bristol next week provides a different challenge, but Byron appears here to stay.

2. Ryan Blaney (Last week: No. 1) Blaney falls a spot this week but remains a top threat despite the goose egg in his win column. By virtue of leading five laps at Martinsville, the No. 12 Ford has reached the top of the leaderboard in every race this year and remains the series’ best in average running position (8.89). Blaney still hasn’t finished better than fourth this season, but he’s also notched three top 10s in his last four starts, the exception being Atlanta where he was inside the top five at the white flag but finished 17th.

3. Ross Chastain (Last week: No. 2) Somehow, someway, Chastain willed the No. 1 Chevrolet to a