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June 15, 2025; Trackhouse Racing driver Shane Van Gisbergen crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Cup Series Mexico City Race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Carlos Perez Gallardo/Reuters via Imagn Images

NASCAR power rankings: Wild finish in Mexico shakes up the rankings

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jun 16, 2025 12:48 PM ET

Shane van Gisbergen trounced the NASCAR Cup Series field in Mexico City on Sunday, winning the Viva Mexico 250 by 16.567 seconds to lock up a playoff spot. Here’s where the Cup Series field stacks up 16 races into the 2025 season.

1. William Byron

(Last week: 1)

The Cup Series points leader extended his lead and snagged a ninth-place finish on Sunday. Byron wasn’t as quick as he had been in recent weeks, but he and the No. 24 team still maximized points on a day where many of their competitors failed to do so.

2. Denny Hamlin

(Last week: 2)

Hamlin didn’t make the trip to Mexico City following the birth of his son, so it makes sense to leave him where he is, especially considering the trouble his contemporaries in the top five ran into. Hamlin will undoubtedly be one of the favorites to win at Pocono on Sunday, a track he’s won at seven times.

3. Christopher Bell

(Last week: 6)

After a string of subpar races, Bell and the No. 20 team showed out in Mexico City. While van Gisbergen was in his own zip code, Bell finished second, earning his first top-five finish since Kansas on May 11.

4. Ross Chastain

(Last week: 4)

Chastain finished third in Stage 1 but fell to a 16th-place result by race’s end. Still, there are plenty of reasons for the No. 1 team to be optimistic as the summer heats up, but Pocono might not be one of them - in nine Pocono starts, he’s yet to finish better than 13th.

5. Chase Elliott

(Last Week: 9)

Elliott looked like the Chase Elliott of old on Sunday en route to a third-place finish. While he’s not as dominant on road courses as he used to be, they still seem to be his best track type. He’ll look to end his 43-race winless streak at Pocono, where he won in 2022.

6. Tyler Reddick

(Last week: 5)

Reddick is still sixth in the standings after Mexico City, but a disappointing 20th-place run doesn’t give him much momentum going into Pocono. It’s been a strange year for the No. 45 team, coming off a Championship 4 appearance in 2024.

7. Bubba Wallace

(Last week: 11)

A 12th-place finish and three stage points keep Wallace inside the top 10 in the regular season standings and 57 points above the playoff cut line. Pocono is a major opportunity race for the No. 23 team - Wallace hasn’t finished worse than 14th at Pocono in the five races at the track since he joined 23XI Racing in 2021.

8. Ryan Blaney

(Last week: 8)

Blaney quietly marched his way to a 14th-place finish in Mexico City. Pocono provides an excellent opportunity for the 2023 champ to bounce back, as Blaney enters the weekend as the defending Pocono winner.

9. Chris Buescher (Last week: 11)

(Last week: 11)

Buescher put together another solid race in Mexico City, finishing 10th to notch his eighth top-10 finish of the season. While Buescher did win a fog-shortened race at Pocono in 2016, the track hasn’t been kind to him since - he hasn’t finished inside the top-10 at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ since 2020.

10. Ryan Preece

(Last week: 15)

Preece had a good points day in Mexico City, winning Stage 1 and finishing the race in 15th. While van Gisbergen’s victory shook up the playoff grid and put Preece below the cut line, he and the No. 60 team have an excellent chance to make the postseason if they keep putting together days like Sunday.

11. Chase Briscoe

(Last week: Not ranked)

Briscoe earned a much-needed seventh-place finish in Mexico City on Sunday, which keeps him 11th in the Cup Series standings and 39 points above the playoff cut line. The bad news? Pocono doesn’t look very promising, as he’s never finished better than 15th at the track in five starts.

12. Alex Bowman

(Last week: Not ranked)

Bowman’s fourth-place finish was perhaps the most needed result of any driver in the garage area. After suffering a vicious crash at Michigan, the top-five run was exactly what the doctor ordered for the struggling No. 48 team. Pocono has been a good track to Bowman - he has only one finish worse than 11th in his last six Pocono starts, including a win in 2021.

13. Michael McDowell

(Last week: Not ranked)

McDowell moved up to 16th in the Cup Series standings and just 43 points below the playoff cut line after a strong fifth-place run in Mexico City. Upcoming road courses in Chicago (July 6) and Sonoa (July 13) are two other major opportunities for good points days that the No. 71 team can’t miss out on.

14. Ty Gibbs

(Last week: Not ranked)

After a horrendous start to the season, things are slowly beginning to turn around for Gibbs and the No. 54 team. A third-place finish at Michigan and an 11th-place run in Mexico City have given Gibbs a little momentum going into Pocono.

15. Joey Logano

(Last week: 13)

Logano only has one top-15 finish over the last four races, and it seems a summer slump has come over the No. 22 team. That’s not a big deal considering that Logano is already locked into the playoffs, but it’s something to keep in mind as the summer rolls on.

16. Shane van Gisbergen

(Last week: Not ranked)

Winning solves everything, and van Gisbergen’s victory on Sunday is proof of that. The Auckland, New Zealand, native was 33rd in the standings going into Sunday’s race, but his victory assures him a spot in the playoffs and the opportunity to race for a championship.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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