NASCAR Power Rankings: How All 36 Cup Drivers Rank After Bristol

Bell Wins, Blaney Goes to the Top: Christopher Bell finally got off the schneid as he picked up his first win in his last 24 races. It was enough to move Bell forward in the rankings, but the top spot this week goes to Ryan Blaney, who came home in fourth. Blaney has four top-five finishes over his last five races.

Down Goes HMS: It was a disastrous Bristol Night Race for Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. As a result of their subpar evenings, both drivers dropped seven spots in the rankings this week, the most of any other driver.

RACE RESULTS: Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol

Using an average of rankings between Racing America On SI's Toby Christie, Joseph Srigley, and Zach Evans, here's where all 36 full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers stand heading into this weekend's event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

1. Ryan Blaney

6.1. That is Ryan Blaney’s average finishing position in his last nine races following a fourth-place result at Bristol. With eight top-10s and five top-fives during that stretch, Blaney is hot at the right time. (Previously: 3rd)

2. Chase Briscoe

Chase Briscoe and Joe Gibbs Racing look dangerous when it comes to the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs… after back-to-back top-two results to start the post-season, Briscoe led a large chunk of Saturday’s 500-lapper, and managed to record a solid top-10 amongst the chaos of the tire wear. (Previously: 1st)

3. Christopher Bell

After blowing up at his crew post-race at WWT Raceway, Christopher Bell and Joe Gibbs Racing came back swinging, winning the Bass Pro Shops Night Race with a fantastic strategy move. The victory helps Bell’s case to further himself in the post-season with more PLayoff Points. (Previously: 6th)

4. Joey Logano

After just hanging around for most of the night, Joey Logano used his last set of fresh tires to storm to the lead, then nursed a set of scuffs to a top-five finish. A savvy drive from the veteran gives him back-to-back top-five finishes for the first time this season. (Previously: 10th)

5. Denny Hamlin

While everybody else was talking about tire falloff from the Goodyear tires, Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE team were talking about the tire… falling off of the racecar. That incident caused a wreck, a poor finish, and will cost him two pit crew members for two-thirds of the ‘Round of 12’. (Previously: 2nd)

6. William Byron

Not a spectacular evening for William Byron at Bristol Motor Speedway, but the regular-season champion didn't need spectacular. He just needed to not have a spectacular exit from the race in order to advance to the Round of 12. (Previously: 8th)

7. Chris Buescher

With an 11th-place finish on Saturday night at Bristol, Chris Buescher was just one position away from tying the series lead for most top-10s this season. Buescher remains at 15 top-10s heading into this weekend at New Hampshire. (Previously: 9th)

8. John Hunter Nemechek

Another solid run for John Hunter Nemechek, who finished 14th at Bristol. Over his last four races, Nemechek has an average finish of 10.25. The driver of the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota is heating up. (Previously: 12th)

9. Bubba Wallace

Bubba Wallace had stage points in both stages and led 12 laps, but finished 34th after being involved in a couple of late incidents, including the last caution of the night on lap 489. It’s been that kind of feast or famine that has defined Wallace’s 2025 season. (Previously: 4th)

10. Tyler Reddick

Reddick scratched and clawed to a 15th-place finish, struggling to stay on the lead lap on a tumultuous evening with the massive tire wear at Bristol. He hopes to get back on track at Loudon, where he’s finished in the top 10 twice in two races since joining 23XI. (Previously: 11th)

11. Brad Keselowski

Man, another near-miss for Brad Keselowski, who finished runner-up to Christopher Bell. Keselowski, who threw his gloves in anger after the race, attempted a bump-and-run for the win, but the sturdiness of the Next Gen car made it not matter. (Previously: 17th)

12. Kyle Larson

Another rough outing for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion. Larson ended Saturday night's race at Bristol with a 32nd-place finish. (Previously: 5th)

13. Ty Gibbs

Another devastating loss for Ty Gibbs and Joe Gibbs Racing. Gibbs led a race-high number of laps, more than 200, and was in contention late in the going before a small mistake cost him his first NASCAR Cup Series victory. Instead, the No. 54 had to settle for 10th. (Previously: 18th)

14. Chase Elliott

Chase Elliott went from seemingly safe to advance to the Round of 12, to having to somewhat worry for a bit after he misjudged and cut in front of John Hunter Nemechek on Lap 312. Elliott would crash hard and would have to hope, until Austin Cindric had a late-race fire, that Alex Bowman didn't win the race. (Previously: 7th)

15. Carson Hocevar

The old tires weren’t ready for the fight at the end of the race for Carson Hocevar, but give him credit for putting himself in position with his late-race drive. Hocevar finished seventh, his second top-10 result in three races. (Previously: 19th)

16. Ross Chastain

The Bass Pro Shops Night Race, by all accounts, was a pretty quiet evening for Ross Chastain. The Trackhouse Racing driver just did what he had to do to advance to the ‘Round of 12’ in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, finishing 19th. (Previously: 14th)

17. Erik Jones

A quiet night for Erik Jones, who has started to make noise a bit on the track recently. But a 20th-place run keeps the momentum building somewhat. (Previously: 15th)

