Kevin Harvick
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When he began to go longer and longer without visiting Victory Lane following his victory at Fontana in February, there was a temptation for many to wonder where Kyle Larson had gone. All this time, though, he didn't go anywhere. And now, the champ is here.

Coming in with just one victory in 2022 after dominating the 2021 season with 10 wins and the series title, Larson had just the weekend he needed at Watkins Glen to reaffirm his standing as a threat for the championship. In Saturday's Xfinity Series race, Larson capitalized on late-race contact between William Byron and Ty Gibbs to score the win. Then, the final restart of Sunday's Cup race saw him get into Turn 1 hot, which led to him muscling teammate Chase Elliott wide and allowing Larson to take the lead and drive away for his second win of the year.

While Elliott retains the top spot in the CBS Sports NASCAR Power Rankings by virtue of him winning the regular season championship, Kyle Larson is now second in the power rankings after his victory, which also improved him to second in the regular season points standings. Larson gained five spots in the power rankings, making him the biggest mover among a group that also includes Joey Logano (+4), Michael McDowell (+4), Daniel Suarez (+3) and Chris Buescher (+3).

Unfortunately, upward mobility for some came with downward mobility for others. William Byron was the biggest loser with five spots lost, with other fallers including Kyle Busch (-4), Bubba Wallace (-4) and Brad Keselowski (-4).

Here's a look at our updated rankings in their entirety:

RankDriverChangeComment
1Chase Elliott--The season Chase Elliott is having is an illustration of why a playoff format is in place in NASCAR. His points lead is more than two full races' worth, and he'd likely be cruising toward a second championship under the old Winston Cup-style championship format.
2Kyle Larson
Kyle Larson's first win of the year came in the second race of the season. His second came in the second to last of the regular season. Is there such a thing as secondary bookends?
3Christopher Bell--Growing up racing sprints and midgets, Christopher Bell got used to turning right to turn left. In stock cars, he's blossomed into a very good road racer: He finished eighth at The Glen.
4Kevin Harvick
A residual aftereffect of Kevin Harvick's two wins is that he can now race at Daytona stress-free. Harvick has three career wins on superspeedways but none since 2010.
5Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin was able to pick up some stage points with a fifth-place run in Stage 1 at Watkins Glen. It was a quiet day for Hamlin otherwise, as he wound up in 20th.
6Joey Logano
Joey Logano is starting to round into form just as the playoffs are coming. After leading over half the race at Richmond last week, Logano won Stage 2 and went on to finish third at The Glen.
7Ross Chastain
Don't hit the panic button just yet, but Ross Chastain has really fallen off in the month of August. Sunday's 21st-place finish marked the fourth time in the last five races he's finished outside the top 20.
8Daniel Suarez
Daniel Suarez and crew chief Travis Mack continue to show they have the right touch on road courses. A fifth-place finish gave Suarez his third top five in five road course races this season.
9Ryan Blaney
After a 24th-place finish, Ryan Blaney is going to enter the regular season finale at Daytona somewhat off his back foot. That's a big change from a year ago, when he won at Michigan leading into that race.
10Martin Truex Jr.
The good news for Martin Truex Jr. is that he didn't lose ground to Ryan Blaney, and in fact he made up a point on the cutoff line. It won't be easy, but Truex can theoretically still make the playoffs by out-pointing Blaney next week at Daytona.
11Chris Buescher
With Chris Buescher on a sudden hot streak, remember what he did at Daytona last year: Buescher led late and crossed the finish line second before being disqualified for failing post-race tech.
12Tyler Reddick
Tyler Reddick had an up and down day at Watkins Glen, but it ended the way it needed to. Reddick led two laps and then recovered from a mid-race spin to finish seventh.
13Kyle Busch
Something about the way Kyle Busch's season has devolved concurrent to his contract situation just feels off. A spin and 32nd-place finish at Watkins Glen won't help matters one bit.
14Austin Cindric
One might have thought before the season started that Austin Cindric's first win might come on a road course. Instead, Cindric now makes his first trip back to Daytona as a champion of the Daytona 500.
15Erik Jones
With another top 10 at Watkins Glen, Erik Jones is one more away from becoming the first Petty No. 43 driver to score double-digit top 10s in a single season since AJ Allmendinger did it in 2011. A season fit for The King.
16Bubba Wallace
Even with a fifth-place run at Indianapolis, Bubba Wallace's bugaboo continues to be road course racing. Wallace failed to finish at Watkins Glen after suffering a suspension failure just shy of the finish.
17Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell continues to put together not just great finishes, but complete races as well. McDowell had the strongest car all day of anyone not driving a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
18Alex Bowman
Top-15 finishes aren't going to get Alex Bowman through multiple rounds of the playoffs. But there's worse results a driver can have, and Bowman has quietly been racking up solid finishes since a rough patch in July.
19Justin Haley
Justin Haley might end up being the most dangerous driver in the field next Saturday night. Haley is an exceptional superspeedway racer, and he's won the summer Xfinity Series race at Daytona twice in the last three years.
20William Byron
William Byron could really use the post-Daytona points reset that's coming up. Results continue to not be there for him, as he whimpered to 22nd at Watkins Glen.
21Austin Dillon
Credit to Austin Dillon for zigging where others may zag. Crew chief Justin Alexander ran an alternate pit strategy at Watkins Glen, and it allowed Dillon to lead six laps and at least be in the mix late in the race.
22Brad Keselowski
Brad Keselowski's opportunity has come. In February, he was one good push away from potentially winning the Daytona 500. If he gets back to the front and finishes the job next week, he could end up stealing a playoff spot.
23Chase Briscoe
Races keep failing to break Chase Briscoe's way. Nothing went right for him after winning Stage 1, as he was seldom heard from and finished 25th.
24Cole Custer
The last time NASCAR raced in the rain, Cole Custer wound up driving under another car and catching on fire. This time was much better: Custer led seven laps on an alternate strategy and finished 11th.
25Ty Dillon
Ty Dillon decided that discretion was the better part of valor, as he backed out of three-wide while racing for third to avoid an issue in the bus stop. That sort of patience paid off with a 16th-place finish.
26Aric Almirola
With the race's title sponsor on his hood, Aric Almirola was able to bowl a strike in the esses on Friday. That was pretty much the highlight of his weekend, as he struggled all day and finished 29th.
27Todd Gilliland
What might have been for Todd Gilliland. He led five laps early in the race and looked comfortable and in-command out front when he broke an axle, relegating him from the lead to the garage area.
28Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Since his May hot streak evaporated, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has had just two top-15 finishes from June onward. They've both come on road courses.
29Corey LaJoie
Corey LaJoie and crew chief Ryan Sparks weren't afraid to run alternate strategies, and the one employed late in the race allowed LaJoie to run up inside the top five. It didn't net him a better finish, however, as he came home 27th.
30Harrison Burton
If there's an unheralded wild card going into Daytona next week, it may very well be Harrison Burton. Burton looked strong in the Daytona 500, leading laps and running up front before ending up on his roof due to a bad bump draft from behind.