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NASCAR power rankings: Van Gisbergen wins again, continues climb
Shane van Gisbergen whipped the NASCAR Cup Series field on a road course once again, leading 97 of 110 laps en route to his third win of 2025 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday.
Here’s where the field stacks up 20 races into the season.
1. Chase Elliott
A strong third-place run at Sonoma keeps Elliott in the top spot and puts him only 14 points back of William Byron for the points lead. Dover has been a good track for Elliott - he won the first Next-Gen race at the venue in 2022. The ‘Monster Mile’ could very well be the site of Elliott’s second win of 2025.
2. William Byron
Byron got back to form at Sonoma, finishing eighth after qualifying third. The No. 24 team is still searching for its second win of the season, but Byron still has the points lead and plenty of speed to speak of.
3. Tyler Reddick
A sixth-place finish at Sonoma bumped Reddick up to fourth in the regular season standings and continued to pad his gap to the playoff cut line. Reddick also advanced to the penultimate round of NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge, where he’ll need to finish better than Ty Gibbs at Dover to have a shot at the $1 million prize at Indianapolis.
4. Kyle Larson
A late crash relegated Larson to a 35th-place finish on a day where he didn’t run particularly well in the first place. Larson also lost considerable ground in the regular season standings, as he now sits 44 points back of Byron with six races left in the regular season.
5. Denny Hamlin
Hamlin started 16th and finished 20th at Sonoma on a radio-silent weekend from the No. 11 team. The good news? Hamlin is the defending winner at Dover, and the next three races - Dover, Indianapolis and Iowa - should bode well for the No. 11 team.
6. Christopher Bell
Bell looked more like himself at Sonoma on Sunday, scoring his eighth top-five finish of the season. It’s been a while since Bell has been in contention for a race win, but Sunday’s race was a step in the right direction.
7. Chase Briscoe
Briscoe started second and finished second at Sonoma. While he wasn’t able to take down Shane van Gisbergen, he still ran an excellent race and moved up to eighth in the regular season standings. It appears that the No. 19 team is finally firing on all cylinders.
8. Ryan Preece
Preece did lose one point to the playoff cut line, but snagged a solid 12th-place finish at Sonoma. The No. 60 team has been a model of consistency over the summer, as Preece has six top-15 finishes in a row and three top-10 finishes in that same span.
9. Shane van Gisbergen
Van Gisbergen is now tied for the league lead in wins this season with three, and could notch another at Watkins Glen before the regular season is out. He still has plenty of improving to do on ovals, but SVG could be a threat to make the Round of 12, given how many points he’s building up.
10. Ty Gibbs
Don’t look now, but Gibbs has caught fire over the last six races. He’s finished no worse than 14th since Michigan, and has three top-10s and two top-fives in that same stretch. He’s also moved up to 17th in the standings, and while he’ll likely need a win to make the playoffs, his improvement has been fun to watch.
11. Ryan Blaney
Blaney’s seventh DNF of the season and subsequent 36th-place finish came after he clipped Larson shortly after a late-race restart. The No. 12 team seems to be attracted to bad luck, not the best attribute to have as a team with title aspirations.
12. Ross Chastain
Chastain won Stage 1 on Sunday and ran inside the top 10 consistently, but faded to a 24th-place finish. Stacking playoff points must be a priority for the No. 1 team with six races remaining in the regular season.
13. Kyle Busch
Busch finished 10th at Sonoma after an early spin and has forced his way back into the playoff picture. The two-time champion is only 37 points below the cut line with a huge opportunity at Dover ahead of him.
14. Joey Logano
Logano quietly drove to a solid ninth-place finish at Sonoma. Like Chastain and the No. 1 team, Logano should be focused on racking up playoff points over the next six races as he tries to defend his title.
15. Michael McDowell
After mechanical issues cut a strong race in Chicago short for McDowell, the No. 71 team rebounded with a strong fourth-place effort at Sonoma. Watkins Glen is undoubtedly circled for McDowell as another shot at a road course win.
16. Brad Keselowski
Keselowski is still 27th in points and in need of a win to make the postseason, but the No. 6 team has been finding some traction in recent weeks. An 11th-place finish at Sonoma gives Keselowski four top-15 finishes over the last six races, including three top-10s.
More must-reads:
- King of the road: Shane van Gisbergen dominates Sonoma, takes third win of 2025
- Shane van Gisbergen tied these NASCAR records with Sonoma win
- The 'Most recent cycle by MLB franchise' quiz
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