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

Byron Is Back! William Byron, who last won in the season-opening Daytona 500, put an end to his losing streak as well as his recent cold streak with a win in Sunday's Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway. With the win, Byron, who has led the point standings for the majority of the season, took the lead back from Chase Elliott, who finished 13th. Byron gained seven spots in the Weekly Power Rankings this week, more than any other driver.

No More Corn: While Iowa Speedway was good to William Byron, it wasn't so kind to others. Four drivers (Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, Chris Buescher, and Shane van Gisbergen) all dropped six spots apiece this week, tied for the most of any drivers following the Iowa Corn 350.

RACE RESULTS: Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol

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 Watkins Glen International.

Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

1. Chase Briscoe

Chase Briscoe is a qualifying machine, scoring another pole (his sixth of the year) at Iowa Speedway. Briscoe remained a player inside the top-10 all afternoon and ended up second behind William Byron – his best finish while starting on the pole in 2025. (Previously: 5th)

2. Alex Bowman

Alex Bowman still doesn't have a win, but he continued his positive momentum with a solid seventh-place finish and in doing so, he bolstered his Playoff hopes. Bowman now sits 63 points above the Playoff cutline. (Previously: 3rd)

3. Chase Elliott

Chase Elliott has had some really good runs as of late, which led to him snatching the point lead from his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron. However, a 13th-place run this weekend wasn't good enough for Elliott to hang on. He sits second in the regular-season standings with three races left until the Playoffs begin. (Previously: 2nd)

4. Denny Hamlin

Sunday was uncharacteristic for Denny Hamlin on a short track, struggling with his No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE and finishing P24 after getting spun after being the meat in the sandwich of a four-wide battle heading into Turn 3. (Previously: 1st)

5. Ryan Preece

If Ryan Preece misses out on the Playoffs, it won't be for lack of effort. The Connecticut native continued his career-year with his third top-five finish of the season, and he's now up to 10 top-10 finishes this year, which is double his previous career-best (had five top-10s in 2024). Preece is knocking on the door to victory lane, and a Playoff berth. (Previously: 9th)

6. Bubba Wallace

After a stretch of races where absolutely nothing went right for Bubba Wallace, he has now rattled off three straight top-10s. Coming off the Brickyard 400 victory one week ago, Wallace finished sixth at Iowa. (Previously: 10th)

7. William Byron

There he is. We knew if the planets aligned, Byron could pull through for a big-time win. He's had speed as of late, but circumstances kept getting in the way. Now, he's back atop the championship standings with three races until they pay out the Playoff Points. (Previously: 14th)

8. Ryan Blaney

With one or two fewer cautions, Blaney might have made it back-to-back in the first two NASCAR Cup Series races at Iowa Speedway. He was certainly on the charge in the closing laps without any fuel concerns, but ran out of time and finished fourth. (Previously: 12th)

9. Brad Keselowski

Brad Keselowski and his crew chief Jeremy Bullins are firing on all cylinders all of a sudden. Remember when Keselowski was mired back in the 30s in the championship standings? Well, he's up to 19th after back-to-back top-five finishes. Keselowski has also racked up three top-10 runs in a row. (Previously: 13th)

10. Kyle Larson

Man, not what we expected to see from Kyle Larson, who had decent speed early in Sunday's race. However, he never really contended for the lead, and in the end, slipped and slid backward on his path to a 28th-place finish. (Previously: 4th)

11. Christopher Bell

Christopher Bell looked to have a fast car in practice on Saturday, but that speed didn’t seem to transfer to the race. After a mid-race spin (with some help from Chase Briscoe, his teammate), Bell could never get back into the top-10, finishing P17. (Previously: 8th)

12. Ty Gibbs

It’s been such a strong stretch for Ty Gibbs this Summer, but Sunday at Iowa wasn’t an extension of that. Gibbs finished outside the top-20, in 21st. However, the driver of the No. 54 is looking to score his first career victory next weekend at Watkins Glen – and still has the fifth-best average finish in the series over the last six races. (Previously: 6th)

13. Chris Buescher

While RFK Racing celebrates a double top-five performance from Brad Keselowski and Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher was left wondering where his speed was in Iowa. Buescher struggled mightily on Sunday and came home a disappointing 22nd. (Previously: 7th)

14. Joey Logano

It was a quiet and unassuming day for Joey Logano at Iowa, but he came away with a ninth-place finish. With another ninth-place finish back at Sonoma, Logano hopes to make it back-to-back top 10s next week at Watkins Glen. (Previously: 15th)

15. Tyler Reddick

Tyler Reddick was involved in a caution with around 100 laps to go with Christopher Bell after contact from Chase Briscoe, and couldn’t work his way back into contention. Reddick ultimately finished 19th. (Previously: 11th)

16. Austin Cindric

It was nearly a trio of Penske cars in the top 10, as Cindric finished 12th at Iowa. He led 20 laps on Sunday, pushing him over the 300 laps led mark for the first season in his Cup Series career. (Previously: 17th)

17. Kyle Busch

Considering how bad his weekend started out (crashed in practice), Busch was able to salvage a solid 20th-place run at Iowa on Sunday. However, if he's going to work his way into the Playoffs, he's going to need a win in the next three races. (Previously: 16th)

