Who is the best NASCAR driver right now? We’re through 13 Cup Series races this season coming out of Darlington. Following a great finish at the Goodyear 400, it’s time to dive into our NASCAR power rankings this week before the All-Star Race.
Sunday’s Goodyear 400 seemed to be headed for a Tyler Reddick vs Chris Buescher finish, but Reddick’s collision into Buescher took out both drivers. As a result, Brad Keselowski cruised to victory lane and ended one of the longest winless streaks in NASCAR.
Let’s dive into our NASCAR power rankings this week.
NASCAR power rankings this week: 10 best NASCAR drivers right now
1. Kyle Larson (1)
- Kyle Larson stats: 2 wins, 6 top 10s, 6 top 5s, 3 poles, 2 DNFs, 649 laps led, 12.62 avg. finish
The disappointing DNF at Darlington Raceway was the first for Larson since back at Atlanta. Prior to that, Larson had finished first or second in his last two Cup Series races. He is still the points leader in the Cup Series, ranks first in laps led, pole positions (3) and the most top-five finishes (6). That keeps Larson atop our NASCAR standings this week.
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2. Denny Hamlin (2)
- Denny Hamlin stats: 3 wins, 6 top 10s, 5 top 5s, 1 pole, 1 DNF, 607 laps led, 12.69 avg. finish
Denny Hamlin has consistently been one of the best NASCAR drivers in 2024, especially as of late. In his last three races, Hamlin has accumulated 139 points, 6 playoff points and has an average finish of 3.33. Hamlin is also joined by Larson as the only NASCAR drivers with more than 450 laps led this season, with both clearing 600 through 13 races. If Hamlin maintains this coming out of the All-Star Race, he can quickly pass Larson.
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3. William Byron (3)
- William Byron stats: 3 wins, 8 top 10s, 4 top 5s, 1 pole, 1 DNF, 187 laps led, 12.46 avg. finish
Darlington Raceway ended a brief dry spell for William Byron, who had finished outside the top 20 in the two previous weeks. However, the co-leader in wins this season (3) hasn’t recorded a top-5 finish in over a month and his last victory came at Martinsville. Some of the other best NASCAR drivers this season are starting to catch up to Byron, but he’s demonstrated his hot stretches can be as good as anyone in the sport. However, he will need to be on the lookout for an agitated Ryan Blaney.
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4. Tyler Reddick (5)
- Tyler Reddick stats: 1 win, 7 top 10s, 4 top 5s, 1 pole, 1 DNF< 305 laps lep, 14.69 avg. finish
Tyler Reddick is absolutely responsible for the awful results both he and Chris Buescher suffered at the Goodyear 400. A very aggressive move that failed took, at the very least, a second-place finish away from Reddick and instead he placed 32nd. With that, he moves up in our NASCAR power rankings this week because he was the best at Darlington until that incident, he also won his first pole of the season. If Reddick can avoid those mistakes, he’ll consistently be recording top-10 finishes and likely snag another win or two.
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5. Martin Truex Jr (6)
- Martin Truex Jr stats: 0 wins, 7 top 10s, 4 top 5s, 0 poles, 437 laps led, 10.15 avg. finish
Heading into the All-Star Race, Martin Truex Jr. should have mixed feelings about where he stands right now. On the one hand, he ranks third in laps led (437) by a wide margin and he boasts the second-best average finishing position (10.2) in NASCAR, with only Chase Elliott (9.8) higher than 10. Yet, Darlington was also the fourth time in the last six races that Truex Jr. didn’t record a top-10 finish. There’s some hard luck here, but Chris Buescher has had it even worse.
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6. Chase Elliott (3)
- Chase Elliott stats: 1 win, 6 top 10s, 5 top 5s, 0 poles, 0 DNF, 131 laps led, 9.846 avg. finish
Chase Elliott is Mr. Consistent this season. He finished 12th on Sunday, giving him a stretch of seven consecutive races with a top-15 finish. Elliott has also placed inside the top 10 in all 13 races this season, something no other NASCAR driver can claim. What holds him back in our NASCAR power rankings this week, 131 laps led (8th in NASCAR) and only 1 stage win (7th in NASCAR) just show there’s some room for improvement. Still, Elliott is another top-3 finish away from soaring back up.
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7. Ty Gibbs (8)
- Ty Gibbs stats: 0 wins, 7 top 10, 4 top 4s, 0 poles, 0 DNF, 235 laps led, 12.385 avg. finish
We remain bullish on Ty Gibbs. Darlington marked his second consecutive race with a top-six pole position and this time, he came through on Sunday with a second-place finish. Because of it, Gibbs netted 52 points on the day. Of course, there are peaks and valleys with a young driver. He finished outside the top 15 at Richmond, Martinsville, Talladega and Kansas. With that acknowledged, there are more positives to see right now and it’s why we’re a bit higher on Gibbs in our NASCAR power rankings this week as we look ahead to the races ahead.
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8. Alex Bowman (9)
- Alex Bowman stats: 0 wins, 8 top 10s, 4 top 5s, 0 poles, 1 DNF, 6 laps led, 12.69 avg. finish
Here comes Alex Bowman. If not for a DNF at Texas Motor Speedway, he’d be even higher in the NASCAR power rankings this week. He placed 8th at Martinsville and now has four consecutive races with a top-10 finish, resulting in a 7.0 average finish position over that span. The one area we’d like to see Bowman improve in is laps led, because he’s way down the leaderboard in that regard.
9. Chris Buescher (Unranked)
- Chris Buescher stats: 0 wins, 6 top 10s, 2 top 5s, 0 poles 1 DNF< 100 laps led, 14.92 avg. finish
If Chris Buescher didn’t have bad luck, he wouldn’t have any luck at all. After coming 0.0001 seconds away from victory lane at Kansas Speedway, Buescher was on the doorstep of redemption until Tyler Reddick took him out. The 30th-place finish truly doesn’t reflect how good Buescher was late on Sunday. One thing is clear, though, he seems to be returning to the form that results in a 6.4 average finish in four races from Phoenix through Richmond.
10. Brad Keselowski (Unranked)
- Brad Keselowski stats: 1 point, 6 top 10s, 5 top 5s, 15.15 avg. finish
Finally, Brad Keselowski was able to end his winless streak. It took some things going his way, but that’s only fair after bad luck prevented him from waving the flag in a few previous races. The 30th-lace finish at Dover still hurts him in the points races, but Buescher has two second-place finishes and a victory in his last five.
