NASCAR Power Rankings: Byron Dominates, Hamlin Wins, Who is On Top?!

William Byron absolutely dominated Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, but a late-race caution following a green flag pit sequence, which had already shuffled the running order, changed everything and Denny Hamlin emerged victorious for the second consecutive week.

That being said, who takes the top spot this week? That was the debate at hand for Racing America On SI's Toby Christie, Joseph Srigley, and Zach Evans, who once again ranked out the 36 full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers this week.

Without further ado, here are the NASCAR Power Rankings following Darlington Raceway, and heading into next weekend's race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Top-10
Top-20
Outside the Top-20

Top-10

1. Denny Hamlin | Last Week: 1st (--)

Sunday at Darlington wasn’t Denny Hamlin’s race to win, by any means, but a quick pit stop and a fantastic restart in NASCAR Overtime put the No. 11 back in Victory Lane. It’s the first time Hamlin has won back-to-back races since 2012. -Joseph Srigley

2. William Byron | Last Week: 4th (+2)

Anytime you lead the opening 243 laps of a race, and don't go on to win said race, it's going to be a heartbreaking result. But William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team put in a historically dominant performance, and were ultimately done-in by the timing of their pit stop on the final green flag pit sequence. -Toby Christie

3. Christopher Bell | Last Week: 3rd (--)

There was one point early in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 where Christopher Bell looked like he was going to get lapped. But, some lucky yellows and a good strategy call launched the No. 20 back into contention, and Bell managed to hold on for a third-place finish. -JS

4. Chase Elliott | Last Week: 5th (+1)

It wasn't flashy, but nothing has been so far this season for Chase Elliott. On Sunday at Darlington, Elliott remained near the front of the field, and in the end he earned a quiet, yet solid eighth-place finish, which moves him to fourth in our rankings this week. -TC

5. Tyler Reddick | Last Week: 7th (+2)

What could have been for Tyler Reddick? From using pit strategy to gain a large lead to being passed late to a fourth-place finish on the overtime restart, it was adventurous for Reddick in the No. 45 Toyota. Reddick led 42 laps, accumulated points in both stages and left Darlington fifth in points. -Zach Evans

6. Kyle Larson | Last Week: 2nd (-4)

What a disastrous day for Kyle Larson, who was honoring Terry Labonte with his throwback paint scheme. Larson crashed on Lap 4, which relegated him to the garage for more than 160 laps. Once the repairs were made, and he returned to the race, it was Larson who crashed again to send the race into overtime. Larson would finish 37th in the race. -TC

7. Ryan Blaney | Last Week: 8th (+1)

Ryan Blaney was just one ill-timed caution away from his first career victory at “The Lady in Black,” while driving a throwback to his father’s lone win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Instead, Blaney finished fifth, his second top-five finish of 2025. -ZE

8. Joey Logano | Last Week: 11th (+3)

One week after his first top-10 finish of the season, Logano finished 13th at Darlington. The three-time series champion finished second in Stage Two, continuing to show plenty of speed even when the results don’t reflect that performance. -ZE

9. Chris Buescher | Last Week: 12th (+3)

Last year, Chris Buescher was heartbroken as he suffered a cut tire in the closing laps of this race while battling Tyler Reddick for the lead. This year, Buescher didn't have race-winning speed, but he was able to maximize his day with a great sixth-place finish. He's up three spots this week on the strength of the steady race. -TC

10. Bubba Wallace | Last Week: 6th (-4)

Bubba Wallace had plenty of speed early, finishing second in the first stage. He finished 21st, playing a role in the pivotal late-race caution as Kyle Larson checked up to avoid Tyler Reddick bouncing off the wall. No matter what happened late in the race, Wallace will be disappointed to not have competed closer to the front later in the race. -ZE

Top-20

11. Ross Chastain | Last Week: 13th (+2)

Much like his teammates, Ross Chastain went virtually unnoticed this weekend at Darlington Raceway, bringing home a solid seventh-place finish. That’s definitely an improvement from last weekend, where the Trackhouse Racing driver was the source of many people’s anger. -JS

12. Ryan Preece | Last Week: 9th (-3)

It feels wrong to have Ryan Preece dropping some positions this week as he competed near the front quite a bit early in the race. However, as pit strategies occurred and teams got off sequence with one another, Preece faded to a 26th-place finish, which snapped his three-race top-10 finishing streak. -TC

13. Kyle Busch | Last Week: 17th (+4)

Kyle Busch was mired mid-pack for the majority of the race, and the driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet let his team know how frustrating it was to essential be stuck there due to aerodynamics and dirty air. However, in the closing laps, Busch made a charge and picked up a 10th-place finish. -TC

14. Alex Bowman | Last Week: 10th (-4)

Alex Bowman never really seemed to have a great race car in Sunday's Goodyear 400, and things got worse when he pounded the outside wall and broke a toe link on Lap 221. Bowman would be credited with a 35th-place result, 17 laps off the pace. -TC

15. Zane Smith | Last Week: 19th (+4)

Zane Smith appears to be carrying the banner for Front Row Motorsports lately, recording a 12th-place finish at Darlington Raceway, his third top-15 and fourth top-20 in the last five NASCAR Cup Series events. The momentum appears to be moving in the right direction for the No. 38 team and Ryan Bergenty. -JS

16. Chase Briscoe | Last Week: 14th (-2)

Sunday marked a bit of a puzzling result for Chase Briscoe and Joe Gibbs Racing, with both the driver and the team having incredible success at this tough racetrack in the past. It leaves the Mitchell, Indiana native just barely hanging on to the post-season bubble heading to Bristol. -JS

