2023 Dover Motor Speedway Wurth 400 Driver Ratings

Crash NASCAR journalist Chad Smith goes through the field to hand out driver ratings for the Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway.
Martin Truex Jr, Joe Gibbs Racing at Dover Monster Mile
Martin Truex Jr, Joe Gibbs Racing at Dover Monster Mile

Martin Truex Jr: 10

Anytime you can snap a 54-race winless streak, it is a good day. It was even better considering his brother won the Xfinity race on Saturday.

Ross Chastain: 7

Another race, another incident that he must take responsibility for. The apologies mean nothing to the drivers, and most of them consider them hollow at this point. A runner-up finish was nice, but he is digging himself an even bigger hole to climb out of.

Ryan Blaney: 9

The opportunity was there for Blaney, who was clearly the top Penske driver again today. This is his 18th top-five finish since his last race win.

William Byron: 9

He led the most laps in the race and collected 19 out of a maximum 20 bonus points in the two stages.

Denny Hamlin: 7

It was another top-five for Hamlin, but another race ruined by mistakes on pit road. That has been plaguing this team far too long, and needs to be addressed at some point.

Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin

Christopher Bell: 7

A solid afternoon for Bell, who continues to fly under the radar.

Tyler Reddick: 7

Another race-winning Toyota driver that is quietly putting together a fantastic season.

Brad Keselowski: 8

RFK Racing has clearly improved from last season, and are on the verge of getting back to victory lane.

Chris Buescher: 8

See above.

Josh Berry: 9

It doesn't matter which Hendrick Motorsports car that Berry is driving, he certainly is showcasing his ability to rattle off top-ten finishes as a super substitute.

Josh Berry, Chase Elliott
Josh Berry, Chase Elliott

Chase Elliott: 8

A decent run for Chase, who continues to work back from missing six races due to injury.

Bubba Wallace: 7

It was a solid afternoon for Wallace, who heads to Kansas next weekend as the defending race winner.

Ty Gibbs: 7

The rookie stayed out of trouble and ran a good race, in what was a banner day for the JGR organization.

Corey LaJoie: 8

LaJoie continues to punch above his weight, scoring another top 15 finish for Spire Motorsports.

Erik Jones: 6

A good run for Jones and the struggling Legacy Motor Club team, as teammate Noah Gragson crashed out of the race early.

Kevin Harvick: 6

The day started out okay, but some handling issues with the car ultimately saw the veteran slide back in the final stage of the race.

Kyle Busch: 4

It was another pit road speeding penalty for Busch, who started the race on pole. That sent him to the back of the field, where he was caught up in a crash just a few laps later.

Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch

Chase Briscoe: 4

Consistency has been the biggest issue for Briscoe in his young career. Some days he will run up front and contend for wins, and then there are days like today where he is nowhere to be found.

Joey Logano: 3

It was a messy weekend for Logano, who battled handling issues all throughout the race, only to crash 14 laps from the finish.

Kyle Larson: 2

For the second week in a row, Larson was taken out in a crash. This time he was the one trying to avoid the car sliding up the track. A disappointing day for the driver of the No. 5 car.

Daniel Suarez: 2

He crashed early in the race, all by himself. The sour season did not get any better today for the Trackhouse driver, who watched his teammate score another runner-up finish.

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