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NASCAR Power Rankings: Team Penske rounding into form

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Jonathan Howard | Last updated Sep 22, 2025 5:26 PM ET

The Cup Series Playoffs returned to New Hampshire, and Team Penske has totally changed the NASCAR Power Rankings. Those yellow cars, as Chris Gabehart put it after the race, are starting to look like championship threats once again.

Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano are once again showing that they have what it takes to contend for a championship. If they are able to make the Championship 4, you can’t count out either driver. In fact, they’d likely be favorites.

Everyone else in the Cup Series knows that they have work to do when it comes to these one-mile, flat ovals. This New Hampshire race was as much of a championship preview as we are going to see, and it showed just show much better Penske is than everyone else.

1. Ryan Blaney – Team Penske (+1)

Once again back on top of the NASCAR Power Rankings, Ryan Blaney is looking like a champion right now. He has had a great season so far, and if he can avoid mistakes and wrecks, he will be well on his way to Phoenix.

Long run speed is what Jonathan Hassler and Blaney do best. They showed that once again at Loudon. It was a warning to the rest of the field, for sure.

2. Joey Logano – Team Penske (+4)

While he didn’t win the race, another top-five for Joey Logano on top of more than 100 laps led was more than enough. Logano now has a points cushion going into Kansas. He could be safe by the time the Roval gets here.

What would really be a warning to the field would be Logano winning at Las Vegas. He’s done that each of the last two times he’s won the championship. First he has to get out of this round.

3. Chase Briscoe – Joe Gibbs Racing (-2)

Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images

Moving down in the NASCAR Power Rankings, Chase Briscoe was the most impressive JGR driver. The fact he got his car to P10 showed after how he started says enough.

Briscoe is he only driver in the NASCAR Playoffs to have a top-10 finish in every race so far this season. Earlier this season at Kansas, he was P4. Briscoe is as much of a championship threat as any other driver on this list.

4. Christopher Bell – Joe Gibbs Racing (-)

P6 and the top among the JGR constituency, Christopher Bell showed that it wasn’t a fluke last week. Kansas will really tell us whether or not this turn around is the real deal.

Bell won at Bristol and followed it up with a top-10 on a day where his entire organization struggled. He could be reaching his peak at the right time.

5. Chase Elliott – Hendrick Motorsports (+2)

How about a top-five finish for Chase Elliott? At Gateway and New Hampshire, we have seen Elliott have his best performances of the postseason. Right now, he’s trending up in the NASCAR Power Rankings.

Elliott has to find consistency and he has to have qualifying speed if he wants to make it to Phoenix. Right now, he looks like he will advance, but the margins could be slim at the roval.

6. Denny Hamlin – Joe Gibbs Racing (-3)

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For his P12 finish, Denny Hamlin falls three spots this week in the NASCAR Power Rankings. He was P31 at Bristol after damage. Two rough weeks for Hamlin and his team at tracks he should have contended at.

Joe Gibbs Racing has to figure things out between the lack of speed and the drama between Hamlin and Ty Gibbs. We will see how that all shakes out at Kansas.

7. William Byron – Hendrick Motorsports (+1)

It feels like pulling teeth with this 24-team when it comes to getting good finishes. They go four, five races without anything to really write home about. Then, it’s a top-five or even a win.

I’m still not sure about this team. They could surprise me and a lot of others, though. The tools and resources are there.

8. Kyle Larson – Hendrick Motorsports (+2)

I wasn’t too sure about Kyle Larson but he managed to get himself up to P7 on Sunday with no major issues. This wasn’t a great race but it was a step in the right direction.

It is no secret that Larson has struggled since the Double. But he is still Kyle Larson and can go on a hot streak at any moment. He dominated Kansas in the Spring to the point one of the best tracks on the schedule was turned into a snoozefest.

9. Tyler Reddick – 23XI Racing (-)

Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images

23XI Racing really messed up at New Hampshire. Nothing was working for this organization. Not in the 45 or the 23 car. For now, Tyler Reddick remains here in the 9th spot of the NASCAR Power Rankings.

Something has to be done at 23XI this week to ensure a strong points day or even a win. Then again, nothing is guaranteed in this sport, and even the best plans can fall apart.