NASCAR Power Rankings: Did The Madhouse's Clash Shake Things Up?
The Madhouse lived up to its reputation at points throughout the NASCAR Cook Out Clash race weekend. Drivers pushed, and shoved their way around the 0.250-mile short track in Winston-Salem, NC. And in the end, it was Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott who rose to the occasion as he scored his first career win in The Clash.
While Elliott won in dominating fashion, it was an up-and-down weekend for many of the drivers and teams in the NASCAR Cup Series. With that being said, even though Sunday's race was an exhibition event, it was the first peek we have gotten into how some of the new driver and team pairings will function during the 2025 season.
As a result, the weekly power rankings have seen quite a bit of movement following The Clash. Here are how the 36 full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers and teams rank, according to Racing America On SI's Toby Christie, Joseph Srigley, and Zach Evans, after a trip to Bowman Gray.
1. Chase Elliott - No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports (Previous Rank: 6)
Well, this will be a popular one… The sport’s most popular driver vaults from sixth in the preseason rankings to first this week after a near-flawless weekend at Bowman Gray. Elliott was fastest in final practice, led every lap to win Heat 1 to secure the pole, and then led 171 of 200 laps to win the Clash Main Event. Sure, it’s not a style of track we’ll see much in 2025, but Elliott had a stout outing in his first appearance this year.
-Toby Christie
2. Ryan Blaney - No. 12 Team Penske (Previous Rank: 3)
Blaney may not have won the Clash on Sunday night. However, he thrilled fans with his drive from a provisional starting position to a runner-up finish.
-Zach Evans
3. Denny Hamlin - No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing (Previous Rank: 7)
Last year’s Cook Out Clash winner was unable to defend his title, but looked pretty strong on the racetrack, leading a bunch of laps and ultimately being in the battle for the lead. A third-place finish is nothing to be upset about for Hamlin heading into a new season, with a new crew chief.
-Joseph Srigley
4. Christopher Bell - No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing (Previous Rank: 2)
“This is fun, we’re having fun.” Maybe this year he actually meant it – well at least until some late-race contact relegated him back to a 12th-place finish.
-JS
5. Kyle Larson - No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports (Previous Rank: 1)
Last week’s No. 1 ranked driver falls to fifth this week after a rough outing in the Cook Out Clash. However, don’t expect Larson to stay this low for very long. He’s still arguably the most talented driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, and Bowman Gray simply didn’t treat him very well.
-TC
6. Joey Logano - No. 22 Team Penske (Previous Rank: 8)
It was a solid weekend for the defending champion in the season-opening exhibition at Bowman Gray Stadium. Logano finished second in his heat race and fourth in the main event, putting two Penske Fords in the top five.
-ZE
7. Tyler Reddick - No. 45 23XI Racing (Previous Rank: 5)
Reddick faded to an eighth-place finish in Sunday’s feature race, but it was still a strong weekend including a heat race win.
-ZE
8. Chris Buescher - No. 17 RFK Racing (Previous Rank: 10)
Buescher made the field for The Clash Main Event, which was basically a win in and of itself as Buescher had been kept out of the Main Event in each of the three seasons The Clash was in LA. Buescher had a strong weekend but faded a bit during Sunday’s race. Still, he finished 10th in the 23-car exhibition event.
-TC
9. William Byron - No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports (Previous Rank: 4)
Byron just couldn’t get anything going Sunday night at Bowman Gray as he was swept up in an incident on Lap 79, where he was sent into the outside wall, and went for a spin with his teammate Kyle Larson on Lap 115 after contact from Carson Hocevar. Byron drops some spots after an 18th-place run in The Clash, but he’s the defending winner of the Daytona 500, so a turnaround could be near.
-TC
10. Ross Chastain - No. 1 Trackhouse Racing (Previous Rank: 12)
Events like these (non-points races on short ovals) used to be the bane of Ross Chastain’s existence, in terms of being overaggressive. Sunday at Bowman Gray, the Trackhouse Racing driver was silent – finishing sixth after an uneventful race (in a good way).
-JS
11. Chase Briscoe - No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing (Previous Rank: 13)
A last-place finish in the main event wasn’t what Chase Briscoe was looking for in his first outing with Joe Gibbs Racing, after a steering problem took him out just after halfway. The No. 19 didn’t stick out like a sore thumb, though, running inside the top-10 while his car was still fully functioning.
