NASCAR Power Rankings: Who is No. 1 After Sunday's Race at Atlanta?
Another week, another wild and unpredictable superspeedway race in the NASCAR Cup Series. While Sunday's three-wide battle for the race win between Christopher Bell, Carson Hocevar, and Kyle Larson was unable to spark change to the top spot in the power rankings, Atlanta Motor Speedway had plenty of carnage that led to a lot of movement throughout the list of 36 full-time drivers and teams.
Racing America On SI's Toby Christie, Joseph Srigley, and Zach Evans do their best to wade through the destroyed race cars to dissect who ranks where heading into next weekend's NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas -- the first non-superspeedway stop of the regular season.
1. Ryan Blaney - No. 12 Team Penske (Previous Rank: 1)
Ryan Blaney qualified on the pole for the Ambetter Health 400, but surprisingly only led one lap in the race, lap 224. That came approximately 10 laps before Blaney pulled off the save of the race, sliding through turns one and two after contact from Carson Hocevar. Blaney rebounded from that fracas to finish fourth, another strong superspeedway showing for the 2023 series champion.
-Zach Evans
2. William Byron - No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports (Previous Rank: 2)
On the heels of his second consecutive Daytona 500 victory, William Byron found himself in the mix during the closing laps of Sunday's Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. However, he would wind up 27th, three laps down after crashing with Austin Cindric down the backstretch on Lap 258. Had it not been for an errant block from his teammate Kyle Larson onto Cindric, who knows what Byron could have pulled off on Sunday?
-Toby Christie
3. Denny Hamlin - No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing (Previous Rank: 3)
Denny Hamlin didn’t make a ton of noise on Sunday but managed to survive the chaos to finish in sixth, which is definitely a welcome sight for the No. 11 team when it comes to the point standings. Now, the series heads to normal (-ish) racetracks.
-Joseph Srigley
4. Christopher Bell - No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing (Previous Rank: 8)
Whether or not Christopher Bell actually ‘loves’ superspeedways like he claimed after winning at Atlanta is irrelevant, because the No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE has gone to Victory Lane. Early-season momentum for Bell may be dangerous for his competitors.
-JS
5. Austin Cindric - No. 2 Team Penske (Previous Rank: 7)
Austin Cindric was fighting for the lead before his race ended three laps shy of the scheduled finishing distance. The incident with Kyle Larson battling for the win led to a 28th-place finish for Cindric, who had led 47 laps up to that point. Despite the early ending to his day, Cindric sits fourth in points headed to Circuit of the Americas, where he will likely be in contention for another strong showing.
-ZE
6. Tyler Reddick - No. 45 23XI Racing (Previous Rank: 5)
Tyler Reddick was another driver in the top 10 late in the race, and superspeedway racing often plays out like the “chip and a chair” metaphor in poker. If you’re there at the end, you have a shot. The overtime restart didn’t play out in his favor and he finished 19th, but Reddick still enters Circuit of the Americas third in points.
-ZE
7. Kyle Larson - No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports (Previous Rank: 12)
Last week, Jeff Gordon said he thought the pressure of trying to get a decent finish at superspeedway races was getting into Kyle Larson's head. This week, Larson looked like the reincarnation of Dale Earnhardt. He won Stage 2 of the race, and in the closing laps of the race he was masterful at putting himself into a position to win. Larson would finish third in a wild overtime finish, which he created due to a bad block on Austin Cindric with two laps to go.
-TC
8. Joey Logano - No. 22 Team Penske (Previous Rank: 9)
Joey Logano led eight times for 83 laps on Sunday, leading the field in both categories. He earned stage points in both stages, including a third-place finish in stage two, stayed out of the 11 cautions scattered throughout the race, and came home 12th. Logano probably would have hoped for a better finishing result, but any time you can run up front and have a relatively uneventful day otherwise at a superspeedway has to be considered a good day.
-ZE
9. Carson Hocevar - No. 77 Spire Motorsports (Previous Rank: 21)
Good news for Carson Hocevar, he claimed the best finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career with a runner-up showing at Atlanta and was in the mix for the victory when the yellow flag came out for the last-lap incident in overtime. The bad news, of course, was the line of fellow competitors greeting him for post-race conversations afterward, but sometimes that’s part of the transaction when superspeedway racing.
-ZE
10. Bubba Wallace - No. 23 23XI Racing (Previous Rank: 14)
Bubba Wallace is the second 23XI Racing driver currently in the top five in the NASCAR Cup Series standings after two races, holding the fifth position. Finishing fourth in stage four, second in stage two, and ninth in the Ambetter Health 400, Wallace racked up 44 championship points in Sunday’s race.
