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

Ring the Bell: It wasn't a win, but a climb from 31st to 2nd in the high altitude of Mexico City was enough to elevate the driver to the top spot in this week's Power Rankings. Bell climbed the hill from fifth a week ago to take over the lead.

13: Michael McDowell was the biggest mover in the rankings this week as he shot up the board 13 spots following a fifth-place run in Sunday's Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

RACE RESULTS: Viva Mexico 250 at Mexico City

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 race at Pocono Raceway.

Estimated Reading Time:9 minutes

1. Christopher Bell

Christopher Bell was no match for Shane Van Gisbergen, but a second-place finish isn’t all that bad for the COTA winner. Hopefully, this returns the No. 20 team to race-winning form. (Previously: 5th)

2. William Byron

He battled back from a 27th-place starting spot to finish respectibly in ninth. The regular-season point lead continues to grow for William Byron with 10 races left until the Playoffs begin. (Previously: 2nd)

3. Chase Elliott

Now, THIS is what we've expected out of Chase Elliott. A very good, all around performance, capped off with a podium finish. Top-15s are not the standard, his third-place run in Mexico City is now the bar going forward. (Previously: 8th)

4. Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin didn’t compete in Sunday’s Viva Mexico 250, staying home to tend to his fiancée and their newborn son. Ryan Truex drove the No. 11 and finished 23rd. (Previously: 1st)

5. Ross Chastain

After a couple of good weeks on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit, Ross Chastain put together a so-so result on Sunday, fading late to 16th. After having top-10 speed and qualifying in third, the No. 1 team is still showing signs of major speed. (Previously: 3rd)

6. Chris Buescher

Chris Buescher continues to build momentum with his second consecutive top-10 finish. However, Buescher, a skilled road racer, had to be disappointed with a 10th-place result in Mexico City. (Previously: 6th)

7. Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney bounced back from disappointment at Michigan with a 14th-place finish at Mexico City. He picked up plenty of stage points with a second-place finish in Stage One and a fourth-place in Stage Two. (Previously: 7)

8. Kyle Larson

It's been hit or miss for Kyle Larson lately. Sunday, at Mexico City, he was hit by Kyle Busch, which resulted in a miss in the form of a 36th-place finish. Larson now has two top-10s and two finishes of 36th-or-worse in his last four starts. (Previously: 4th)

9. Chase Briscoe

A seventh-place finish is mighty impressive for Chase Briscoe, considering his involvement in the Lap 6 accident with Kyle Busch put him one lap off the pace. No pole position this weekend, but a solid run nonetheless. (Previously: 16th)

10. Tyler Reddick

With three of his eight career wins on road courses, Tyler Reddick was a driver to watch entering the weekend in Mexico City. However, he qualified 22nd and finished 20th, a quiet day. (Previously: 10th)

11. Bubba Wallace

Bubba Wallace has never been shy about discussing his struggles on road courses, so you know he was plenty happy with a 12th-place finish on Sunday. He even picked up stage points in the first stage, making a solid all-around day for Wallace. (Previously: 12th)

12. Ryan Preece

Another solid run for Ryan Preece, who won a Stage, and came home with a 15th-place result at the 2.42-mile road course in Mexico City of all places. (Previously: 17th)

13. Joey Logano

Joey Logano finished 22nd on Sunday, an improvement on his 24th-place result in the first road course event of the season at Circuit of The Americas. He also had a meeting of the fenders with Austin Dillon in the final stage of the race. (Previously: 11th)

14. Erik Jones

He came home in 17th, but overall, Erik Jones had a much better run in Sunday's Viva Mexico 250. Although he didn't get the top-15 he deserved, he had another solid effort in a 17th-place finish. (Previously: 13th)

15. Michael McDowell

Michael McDowell earned his first top-five finish of the season with a fifth-place result on Sunday. There have certainly been other opportunities for McDowell to have a run like this, but all the pieces came together in Mexico City. (Previously: 28th)

16. Shane van Gisbergen

He may have been “leaking out of both ends” but Shane Van Gisbergen curbstomped the NASCAR Cup Series field on Sunday, winning by more than 16 and a half seconds. The No. 88 is now going to be in the Playoffs. (Previously: 23rd)

17. AJ Allmendinger

It was a surprisingly quiet but solid 13th-place finish for A.J. Allmendinger. He was another driver tagged during the early multi-car incident, but had a fast car and recovered nicely. (Previously: 19th)

18. Austin Cindric

Austin Cindric was one of just two drivers who stayed out on slicks during the rain showers to start Sunday’s race. It didn’t quite work out as hoped, but Cindric did spend some time near the front of the field and even led a lap before finishing 18th. (Previously: 21st)

