NASCAR power rankings: Second straight win pushes Christopher Bell ahead of the pack

1. Christopher Bell

(Final week: 3)

Bell’s COTA victory was reassurance that the Norman, Oklahoma, native will unsurprisingly be a weekly menace in 2025. Don’t look now, however the subsequent string of races additionally traces up effectively for Bell, who gained at Phoenix in March 2024 and was dominant en path to a runner-up end at Las Vegas in October 2024. Bell has a professional shot to win 4 out of the primary 5 races on the schedule, and it wouldn’t be stunning to see him do it.

(Final week: 5)

If not for a late-race incident at Atlanta, Byron may have three top-five finishes to open the season. As issues at present stand, the Daytona 500 winner sits atop the Cup Collection factors standings following his runner-up end at COTA. Byron ought to be a power at each Phoenix and Las Vegas, the place he gained back-to-back within the spring of 2023. 

(Final week: 10)

Reddick gained the pole and ran contained in the top-10 for a lot of the day at COTA. He turned a contender late within the race, and has joined the battle for the factors lead after a third-place end on Sunday. Phoenix and Las Vegas additionally line up effectively for Reddick, so search for the No. 45 to turn out to be a continuing on the entrance of the pack. 

(Final week: 1)

Regardless of a less-than-stellar Nineteenth-place end on Sunday, Blaney earned 9 stage factors and is second within the standings following COTA. He’s completed runner-up within the final three fall races at Phoenix and is lastly seeking to break by way of within the desert on March 9. 

(Final week: 9)

Mar 2, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; NASCAR Cup Collection driver Chase Elliott locations fourth within the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas.
Jamie Harms-Imagn Photos

Elliott and the No. 9 group persevered on Sunday after a lap 1 incident with Ross Chastain broke the toe hyperlink on Elliott’s Chevrolet. A method name by crew chief Alan Gustafson to place tires on Elliott’s automobile earlier than the ultimate restart labored to perfection, as Elliott carved his means by way of the sector and ended up ending fourth. The primary conventional oval race of the season at Phoenix will probably be a telling one for a No. 9 group nonetheless looking for the championship type it as soon as held. 

(Final week: 11)

Regardless of setback after setback – primarily within the type of course-cutting penalties – Bowman and the No. 48 group rallied to a ninth-place end on Sunday. Bowman sits seventh within the standings because the circuit heads to his dwelling monitor, the place he dominated within the fall of 2016 earlier than a late crash took him out of rivalry.

(Final week: 7)

As soon as once more, stage factors had been the secret for Wallace and the No. 23 group. Wallace gained Stage 1 and earned 14 whole stage factors on the day to mitigate the blow from a Twentieth-place end. An early course-cutting penalty was a serious turning level in Wallace’s race, however a second-place qualifying effort exhibits how a lot he’s improved on highway programs. 

(Final week: 16)

Insurgent Bourbon Chevrolet driver Kyle Busch rounds flip 17 throughout the NASCAR Cup Collection EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, March 2, 2025 in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK through Imagn Photos

Busch didn’t win on Sunday, however he might need put collectively essentially the most spectacular efficiency of any driver at COTA. Within the midst of a 59-race winless streak, Busch led a race-high 42 laps and had a median working place of two.14. A fifth-place end gained’t present it, however Busch was the dominant automobile on Sunday and may have some renewed confidence after consecutive top-10 finishes. 

(Final week: 14)

Each week, McDowell quietly plugs away and lets every little thing type itself out. An Eleventh-place end on Sunday was extra proof of that, and three races into his tenure with Spire Motorsports, McDowell sits eighth within the standings. The subsequent two races at Phoenix and Las Vegas will probably be a serious check of the No. 71 group’s velocity. 

(Final week: 16)

Feb 23, 2025; Hampton, Georgia, USA; Carson Hocevar comes out of pit row at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Jason Allen-Imagn Photos

Hocevar’s Thirteenth-place end on Sunday was a lot quieter than his runner-up at Atlanta. Total, the weekend must be checked out as a hit. A fourth-place qualifying effort was backed up by a strong efficiency, and Hocevar has asserted himself as a weekly darkish horse menace. 

11. Ross Chastain

(Final week: 13)

Chastain didn’t make any buddies after dive-bombing the sector within the first nook of the race, however a Twelfth-place end isn’t a foul day. A very good outcome at Phoenix would go a good distance in instilling confidence in a No. 1 group that missed the playoffs in 2024. 

(Final week: 6)

Feb 23, 2025; Hampton, Georgia, USA; Denny Hamlin goes into flip one at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Jason Allen-Imagn Photos

Not solely was Hamlin’s common working place a paltry 20.47 on Sunday, however he pile-drove into Austin Dillon on lap 78 to deliver out the race’s last warning. It was a uncommon no-show from Hamlin, who seems to be to get again to enterprise at Phoenix.

(Final week: NR)

Buescher has one of the best common end on highway programs because the introduction of the Subsequent-Gen automobile in 2022, and he improved it with a seventh-place end at COTA on Sunday. Buescher sits Twelfth in factors following COTA, and is hoping to maintain the momentum up after two top-10 finishes over the primary three races. 

(Final week: 4)

Hendrick Vehicles Chevrolet driver Kyle Larson (5) leads a gaggle of vehicles by way of flip 17 throughout the NASCAR Cup Collection EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, March 2, 2025 in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK through Imagn Photos

Issues couldn’t have gone a lot worse for Larson on Sunday. The wheels actually fell off for the No. 5 group at COTA – Larson misplaced a right-front tire after a pit cease throughout Sunday’s race – which suggests two crew members will probably be taking an involuntary trip for the following two weeks. A Thirty second-place end drops Larson to the playoff bubble three races into the season.

(Final week: 8)

Cindric is often a top-10 menace at highway programs, however that was removed from the case on Sunday. The 2022 Daytona 500 champion completed twenty fifth with a median working place of twenty fifth. Cindric is Eleventh in factors, however the No. 2 group continues to be seeking to put collectively a whole race for the primary time in 2025. 

(Final week: NR)

WeatherTech Chevrolet driver Shane Van Gisbergen (88) rounds flip 17 throughout the NASCAR Cup Collection EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, March 2, 2025 in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK through Imagn Photos

A sixth-place end on Sunday needed to be barely disappointing for van Gisbergen, who led 23 laps however fell away from the leaders late. His first conventional oval check of the season at Phoenix will probably be an fascinating litmus check to gauge how a lot he’s improved on ovals over the previous yr.