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 their fina🙈l꧃ 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 Loga꧋no, who started the race at the back of the field and was quickly down a lap to the leaders. Their gamble t💧o not pit at all on the final sequence was the right call.

Martin Truex Jr: 9

Another strong run for Truex, who always per⛎forms we🐼ll here. You can’t spell Martinsville without Martin.

Denny Hamlin: 9

Much like his teammate, hꦓe was strong all day and one of t🌞he cars capable of winning the race.

Chase Briscoe: 8

Briꦺscoe 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 we🦩re there for the taking, but 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 envisioned.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr: 7

Much like Blaney, the✤ late-race shuffle in tꦜhe field certainly put them in a good spot.

Bubba Wallace: 8

Count Bubba as one of the drivers that was legitimately fast ꦏall♏ day, but couldn’t overcome the gamblers late in the race.

Chase Elliott: 9

A top-ten finish after being out of the car for the last six weeks recovering fromᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ surgery is quite impressive.

Alex Bowman: 7

Another average f𓂃inish by 𝓡the most average of drivers.

Austin Dillon: 6

There were flashes of speed but i𝓰t just never clꦕicked for Dillon.

Ross Chastain: 6

Chastain couldnꦫ’t use the wall this time, but he still had a solid run through the field after sꦦtarting 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 race.

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 ruined his weekend. It was a kick in the gu🅺t, 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 man💯y expected to be much better here.

Daniel Suarez: 5

He started on the frᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚoꦆnt row and faded quickly. Another poor result for Suarez, who has been struggling this season.

Ty Gibbs: 5

Not his bestꦆ effort, but just a mediocre run for the rookie.

Kevin Harvick: 8

He won the second stage 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 pitౠ road penalty cost him 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 front𒈔.

William Byron: 7

Byron couldn’t 🐠catch a break today, and his result was a clear reflection of that.

Brad Keselowski: 6

It was a rough race fo♏r Keselowski, who was stuck in traffic al꧙l afternoon.

AJ Allmendinger: 4

His🌺 name was never mentioned during the race, which is never a good thing.

Erik Jones: 3

The rough season for Legacy Motor Club continued today, with two more poor f🀅inishes.

Austin Cindric: 3

It was a day to forget for Cindric, wh♛o had no💛thing positive to take away from this race.

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