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

Toby Christie, Joseph Srigley, Zach Evans | Apr 28, 2025

Josh Calloni | Racing America On SI

William Byron tops the rankings: The driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet continues to put on a clinic of consistency, and with his latest third-place finish, he reclaims the top spot in our power rankings.

Win Propels Austin Cindric Forward: Not only did Austin Cindric claim his first win of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season this past weekend at Talladega, but the win also led to him having the largest jump in the rankings this week. Cindric is up seven spots.

When the checkered flag flew in Sunday's Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, it officially signaled that we are officially through one of the biggest wild card races in the regular-season. While Team Penske ultimately got its first win of the season, it was another great weekend for Hendrick Motorsports as three of the team's drivers finished inside the top-five, and all four of its drivers came home inside the top-10.

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 Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

1. William Byron

He's the NASCAR Cup Series point leader and the leader of our power rankings for a reason. William Byron has been unflappable. His consistent string continued in Sunday's Jack Link's 500 at Talladega with a third-place run. (Previously: 2)

2. Kyle Larson

He gave the race-winning shove to Austin Cindric, and after initial runner-up finisher Ryan Preece was disqualified, Kyle Larson was credited with a runner-up finish. Add in the fact that he also won a Stage, and this is essentially a win for Larson, who usually struggles at Talladega. (Previously: 3)

3. Denny Hamlin

After using a brilliant strategy to get track position at the start of the final stage, Denny Hamlin ultimately fell victim to Ross Chastain’s block upon the re-merging of the pit stop groups. Hamlin’s superspeedway woes with the NextGen continue, finishing 21st. (Previously: 1)

4. Chase Elliott

In his first race with the Prime logo on the hood of his car, Chase Elliott was in prime position to record a solid finish, and he did as he crossed the finish line in seventh. However, things got even better. After post-race inspection, Elliott was elevated to a top-five finish after Ryan Preece and Joey Logano failed tech. (Previously: 6)

5. Christopher Bell

It was a short afternoon for Christopher Bell, crashing just 52 laps into the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega. Luckily, Bell was alright, and as far as overall performance goes, a 37th-place finish at Talladega likely won’t take the wind out of his sails too badly. (Previously: 4)

6. Bubba Wallace

A former winner at Talladega, Bubba Wallace finished top-five in both stages, led laps, and finished eighth on Sunday. He has now led laps in five of the 10 races thus far in the season. (Previously: 12)

7. Tyler Reddick

Reddick had finished second in the Daytona 500 earlier this year, and finished seventh in the second stage on Sunday at Talladega. Ultimately, Reddick finished 14th on a day where he didn’t have quite the same muscle as Daytona, but put together a decent showing. (Previously: 8)

8. Ryan Blaney

While it was a great outing for Ryan Blaney’s Team Penske teammates, his day ended after just 42 laps. He was collected in an incident as Brad Keselowski entered pit road, suffering significant wheel damage. (Previously: 5)

9. Ross Chastain

I’m sure Ross Chastain was hoping to get more out of Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 than a 20th, especially after making that insane block on the quickly approaching Toyotas. Alas, a clean car, a solid finish, and some decent points is good enough for the driver of the No. 1 for Trackhouse. (Previously: 7)

10. Austin Cindric

At long last, Team Penske has its first win of 2025. Austin Cindric did the honors by winning Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500, holding off Ryan Preece on the final lap. (Previously: 17)

11. Ty Gibbs

The comeback trail is continuing for Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 Toyota Camry XSE after a terrible start to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign. While Gibbs only finished 17th, he did lead a race-high 32 laps during the final stage, when the Toyotas were pacing the field. (Previously: 11)

12. Chase Briscoe

Even though he didn’t follow up his pole from the DAYTONA 500, Chase Briscoe had a solid afternoon on Sunday, leading 20 laps and finishing a solid top-15. His run for a victory was pretty much negated by the gutsy block made by Ross Chastain when the green flag stop cycles were merging. (Previously: 9)

13. Alex Bowman

After finishing 27th, 35th, and 37th over his last three races, a seventh-place outing at Talladega was just what the doctor ordered for Alex Bowman. (Previously: 18)

14. Joey Logano

Logano originally finished fifth on Sunday, leading on six occasions for 24 laps. However, a post-race disqualification for a missing spoiler bolt put a damper on the day for the defending series champion. (Previously: 10)

15. AJ Allmendinger

Allmendinger lost the lead draft during the last round of pit stops, ultimately finishing 24th. That is Allmendinger’s worst finish since, of all places, Circuit of The Americas where he finished 30th. (Previously: 13)

16. Ryan Preece

Pain, absolute pain. After coming up just 0.022 seconds shy of what he thought was going to be his first-career NASCAR Cup Series win, Ryan Preece was kicked back to a 38th-place finish after an issue was detected with his rear spoiler in post-race inspection. (Previously: 16)

17. Austin Dillon

The season may have started off rough for Austin Dillon, but after Sunday's race at Talladega, he now has back-to-back 10th-place finishes as he heads into Texas Motor Speedway, where he won in 2020. (Previously: 21)

