NASCAR Power Rankings: Where All 36 Cup Drivers Stand After Chicago

Shane van Gisbergen Nabs Another Chicago Win: What a weekend for Shane van Gisbergen, who swept the poles and race wins in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series races at the Chicago Street Course. With his win in the Grant Park 165, SVG moved up 12 spots in our power rankings this week, more than any driver.

Slippin' and Slidin': A hard crash into the wall on Sunday sent Josh Berry sliding eight spots back in the power rankings this week, which is the biggest drop of anyone this week. William Byron, who suffered a lap one mechanical issue and finished last, and Brad Keselowski, who was swept up in an early race crash, each dropped seven spots.

RACE RESULTS: Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course

Using an average of rankings between Racing America On SI's Toby Christie and Joseph Srigley, here's where all 36 full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers stand heading into this weekend's race at Sonoma Raceway.

Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

1. Denny Hamlin

After getting less than a minute of practice on Saturday due to a blown engine, Denny Hamlin managed to drive his No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE through the pack and finish in the fourth position. Outside of a crash at Atlanta, things continue to go very well for the Chesterfield, Virginia-native. (Previously: 3rd)

2. Chase Elliott

Chase Elliott had a fast car at the Chicago Street Course, but damage in practice forced him to start at the rear. Still, Elliott worked his way toward the front before fading to finish 16th. (Previously: 1st)

3. Tyler Reddick

For the second-straight year, Tyler Reddick was the fastest driver on the track in the closing laps at the Chicago Street Course, and for the second straight year, the 23XI Racing driver missed out on the win. Still, he has back-to-back top-five finishes for the first time this season, and first time since a three-race top-five finish streak in the 22nd through 24th races of the 2024 season. (Previously: 9th)

4. Alex Bowman

He held his ground in a fierce battle with Bubba Wallace, and in the end, Bowman got the better of his longtime rival as he finished eighth. Bowman has really found his groove the last four races as he has not finished worse than 11th. (Previously: 10th)

5. Chris Buescher

How deflating. Chris Buescher is one of the best NASCAR Cup Series drivers at road courses, and he suffered from a mechanical gremlin virtually all race on Sunday. However, he hung in there, and was able to walk away with a respectable 18th-place finish. (Previously: 2nd)

6. Ty Gibbs

The beginning of the season was tumultuous for Ty Gibbs, but the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing team has quietly turned things around, as one of four drivers to have an average finish under 10 in the last five NASCAR Cup Series events. (Previously: 17th)

7. Kyle Larson

Since crashing out of the Indianapolis 500, Kyle Larson has looked quite mortal. Larson has two finishes outside of the top-35 over the last seven races, and with a 13th-place run in Chicago, he now has back-to-back finishes outside of the top-10. Larson has led 0 laps since crashing out of the Coca-Cola 600. (Previously: 5th)

8. Ryan Preece

Alright, where did this road racing prowess come from? Preece finished a solid seventh on Sunday in the Chicago Street Race, which came on the heels of Preece winning a Stage at Circuit of the Americas and Mexico City. (Previously: 11th)

9. Erik Jones

A 25th-place run is not what we've grown accustomed to from Jones and the No. 43 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team over the last few weeks, but they were able to escape Chicago with an okay finish. Now, they'll look to regain their previous form. (Previously: 4th)

10. Christopher Bell

Christopher Bell hasn’t necessarily found himself in the spotlight lately, with some disappointing finishes the last couple of weeks, including a 23rd Sunday at Chicago. However, the summer in the NASCAR Cup Series contains an odd sequence of races, so the No. 20 team probably isn’t too bothered by this slight drop-off in performance. (Previously: 6th)

11. Ryan Blaney

A 12th place finish isn't sexy for Blaney at a road course, but the Team Penske driver took the Stage 2 win on Sunday, and moved the needle in a positive direction after suffering his sixth DNF of the season at Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. (Previously: 12th)

12. Chase Briscoe

There was a moment during Saturday’s qualifying session, and again in Sunday’s race, where it looked like Chase Briscoe might have something for Shane Van Gisbergen. Alas, it didn’t work out in either of those instances, and the No. 19 came up short of a good finish. (Previously: 8th)

13. Ross Chastain

It’s nothing like his teammate, but Ross Chastain managed to put together a solid top-10 run on one of the most difficult tracks in NASCAR. He may have made Joey Logano angry while doing it, but he still managed to take the solid finish. (Previously: 14th)

14. William Byron

Man, the wheels have fallen off for William Byron, who was having an incredibly consistent regular-season. Over his last five races, Byron has four finishes outside of the top-25, and Sunday's race in Chicago was the worst of them all as he suffered a clutch issue on lap one, and finished 40th. Byron's once thought to be insurmountable point lead, is down to just 13 points with seven races until the Playoffs. (Previously: 7th)

15. Joey Logano

As mentioned above, Ross Chastain definitely raised the dander of Joey Logano, who rallied to finish 11th after being wrecked by Chastain with 12 laps remaining in Sunday's Chicago Street Race. Logano is not a driver I'd personally mess with if I was Chastain. Expect payback sooner rather than later. (Previously: 15th)

16. Shane van Gisbergen

At this point, Chicago should just give Shane Van Gisbergen a key to the city. The Auckland, New Zealand-native swept the weekend by winning the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series events in dominant fashion (and both from the pole too). (Previously: 28th)

17. AJ Allmendinger

With a sixth-place finish in Chicago, Allmendinger has already matched his total of top-10 finishes from a season ago with five. Allmendinger has a lot of racing left to top that mark, and good news, he has another road course -- Sonoma Raceway -- coming up this weekend. (Previously: 16th)

