While Denny Hamlin was the undisputed favorite to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship heading into the Chase, it is clear that Kyle Larson, the defending and two-time series champion, is the guy now expected to win it all. After going 51 races without a win, Larson now has two wins in the opening four races of the Chase, and after his win at Kansas, he now holds a seemingly comfortable 26-point advantage.
Larson has vaulted forward in the Chase Grid over the last four races, and he’s done the same in our weekly Power Rankings. This week, the climb is complete, as he is atop the rankings unquestionably..
While Larson ranking first was the obvious choice, where do the rest of the drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series rank after last weekend’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway?
Here are the Racing America On SI NASCAR Power Rankings after Kansas:
In no universe was Kyle Larson not going to be number one in the power rankings this week. The Cup Series point leader has come to life in the Chase, and he scored his second win of the four races inside the championship fight Sunday at Kansas. Additionally, Larson scored max points by winning both Stages, turning the fastest lap, and leading 235 of the 267 laps. The guy looks unstoppable right now.
2. Denny Hamlin (3)
The championship is slowly slipping through Denny Hamlin’s grasp, but there is still plenty of racing to be had. And the fact that Hamlin continues to find ways to nab decent results, when he clearly isn’t at his best, gives him and his fans hope that when he is firing on all cylinders that he can deliver some wins down the stretch.
3. Christopher Bell (3)
Since winning at Darlington, the opening race of the Chase, Christopher Bell has been steady-Eddy. His consistent march through the Chase continued with a sixth-place finish at Kansas Speedway on Sunday.
4. Joey Logano (1)
Logano would have likely slotted in second in the rankings this week, but he suffered a cut tire in the closing laps of the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas, which saw him drop to a disappointing 20th-place finish.
5. Austin Cindric (9)
Alright, who had Austin Cindric firing off a second-place finish at Kansas Speedway on their bingo card? If you’re raising your hand, put it down because we know you’re lying. If you genuinely are telling the truth, it’s likely because Cindric has really churned out some under-the-radar decent results in the Chase. After a runner-up at Kansas, he’s no longer under the radar.
6. Ty Gibbs (4)
Ty Gibbs is currently in a hot, and cold streak through the opening four races of the Chase. The driver of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota either finishes top-five, he was second at Darlington and fifth at Bristol, or he finishes outside the top-15, as he was 18th at Gateway and 17th last weekend at Kansas. If he continues the trend, Gibbs will finish top-five at Las Vegas this weekend.
7. Ryan Preece (10)
His Chase seeding doesn’t tell the full story of how effective Ryan Preece has been in the opening four Chase races, and a lot of that is because he hasn’t racked up many Stage Points. However, the RFK Racing driver continues to secure top-10 finishes. His 10th-place run at Kansas was his third 10th-place finish in the four Chase races.
8. Bubba Wallace (10)
With a comeback ninth-place finish at Kansas Speedway, Bubba Wallace matched a career-high for top-10s in a season with his 14th. The driver, who hopes to go on a generational run in the Chase has moved from 14th to 9th in the Chase Grid through the opening four races, and had it not been for an incident not of his doing with Carson Hocevar in Stage 2, he likely gets a better finish than ninth at Kansas.
9. William Byron (11)
A 37th-place finish at Darlington, the opening race of the Chase, was disappointing for William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team, but they have rallied back the last three races. After a seventh-place finish at Kansas Speedway, Byron now has three consecutive top-10 finishes, and he’s trying to claw his way back through the Chase field.
10. Chase Briscoe (18)
Chase Briscoe was so close to a win at Kansas Speedway that he could taste it. Unfortunately, he bit off more than he could chew, as he pounded the outside wall in the closing laps, and faded to a fourth-place finish. Still, it’s his best finish in the Chase, and he hopes he can now work himself back into championship contention.
Best of the Rest
11. Ryan Blaney (16)
12. Chase Elliott (22)
13. Carson Hocevar (7)
14. Tyler Reddick (14)
15. Brad Keselowski (13)
16. Josh Berry (6)
17. Alex Bowman (12)
18. Daniel Suarez (17)
19. Ross Chastain (15)
20. Todd Gilliland (20)
21. Michael McDowell (19)
22. Chris Buescher (21)
23. John Hunter Nemechek (26)
24. Austin Dillon (23)
25. AJ Allmendinger (25)
26. Erik Jones (30)
27. Shane van Gisbergen (24)
28. Connor Zilisch (27)
29. Cole Custer (28)
30. Riley Herbst (35)
31. Austin Hill (32)
32. Zane Smith (31)
33. Noah Gragson (29)
34. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (33)
35. Ty Dillon (35)
36. Cody Ware (34)
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