NASCAR Power Rankings: Carnage Shakes Things Up Post-Daytona
Rain, wild pack racing, massive crashes, and an electric finish. Sunday's Daytona 500 had all of the ingredients you need for a classic NASCAR Cup Series event at Daytona International Speedway. However, after all of the carnage, our weekly Racing America On SI Power Rankings look quite a bit different.
William Byron won the race for the second consecutive season -- this time in crazier circumstances than last time -- but was that enough to land him the No. 1 spot in our rankings heading into Atlanta Motor Speedway?
Toby Christie, Joesph Srigley, and Zach Srigley break down where the 36 full-time drivers and teams rank this week.
1. Ryan Blaney - No. 12 Team Penske (Previous Rank: 2)
Ryan Blaney may have been collected in the multi-car accident on the backstretch, but he was in the hunt alongside teammate Austin Cindric for the win. Blaney salvaged a seventh-place finish, giving him more points than anyone else in the event when combined with his 18 stage points.
-Zach Evans
2. William Byron - No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports (Previous Rank: 9)
William Byron accomplished something that until Sunday had only previously been completed by Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Sterling Marlin, and Denny Hamlin -- he won back-to-back Daytona 500s. I think the only thing keeping Byron from the top spot in the Power Rankings was that he was ninth at the white flag, and needed calamity to move into the race lead. Still, great start to the year for Byron.
-Toby Christie
3. Denny Hamlin - No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing (Previous Rank: 3)
Candidly, Denny Hamlin was the No. 1 pick in my Power Rankings after this weekend at Daytona, simply because he’d returned to form on superspeedways. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was within half a lap of winning his fourth DAYTONA 500.
-Joseph Srigley
4. Chase Elliott - No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports (Previous Rank: 1)
There were high hopes that Chase Elliott could capture his first career Daytona 500 win this weekend. However, those hopes never materialized. Elliott led once for two laps and was swept up in a Lap 186 crash. He did salvage a top-15 finish, though.
-TC
5. Tyler Reddick - No. 45 23XI Racing (Previous Rank: 7)
In the chaos of the end of the Daytona 500, Tyler Reddick followed William Byron through the carnage, squeezing against the outside wall to miss the last-lap incident for a runner-up finish. Reddick took the white flag running in 13th, showing just how quickly fortunes can change at Daytona.
-Zach Evans
6. Chase Briscoe - No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing (Previous Rank: 11)
Joe Gibbs is probably extremely happy with himself for hiring Chase Briscoe after the performance from the No. 19 this weekend at Daytona International Speedway. The first DAYTONA 500 pole for Toyota, and a fourth-place finish in ‘The Great American Race’ is a pretty solid debut weekend.
-JS
7. Austin Cindric - No. 2 Team Penske (Previous Rank: 16)
Losing both his teammates 15 laps shy of the finish hurt Cindric’s chances of winning a second Daytona 500, but he managed a top-10 finish for a strong start to his 2025 season. Cindric led 59 laps on Sunday, more than any other driver in the field - including his two Team Penske teammates who were second and third on that list.
-ZE
8. Christopher Bell - No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing (Previous Rank: 4)
All you could possibly ask for is a shot to compete for a victory in the DAYTONA 500, and up until a late-race wreck (which was responsible for Ryan Preece doing his best impression of Air Force One) Bell had that opportunity. Superspeedways, though, are not where the Oklahoma-native shine.
-JS
9. Joey Logano - No. 22 Team Penske (Previous Rank: 6)
Joey Logano overcame an early incident and several mechanical issues to find himself back in contention for the win in the Daytona 500 victory before his race-ending crash with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
-ZE
10. Alex Bowman - No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports (Previous Rank: 14)
You know, it wasn't pretty or particularly memorable, but in the end, Alex Bowman finished sixth in a wild Daytona 500. Bowman has now finished top-10 in each of his last three Daytona 500 starts, and his average finish in The Great American Race over that span is 4.333.
-TC
11. Chris Buescher - No. 17 RFK Racing (Previous Rank: 8)
Chris Buescher finished 10th in Sunday's Daytona 500, which would lead you to believe he should be higher on this ranking than 11th. However, he was kind of an afterthought for much of the race, as he didn't lead any laps. Additionally, he was never involved in a crash, either, so, there is that.
-TC
12. Kyle Larson - No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports (Previous Rank: 5)
Another superspeedway race, another disappointing finish for Kyle Larson, who finished 20th in the Daytona 500. When asked what it was about Larson that has kept him from competing for wins at superspeedways, Jeff Gordon said, "I think now I'm starting to see it's getting in his head." We'll see if Larson can shake off the superspeedway funk at Atlanta this weekend.