18. Alex Bowman

He didn't advance to the Round of 12 of the Playoffs, but Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team kept themselves in position to potentially make something happen. In the end, they were out-tired, and Bowman finished 8th. (Previously: 21st)

19. Ryan Preece

After suffering damage in an incident, Preece was able to hang in there for a 21st-place finish at Bristol. Not great, but not horrendous either. (Previously: 13th)

20. Zane Smith

If you’ve been keeping track of Zane Smith this season, the No. 38 having speed isn’t a new concept, but what is a new concept is Smith getting the finishes he deserved. With some strong strategy, the Huntington Beach, California-native scored a third-place finish – the best finish on a non-superspeedway oval in a full-distance NASCAR Cup Series event for Front Row Motorsports. (Previously: 29th)

21. Austin Cindric

Survive and advance. Austin Cindric’s playoff hopes nearly went up in a blaze (literally) with a late fire on his No. 2 machine, but the Team Penske crew got him back on track to salvage a 30th-place finish. That proved to be enough to keep him ahead of Alex Bowman and above the cutoff. (Previously: 16th)

22. Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch spent most of Saturday night's race a lap behind the leader, which is where he finished, but he was able to battle his way to a respectable 16th-place finish. (Previously: 22nd)

23. Michael McDowell

McDowell finished 17th on Saturday at Bristol, continuing his steady albeit unspectacular trend in the past two months. He hasn’t been able to knock down the door and get into the top 10 since Sonoma, but he’s also been a regular in the top 20 as long as nothing goes terribly wrong. (Previously: 25th)

24. Justin Haley

Justin Haley finished 13th at Bristol, a strong showing in what has been a challenging season at times for the No. 7 team. He’ll hope to take that momentum into next week’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Previously: 28th)

25. Austin Dillon

Yikes. In a Playoff elimination race, you always want to go down swinging if you're going to be eliminated. That wasn't the case for Dillon and the No. 3 RCR team, which never looked like a contender and finished 28th, four laps off the pace. (Previously: 20th)

26. AJ Allmendinger

A.J. Allmendinger turned back the clocks on Friday and claimed his first Cup Series pole award since 2015. He also earned the Xfinity Fastest Lap award, just as he did during the spring race at Bristol. However, he finished 36th after being collected in an incident involving Denny Hamlin. (Previously: 23rd)

27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

The fact that Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. was able to finish where he did, despite being spun around on two separate occasions, is a testament to the drive and determination of the HYAK Motorsports team. P22 isn’t a stellar result, but all things considered, not bad. (Previously: 31st)

28. Shane van Gisbergen

It was going to be a tall task for Shane Van Gisbergen to make up the point deficit he had in just his second trip to Bristol Motor Speedway. Bristol itself is already a challenging track, but when faced with this kind of tire wear, it was like drinking through a firehose for the Auckland, New Zealand-native. A 26th isn’t terrible, but it wasn’t enough to advance him in the postseason. (Previously: 26th)

29. Noah Gragson

It’s nothing super amazing to write home about, especially compared to his teammate, but Noah Gragson recorded a solid 23rd-place finish in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, and despite a mid-race spin, didn’t have much in terms of a day-ending mishap. (Previously: 32nd)

30. Daniel Suarez

Just a couple of weeks ago, it looked like Daniel Suarez was about to go on a roll with Trackhouse Racing before departing the team at season’s end; however, since the post-season started, the No. 99 hasn’t finished better than 25th. On Saturday, another accident took the No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet out of the race. (Previously: 24th)

31. Todd Gilliland

It’s not the performance that Todd Gilliland or Front Row Motorsports were looking for from the No. 34 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, but there was at least moderate speed out of the Sherrills Ford, North Carolina-native this weekend – and improvement over most weeks. (Previously: 33rd)

32. Cole Custer

Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race was a challenge for everybody, with the excessive tire wear, but Cole Custer and Haas Factory Team struggled in a major way, and were running poorly when they got caught up in an accident that broke the toelink on the No. 41 Ford Mustang. Returning to this racetrack for a second time didn’t bring improved results. (Previously: 27th)

33. Riley Herbst

Riley Herbst finished 18th, earning his first top-20 finish since the Chicago Street Race in July. If he can finish in the top 20 next week, it’ll be the first time he’s done so in back-to-back races since his peculiar run of three consecutive 17th-place finishes to start the season. (Previously: 36th)

34. Ty Dillon

Saturday was a night to forget for Ty Dillon, finishing 27th after being involved in multiple incidents during the evening at Bristol. Ever since his miracle run in the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, very little has gone Dilon’s way. (Previously: 34th)

35. Cody Ware

Cody Ware finished 29th at Bristol, which marks the driver's fourth top-30 finish over his last six races. (Previously: 35th)

36. Josh Berry

At this point, we have to wonder what Josh Berry has to do to turn his fortune around after three consecutive last-place finishes. Look for a four-leaf clover? Change up his pre-race routine? Take some advice from Crash Davis and breathe through his eyelids? (Previously: 30th)