-ZE
11. John Hunter Nemechek - No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (Previous Rank: 18)
Let's see a show of hands, who expected John Hunter Nemechek to have a top-five and two top-10s through the opening two races of the season? Those with your hands up, thank you, we now know who we can't trust to tell the truth. Nemechek followed up a fifth-place effort in the Daytona 500 with a 10th-place finish at Atlanta, and he's on the verge of the top-10 in our power rankings.
-TC
12. Chase Elliott - No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports (Previous Rank: 4)
Chase Elliott traveled down the boulevard of broken toe links Sunday at Atlanta, the end result of a chain reaction collision with Chase Briscoe and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fotunately Elliott's team was able to repair his car on pit road, which gave him a shot at redemption. Unfortunately, he was only able to muster a 20th-place finish in the last-lap carnage.
-TC
13. Kyle Busch - No. 8 Richard Childress Racing (Previous Rank: 17)
Overall, it was a great effort for Kyle Busch in the Ambetter Health 400, and he was rewarded with a seventh-place finish. Busch even seemingly gained some of his swagger back after a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win on Saturday, his first NASCAR National Series win of any kind since last April. Perhaps Busch is nearing the end of his NASCAR Cup Series losing streak?
-TC
14. Alex Bowman - No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports (Previous Rank: 10)
Honestly, I feel bad that Alex Bowman drops four spots in our rankings this week, because through the opening two Stages of the race, it seemed like he was the one guy that could hang with the dominant Ford teams. However, Bowman was swept up in a crash in the final Stage and finished 26th.
-TC
15. Ross Chastain - No. 1 Trackhouse Racing (Previous Rank: 16)
The moose was on the loose Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Ross Chastain had a legitimate shot to win the race and was battling for the lead late when Carson Hocevar drove up the middle and left the Trackhouse Racing driver hanging.
-JS
16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - No. 47 HYAK Motorsports (Previous Rank: 26)
Consecutive superspeedway events on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is heaven for Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., who managed to put together two solid results - including the first top-five for the newly-rebranded HYAK Motorsports - to land eighth in points.
-JS
17. Chris Buescher - No. 17 RFK Racing (Previous Rank: 11)
It looked like Chris Buescher was finally putting himself in a position to have a decent showing in Sunday's Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, when he was swept up in a crash on Lap 206. The end result was a subpar 30th-place finish.
-TC
18. Michael McDowell - No. 71 Spire Motorsports (Previous Rank: 24)
While the second-half cautions caused plenty of frayed tempers, Michael McDowell was happy to see every single one of them. A power steering issue early put the driver of the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet six laps down. However, McDowell received six consecutive free passes as the front-running driver of the lap-down vehicles when the yellow flag waved, allowing him to get all the way back to the lead lap and finish 14th.
-ZE
19. Josh Berry - No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing (Previous Rank: 33)
The final result does not reflect the stellar day Josh Berry and the Wood Brothers Racing team enjoyed on Sunday. Berry led seven times for 56 laps and scored the Stage One win, an incredible showing for the No. 21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. However, Berry was involved in a last-lap incident, finishing 25th.
-ZE
20. Chase Briscoe - No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing (Previous Rank: 6)
The finishes have been solid for Chase Briscoe in his first two races with Joe Gibbs Racing, but a 100-point penalty after Daytona has knocked the team off balance. Losing a crew chief for four races (pending the appeal) is a major detriment to a team building their relationship.
-JS
21. Todd Gilliland - No. 34 Front Row Motorsports (Previous Rank: 22)
For the second straight year, Todd Gilliland had an excellent showing at Atlanta Motor Speedway. However, after a mid-race tire issue, the driver of the No. 34 Ford Mustang could never get himself back into contention for the race lead and victory.
-JS
22. Riley Herbst - No. 35 23XI Racing (Previous Rank: 29)
Riley Herbst again claimed the highest-finishing rookie honors on Sunday, with a 17th-place result compared to 23rd for Shane Van Gisbergen. It’s an early advantage for Herbst in the Rookie of the Year battle, but a long season remains ahead.
-ZE
23. Brad Keselowski - No. 6 RFK Racing (Previous Rank: 13)
Usually one of the best superspeedway racers in the sport, I think Brad Keselowski is excited to be heading away from the roulette wheel that is modern day NASCAR superspeedways. Keselowski was scored with a last-place finish after seeing the radiator knocked out of his car by a spinning Chase Elliott on Lap 149.