18. Carson Hocevar

The runner-up at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February, Hocevar notched his second top-10 finish of the season with a sixth-place run at Talladega. His day also featured a rare helmet change after suffering some discomfort early in the race. (Previously: 23)

19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Say what you want about Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and HYAK Motorsports, but they are finding a way to remain in contention for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, finishing 12th at Talladega Superspeedway. (Previously: 24)

20. Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch had speed, but then he was collected in a multi-car melee near the entrance to pit road early in the event. Still, Busch soldiered on, got the free pass, and eventually worked his way back up to the top-10. Then, he was doomed by a late-race speeding penalty and finished 27th. (Previously: 15)

21. Chris Buescher

Chris Buescher was battling for the race lead on Lap 52, when it all came done. A bad shove from Denny Hamlin sent Christopher Bell crashing into Buescher, and it ended both of their days. Now, Buescher has had three finishes outside the top-20 over his last four starts. (Previously: 14)

22. Michael McDowell

Michael McDowell finished 11th with a clean race car at the end of 500 miles at Talladega. Oddly enough, McDowell has now finished 13th or better in five of the year’s first 10 races, but still hasn’t cracked the top 10. (Previously: 26)

23. Daniel Suarez

One of the happiest people post-inspection was probably Daniel Suarez, who got promoted from 11th to ninth. It’s another solid result for Suarez, who is looking to build some momentum to make a run at the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. (Previously: 25)

24. Zane Smith

Second-year NASCAR Cup Series driver Zane Smith scored his first career pole on Saturday and had a fast TitleMax Ford Mustang Dark Horse on Sunday, but things just didn’t line up right for the driver of the No. 38, leaving him to finish 19th. (Previously: 20)

25. Josh Berry

Josh Berry had moments up front, finishing 10th in the second stage and leading 12 laps during the Jack Link’s 500. A pit road speeding penalty dashed his hopes of a strong finish, and he was ultimately credited with 26th place. Berry is still looking for his first top-10 finish since his win at Las Vegas. (Previously: 19)

26. Noah Gragson

After the disqualification of two drivers in front of him, sixth-place finisher Noah Gragson was promoted to fourth, scoring the third top five of his career and his first of 2025. Gragson becomes the sixth driver to earn a top five result for Front Row Motorsports. (Previously: 30)

27. Todd Gilliland

The superspeedway package on this No. 34 Ford Mustang Dark Horse hasn’t been as strong as in years past. Hoping to get his first pole, Gilliland started outside the top-10, and finished pretty much in the same spot, having a quiet afternoon. (Previously: 27)

28. Erik Jones

He finished 18th, and was invisible for the most part throughout Sunday's Jack Link's 500 at Talladega. However, at least he walked away from this race unscathed, unlike a season ago. (Previously: 32)

29. Justin Haley

Justin Haley finished 25th, losing touch with the lead draft at the end of the race. Haley slipped to 27th in points with the result, part of a tightly-bound group of drivers outside the top 20 in the championship standings. (Previously: 22)

30. Ty Dillon

Ty Dillon appeared destined for his first top-10 finish of the season, but ran out of fuel on the last lap and finished 23rd. It’s a heartbreaking end for what was otherwise a very strong showing for the No. 10 team. (Previously: 29)

31. John Hunter Nemechek

Three top-15s and four top-20s through the opening five races of the season had us all thinking Nemechek could be a surprise Playoff contender. After Sunday's race at Talladega, where he finished 30th after a spin on the exit of pit road, he now has a five-race streak of finishing outside of the top-20. (Previously: 27)

32. Cole Custer

It wasn’t a near-victory like in the DAYTONA 500, but Cole Custer had a pretty solid afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway, getting a 13th-place result in the chaos of the post-race disqualifications. It’s the first top-20 for Haas Factory Team in the NASCAR Cup Series, and some much-needed points for the Xfinity Series champion. (Previously: 33)

33. Riley Herbst

The box score is not indicative of Herbst’s day at Talladega. The Rookie of the Year contender spent time up front and earned stage points in the first stage, but finished 22nd. (Previously: 34)

34. Brad Keselowski

I'm not sure if I can properly muster the words. Keselowski and the No. 6 team have been equal parts bad and unlucky throughout the opening 10 races of the 2025 season. On Sunday at Talladega, it was the unlucky bug that struck as Keselowski was wiped out in a multi-car crash on Lap 43. (Previously: 31)

35. Cody Ware

Sure, the record book will show Cody Ware finished 31st, two laps off the pace, but the Rick Ware Racing driver was mixing it up near the front several times on Sunday at Talladega. (Previously: 36)

36. Shane van Gisbergen

Talladega Superspeedway marked a major opportunity for Shane Van Gisbergen to better his statline and points position heading into the summer months, and honestly, the No. 88 disappointed, finishing 31st and off the lead lap. There will need to be some major improvements soon on the oval side if SVG is to make any kind of substantial run at Rookie of the Year. (Previously: 35)