-JS
12. Brad Keselowski - No. 6 RFK Racing (Previous Rank: 14)
Keselowski and the No. 6 team had speed for the majority of the weekend at Bowman Gray Stadium, but unfortunately the RFK Racing co-owner/driver wasn’t able to get the finish he deserved. Keselowski suffered a spin after contact from Bubba Wallace on Lap 121 and was unable to recover as he finished 21st, one lap down.
-TC
13. Bubba Wallace - No. 23 23XI Racing (Previous Rank: 18)
Lost in Ryan Blaney’s charge through the field, Bubba Wallace was another of the hard chargers in Sunday’s main event. Wallace finished fifth after starting 14th.
-ZE
14. Alex Bowman - No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports (Previous Rank: 9)
From a top-10 ranking to clinging to a top-15, Bowman slips a bit in this week’s rankings after a 19th-place finish in The Clash. There wasn’t really anything of note from Bowman’s race, but now, it’s time to go to Daytona, where he provided the race-winning push to William Byron last year… Perhaps it’ll be Bowman’s turn this time around?
-TC
15. Shane van Gisbergen - No. 88 Trackhouse Racing (Previous Rank: 17)
For a driver that’s never run on a quarter-mile oval in the NASCAR Cup Series, Shane Van Gisbergen looked like a natural… Quick times in practice, solid finish in his heat race, and an ninth-place finish in the main event. Pretty good first weekend as a full-time Cup driver.
-JS
16. Austin Cindric - No. 2 Team Penske (Previous Rank: 19)
Rounding out a solid night for Team Penske, Cindric brought home his No. 2 in the seventh position on Sunday. Cindric scored a fourth-place finish in his heat race on Saturday as well.
-ZE
17. Kyle Busch - No. 8 Richard Childress Racing (Previous Rank: 15)
After getting the last laugh in a pushing and shoving match with Justin Haley in his Heat Race, Busch made it into The Clash Main Event. That was the good news. The bad news? Well, his hopes for winning The Clash lasted all of 20 laps. Busch was wiped out and lost two laps. Busch did claw his way back to a 15th-place finish. Now, Busch will look to be the second RCR driver in history to win the Daytona 500 on their 20th try.
-TC
18. Ty Gibbs - No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing (Previous Rank: 11)
Ty Gibbs was the fastest driver in practice, but that seemed to be the highlight of the weekend. After a poor qualifying effort, and some trouble in the heat races, the third-year driver struggled majorly in the Last Chance Qualifier, crashing multiple times – including a spectacular airborne moment after smashing into Justin Haley.
-JS
19. Carson Hocevar - No. 77 Spire Motorsports (Previous Rank: 16)
A fourth-place finish in his heat race earned Hocevar a spot in Sunday’s main event. However, his evening unraveled starting with a crash shortly after the halfway break.
-ZE
20. Ryan Preece - No. 60 RFK Racing (Previous Rank: 24)
I think Preece was, and remains one of the biggest question marks heading into the 2025 season. After a couple of different Cup opportunities failed to result in top results, many wondered how he’d fare at RFK Racing. So far, it looks like Preece fits in just well with his new team. He was credited with bringing information to help the team run better at tracks like Bowman Gray and it showed. All three of them made the Main Event, and Preece finished in 11th.
-TC
21. Daniel Suarez - No. 99 Trackhouse Racing (Previous Rank: 20)
The good news: Daniel Suarez made it into the main event. The bad news: He finished P22, two laps off the pace. This race doesn’t mean a ton when it comes to the regular-season, so no real concern here – other than potentially the disconnect between his teammates, both of whom finished top-10.
-JS
22. Todd Gilliland - No. 38 Front Row Motorsports (Previous Rank: 21)
A 14th-place finish in a field of 23 highly qualified NASCAR Cup Series drivers is nothing to scoff at, right? Not a bad first showing for Gilliland in the No. 34 this season.
-JS
23. Noah Gragson - No. 4 Front Row Motorsports (Previous Rank: 22)
Leave it to Noah Gragson to make the highlight reel. The newest of the three Front Row Motorsports drivers got involved in a couple of tussles throughout the 200-lap main event, but finished the race in 20th, after fading in the second-half.
-JS
24. Zane Smith - No. 38 Front Row Motorsports (Previous Rank: 28)
Front Row Motorsports, as a collective, showed an adequate amount of speed to put three racecars into the 23-driver main event on Sunday. Unfortunately, Zane Smith was the unlucky one, getting knocked out of the front in the Last Chance Qualifier, and failing to make the main event.