-TC
24. Ty Gibbs - No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing (Previous Rank: 19)
The superspeedways weren’t very kind to Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 team to start the season. Leaving Atlanta 28th in point standings is no doubt a disappointment, but Gibbs should begin to bounce back with the road course of COTA next weekend.
-JS
25. Ryan Preece - No. 60 RFK Racing (Previous Rank: 23)
He may not have won or even finished inside the top-10, but Ryan Preece ended Sunday's race at Atlanta with all four wheels on the pavement. That is a massive improvement from Daytona, where he suffered another scary crash. With an 18th-place run in his back pocket, Preece will look to gain some momentum going forward.
-TC
26. Shane van Gisbergen - No. 88 Trackhouse Racing (Previous Rank: 25)
Despite the newness to superspeedway racing in general – let alone a speedway on steroids – Shane Van Gisbergen had a solid afternoon and even spent time towards the front of the pack and led some laps. But, next week, that’s when things will likely pop off for the new Trackhouse Racing driver.
-JS
27. Daniel Suarez - No. 99 Trackhouse Racing (Previous Rank: 15)
The defending winner of the Spring event at Atlanta Motor Speedway struggled in a major way on Sunday, just showing an overall lack of raw speed, before contact with Ty Gibbs triggered a multi-car wreck that knocked him out of the race. Not the momentum Suarez needed at arguably his best racetrack.
-JS
28. Austin Dillon - No. 3 Richard Childress Racing (Previous Rank: 31)
Sunday's race at Atlanta was an okay run for Dillon, who makes up a little ground in our rankings this week. With a 16th-place finish and a relatively clean car, the Richard Childress Racing driver will look to showcase the competition department changes over the offseason with the upcoming slate of non-superspeedway tracks.
-TC
29. Erik Jones - No. 43 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (Previous Rank: 20)
Erik Jones seems to be snake-bitten when it comes to luck. He simply doesn't have it right now. After being robbed by NASCAR Race Control of a win in the Duels at Daytona, he's been swept up in incidents in the opening two races of the season. And unlike Daytona, Jones was unable to salvage a decent finish this week at Atlanta. While Jones' teammate John Hunter Nemechek has enjoyed a great start to the year, the driver of the No. 43 machine has a lot of ground to make up.
-TC
30. Zane Smith - No. 38 Front Row Motorsports (Previous Rank: 35)
After early misfortune at Daytona, Zane Smith was able to come away from Atlanta Motor Speedway with a solid result, finishing 11th – the best of the three Front Row Motorsports entries.
-JS
31. AJ Allmendinger - No. 16 Kaulig Racing (Previous Rank: 36)
A.J. Allmendinger scored the Xfinity Fastest Lap bonus point in Sunday’s race on lap 11 before finishing 14th. It was a huge bounce-back after the disappointing early ending to his Daytona 500, and now he gets to set his sights on the road course at Circuit of the Americas next week.
-ZE
32. Justin Haley - No. 7 Spire Motorsports (Previous Rank: 30)
Justin Haley was involved in the last-lap incident during the overtime restart, relegating him to a 24th-place finish. Haley didn’t have the strength he normally shows at the superspeedways, but had kept his car clean and stayed out of trouble until the final lap.
-ZE
33. Ty Dillon - No. 10 Kaulig Racing (Previous Rank: 27)
Ty Dillon’s lap 82 incident proved to be a significant and frustrating setback, as a flat tire led to several laps stranded on the apron - and pleading his case with safety personnel to get pushed to pit road rather than towed to the garage. Ultimately, Dillon finished 29th, 24 laps down.
-ZE
34. Noah Gragson - No. 4 Front Row Motorsports (Previous Rank: 28)
It’s been a tough start to Noah Gragson’s new beginning with Front Row Motorsports, with a pair of crashes in the first two races. However, the No. 4 team is looking to put all of that behind them, and advance forward with a semi-normal event next weekend at COTA.
-JS
35. Cole Custer - No. 41 Haas Factory Team (Previous Rank: 32)
Two weeks, two wrecked racecars for Cole Custer and Haas Factory Team. The Xfinity Series champion will need to grab a shovel and start digging if he wants to overcome the early season hole the No. 41 team is in.
-JS
36. Cody Ware - No. 51 Rick Ware Racing (Previous Rank: 34)
Cody Ware had the meats as Arby's kicked off a 12-race primary sponsorship with the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing team on Sunday at Atlanta, but the meats were no match for a massive shunt into the outside wall during a spectacular crash with Daniel Suarez and Cole Custer on Lap 185. Ware, who typically has a knack for avoiding calamity at the superspeedways, rolled snake-eyes this time around at Daytona and Atlanta.
-TC
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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.