NASCAR: Driver Rankings For The 2023 NOCO 400 at Martinsville Speedway

Crash NASCAR journalist Chad Smith goes through the field to hand out driver ratings for the NOCO 400 at Martinsville Speedway.
Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports at Martinsville
Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports at Martinsville

Kyle Larson: 9

The d⛄ecision to take two tires on their final pit stop paid off. Larson was fast enough, but he was far from the best car on track today.

Joey Logano: 9

It was an outstanding result for Logano, who started the race at the back of the field and was quickly do൲wn a lap to the leaders. Their gamble to not pit at all on the final sequence was the right call.

Martin Truex Jr: 9

Another strong run for 🐻Truex, who always performs well here. You can’t spell Martinsville w🀅ithout Martin.

Denny Hamlin: 9

ไMuch like his teammate, he was strong all day and one o🥃f the cars capable of winning the race.

Chase Briscoe: 8

Briscoe had the best finishing result of the SHR cars, which꧅ clearly had the best pace all weekend.

2023 Martinsville NOCO 400 Driver Ratings

Aric Almirola: 7

Opportunities were there for t🎃he taking, bu🍸t Almirola was unable to capitalize.

Ryan Blaney: 7

Considering where he started and how his afternoon went, a 7th place finish was far better than this team env🔯isioned.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr: 7

Much like Blaney, the late-race shuffle in the field certainly put th🔴em in a good spot.

Bubba Wallace: 8

Count Bubba as one of the drivers that was legitimately fast all day, b👍ut coul🍸dn’t overcome the gamblers late in the race.

Chase Elliott: 9

A top-ten finishไ after being out of the car for the last six weeks recovering from surgery is quite impressive.

Alex Bowman: 7

Another a💝verage finiꦇsh by the most average of drivers.

Austin Dillon: 6

There werಞe flashes of speed but it ju♎st never clicked for Dillon.

Ross Chastain: 6

Chastain couldn’t use the wall this time, but he still had a solid run throug💎h the fꦛield after starting in the back. It could have been much better had he qualified better on Saturday.

Chris Buescher: 6

Mos𒆙t of the afternoon went well, but he 𒉰faded late in the race.

Ryan Preece: 7

Preece qualified on pole and led the first 136 laps but his dom🏅ination ended there, as a speeding penalty on pit lane ruined his weekend. It was a kick in the gut, and one of those t🥂hings that will weigh heavy on his mind over the coming weeks.

Christopher Bell: 5

It was an odd weekend altogether for Bell,🦩 who many expected to be much better here.

Daniel Suarez: 5

He started on the front row and faded quickly. Another poor result for Suarez, who has been strug🌱gling this season.

Ty Gibbs: 5

Not his best effort,🌳 but ju𓂃st a mediocre run for the rookie.

Kevin Harvick: 8

He won the second s🌄tage and led a lot of laps, but a loose lug nut ruined his chances of winning.

2023 Martinsville NOCO 400 Driver Ratings

Kyle Busch: 6

Another pit road penalty cost hi൲m a good finish. Rinse and repeat.

Tyler Reddick: 7

A strong day turned south as the race progressed, but Reddick certainly had the speed to 🌠run up front.

William Byron: 7

Byron couldn’t catc☂h a break today, and his result w♛as a clear reflection of that.

Brad Keselowski: 6

It was a rough race for Keselowski, who was stuck in traffic all ♛af꧑ternoon.

AJ Allmendinger: 4

His name was never me🌼ntioned during the race, which🦋 is never a good thing.

Erik Jones: 3

The rough season for Legacy Motor Cl༺ub continued today, with two mo𒐪re poor finishes.

Austin Cindric: 3

It was a day♕ to forget for Cindric, who had nothing poꦇsitive to take away from this race.

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