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NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Dillon (3) celebrates after winning the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway. Amber Searls-Imagn Images

NASCAR power rankings: New faces in the mix after Richmond

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Aug 18, 2025 12:14 PM ET

Austin Dillon scored a clutch win at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, locking up a berth in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Here’s where the Cup Series field stacks up going into the regular season finale at Daytona.

1. William Byron (Last week: 1)

Byron clinched the regular season championship with a 12th-place finish on Saturday. He can now focus on going for a Daytona sweep in the regular season finale as he looks to make a third consecutive run to the Championship 4.

2. Ryan Blaney (Last week: 4)

Blaney battled Dillon hard for the race win on Saturday, but fell to third in the closing laps. The 2023 champion is looking to hold onto a top-five spot in the regular season standings at Daytona.

3. Chase Briscoe (Last week: 2)

Briscoe rallied to finish 13th after being involved in a big crash at Richmond. The No. 19 team is looking to bring the same speed they had at Daytona in February back to the 2.5-mile track next weekend.

4. Denny Hamlin (Last week: 5)

Hamlin had a surprisingly quiet night at Richmond, coming home 10th. He’ll have a shot to snag second in the regular season standings from Chase Elliott at Daytona.

5. Chase Elliott (Last Week: 3)

Elliott suffered his first DNF of the season and his second consecutive finish outside of the top-20 after a crash at Richmond. The No. 9 team is hoping to hold on to second in the regular season standings at Daytona and secure 10 very valuable playoff points.

6. Kyle Larson (Last week: 8)

Larson quietly mounted a charge through the field en route to a sixth-place finish on Saturday night. He also moved up to fourth in the regular season standings and has a shot to snag the runner-up spot with a good performance at Daytona.

7. Bubba Wallace (Last week: 10)

The results won’t show it, but Wallace was blazing fast at Richmond on Saturday. Wallace led the most laps (123) and won Stage 2 before a pit road mistake by his crew relegated him to a 28th-place finish. Regardless, the No. 23 team has plenty of momentum going into the playoffs.

8. Tyler Reddick (Last week: 9)

Like his teammate in Wallace, Reddick was also very quick on Saturday. The two-time Xfinity Series champion won Stage 1 and led 41 laps before a plethora of issues saw him fall to 34th at the race’s end. Should Reddick crash at Daytona, a new winner could seriously endanger his playoff hopes.

9. Alex Bowman (Last week: 16)

Bowman scored a strong runner-up finish on Saturday, but like Reddick, his playoff position will be in peril at Daytona. Bowman can’t lose the final playoff spot on points, but a new winner could knock him out if he can’t pass Reddick in points.

10. Christopher Bell (Last week: 6)

Bell was a non-factor at Richmond and finished 21st. An inconsistent summer has dampened the excitement around a No. 20 team that won three races in a row early in the season.

11. Joey Logano (Last week: 15)

Logano drove from the back of the pack to a fourth-place finish on Saturday. It was the first time in a while that the defending series champion looked like a legit contender on pure pace.

12. Austin Cindric (Last week: 14)

Cindric completed the Penske top-five triumvirate, notching his first finish higher than 10th since his Talladega win on April 27. He returns to Daytona with unfinished business from a frustrating Daytona 500 in February.

13. Austin Dillon (Last week: Not ranked)

For whatever reason, Richmond has been Dillon’s playground over the last two years. The 12th-year driver is in the playoffs for the first time since 2022 and has a chance to race stress-free at Daytona.

14. Ryan Preece (Last week: 7)

What could’ve been a banner weekend for Preece quickly turned into a nightmare. Brake issues took Preece from the pole to a 35th-place finish, and with Dillon winning, the No. 60 group is now in a must-win situation at Daytona.

15. Shane van Gisbergen (Last week: 11)

Van Gisbergen matched his best oval result of the season on Saturday, finishing 14th. Daytona provides SVG with an opportunity to compete for an oval win - and should he pull it off, he’d lead the Cup Series in victories.

16. Brad Keselowski (Last week: Not ranked)

Keselowski kept his summer momentum rolling with a ninth-place finish on Saturday. He’s also in a must-win situation at Daytona, but he’s well-equipped to go to victory lane.

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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