18. Kyle Busch

When Kyle Busch spun out and then suffered a pit road penalty in Stage 2, it looked like we were heading to the same old kinda run for the driver. However, Busch and his No. 8 team kept their heads in the game, rallied, and Busch snagged a fifth-place finish. (Previously: 24th)

19. John Hunter Nemechek

John Hunter Nemechek came home in 15th in Sunday's Street Race, and in doing so he notched his eighth top-15 finish of the season. He had just six all of last year, so, I'd say the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team has shown some fast improvement this season. (Previously: 21st)

20. Brad Keselowski

The up-and-down season continued for the Brad Keselowski in Chicago as the driver of the No. 6 Ford suffered his sixth DNF of the year thanks to a track-blocking spin by Carson Hocevar on Lap 4. The latest DNF came after Keselowski finished ninth at Pocono and second at Atlanta. If he can avoid carnage, he should be in the mix going forward. (Previously: 13th)

21. Bubba Wallace

Was it the stress of the In-Season Tournament? Or was it his longstanding rivalry with Alex Bowman that caused Bubba Wallace to refuse to let Bowman get by him in the closing laps on Sunday in Chicago? I'm not sure, but I think looking back on it, Wallace, who is trying to make it into the Playoffs would probably choose to let Bowman by after the battle resulted in a spin, and a 28th-place finish for Wallace. (Previously: 18th)

22. Zane Smith

Amidst the chaos of the Chicago Street Race, Zane Smith was the sole Front Row Motorsports driver to put together a solid finish, coming home 14th. The good news for the second-year driver, is that he’s one of the eight drivers in the running for the in-season tournament after defeating Chris Buescher. (Previously: 23rd)

23. Michael McDowell

What a heartbreaking end to what seemed to be a great day for Michael McDowell and the No. 71 Spire Motorsports team. McDowell got around Shane van Gisbergen for the lead on the initial start of the race, won Stage 1, and led the opening 31 laps of the race. However, an issue with the throttle cable on his car forced him to the garage for 22 laps. (Previously: 25th)

24. Austin Cindric

Austin Cindric looked to be heading to a solid finish, but then he got overly aggressive on a restart with 12 laps to go, and was one of several cars that overshot Turn 1. Cindric was in the middle of a bunch of the chaos, which led to him stalling out on track, and finishing 27th, three laps down. (Previously: 22nd)

25. Ty Dillon

Ty Dillon is the hero we didn't know we needed. The No. 32 seed in the NASCAR In-Season Tournament continues to advance through the bracket as he finished 20th on Sunday, which knocked Brad Keselowski from the $1 million contest. (Previously: 31st)

26. Carson Hocevar

Carson Hocevar is a really fast driver, who is going to undoubtedly win some races in the NASCAR Cup Series. However, mistakes like he made on Sunday will be his calling card until he finally reaches victory lane. Hocevar crashed on Lap 4, and unfortunately, he took a lot of other good cars with him. (Previously: 20th)

27. Josh Berry

Josh Berry pounded the wall in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford, and had to sit there and think about it for nearly two minutes until NASCAR decided to throw a caution to get him off of the track. Berry would finish 34th. (Previously: 19th)

28. Cody Ware

Cody Ware was mixing it up in the top-10 and top-15 in the closing laps of Sunday's race in Chicago, but the incredible run was done in by an exploded brake rotor with two laps to go, which sent him hard into the Turn 6 tire barrier. Much like Berry, Ware had to sit there until race control realized the crash was serious, and put out the caution. Ware was scored with a 26th-place finish. (Previously: 34th)

29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

The road courses typically aren’t the strong suit for Ricky Stenhouse, Jr, but a top-15 to top-20 run was derailed for the No. 47 Chevrolet by a late-race incident that totally destroyed the front suspension of the HYAK Motorsports entry. But, another finish outside the top-30 kicks the team even further down the point standings. (Previously: 26th)

30. Austin Dillon

He qualified top-10, but Austin Dillon was never really given a chance to show what he could do on Sunday as he was one of the many drivers swept up in the incident with Hocevar in the opening laps. Dillon will look to bounce back from a 36th-place finish this week in Sonoma. (Previously: 29th)

31. Riley Herbst

Herbst was involved in the Hocevar melee, but lived to race on. While he's been overshadowed by his fellow Rookie of the Year contender Shane van Gisbergen, who won the race, Herbst came home with a 17th-place finish, his fourth 17th-place run of the season. (Previously: 36th)

32. Justin Haley

I'm not quite sure if the TNT broacast ever showed Haley, which considering the chaos that took place in the race could have been a good thing for Haley. The Spire Motorsports driver finished 22nd, which ended up being the best finish among the three-car Spire team on Sunday. (Previously: 32nd)

33. Cole Custer

The streak of solid runs for Cole Custer and Haas Factory Team ended on Sunday, after finishing outside the top-30. The No. 41 was invisible throughout much of the day before retiring due to a mechanical issue. (Previously: 27th)

34. Daniel Suarez

It’s been a tough week for Daniel Suarez, with the announcement that he’ll leave Trackhouse Racing at the end of 2025. Then, on Sunday, a lap two accident in Turn 10 destroyed his Jockey Chevrolet. Suarez limped around the track for 67 more laps, to get a 29th-place finish, before retiring the car. (Previously: 30th)

35. Noah Gragson

What started out as a solid weekend for Noah Gragson, in terms of speed, ended up being another disappointing finish. A 30th-place effort relegates the No. 4 team even further back in points heading to Sonoma. (Previously: 33rd)

36. Todd Gilliland

The pickles went sour Sunday at Chicago, after Todd Gilliland was damaged (beyond repair) in a lap two accident exiting Turn 10, which collected several drivers. Top-20s have been the name of the game for Gilliland, but the No. 34 team has been going through the motions lately. (Previously: 35th)