-TC
13. Brad Keselowski - No. 6 RFK Racing (Previous Rank: 12)
Brad Keselowski entered the Daytona 500 race weekend as he has for 16 years -- hopeful that this is the year he finally breaks through to collect the Harley J. Earl trophy. However, 2025 wasn't the time for Keselowski, a skilled superspeedway racer, to get the job done. He was swept up in the big one, and finished 26th, one lap down.
-TC
14. Bubba Wallace - No. 23 23XI Racing (Previous Rank: 13)
Duel #1 winner Bubba Wallace was leading laps late in the Daytona 500, but like so many others was collected in the spree of late-race incidents. Leading seven times for 18 laps, Wallace led the most laps outside of the Team Penske trio.
-ZE
15. Daniel Suarez - No. 99 Trackhouse Racing (Previous Rank: 21)
Automatic brownie points for Daniel Suarez being the only undamaged Trackhouse Racing vehicle at the end of the race. While he got a piece of the biggest wreck of the evening, there wasn’t anything major, allowing him to come home 13th, a solid run considering the hell-ish weekend the team had.
-JS
16. Ross Chastain - No. 1 Trackhouse Racing (Previous Rank: 10)
Trackhouse Racing suffered a great deal of misfortune this weekend at Daytona International Speedway, wrecking seven racecars in the span of five days. Ross Chastain, unfortunately, took both himself and Helio Castroneves out on an early-race incident on Sunday.
-JS
17. Kyle Busch - No. 8 Richard Childress Racing (Previous Rank: 17)
In his 20th Daytona 500 attempt, Kyle Busch was in the thick of the battle for the race win in the closing laps, and then Lady Luck dealt him another horrible hand, as he was wiped out in a Lap 186 melee. However, aside from flat tires, Busch thought his car was in good shape. Unfortunately, the tow truck team was unable to get his air jack system to jack his car up enough for him to drive away from the crash scene, and his Daytona 500 was over with.
-TC
18. John Hunter Nemechek - No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (Previous Rank: 33)
What a Daytona 500 week it was for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB as a whole. In Sunday's Daytona 500, the team put two cars inside of the top five of the finishing order in the same race for the first time ever. Nemechek was a big part of that as he steered clear of the last-lap chaos to score a fifth-place finish. In three Daytona 500 starts, Nemechek has never finished worse than 11th in The Great American Race.
-TC
19. Ty Gibbs - No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing (Previous Rank: 18)
Candidly, I’m not even 100% positive that I saw Ty Gibbs on the racetrack during Sunday’s DAYTONA 500 – which probably isn’t a bad thing, considering all of the calamity that unfolded. All in all, P16 is a solid afternoon to open the year.
-JS
20. Erik Jones - No. 43 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (Previous Rank: 32)
Depending on who you ask, Erik Jones was the winner of Thursday's Duel Qualifier Race. However, NASCAR's decision to throw the caution a couple of hundred feet from the finish line in that race froze the field and took away his win. Jones would go on to finish 12th in the Daytona 500 despite being involved in the wild last-lap scuffles.
-TC
21. Carson Hocevar - No. 77 Spire Motorsports (Previous Rank: 19)
Carson Hocevar may have turned the most laps of anyone on Sunday, using the rain delay to squeeze in some iRacing. However, issues with the fuel system on his real-life car prevented Hocevar from flexing his muscle on-track and ultimately ended his night just shy of the finish.
-ZE
22. Todd Gilliland - No. 34 Front Row Motorsports (Previous Rank: 22)
There was a lot of hype building around the No. 34 heading into the weekend, with the success of the Front Row Motorsports drivers on superspeedways last season. But unfortunately, that pace wasn’t there for Gilliland, who got involved in a late-race crash that ruined a potentially solid result.
-JS
23. Ryan Preece - No. 60 RFK Racing (Previous Rank: 20)
How does this keep happening to Ryan Preece? The guy is always just minding his business, and out of nowhere is collected by another car, which sends him flying through the air. It happened again near the end of Sunday's Daytona 500, and Preece says his latest flip was a harder hit than his wild one at Daytona in 2023.
-TC
24. Michael McDowell - No. 71 Spire Motorsports (Previous Rank: 28)
Remember this for when it becomes a trivia question one day. Michael McDowell won the first bonus point for fastest lap in a NASCAR Cup Series race. That and an 11th-place finish made for a solid outing for the former Daytona 500 winner.
-ZE
25. Shane van Gisbergen - No. 88 Trackhouse Racing (Previous Rank: 15)
The wreck that took out Helio Castroneves and Ross Chastain, also severely damaged Shane Van Gisbergen’s car, leaving the No. 88 Chevrolet off-the-pace. It’s a disappointing showing for the New Zealander, who looked fast on the superspeedways last season.
