Shakeup in the Power Rankings After Hendrick's Big Day at Martinsville

Hendrick Motorsports entered Sunday's Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway with no drivers locked into the Championship 4. The 14-time NASCAR Cup Series championship-winning team ended the day with two drivers, Kyle Larson and race-winner William Byron, set to battle for the Bill France Cup in Phoenix.

Race Results: Xfinity 500 at Martinsville

It was a great day for Hendrick Motorsports, which saw three of its four drivers finish inside the top-five, and it was a sad day for four drivers and teams, who had poured their all into becoming the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series champions only to see their hopes fade at the paperclip.

At the end of the 500-lap slugfest, there were sweeping changes to the weekly power rankings.

1. Kyle Larson

Mission accomplished for Kyle Larson. He finished fifth, scored more points than Christopher Bell, and he didn't prevent his teammate from advancing to the Championship 4 as well. Now, Larson will fight for his second career NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix. (Previously: 5th)

2. William Byron

Some may see the second-place ranking and scratch their heads. But William Byron has been incredible the last three weeks on three vastly different tracks. He was in the conversation to win at Las Vegas and Talladega until disaster struck in the closing laps. This week, he beat down the field and outdueled Martinsville master Ryan Blaney. (Previously: 9th)

3. Christopher Bell

I can’t think of anything that Christopher Bell did *wrong* to miss the Championship 4 in the NASCAR Cup Series this year, but circumstances just ended up biting the driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE, and leaving him out of the title hunt in favor of Kyle Larson and William Byron. (Previously: 1st)

4. Chase Briscoe

We’ve reached uncharted territory for Chase Briscoe when it comes to championship pressure. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 for the first time in his career, but it comes directly after a last-place finish courtesy of an engine issue at Martinsville Speedway. (Previously: 2nd)

5. Ryan Preece

Ryan Preece has come to life as of late. After a sixth-place finish Sunday at Martinsville, the driver of the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford now has an average finish of 9.0 over his last four races. He heads into Phoenix looking to play a Championship 4 spoiler as he's hunting his first career win. (Previously: 7th)

6. Joey Logano

Nearly half of Joey Logano’s 12 top-10 finishes this season have come during the Playoffs, including an eighth-place result at Martinsville on Sunday. This time, the trademark Logano late-season surge was a little too late and lacked the wins to keep his title hopes alive. (Previously: 6th)

7. Tyler Reddick

Tyler Reddick’s top-10 streak ended on Sunday, but only barely. Reddick finished 11th in his first race after a haircut seen all around social media in hopes of turning his fortunes around. (Previously: 4th)

8. Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin has another opportunity to fight for his first NASCAR Cup Series championship, courtesy of his victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. But, that’s the only top-20 finish he’s had in the last four weeks, and mechanical gremlins have been a theme of the Playoffs for the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team. (Previously: 3rd)

9. Todd Gilliland

Another great performance from Todd Gilliland and the Front Row Motorsports No. 34 this weekend at Martinsville, finishing ninth. It’s the first time Gilliland has scored back-to-back top-10 results in the NASCAR Cup Series, and it comes at a great time for the organization to build some much-needed momentum. (Previously: 12th)

10. Ryan Blaney

After winning the last two fall Martinsville races, Ryan Blaney was a favorite to win his way into the Championship 4 on Sunday. He lived up to the billing by leading 177 laps and controlling most of the final stage, but ultimately, he couldn’t hold off William Byron at the end of 500 laps. (Previously: 16th)

11. Chase Elliott

It was a nice, solid top-five day for Chase Elliott at Martinsville Speedway, and he closed it out with a third-place finish. Unfortunately, he needed to win to advance to the Championship 4. Elliott, who took a step forward this year, will look to return to championship form in 2026. (Previously: 14th)

12. Shane van Gisbergen

At this point, a top-15 on an oval isn’t even notable for Shane Van Gisbergen anymore. Now, it’ll be time for the Auckland, New Zealand-native to take the next step, by getting top-10s, then some top-fives, and eventually (and I’m sure he’ll get there) fighting for the victory. P14 is a solid run, regardless. (Previously: 15th)

13. Ross Chastain

It wasn’t a very notable afternoon for Ross Chastain in the first 400 laps of Sunday’s event, but a caution in the middle of green-flag stops got the No. 1 into contention for a top-five finish, which eventually resulted in his best Martinsville finish of fourth-place. (Previously: 17th)

14. Bubba Wallace

It was an adventurous day for Bubba Wallace, who was involved in a couple of incidents during the afternoon at Martinsville. He finished 18th, the last car on the lead lap, continuing a roller-coaster end to the 2025 season. (Previously: 11th)

15. Brad Keselowski

With a 20th-place finish, Sunday's run at Martinsville wasn't Brad Keselowski's best of the season, but let me remind you how far this No. 6 team has come... there was a time in the season, where a 20th-place finish would have been a welcomed sight. Now, it's a disappointment. (Previously: 10th)