-JS
25. Justin Haley - No. 7 Spire Motorsports (Previous Rank: 26)
Haley worked his way into the top-five during the Last Chance Qualifier, but his hopes of moving on to the main event ended after a spin on lap 59 following contact with Josh Berry.
-ZE
26. Josh Berry - No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing (Previous Rank: 33)
Josh Berry raced his way into Sunday’s main event through the physical Last Chance Qualifier. His reward was a 13th-place finish, a solid showing for Berry in his debut with the Wood Brothers.
-ZE
27. AJ Allmendinger - No. 16 Kaulig Racing (Previous Rank: 23)
Allmendinger was battling for a transfer spot in his heat race before a clash with Ryan Preece. He was also involved in an incident that ended his LCQ seven laps shy of the finish.
-ZE
28. Michael McDowell - No. 71 Spire Motorsports (Previous Rank: 29)
When the dust had settled on the Last Chance Qualifier, Michael McDowell sat fifth in the running order. It wasn’t enough to transfer into the main event, but it was a solid, steady showing in the chaotic 75-lapper.
-ZE
29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - No. 47 Hyak Motorsports (Previous Rank: 25)
If the crowd at Bowman-Gray Stadium was doing these Power Rankings, Ricky Stenhouse would probably be 36th, after making contact with Burt Myers and sending him into the Turn 1 fence in the LCQ. Unfortunately, the first race as the newly-rebranded HYAK Motorsports wasn’t a huge success.
-JS
30. Austin Dillon - No. 3 Richard Childress Racing (Previous Rank: 32)
He may have missed out on the Main Event by one spot in the Last Chance Qualifier, but man, Dillon performed extremely well on Sunday. And when he was put in bad situations, like when he was nudged out of line, which sent him from second to seventh in the running order, he buckled down, focused, and worked his way back. He finished third, but very well could have advanced to the Main Event if a few things went his way.
-TC
31. Cole Custer - No. 41 Haas Factory Team (Previous Rank: 27)
The debut weekend for Haas Factory Team didn’t exactly go to plan. After running solidly at points in the Heat Races and Last Chance Qualifier, a wreck in the middle portion of the LCQ forced the team to thrash fixing a damaged racecar. Unfortunately, the team didn’t make the main event though.
-JS
32. Erik Jones - No. 43 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (Previous Rank: 30)
Jones loses a little bit of ground in this week’s power rankings after a rough 16th-place finish in The Clash’s Last Chance Qualifier Race. While Jones showed speed as he led four laps in the race, he also made some mistakes and had some bad luck down the stretch as he was involved in three crashes.
-TC
33. John Hunter Nemechek - No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (Previous Rank: 34)
I’m not going to lie, when the No. 42 car was sent backing into the wall on Saturday, and the team opted to fix the car instead of going to a backup car, I felt there was no way JHN would be able to be in contention for a transfer spot to the Main Event on Sunday. I was wrong. Nemechek blasted his way from the rear of the field in the LCQ to finish fourth and was just 1.879 seconds away from LCQ winner Kyle Larson.
-TC
34. Ty Dillon - No. 16 Kaulig Racing (Previous Rank: 35)
Ty Dillon started on the pole in the Last Chance Qualifier and mixed it up near the front before spinning on lap 17. He recovered to a ninth-place finish.
-ZE
35. Riley Herbst - No. 35 23XI Racing (Previous Rank: 31)
Give this for Herbst, there was no quit in him or the No. 35 team on Sunday night. Even after losing 15 laps in the pits during the Last Chance Qualifier, the team returned to the track and finished the race 10 laps down, passing some cars involved in accidents in the final running order.
-ZE
36. Cody Ware - No. 51 Rick Ware Racing (Previous Rank: 36)
Quiet, under-the-radar day for Ware, who finished 11th of 19 cars in The Clash’s Last Chance Qualifier on Sunday. He brought home a clean car, and he is headed to Daytona, where he finished top-five last September. There’s a greater chance than not that Ware finds himself up a few spots following The Great American Race.
-TC
Recommended Articles
manual
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.
Joseph Srigley covers NASCAR for TobyChristie.com, Racing America, and OnSI, and is the owner of the #SrigleyStats brand. With a higher education in the subjects of business, mathematics, and data analytics, Joseph is able to fully understand the inner workings of the sport through multiple points of perspective.
Zach Evans is the Managing Editor of RacingAmerica.com, with nearly a decade of experience in motorsports. He has been with Racing America since 2017.