17. Austin Cindric | Last Week: 23rd (+6)

Piloting a throwback to Dale Earnhardt’s No. 2 machine that won the NASCAR Cup Series championship in 1980, Cindric finished 11th in Sunday’s Goodyear 400. While just missing out on the top-10, it is Cindric’s best career finish at Darlington, improving on a 13th-place effort in last fall’s Southern 500. -ZE

18. AJ Allmendinger | Last Week: 18th (--)

A.J. Allmendinger finished 18th on Sunday, including a 10th-place effort in Stage One. That moves ‘Dinger up to 16th in the points standings entering next week’s race at Bristol. -ZE

19. Daniel Suarez | Last Week: 20th (+1)

It was a pretty quiet, top-15 day for Daniel Suarez. That’s certainly not bad considering how ferocious Darlington Raceway can be. The No. 99 team continues to inch closer to becoming consistent top-10 competitors. -JS

20. Ty Gibbs | Last Week: 26th (+6)

After eight races, Ty Gibbs FINALLY has a top-10 finish, bringing home a ninth-place result at Darlington Raceway. It’s some amazing momentum for the Joe Gibbs Racing team, who just brought on veteran car chief Cheddar Smith from Spire Motorsports this past weekend. -JS

Outside the Top-20

21. Todd Gilliland | Last Week: 24th (+3)

Another pretty solid weekend for Todd Gilliland at Darlington, bringing home another top-15 result for the No. 34 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. It’s a heck of a recovery after a couple of bad weeks on the intermediates dropped them in points. -JS

22. Michael McDowell | Last Week: 15th (-7)

It was a lackluster day that almost ended even worse for Michael McDowell. The veteran driver slammed the wall exiting turn four on the final lap and limped across the line in the 29th position. It was not a banner day for the No. 71 team despite starting 10th in Sunday’s race. -ZE

23. Josh Berry | Last Week: 16th (-7)

Josh Berry finished 36th, collected in an accident on lap 195 to end his day early. Berry had finished fifth in the second stage and appeared poised for another strong finish before the incident, the result of contact with Tyler Reddick. As a result, Berry falls to 20th in the championship standings. -ZE

24. Ty Dillon | Last Week: 27th (+3)

Ty Dillon narrowly missed out on back-to-back top 15s with a 16th-place finish on Sunday. Dillon moves up to 25th in points following Sunday’s race, putting together one consistent finish after another. -ZE

25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Last Week: 22nd (-3)

One of Ricky Stenhouse’s better racetracks didn’t provide much fruit for HYAK Motorsports on Sunday, bringing home a 25th-place result. Nothing to scoff at, the no. 47 has been the master at finishing races, but they’ll have to start knocking out some top-10s if they hope to fight for a Playoff spot. -JS

26. John Hunter Nemechek | Last Week: 21st (-5)

After surgical consistency through the opening five races of the season, John Hunter Nemechek has come back to Earth over the last three races. On Sunday at Darlington, the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB driver finished 30th, which is the worst finish of his 2025 season so far. -TC

27. Austin Dillon | Last Week: 25th (-2)

Austin Dillon started 23rd, and finished 23rd in Sunday's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Had I not seen him on the results sheet, I'm not sure you could have convinced me he was in the field because I simply never really saw him throughout the race. -TC

28. Erik Jones | Last Week: 29th (+1)

Erik Jones snagged a 17th-place finish at Darlington, but the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB driver is one of the very best at the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval. That being said, there had to be higher hopes than a 17th-place run. -TC

29. Justin Haley | Last Week: 30th (+1)

Justin Haley finished 24th, the highest placement among the three Spire Motorsports entries on Sunday at Darlington. Haley now sits 29th in points, losing five spots in the championship standings. -ZE

30. Noah Gragson | Last Week: 32nd (+2)

After a miserable start to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, Noah Gragson might finally be back on the right track, recording a solid 19th-place finish and being a part of a triple top-20 for Front Row Motorsports. -JS

31. Brad Keselowski | Last Week: 31st (--)

The season of frustration continued for Brad Keselowski Sunday at Darlington. The driver of the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford finally looked to have a car capable of competing near the front, and a detached wheel derailed the day. Keselowski finished a disappointing 33rd in the race that he was the defending winner of. -TC

32. Carson Hocevar | Last Week: 28th (-4)

A pair of early incidents put a damper on Carson Hocevar’s day, involved in two crashes in the first 100 laps. He soldiered on to a 32nd-place finish, narrowly avoiding added insult to injury as John Hunter Nemechek spun underneath him on the final lap. -ZE

33. Cole Custer | Last Week: 34th (+1)

Believe it or not, Sunday’s 22nd-place result at Darlington Raceway is actually one of the best finishes on the season for Haas Factory Team. It’s not enough to turn heads, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction for a team hoping to make it into the top 20 before long. -JS

34. Shane van Gisbergen | Last Week: 35th (+1)

It remains a little bit strange that Shane Van Gisbergen seems to thrive on the most difficult ovals on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, but hey, a top-20 at Darlington for a rookie is nothing to scoff at. At least some good momentum heading to Bristol. -JS

35. Cody Ware | Last Week: 36th (+1)

Cody Ware moves up to 35th in our rankings this week on the strength of a 27th-place finish in Sunday's event at Darlington. The Rick Ware Racing driver now has two consecutive top 30 finishes. Perhaps the No. 51 team is starting to find its stride? -TC

36. Riley Herbst | Last Week: 33rd (-3)

Riley Herbst’s day could be encapsulated by the moment he was in position for a free pass to get back on the lead lap, only to be involved in a caution after contact with Carson Hocevar. Herbst finished 34th, two laps down. -ZE