16. Ty Gibbs

It was a great start to the weekend, and even the race, but Ty Gibbs just couldn’t close on the top-10 finish that he probably deserved. Plus, there was the bit of displeasure that came over the radio waves courtesy of Denny Hamlin mid-race. Might be a good idea to stay away from your championship-contending teammates next weekend, Ty, just in case. (Previously: 19th)

17. Chris Buescher

Chris Buescher started 29th, and finished 29th at Martinsville Speedway. After perhaps his worst overall race of the season, Buescher will look to shake off the funk at Phoenix. (Previously: 8th)

18. Kyle Busch

You know, a 13th-place finish isn't incredibly sexy, but Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing team is starting to find a bit of consistency as the 2025 season comes to a close. (Previously: 22nd)

19. Michael McDowell

A strategy call to put on two tires after the first caution backfired dramatically for McDowell, falling two laps down before he had a chance to stop the bleeding. He got one of the laps back and finished 24th. (Previously: 13th)

20. Josh Berry

Josh Berry’s day had a little bit of everything, including missing out on a free pass in a stackup and being sent for a spin just past halfway. That didn’t stop him from picking up a 10th-place finish on the day. (Previously: 29th)

21. Cole Custer

Sunday at Martinsville isn’t the team’s best finish of the season, but overall, it was probably the best showing for Haas Factory Team in the NASCAR Cup Series, after qualifying inside the top-10 and running around there for most of the event, before settling for 17th. (Previously: 25th)

22. Alex Bowman

Alex Bowman, the lone Hendrick driver not in the Round of 8 battle, came home a disappointing 23rd in Sunday's race at Martinsville. (Previously: 18th)

23. Daniel Suarez

It was a hell of a week for Daniel Suarez. On Wednesday, it was announced that he’d move to Spire Motorsports to take over the No. 7 Chevrolet in 2026, and then on Sunday, he got spun around MULTIPLE TIMES by his future teammate, Carson Hocevar, which was the highlight of a Spire Motorsports slugfest. That’ll surely be a fun team meeting on Monday. (Previously: 20th)

24. Austin Cindric

A speeding penalty hampered Austin Cindric’s day when he was in the top 10 at times throughout the afternoon. He still salvaged a 15th-place finish to back up a 10th-place starting position. (Previously: 28th)

25. Carson Hocevar

Carson Hocevar spent more of Sunday pointing in the wrong direction than he would like. Those incidents came with an alarming frequency around current and future Spire Motorsports teammates, as well. Previously: 21st)

26. Zane Smith

Zane Smith had a quiet afternoon at Martinsville on Sunday, but he wasn’t quite up to snuff with his teammate Todd Gilliland, who finished inside the top-10. (Previously: 24th)

27. Austin Dillon

Austin Dillon had a decent day at Martinsville Speedway, and by the time the checkered flag was displayed, the driver of the iconic No. 3 Chevrolet was credited with a 16th-place result. (Previously: 30th)

28. John Hunter Nemechek

It wasn't the high-water mark of John Hunter Nemechek's solid 2025 season, but a 21st-place finish was by no means a rough outing. (Previously: 31st)

29. Erik Jones

Erik Jones, John Hunter Nemechek's teammate, on the other hand, had a really bad day. He suffered a 34th-place finish after enduring race-ending damage on Lap 407. (Previously: 23rd)

30. AJ Allmendinger

A no-good, very-bad day for A.J. Allmendinger featured a speeding penalty and a struggle for overall pace. He finished 28th, three laps down. (Previously: 26th)

31. Noah Gragson

Another tough showing for Noah Gragson and the No. 4 Front Row Motorsports team. The 30th-place result at Martinsville is the driver’s third finish outside the top-25 in the last four races. This team will have to come together over the off-season and try to put together a consistent program between its three teams in 2025. (Previously: 27th)

32. Justin Haley

Justin Haley had the highest finishing position for the Spire Motorsports stable on Sunday, coming home 19th. It wasn’t overly attractive, but Haley stayed out of the fray and brought home the best finish possible after the early accident at Talladega. (Previously: 35th)

33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Another weekend of Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. going basically unnoticed. Those early-season performances may as well have been a totally different organization at this point. (Previously: 32nd)

34. Ty Dillon

Ty Dillon had a front-row seat to William Byron’s pass for the lead on Ryan Blaney that eventually punched Byron’s ticket into the Championship 4. Dillon finished 26th, two laps down. (Previously: 33rd)

35. Riley Herbst

Riley Herbst was one of three Toyota drivers to fall out of the running on Sunday at Martinsville due to engine issues. Herbst’s engine failure came after 323 laps, relegating him to a 36th-place finish. (Previously: 34th)

36. Cody Ware

The wheel fell off, literally, for Cody Ware at Martinsville Speedway. But Ware was able to rebound to finish the race in 32nd-place. (Previously: 36th)