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NASCAR power rankings: Denny Hamlin climbs after series-leading fourth win
Denny Hamlin took his series-leading fourth win of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season at Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday.
Here’s where the Cup Series field stacks up after 21 races.
1. Chase Elliott
If not for a puzzling pit call by crew chief Alan Gustafson in Stage 3, we might be talking about Elliott winning for a second time this season. Nonetheless, the 2020 champion led 238 laps, won Stage 1 and took over the regular season points lead after a sixth-place finish at the ‘Monster Mile.’
2. Denny Hamlin
After a poor performance at Sonoma, Hamlin struck back in a major way on Sunday. The No. 11 spent 67 laps out front en route to victory, and Hamlin is only two wins away from reaching the mark of 60 that would tie him for 10th on the all-time wins list.
3. Kyle Larson
A fourth-place effort at Dover marks Larson’s first top-five since Michigan on June 8. After being stuck in a self-proclaimed slump over the last two months, Larson finally got back on track at Dover. He’ll look to defend his 2024 Brickyard 400 victory on July 27.
4. William Byron
A late crash and subsequent 31st-place finish saw Byron lose the points lead for the first time since Kansas. The No. 24 team hasn’t looked like itself for the better part of the summer, and it’s time for Byron to right the ship as the playoffs draw near.
5. Tyler Reddick
Reddick ran inside the top-five and top-10 early at Dover, but faded to a 12th-place finish. While he continued to pad his points gap to the playoff cut line, he failed to advance to the final round of the In-Season Challenge.
6. Chase Briscoe
Briscoe is blossoming into JGR’s next superstar right before our eyes. Consecutive runner-up finishes give Briscoe three top-two results over the last five races, and he’s already matching or beating the numbers Martin Truex Jr. put up in the No. 19 car in 2024. Watch for Briscoe to be in contention at Indianapolis - the Brickyard 400 is his home race.
7. Christopher Bell
Bell led 67 laps at Dover and was in contention for the first time in a long time - until the second of his two spins washed away a good result and led to an 18th-place finish. Bell is still a bona fide title threat, but he can’t keep getting in his own way.
8. Ty Gibbs
Gibbs continued his summer surge with a fifth-place finish that carries him to the final round of the In-Season Challenge. He’s worked his way up to 16th in the regular season standings - an impressive accomplishment given how off the No. 54 team was to start the season.
9. Ryan Blaney
Blaney quietly drove his way to an eighth-place finish at Dover on Sunday. The No. 12 team is still searching for its second win of the season, and Indy could be a prime candidate - Blaney finished third at the Brickyard a year ago.
10. Ryan Preece
Preece’s roll was slowed at Dover, where the No. 60 finished 19th after a late-race incident. Preece also lost 13 points to the playoff cut line, giving him even less margin for error over the next five races.
11. Kyle Busch
Like Reddick, Busch also ran inside the top-five and top-10 early at Dover before fading to finish 11th. There’s still plenty of optimism as far as Busch’s position in the playoff picture is concerned, but the No. 8 team will need more than top-15 efforts to get back to the postseason.
12. Alex Bowman
A strong third-place run helped Bowman gain on the cut line and move up to ninth in the regular season standings. The No. 48 team has four top-10 finishes over the last six races.
13. Brad Keselowski
Keselowski is still in a must-win position as far as the playoffs are concerned, but the 2012 champion turned in a solid 10th-place effort at Dover on Sunday. Keep an eye on Keselowski at Indy - he was in contention to win the 2024 Brickyard 400 before he ran out of gas in the closing laps.
14. Chris Buescher
Buescher finished ninth at Dover and kept a decent gap to the playoff cut line. He’s still searching for his first win of 2025 as the circuit goes to Indianapolis.
15. Shane van Gisbergen
Van Gisbergen started sixth at Dover after qualifying was rained out, but a flat tire in the opening laps cost him dearly. SVG was relegated to a 30th-place finish and shot back down to earth after an otherworldly summer tear on road courses.
16. Bubba Wallace
A seventh-place finish at Dover helped Wallace gain 13 points on the cut line. He’s still nowhere near safe, but a repeat of last year’s top-five run in the Brickyard 400 would help his case for a playoff berth.
More must-reads:
- Denny Hamlin edges Chase Briscoe in double-OT Dover thriller
- What the NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture looks like after Dover
- The 'Single-season sack leaders by NFL team' quiz
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