Matt Johnson
The first seven weeks of the 2026 NASCAR season are in the books, with Chase Elliott’s victory on Sunday in the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville sending us into a one-week break. With the Cup Series off for the weekend, it’s time to evaluate the best NASCAR drivers right now.
Let’s dive into our latest NASCAR power rankings after Martinsville.
1. Tyler Reddick (Previously:1)
Tyler Reddick still can’t figure out Martinsville. As he said on the radio at the end, the driver of the No. 45 car is even more confused by this short track than when he showed up this weekend. The car was good enough to qualify eighth on Saturday, and Reddick did manage to get a few stage points at Martinsville, but the 15th-place finish was his worst of the season. No matter, he still has four wins and leads the Cup Series in average finishing position (5.7) by a wide margin heading into the break.
Related: Denny Hamlin Addresses Tyler Reddick’s Future with 23XI
2. Denny Hamlin (Previously: 5)
Denny Hamlin probably wins the Cook Out 400 on Sunday if not for the late caution due to debris on pit road and a late issue the No. 11 car seemed to have with a rear tire. Hamlin led 292 laps at Martinsville and was perfectly positioned to go pole-to-pole before some bad luck wiped that away. He still finished second with the most points (56) on the day and he has more laps led (444) than the drivers who rank second (Christopher Bell, 225) and third (Tyler Reddick, 189) in that category combined. Hamlin is absolutely going to surpass Kyle Busch’s career win total this year.
Related: NASCAR Cup Series All-Time Wins Leaders
3. Ryan Blaney (Previously: 2)
Ryan Blaney had the second-fastest car at Martinsville. Unfortunately for him, the fastest car on the day (Denny Hamlin) drove him into the wall and effectively erased any shot the No. 12 had at winning the Cook Out 400. It’s a frustrating result for Blaney, especially because his pit crew finally seemed to exercise its demons after some costly mistakes earlier this month. With that said, Blaney still has the third-best average finishing position (10.1) in the Cup Series and he leads all drivers in passes. With his pit crew seemingly getting back on track, Blaney could be even better moving forward.
Related: NASCAR Cup Series Stage Winners 2026, Stats Tracker
4. Ty Gibbs (Previously: 6)
Ty Gibbs has been one of the best NASCAR drivers for more than a month now. In the first two weeks of the season, he accrued 15 total points with an average starting position of 22.5 and an average finishing position of 30. Over the last five races, Gibbs has racked up 205 points with an average finishing position of 4.6, and he’s qualified ninth or better three times. The 23-year-old is making it all work right now, and even if that first-ever Cup Series win still feels just out of reach, he’s doing exactly what he needs to in the points format. Joe Gibbs Racing has to be elated.
Related: Winners and Losers from the Cook Out 400, including Ty Gibbs
5. Chase Elliott (Previously: 8)
Did Chase Elliott have a top-five car on Sunday at Martinsville? No. Did crew chief Alan Gustafson get some good fortune with the caution for debris saving his two-pit call? Absolutely. Those are the risks you get to take with Chase Elliott behind the wheel. Elliott also deserves more credit for fighting off Denny Hamlin late and delivering Hendrick Motorsports its first win of the season. A 23rd-place finish at Phoenix is the outlier on Elliott’s resume this season, as he’s finished top-10 four times, and his 11th-place finish at Atlanta still came with 38 points. Elliott remains a great championship pick.
Related: NASCAR Standings Today, Points Leaders after Martinsville
6. William Byron (Previously: 4)
William Byron spent the majority of the day at Martinsville in the top five and finished with the fourth-most points (47) on the day, but he was never really a factor for the win on Sunday. What matters most for the No. 24 car is that this marked the fourth consecutive race with a top-10 finish. From COTA to Martinsville, Byron sports an 8.6 average starting position, a 7.2 average finishing position, and he’s averaged 36 points per race. Those are the kind of numbers that will give him a strong chance at finishing top-five at the end of the regular season in points, which is crucial to have a shot at the title.
Related: Best NASCAR Races 2026, Ranking Every Cup Series Race
7. Christopher Bell (Previously: 7)
It was a solid but unspectacular day for Christopher Bell and the No. 20 team. He didn’t pick up any stage points, but he still snagged a seventh-place finish to give him four top-10s in the last five weeks. That’s made up for his rough start at Daytona and Atlanta. One thing JGR has to feel great about with Bell: he’s led 225 laps (second-most) this season. That kind of speed suggests a win should be on the horizon.
Related: Official 2026 Cook Out 400 Results at Martinsville Speedway
8. Kyle Larson (Previously: 9)
The good news for Hendrick Motorsports, besides the victory by Elliott, is that Kyle Larson didn’t do anything on Sunday to cost himself points. That’s an improvement after what happened at Darlington (32nd) and Atlanta (32nd). What is a bit worrying is the fact that Larson’s last Cup win came all the way back on May 11 at Kansas. A year-long drought without a win feels unfathomable for who many believe to be the best driver in motorsports.
9. Austin Cindric (Previously: Unranked)
Things looked bleak early this season for Austin Cindric. From the Daytona 400 through Phoenix, he finished 30th or worse three times and had an average finishing position of 29.0. Cindric also combined for just 71 points in that five-race span. In the last two weeks, Cindric has earned 78 points, and he’s now got a top-10 finish in consecutive races. There’s hope on the horizon for the No. 2 team.
10. Brad Keselowski (Previously: 10)
It became clear early on that RFK didn’t have the setups needed to pose any real threat to the top teams at Martinsville. So the fact that Brad Keselowski turned qualifying 23rd into a 13th-place finish should be viewed as a win. Prior to the Cook Out 400, Keselowski had three consecutive top-15 finishes, and he excelled at Darlington. One thing is for certain: his surgically-repaired leg will enjoy this week off from racing.
Related: Early NASCAR Silly Season Predictions 2026
Dropped from NASCAR Power Rankings: Bubba Wallace (3)
