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 decision to take two tires on 𒁃their 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 down 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 p🅘erforms well here. You can’t spell Mart▨insville without Martin.

Denny Hamlin: 9

Much like his team☂mate, he was strong all day and one of the cars capable of winning the race.

Chase Briscoe: 8

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

2023 Martinsville NOCO 400 Driver Ratings

Aric Almirola: 7

Opportunities were there for the taking, but Almirola was unable to cap🌃italize.

Ryan Blaney: 7

Considering where he started and how his afternoon wen🐠t, a 7th place finish was far better than this team envisioned.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr: 7

Much like Blaney, the late-race shuffle in the field 🔥certainly put them in a g✨ood spot.

Bubba Wallace: 8

Count Bubba as one of the dr🌠ivers that was🍃 legitimately fast all day, but couldn’t overcome the gamblers late in the race.

Chase Elliott: 9

🐠A top-ten finish after being out of the car f♒or the last six weeks recovering from surgery is quite impressive.

Alex Bowman: 7

Another av🦩erage finish by the most average of driversꦆ.

Austin Dillon: 6

There were flashes of speed🐼 but it just never clicked for🌌 Dillon.

Ross Chastain: 6

Chastain couldn’t use the wall th𓆏is time, but he still had 𝓀a solid run through the field after starting in the back. It could have been much better had he qualified better on Saturday.

Chris Buescher: 6

Most of the afternoon went well🥀, but he faded late in the ra𝐆ce.

Ryan Preece: 7

Preece qualified on pole and led the first 136 laps but his domination ended there, as a speeding 🐼penalty on pit lane rui🐠ned his weekend. It was a kick in the gut, and one of those things 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 o🎐n the front row and faded quickly. Another po♍or result for Suarez, who has been struggling this season.

Ty Gibbs: 5

Not his best effort, but just a mediocre run for th🔯e rookie.

Kevin Harvick: 8

He won the second stage and led a lot of laps, but a loose lug nut rui💙ned his chances o🍬f winning.

2023 Martinsville NOCO 400 Driver Ratings

Kyle Busch: 6

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

Tyler Reddick: 7

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

William Byron: 7

Byron couldn’t ca🔯tch a break today, and his result was a clear reflectioꦺn of that.

Brad Keselowski: 6

It wཧas a rough race for Kesඣelowski, who was stuck in traffic all afternoon.

AJ Allmendinger: 4

His name was 🍷never mentioned d🍌uring the race, which is never a good thing.

Erik Jones: 3

The rough season for Legacy Motor Club continued today, with two 🤡more poor finishes.

Austin Cindric: 3

I✱t was a🐎 day to forget for Cindric, who had nothing positive to take away from this race.

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