NASCAR Power Rankings: William Byron rises to No. 1 after challenging for the win late at Charlotte Roval

Kim O'Reilly, CBS Sports

With a second-place finish at the Charlotte Roval, after hounding AJ Allmendinger for the lead and the win over the course of the final laps, William Byron demonstrated to the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series field that he has become a threat to win anywhere, on any weekend, at any time. And what's coming next should really have the rest of the field concerned.

Now entering the Round of 8 atop the playoff standings, every single upcoming track the rest of the season -- Las Vegas, Homestead-Miami, Martinsville and Phoenix -- is a place where William Byron has won in the past. In fact, his wins at Las Vegas and Phoenix both came earlier this spring, when he won back-to-back races at one track that can get him into the Championship 4, and another at the host track for the Cup Series Championship Race.

Byron has the inside track to becoming the first driver to make it into the Championship 4, and that coupled with his Roval performance has earned him the top spot in this week's CBS Sports NASCAR Power Rankings. Byron takes over from Denny Hamlin, who took a small tumble down two spots after a crash and subsequent DNF at the Roval despite his advancing to the Round of 8 as well.

Here's a look at our updated Power Rankings:

Rank	Driver	Change	Comment
1	William Byron		The No. 24 has been such a mainstay in NASCAR for so long that it's sort of hard to realize that it's been 22 years since its driver last hoisted the Cup Series crown. The No. 24 Chevrolet hasn't been the championship-winning car since Jeff Gordon's fourth and final title back in 2001.
2	Kyle Larson		Just like William Byron, Kyle Larson has wins at all tracks remaining on the Cup Series schedule. And don't forget, Larson was in position to win at Phoenix in March before a late-race caution -- If he gets back there in the Championship 4, he might not miss this time.
3	Denny Hamlin		The hope for Denny Hamlin is that the crash that took him out at the Roval doesn't serve as some momentum-sapping force. Hamlin's Championship 4 chances are as good as anyone's, but another issue next week can easily put the odds and the narrative against Hamlin.
4	Chris Buescher	--	Having advanced to the Round of 8, Chris Buescher is now in position to earn the best finish for an RFK Racing driver in the championship standings in over 10 years. None have been better than Carl Edwards (ninth) in 2014, and Buescher will try to finish the highest of anyone since Greg Biffle finished fifth back in 2012.
5	Tyler Reddick		Of all the racetracks in the Round of 8, everyone should have Homestead in a big, red circle: If Tyler Reddick can run the wall there and get to the front, he has a golden opportunity there to make the Championship 4 in what could be construed as a bit of an upset.
6	Christopher Bell		Christopher Bell spared everyone the drama this time and easily advanced to the Round of 8 by virtue of points. Hopefully for him, he can make the Championship 4 for the second year in a row just as easily.
7	Ryan Blaney		If he wants to shake the narrative that he's never advanced to the Championship 4 before, Ryan Blaney is going to have to overcome the biggest points deficit of any driver in the Round of 8. Blaney begins the next round 10 points below the cut line.
8	Chase Elliott		Chase Elliott continues to be the true Wild Card of all non-playoff drivers, as he continues to have a championship of his own to pursue. The No. 9 team made the Round of 8 in the Owner's Championship, meaning that Elliott has no obligation to yield to any playoff drivers moving forward.
9	Bubba Wallace		Though his playoff run ends in the Round of 12, it's been a very successful Coming of Age season for Bubba Wallace. There should be no more question about his standing as a top driver in NASCAR -- He is, and he's earned it.
10	Alex Bowman		Consistency has been a hallmark of Alex Bowman's career since getting tabbed to drive full-time for Hendrick Motorsports in 2018. A top 10 at the Charlotte Roval gave him double-digit top 10s on the season for the sixth year in a row.
11	Ross Chastain		One of the funniest posts of the week on Twitter was someone on iRacing using the curbs of the Charlotte Roval to jump over the wall between turns one and eight. Naturally after what happened at Martinsville, a lot of the "try it in real life!" suggestions went Ross Chastain's way.
12	Kevin Harvick		Kevin Harvick finished eighth the first time he raced at Las Vegas in 2001, a nice finish in just his second career start taking over for the late Dale Earnhardt. Little did anyone know at the time, but a week later in Atlanta would launch Harvick's legend and legacy to where it is now in the twilight of his career.