-JS
26. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - No. 47 Hyak Motorsports (Previous Rank: 29)
Things were going pretty well for Ricky Stenhouse in Sunday’s DAYTONA 500, especially considering the Mississippi-native said earlier in the week that his HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet was lacking some speed. Unfortunately, the quest for a second win in ‘The Great American Race’ went out the window with a bold move from Joey Logano.
-JS
27. Ty Dillon - No. 10 Kaulig Racing (Previous Rank: 34)
With 15 laps to go, Ty Dillon was 30th and two laps down on the leaders. When the checkered flag fell, Dillon finished 14th. That’s why you never say never at the superspeedways. Dillon also led three laps early in the Daytona 500, before the extended rain delay.
-ZE
28. Noah Gragson - No. 4 Front Row Motorsports (Previous Rank: 23)
The finish wasn’t what he wanted, after being collected in a late-race wreck, but Noah Gragson got acclimated to his Front Row Motorsports team with a decent performance in Sunday’s DAYTONA 500, leading two laps.
-JS
29. Riley Herbst - No. 35 23XI Racing (Previous Rank: 35)
Riley Herbst might be disappointed with a 17th-place finish after being near the front at the end of the race, but his last lap save through the tri-oval grass was nothing short of impressive. Herbst won the first battle in the fight for this year’s Rookie of the Year honors, and hopes to take that momentum to Atlanta - and maybe have a slightly less dramatic final lap.
-ZE
30. Justin Haley - No. 7 Spire Motorsports (Previous Rank: 25)
It was a relatively quiet top-20 finish for Justin Haley, which has to be seen as a relief since the team went to a backup car following an incident in the Duels. Haley will undoubtedly hope for a smoother path to a solid finish next week at Atlanta.
-ZE
31. Austin Dillon - No. 3 Richard Childress Racing (Previous Rank: 30)
Man, Dillon was in the hunt for his second Daytona 500 win or at the very least was in a position to push his Richard Childress Racing teammate Kyle Busch to his first win in The Great American Race. However, Busch was wiped out on Lap 186, and Dillon's hopes at winning were snuffed out in a crash on the final lap.
-TC
32. Cole Custer - No. 41 Haas Factory Team (Previous Rank: 31)
It was a pretty solid debut week for Haas Factory Team, between a pair of top-fives in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event, and Cole Custer having a shot to win the DAYTONA 500. The 2023 Xfinity Series champion is still getting his feet back under him in the NextGen car, but all in all, a pretty impressive effort.
-JS
33. Josh Berry - No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing (Previous Rank: 26)
Josh Berry was one beneficiary of NASCAR’s revised Damaged Vehicle Policy on Sunday. Collected in the lap 63 incident with Zane Smith, Denny Hamlin and others, Berry returned to the track and gained several positions before finishing 37th.
-ZE
34. Cody Ware - No. 51 Rick Ware Racing (Previous Rank: 36)
Cody Ware has had a knack over the years of hanging back, biding his time, and striking when the time is right at the superspeedways. In the Daytona 500, he simply was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and left Daytona Beach, FL with a 25th-place result.
-TC
35. Zane Smith - No. 38 Front Row Motorsports (Previous Rank: 24)
Zane Smith didn’t have the most productive of afternoons at Daytona International Speedway, after an early wreck with Denny Hamlin and Josh Berry sent him to the garage and eventually out of the race. But, in the grand scheme of things, the season-opener doesn’t mean a ton, and he’ll look to rebound in the weeks to come.
-JS
36. AJ Allmendinger - No. 16 Kaulig Racing (Previous Rank: 27)
Unfortunately for A.J. Allmendinger, mechanical issues ended his Daytona 500 bid shortly after the race resumed from the long rain delay. Both he and teammate Ty Dillon showed speed throughout the weekend and can’t be counted out next weekend at Atlanta.
-ZE
HONORABLE MENTION: Justin Allgaier - No. 40 JR Motorsports
In the organization's first-ever NASCAR Cup Series event, Justin Allgaier and JR Motorsports performed well, scoring a top-10 finish in ninth place. The entire experience, which included narrowly making the race, and getting involved in two wrecks on Sunday, has made Dale Earnhardt, Jr. realize that the NASCAR Cup Series is exactly where he wants JR Motorsports to be.
-JS
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.
-a54bf325b08a5e9f769b818f5c4a244c.png "Joseph Srigley")
Joseph Srigley covers NASCAR for TobyChristie.com, Racing America, and OnSI, and is the owner of the #SrigleyStats brand. With a higher education in the subjects of business, mathematics, and data analytics, Joseph is able to fully understand the inner workings of the sport through multiple points of perspective.
Zach Evans is the Managing Editor of RacingAmerica.com, with nearly a decade of experience in motorsports. He has been with Racing America since 2017.