It's only race #2 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and William Byron has already made me eat my words and my actions! I said on my podcast that he was starting the season as the NUMBER ONE driver on my list. But after having a guest on my show who "knows more" about the inner workings of the racing world, I moved him back to seventh on my NASCAR Cup Series Top 20 Power Rankings when they were officially released last week.

So, do I right a wrong this week and move him back into his well-deserved spot? We'll see.  Here are my NASCAR Cup Series Top 20 Power Rankings for Race 2: Atlanta Motor Speedway!

20. AJ Allmendinger: AJ had a strong showing at Daytona, finishing 6th, while Suarez and Stenhouse Jr. were both taken out of the Top 20 with their lackluster showings.

19. Corey Lajoie: Sometimes it's easy to forget how good of a driver this man is at drafting tracks.  The question is, after what I assume to be another good showing at Atlanta, can he hold on to his momentum when they get to the more technical tracks?

18. Ryan Preece: I had Preece at 20 last week.  Even after an early accident and some minor damage, Preece drove really well in this race.  His 23rd place finish did not do his story at Daytona justice.  

17. Michael McDowell: You can not doubt that McDowell had one of the fastest cars on the track until an engine issue ruined his night.  Let's see how well he bounce back in Atlanta. 

16. Chris Buescher:  I had him at 14th in my first NASCAR Cup Series Top 20 Power Rankings of the season.  He finished 18th at Daytona.   This spot feels right for him.  I'm still picking him as the driver to break the long winless streak for SHR. 

15. Ty Gibbs: He was 15th last week, showed some speed at Daytona, and finished 17th overall.  That's about as even as you can get in the power rankings. 

14. Brad Keselowski: For a minute there, it looked like Brad was just waiting for his moment to pounce while running up front toward the end.  But Daytona did what Daytona does, and he finished in 33rd.  Atlanta is another track I expect Brad to do well at.

13. Tyler Reddick: Tyler Reddick will once again be a contender this year, and I'm willing to bet that we'll see him in victory lane in very short order.  For now, he drops out of my top 10.

12. Martin Truex Jr: It was good to see Truex Jr. run well at Daytona.  I had him as a Top 5 driver in my first power rankings, let's see if he can jump back in to the Top 10 this week at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

11. Denny Hamlin:  I had an opportunity to put the #11 in the 11th spot on my NASCAR Cup Series Top 20 Power Rankings...and I did.  I'm not sure if this is the year he'll finally cash in a championship, but I'm not going to be the guy who doubts him. 

10. Ryan Blaney: Man, my fantasy team was in 3rd for my DFS picks and he was a big part of it....until he wasn't.  Bad break at Daytona but I still have him in the Top 10. 

9. Ross Chastain: "Mr. Dynamite" himself.  I'm sure I'm the only one who calls him that, but it's a pretty good nickname, along with about a dozen others off the top of my head. At any moment, he can explode.  I'd still rather have a driver who isn't afraid to make a move for the win, than one that does not. 

8. Kyle Larson: Kyle just doesn't have any luck at all at drafting tracks.  That doesn't make him a bad driver overall, but I think we'll see more of the same from the #5. 

7. Bubba Wallace:  I had Wallace at 11 last week.  He finished a solid 5th at Daytona.  It would be nice to see back-to-back Top 10's for the 23XI driver to start the season. 

6. Chase Elliott: Elliott is undoubtedly one of the top drivers in NASCAR and obviously one of the favorites.  But he needs a win....bad.  He'll need to do better than 14th to stay inside my Top 10 for next week. 

5. Joey Logano: I had Logano in 8th before qualifying last week.  If he can bring another fast car to Atlanta, then he'll be running in the Top 5 for most of the race.

4. Alex Bowman: I feel like this is a little high for Bowman, considering I had him in 16th for Daytona.  But he ran a clean race and finished in 2nd.  

3. Christopher Bell: Bell just might be the most underrated driver in all of NASCAR.  Every single time we doubt him, he runs a great race. I have a feeling he'll be in the Top 5 after Atlanta.

2. William Byron: I couldn't do it. Every part of my soul said to put him in 1st, but I need to stay consistent, and just because you win a race, that doesn't jump you automatically to the top of the power rankings.  This one is on me for not staying true to my prediction on my podcast and keeping him #1 heading into Daytona.  Show me another win, and yeah, you'll force my hand. 

1. Kyle Busch: "Oh well that's because you're a Busch fan!" Maybe.  But Busch overcame not one, not two, but three issues during the race at Daytona that sent him to the back every time.  And yet, he found himself in contention, up front, all the way up to the final wreck.