Matt Johnson
We’re now through 12 races in the regular season for the NASCAR Cup Series, coming off a road course win for Shane van Gisbergen at Watkins Glen. With the All-Star Race coming up, it’s the perfect time to evaluate the best NASCAR drivers right now.
Let’s dive into our latest NASCAR power rankings after Watkins Glen.
1. Tyler Reddick (Previously: 1)
Tyler Reddick is the best driver in NASCAR right now. Through 12 races, he leads the Cup Series in average starting position (6.6), wins (five), top-fives (eight), and average finishing position (5.7), and his worst finish was 15th. With a 129-point lead over second place and a 145-point gap between Reddick and third place, he feels destined to win the regular-season title.
2. Denny Hamlin (Previously: 2)
Road courses have never been a strength for Denny Hamlin. He’s said that a top-10 finish on a road course for him is the equivalent of a top-five on an oval, so we’ll consider Sunday’s 16th-place finish at Watkins Glen a top-10. What matters most for Hamlin is that he leads the Cup Series in laps led (624) by more than 100, and only three drivers have led 600-plus laps. This season feels like his best shot at winning a championship.
3. Chris Buescher (Previously: 4)
Chris Buescher delivered a slightly underwhelming result, by his standard, with a 12th-place finish at Watkins Glen. What lands him third among the best NASCAR drivers right now is the hot streak he’s been on. Over the last eight races, he boasts a stellar 9.5 average finishing position and he’s averaged 33 points per race in that two-month span. That’s far more consistency than we’ve seen from the likes of Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Kyle Larson.
4. Ryan Blaney (Previously: 6)
Ryan Blaney has rebounded after a disastrous two-week stretch with consecutive top-12 finishes. He ranks fourth in the Cup Series in laps led (249), but what really stands out about the driving of the No. 12 car this season is his Cup-leading number of passes. It’s really been pit road that has held this team back from being right up there with Reddick and Hamlin. If those things get ironed out, Blaney is a championship contender.
5. Chase Elliott (Previously: 3)
Both the car setup (27th starting position) and the strategy (24th-place finish) didn’t work for the No. 9 team at Watkins Glen. Chase Elliott, like every other Hendrick Motorsports driver, was a complete non-factor. He does already have two wins this season and he’s a great pick to win the title, but there’s a tiny bit of concern that Elliott already has three finishes outside the top 20 before the halfway point of the regular season.
6. Ty Gibbs (Previously: Unranked)
After consecutive finishes outside the top 33, Ty Gibbs took advantage of a trip to a road course with a third-place finish. It marks Gibbs’ sixth top-five finish this season, the second-most in the Cup Series. While he does have the advantage of racing with great equipment and an excellent crew, he’s finally making the most of it.
7. Austin Cindric (Previously: 9)
It was a slow start to the season for Austin Cindric. In the first five races, he had an average finishing position of 29.0 and scored 20-plus points in a race just once. While it took some time, the No. 2 crew figured things out. Over the last six races, Cindric ranks fifth in average finishing position (11.3) thanks to three top-10s and a top-20 finish in every race. He’s averaged 29.5 points per race in that span. It’s gotten him back above the cutline.
8. Carson Hocevar (Previously: 5)
It should come as no surprise that Carson Hocevar didn’t fare well at Watkins Glen. The only time the No. 77 car was really noticed was for the incident involving Josh Berry. The 28th-place finish at Watkins Glen came after a six-race stretch where he had an average finishing position of 8.3 and his first-ever Cup Series win. We think another trip to victory lane is coming for him this year.
9. Kyle Larson (Previously: 7)
Kyle Larson has now gone an entire year without winning a Cup Series race. Over the last 36 races, he ranks just 11th in average finishing position (15.7), and he’s 16th in average finish (18.5) over the last six races. The No. 5 car has two DNFs this season and he’s finished outside the top 20 five times, including in the last three races.
10. Daniel Suarez (Previously: Unranked)
Let’s remember that coming into the season, there were legitimate questions about whether or not Daniel Suarez had a future in the Cup Series. He’s having an outstanding year with Spire Motorsports. Suarez’s 15.00 average finishing position would be the highest mark ever in his Cup Series career, and he’s on pace for more top-10s and top-fives than he had last year. Just as important, he’s been consistent over the last six races with the ninth-best average finishing position (13.7).