19. Josh Berry

Like at Circuit of The Americas, Josh Berry finished 26th at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Most of the conversation surrounding Berry after the race involved his viewpoint of the conversation between Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., and Carson Hocevar. Not the worst thing to leave the race watching the beef instead of partaking in it. (Previously: 15th)

20. Alex Bowman

Alex Bowman finally stopped the bleeding with a fourth-place run, and in doing so, he put in one of the gutsiest performances of the 2025 season as he was in obvious pain following last week's insanely hard crash at Michigan International Speedway. (Previously: 25th)

21. Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch went bowling for cars on Lap 7 of Sunday's race. The end result? A last-place finish, which dramatically drops the driver of the No. 8 in our weekly power rankings. (Previously: 9th)

22. Ty Gibbs

Ty Gibbs looked like the one person who could challenge Shane Van Gisbergen on Sunday, but a poor strategy and the burning of his rear tires prevented him from taking the fight to the eventual race-winner, or even score a top-10. (Previously: 26th)

23. Carson Hocevar

The good news: Carson Hocevar picked up stage points in both stages. The bad news: He finished 34th, one lap down. The worst news: Relations with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. went from bad to worse after a collision in the stadium section of the circuit on Sunday. (Previously: 14th)

24. John Hunter Nemechek

Nemechek had one of his better runs of the season on Sunday as he collected a sixth-place finish at Mexico City. It's been a quiet, yet decent year for the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB driver. (Previously: 29th)

25. Brad Keselowski

A rough 25th-place outing for Brad Keselowski, but the driver of the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford isn't expected to turn many heads on a road course. This weekend at Pocono will be very important for Keselowski's hopes to win his way into the Playoffs. (Previously: 22nd)

26. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

While hopes of making the Playoffs have slipped away for Ricky Stenhouse and the HYAK Motorsports team, the Olive Branch, Mississippi-native might get some stress relief when he finds Carson Hocevar back in North Carolina. A run-in with Hocevar certainly didn’t help the frustration of a rough afternoon. (Previously: 18th)

27. Daniel Suarez

It’s not the result he was hoping for in front of his home crowd, finishing 19th, but Daniel Suarez managed to score an Xfinity Series victory the day before, so not all was lost during this historically monumental weekend for the Mexican driver. (Previously: 24th)

28. Zane Smith

After some incredible momentum lately, Zane Smith saw his day end early when Kyle Busch went bowling into Turn 1 in the wet weather conditions, collecting the No. 38 and several others. After riding around, another issue sent Smith to the garage before the race's end, dropping him way down the standings. (Previously: 20th)

29. Todd Gilliland

Todd Gilliland had some speed this weekend in Mexico City, but things didn’t materialize for the No. 34 Ford Mustang, between strategy and an in-race incident or two that cost the team some major track position. A 22nd-place run isn’t terrible, but it doesn't live up to the potential for Gilliland. (Previously: 31st)

30. Cole Custer

NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Cole Custer put together his best run of the season for Haas Factory Team, spending most of the afternoon inside the top-10, and at times in the top-five, before coming home in eighth. Travel woes be damned, Mexico was a breath of fresh air for the No. 41 team. (Previously: 35th)

31. Austin Dillon

There was a portion of Sunday's race, where Austin Dillon worked his way inside of the top-10, and it looked like a surprise good finish was incoming. However, it all shook out with a 28th-place finish south of the border. (Previously: 27th)

32. Justin Haley

Justin Haley recovered from being collected in a multi-car incident on lap eight for a 24th-place finish. It wasn’t the kind of result that leaps off the page, but it was an important one to run around what had been a challenging start to the summer for the No. 7 team. (Previously: 33rd)

33. Ty Dillon

Ty Dillon was poised for a great result in Mexico, running in the top 10 throughout the day. However, he finished 33rd, one lap down, after suffering a flat tire following contact on the final restart of the race. (Previously: 30th)

34. Noah Gragson

One of quite a few drivers to feel ill in Mexico City this weekend, Noah Gragson had a pretty tough weekend between his race day sickness, a crash in practice that sent him to a backup car, and some incidents in-race that left him outside the top-30 when the checkered flag was displayed. (Previously: 32nd)

35. Riley Herbst

Riley Herbst had a particularly scary moment at one point, spinning in the stadium section of the course and nearly pulling in front of Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Herbst finished 29th, which has to sting after an eighth-place finish in stage two. (Previously: 34th)

36. Cody Ware

Road courses are where Ware is expected to be able to gain on the some of the drivers on this list. It just simply didn't happen in Mexico City as Ware walked out of the Viva Mexico 250 with a 31st-place finish. (Previously: 36th)