NASCAR Cup Series Power Rankings: The People’s Champ on Top After Sonoma
Updated Jul. 16, 2025, 3:00 p.m. ET
Shane van Gisbergen is currently on a roll, having clinched victories in the last three road courses, with his latest wins coming back-to-back from the pole at both Chicago and Sonoma. However, he still has much to prove on the oval tracks, as the series heads into three consecutive weeks of oval racing at Dover, Indianapolis, and Iowa before returning to road courses at Watkins Glen. The drivers who finished second and third at Sonoma on Sunday — Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott — both made strides in this week’s power rankings ahead of the race at Dover.
Dropped Out
- Chris Buescher (Last Week: 10)
On the Verge
- Buescher
- Kyle Busch
- Ross Chastain
- Ty Gibbs
- Joey Logano
- Van Gisbergen
10. Alex Bowman (Last Week: 7)
Bowman was set to finish 17th, but a nudge from Ty Dillon — who was matched against Bowman in the in-season tournament quarterfinals — pushed the Hendrick driver back to 19th. Regardless, it wasn’t the result he aimed for as he continues to hover on the edge of making the playoffs.
9. Ryan Preece (Last Week: 6)
Preece had a solid finish in 12th place at Sonoma, marking his sixth consecutive finish of 15th or better, along with six top-12 finishes in his last nine races.
8. Chase Briscoe (Last Week: Not Ranked)
An impressive second-place finish at Sonoma helped Briscoe bounce back after two outings outside the top-20. This marked his seventh top-5 finish of the season during his first year at Joe Gibbs Racing.
7. Ryan Blaney (Last Week: 4)
Blaney faced a challenging race at Sonoma, getting knocked off-course multiple times while contending with other drivers. taya 365.com His day concluded four laps short of the finish, placing him 36th.
6. Tyler Reddick (Last Week: 8)
Reddick secured a sixth-place finish at Sonoma, achieving finishes of fourth, third, and sixth in his last three races. The 23XI Racing driver previously had only three top-four finishes in the first 17 races of the year.
5. ph taya login Christopher Bell (Last Week: 9)
Bell’s recent strong finish was nearly a month ago when he placed second in Mexico City, but a fifth-place finish at Sonoma shows improvement. The JGR driver needs better results to build momentum heading into the playoffs.
4. Kyle Larson (Last Week: 2)
Larson faced a couple of on-track incidents, resulting in a 35th-place finish with a damaged car. It’s hard to believe that his last top-5 finish was in early June at Michigan betso88 com slot game login.
3. jili88 ph com login William Byron (Last Week: 5)
The series points leader, Byron, placed eighth at Sonoma while also earning points in both stages. He is striving to maintain his lead for the regular-season title, now just 14 points ahead of his Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott.
2. Denny Hamlin (Last Week: 1)
A speeding penalty and a spin were unfortunate events for Hamlin at Sonoma, resulting in a 20th-place finish without anything to boast about. However, he looks forward to Dover, a track where he excels.
1 platform. Chase Elliott (Last Week: 3)
Elliott had fresh tires towards the end of the race, but a minor setback cost him the chance to contest van Gisbergen for the win. Still, it was an impressive performance for Elliott, who notched four top-5 finishes in his last five starts.
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