NASCAR Power Rankings: Preeced Lightning Continues To Strike

NASCAR fans, start your overreactions! After Saturday night's NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, the 16-driver Chase for the Championship field was set. However, it should be noted that the style of racing in last Saturday night's race will not be the norm for the majority of the 10-race Chase.

That being said, the final race of the regular-season provided one last opportunity for some to lock into the Chase field, while others had one last chance to build momentum leading into the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, which will kick off the Chase.

Ryan Preece, incredibly, worked himself inside of the Chase with a win. And that continued a recent wave of momentum for the driver of the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford. While Preece is rising, we also had a flip at the top the Racing America On SI Power Rankings this week.

1. Denny Hamlin (Last Week: 4)

If you ask Denny Hamlin, he finished inside the top-10 at Daytona on Saturday night. However, NASCAR ruled that he was 11th when the field was frozen due to a last-lap crash. Either way, Hamlin, who has shown to be the dominant driver in the Cup Series, heads into the Chase as the heavy favorite to claim his first championship.

2. Christopher Bell (1)

It was a frustrating evening for Christopher Bell, who finished 17th at Daytona. While many feel the superspeedway package changes made by NASCAR heading into the race improved the overall racing product, Bell claimed that the package was actually worse than the previous package.

3. Ryan Preece (7)

What a time for Ryan Preece's first career NASCAR Cup Series win. With his back against the wall, and 31 points behind Shane van Gisbergen for the final Chase slot heading into the night, Preece was able to rebound from a spin at the end of Stage 1 to lock himself into the Chase. While not many have Preece on their list of possible legitimate championship contenders, he now has four top-10 finishes in the last six races.

4. Josh Berry (6)

Josh Berry had such a miserable season going that Wood Brothers Racing decided to move in a different direction for 2027 in June. Since then, Berry has gone on a tear. Berry's ninth-place finish at Daytona on Saturday night marked his fifth consecutive top-10 finish, which marks the most consecutive top-10 finishes for a Wood Brothers Racing driver since Morgan Shepherd in 1994. Now, Berry is being linked to the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB ride for next season.

5. Joey Logano (3)

Even-year Joey Logano continues to his quest for a fourth NASCAR Cup Series championship, but he was frustrated by an 18th-place finish after being involved in the last-lap melee at Daytona International Speedway.

6. Ryan Blaney (2)

Ryan Blaney was mad at Ricy Stenhouse, Jr., as contact from Stenhouse sent Blaney crashing from a top-five position on the final lap of Saturday's race. The 33rd-place finish wasn't indicative of how strong Blaney was at Daytona, and he was able to hold onto the second seed for the Chase. Now, he'll get Austin Cindric's better pit crew at Darlington.

7. Austin Cindric (9)

Austin Cindric hasn't gotten much praise or fanfare this season, but he has quietly put together a decent 2026 campaign, which ultimately landed him in the Chase. After a sixth-place run at Daytona, Cindric enters the Chase with eight finishes of 14th or better in his last nine starts. That's some solid consistency.

8. Chase Briscoe (8)

Chase Briscoe came home in the 13th position at Daytona, and the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is hoping that isn't a bad omen heading into the 10-race Chase. Still, the driver, who shares a name with NASCAR's Playoff format, has shown great speed after early struggles, and should be in good shape over the next 10 races.

9. Ty Gibbs (5)

Carson Hocevar made an error, and Ty Gibbs was one of the drivers, who paid the price for it. Gibbs would suffer a DNF after the crash, and would finish 34th. As long as he can push past this result, he has been one of the most consistent drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series recently, he could contend for the championship.

10. Brad Keselowski (14)

He didn't make the Chase, but Brad Keselowski put in a heck of an effort over the last few weeks as he cut his deficit tremendously. Ultimately, he missed out on the Chase, but the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion will now look to build momentum over these final 10 races, as he hopes to contend for a second championship in 2027.

Best of the Rest

11. Daniel Suarez (15)
12. Tyler Reddick (16)
13. Bubba Wallace (10)
14. Shane van Gisbergen (11)
15. William Byron (13)
16. Chris Buescher (12)
17. Michael McDowell (24)
18. Alex Bowman (23)
19. Chase Elliott (19)
20. Todd Gilliland (22)
21. Noah Gragson (17)
22. Ross Chastain (21)
23. Cole Custer (26)
24. Kyle Larson (18)
25. Carson Hocevar (20)
26. Zane Smith (25)
27. Austin Dillon (29)
28. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (31)
29. Austin Hill (28)
30. John Hunter Nemechek (33)
31. Ty Dillon (30)
32. AJ Allmendinger (27)
33. Connor Zilisch (35)
34. Erik Jones (32)
35. Cody Ware (36)
Incomplete: Riley Herbst (34)

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