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NASCAR power rankings: Kyle Larson's dominant day sees him retain No. 1 spot
Kyle Larson led 221 of 267 laps and won Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas in dominating fashion. With 12 of 36 races complete, here’s where the NASCAR Cup Series field stacks up.
1. Kyle Larson
It was quite literally a perfect day for Larson, who scored the maximum points (61) possible by winning the race, sweeping the stages and laying down the fastest lap. He also took over the points lead from William Byron and has solidified himself as the championship favorite with a third of the season in the books.
2. Christopher Bell
If Sunday’s race was one lap longer, Bell, who finished runner-up, may have been able to get around Larson. An apparent issue with the No. 5 drew Bell within a second of Larson at the checkered flag. Still, a second-place finish moves Bell up to third in points and is a great day for the No. 20 team.
3. William Byron
It’s hard to drop Byron more than one position, given that his misfortune and ultimate 24th-place finish were none of his doing. A flat tire on Lap 66 took Byron from the top-five to off the lead lap, and the No. 24 was unable to recover.
4. Ryan Blaney
Blaney and the No. 12 team have been on a roll as of late, collecting four top-five finishes over the last five races. Blaney finished third at Kansas on Sunday and may have been able to snag second from Bell and challenge Larson if not for a spirited battle with Alex Bowman in the closing laps.
5. Tyler Reddick
Reddick was surprisingly absent from the conversation on Sunday, as he finished 17th at a track both he and his team are usually contenders at. Twelve races into the season, Reddick is still searching for his first win.
6. Chase Elliott
Elliott was in prime position to break a 38-race winless streak on Sunday at Kansas, but a bad pit stop from the No. 9 crew took him from the lead to outside the top 10 in Stage 3. Elliott never recovered, and the resulting 15th-place finish has to be disappointing for a driver who finally had winning speed on Sunday.
7. Alex Bowman
Bowman drove from 21st to ninth in the opening laps of Sunday’s race and eventually brought home a fifth-place finish. It was a much-needed good points day for the No. 48 team after they suffered four finishes of 27th or worse over the previous five races.
8. Denny Hamlin
For the second straight week, mechanical gremlins found their way under the hood of Hamlin’s No. 11. Clutch issues on Sunday made pit road a monumental hassle for Hamlin, who had to rev his engine and get a push from his crew every time he exited his pit stall. Eventually, his car gave out, relegating him to a 36th-place finish.
9. Joey Logano
After winning at Texas on May 4, Logano backed up his victory with a ninth-place finish at Kansas. The No. 22 team is finding more speed - and more importantly, better results - as the Cup Series gears up for its summer stretch.
10. Chase Briscoe
Briscoe and the No. 19 team methodically moved their way through the pack en route to a fourth-place finish on Sunday. Briscoe is now 13th in the Cup Series standings as he and his team begin to come into their own.
11. Ross Chastain
After a runner-up finish at Texas, Chastain and the No. 1 team struggled at Kansas, finishing 18th. There’s still a major lack of speed for Chastain compared to the top teams in the series, and those issues must be ironed out of he wants to get back to victory lane this season.
12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Stenhouse Jr. stayed above the playoff cut line with a 19th-place finish at Kansas on Sunday. The No. 47 has eight top-20 finishes through 12 races and is on a similar pace to where they were in 2023.
13. Bubba Wallace
An equipment interference penalty on pit road early in the race set Wallace one lap down and behind the eight ball. When the No. 23 finally got back on the lead lap in Stage 3, Justin Haley clipped Wallace during an ongoing crash, taking Wallace out of the race and leading to a 33rd-place finish.
14. Chris Buescher
Buescher finished a solid eighth at Kansas, retaining the 12th spot in the points and keeping him well above the playoff cut line. However, a lack of stage points for the No. 17 team - Buescher only has 26 through 12 races - could be an issue as the season goes on.
15. Austin Cindric
Cindric quietly plugged away en route to an 11th-place finish on Sunday. The No. 2 team has improved greatly in the speed department year over year and is finally getting the results to prove it.
16. Josh Berry
After a long string of bad luck that included a plethora of crashes and a battery issue at Martinsville, Berry earned his first top-10 since his win at Las Vegas with a sixth-place finish at Kansas. Making the No. 21 team’s day even more impressive was the fact that Berry started dead last. If Berry can steer around Lady Luck, he can be a contender every week.
More must-reads:
- Kyle Larson wins AdventHealth 400 at Kansas, earns third win of 2025 season
- Why Kyle Larson may only be getting started after record-breaking Kansas win
- The 'NBA Draft Lottery winners since 2000' quiz
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