18. John Hunter Nemechek

John Hunter Nemechek just continues piling on respectable showing after respectable showing. The LEGACY MOTOR CLUB driver finished 15th on Sunday, which marks his 10th top-15 finish of the 2025 season. (Previously: 19th)

19. Josh Berry

You always have to keep an eye on Josh Berry at the short tracks, and he scored a 13th-place finish in the Wood Brothers Racing Ford on Sunday at Iowa. He may be 21st in points, but with his win at Vegas and Bristol in the first round of the Playoffs, there’s still plenty on the line for Berry. (Previously: 22nd)

20. Carson Hocevar

It was once again an eventful day to be Carson Hocevar. He got spun one time, he spun Zane Smith another time, Zane Smith really wanted to spin him a second time, and somehow, when it was all over, Hocevar finished in the top 10. It’s never boring, that is for certain. (Previously: 26th)

21. Ross Chastain

Ross Chastain may have finally stopped the bleeding. After a poor qualifying result, the Trackhouse Racing driver methodically worked his way through the pack to finish 11th. It’s one of two top-20s for Chastain in the last six races (the other being Chicago). (Previously: 27th)

22. AJ Allmendinger

A.J. Allmendinger qualified ninth and also finished ninth in the first stage. He finished 18th, pitting at the same time as the late chargers such as Ryan Blaney, but not able to work his way forward in the closing laps. (Previously: 23rd)

23. Justin Haley

Justin Haley picked up stage points in the first stage, but finished 23rd on Sunday at Iowa. After coming so close to his second top-10 of the season last week at Indianapolis, the wait continues one more week. (Previously: 21st)

24. Shane van Gisbergen

Shane Van Gisbergen is NOT a fan of Iowa. After a dismal showing at the short track last season, the Auckland, New Zealand-native had another rough afternoon, crashing twice and finishing outside the top-30. The good news? There was some pace before the incidents occurred. (Previously: 18th)

25. Michael McDowell

It’s been a frustrating couple of weeks for Michael McDowell. After a top-five at Sonoma and 13th at Dover, it’s now a 27th-place finish at Iowa after 30th at the Brickyard 400. He’ll certainly hope to turn things around at the road course of Watkins Glen International next week. (Previously: 20th)

26. Erik Jones

A 16th-place finish is a step back in the right direction for Erik Jones, who got hot in June, but cooled off toward the end of July. Jones and the No. 43 team know if everything falls their way, they've had really good speed this season. Maybe they can surprise and win a race to lock into the Playoffs. (Previously: 28th)

27. Austin Dillon

Well, hello Austin Dillon. The driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet had one of his best overall races of the season as he ran in or around the top-10 essentially all race long at Iowa. In the end, Dillon recorded a 10th-place finish. (Previously: 31st)

28. Daniel Suarez

Daniel Suarez was on the right side of a mid-cycle caution for his teammate Shane van Gisbergen on Lap 171, but that didn’t end up benefiting the No. 99 team by the time the end of the race came around. Not much to talk about here, but P25 isn’t ideal for a team trying to win its way into the Playoffs. (Previously: 30th)

29. Ty Dillon

Iowa was one to forget for Ty Dillon. Off the heels of his run to the finals in the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, Dillon was involved in a pair of cautions and finished 35th, four laps down. (Previously: 24th)

30. Todd Gilliland

After a sixth-place finish at Indianapolis, surely Todd Gilliland and Front Row Motorsports were hoping for more speed at Iowa. The pace was average, but the luck was below average, with the No. 34 getting caught up in a wreck with 88 laps remaining. (Previously: 25th)

31. Cole Custer

After starting inside the top-20, it looked like Cole Custer and Haas Factory Team would be on for one of their better runs of 2025. However, things didn’t work out that way, bringing home a P26. The momentum from Saturday’s Xfinity win by Sam Mayer didn’t quite carry over to Sunday. (Previously: 34th)

32. Zane Smith

Zane Smith has consistently been the highest runner amongst the three drivers at Front Row Motorsports, but the main issue for the No. 38 team has been luck. A mid-race tangle with Carson Hocevar left Smith with another dismal finish at Iowa. (Previously: 29th)

33. Riley Herbst

Riley Herbst finished 30th on Sunday, his worst finish since his crash at Pocono. With only one top-20 finish in the last 12 races, it has been a tough stretch during Herbst’s rookie season over the summer. (Previously: 33rd)

34. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and HYAK Motorsports have to be scratching their heads after the performance this weekend at Iowa Speedway. The No. 47 finished top-five last season at this racetrack, but on Sunday, it was one of the slowest cars on the racetrack, finishing three laps down in 33rd. (Previously: 32nd)

35. Noah Gragson

It was a quiet afternoon for Noah Gragson at Iowa. Typically, that would be a good thing, except for the fact that the No. 4 team was severely lacking in raw speed. The fact that Gragson scored a top-30 means the team finished better than where they were running all day, which is a slight positive. (Previously: 35th)

36. Cody Ware

Cody Ware spun through the infield grass, but fortunately was able to keep his car from gaining any severe damage. However, a 32nd-place finish wasn't enough to move the Rick Ware Racing driver from the final slot in our Power Rankings this week. (Previously: 36th)