13	Joey Logano		A fifth-place finish at the Roval gave Joey Logano 10 top five finishes on the season, a mark which is only one off from his total last year when he won the Cup championship. Unfortunately, the result of Logano's season this year couldn't be any more different after his elimination in the Round of 16.
14	Kyle Busch		If Texas hadn't been a complete disaster and Talladega hadn't been a complete letdown too, a third place finish at the Roval probably would have been good enough to move Kyle Busch on to the Round of 8. Instead, Driver 8 is eliminated from the playoffs and Richard Childress Racing's Cup title drought will now extend to 30 years.
15	Brad Keselowski		With Brad Keselowski now eliminated from the playoffs, it's time for the focus to turn to whether or not he can end his winless streak or if he goes winless for the second year in a row. For what it's worth, Keselowski has never gone multiple seasons without a win since moving to Cup full-time in 2010.
16	Daniel Suarez		Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug: Daniel Suarez pinballed Austin Cindric and Bubba Wallace while racing near the top 10 at the Roval, and a couple laps later got spun and put in the wall by Christopher Bell.
17	AJ Allmendinger		With his Roval win coupled with his previous Cup victories at Watkins Glen and Indianapolis, AJ Allmendinger has entered some very select company: He's the first driver since Dan Gurney to earn all three of his first three Cup wins on road courses.
18	Corey LaJoie	--	Some harsh words were levied towards Corey LaJoie by Josh Bilicki, who told Frontstretch.com post-race that LaJoie gave him a "half-ass" apology for spinning him during the race. Interestingly, LaJoie and Bilicki were teammates at Spire in 2022.
19	Martin Truex Jr.	--	After finishing 20th at the Roval, Martin Truex Jr. was able to advance to the Round of 8 thanks mostly to his surplus of playoff points from the regular season. Truex hasn't shown regular season champion form in the slightest, as he hasn't had a single top 15 finish since Watkins Glen.
20	Ryan Preece		If Ryan Preece and his team can keep this up the rest of the year, they're going to carry some nice momentum into the 2024 season. Preece's 11th place finish at the Roval marked his third top 12 finish in the last four races.
21	Ty Gibbs		A fourth-place finish at the Roval marked a new career-best for Ty Gibbs, who now has four top five finishes in his rookie season. That's the most top fives for a Cup rookie since Erik Jones had five back in 2017.
22	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.		There was nothing funny about Ricky Stenhouse Jr. having to bail out of his Totino's Pizza Rolls Chevrolet after it burst into billowing smoke and flames at the Roval. But I will admit that the "That still isn't as hot as the inside of a Totino's Pizza Rolls" jokes on Twitter were quite good.
23	Michael McDowell		No one would have blamed Michael McDowell had he just parked it after he had power steering issues and then had the front end of his car caved in in a crash. But McDowell toughed it out and was running at the finish in 32nd.
24	Erik Jones		Erik Jones' four DNFs this season have come in clusters. After failing to finish due to crashes in the Daytona 500 and at Las Vegas, Jones has now crashed out of two of the last three races at Texas and the Charlotte Roval.
25	Todd Gilliland		In his final start behind the wheel of the Rick Ware Racing No. 51, Todd Gilliland gave his less-familiar machine quite a ride on his way to finishing 23rd. He'll now climb back behind the wheel of the Front Row No. 38, and he'll stay there the rest of the year and into 2024.
26	Aric Almirola		Aric Almirola made his Cup Series debut at Las Vegas back in 2007, where the then-23 year old drove a fourth car for Joe Gibbs Racing. Years later and at 39 years old, Almirola returns to Vegas as he potentially makes the final starts of his Cup career.
27	Justin Haley		I guess it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that Kaulig Racing's strength as a Cup Series program is on road courses: If Justin Haley had been able to hold off Shane Van Gisbergen at Chicago, Kaulig would have won two out of the six road races this season.
28	Austin Cindric		My mistake! I forgot to put Austin Cindric back in the Power Rankings after he finished fifth at Talladega last week. Granted he did talk me out of getting him to do a post-race interview so I guess that makes us even.
29	Chase Briscoe		Chase Briscoe was a non-factor at the Charlotte Roval, qualifying 30th and never really making his presence felt on his way to 28th. That's happened far too often in 2023, and it's part of the reason why Briscoe and his team are an afterthought just trying to get to the merciful end of the year.
30	Harrison Burton	--	Nice job by Harrison Burton improving on his starting position at the Roval, as he managed to finish 24th after starting 31st. Of all of the four races remaining, a trip to Martinsville is likely the one he's looking forward to the most.