NASCAR Power Rankings After Ty Gibbs’ First-Career Win At Bristol

Two weeks ago, Ty Gibbs made his first-ever appearance in our NASCAR Power Rankings in his fourth full-time season in the Cup Series.

At the time, we noted that Gibbs’ first career victory looked to be a matter of “when” and not “if.” What we didn’t know, however, was that the “when” would be one race later at Bristol Motor Speedway, where Gibbs impressively held off a hard-charging Ryan Blaney to claim the checkered flag.

After a dreadful start to the season at Daytona and Atlanta, Gibbs has been arguably the best driver in the series in the six races since, and cemented that status with Sunday’s victory.

Not only has he shot up the point standings, but he’s also now moving his way toward the top of the power rankings, with little sign of slowing down anytime soon.

2026 NASCAR  Cup Series Power Rankings: Week 8

This week’s edition of the rankings sees some heavy hitters, including a trio of presumed championship contenders, sliding down the order.

While no new faces entered the rankings, all three Roush Fenway Keselowski drivers (Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, and Ryan Preece) sit just on the outside looking in, as does Carson Hocevar.

Meanwhile, a pair of drivers who sit at the bottom of the rankings did just enough on Sunday to secure their spot, but remain perilously perched heading into next weekend’s race at Kansas.

10) Joey Logano

For the first part of Sunday’s race at Bristol, it looked as if Logano would make a swift exit from the power rankings just one week after re-entering them following a strong run at Martinsville.

Logano qualified all the back in 20th due to what he called “driver error,” and then faded to 23rd by the end of the opening stage. However, he and crew chief Paul Wolfe got stronger as the race went on, working their way up to eighth at the end of stage two and then into the top five for much of the last 200 laps of the race.

By the end of the day, it amounted to a seventh-place finish that saw Logano hold steady in the points after his second consecutive top-10 run.

Last Week: 10th NASCAR Point Standings: 12th (-168)

9) Bubba Wallace

It’s fitting that Bubba Wallace finds himself holding on to the ninth spot in our power rankings. After all, he began the race in 12th position and then worked his way up to ninth at the end of both stage one and stage two.

Wallace slid back to 11th at the end of the day. But it was a perfectly solid run after back-to-back disastrous finishes at Darlington and Martinsville.

Wallace may well have steadied the ship, and he now heads into next week’s race at Kansas, a place he’s racked up three top-fives and a win, with a bit more confidence.

Last Week: 9th NASCAR Points Standings: 8th (-150)

8) William Byron

Historically speaking, William Byron has been up and down at Bristol Motor Speedway. He has four top-10 finishes at the track, but also three finishes of 30th or worse.

Unfortunately for Byron, this weekend was absolutely in the “down” category.

After shockingly qualifying in 34th position, he started in the rear of the field due to unapproved changes to his car between qualifying and the race.

Byron then went a lap down in the first stage of the race and never recovered, finishing in 30th, five laps off the lead.

Last Week: 6th NASCAR Point Standings: 7th (-141)

7) Christopher Bell

Christopher Bell has no one to blame but himself for Sunday’s brutal 27th-place finish. After qualifying in 14th position, Bell sliced his way through the field impressively to finish the first stage in second position and pick up nine points in the process.

But he then got caught speeding on pit road, dropping him to the rear of the field. Shortly after, Bell’s car snapped loose and hit the wall, damaging a right-rear toe link in the process.

Not only did Bell lose laps while repairing the part, but he never regained the speed he had early in the race, limping around to put an end to a difficult day.

Last Week: 5th NASCAR Point Standings: 9th (-155)

6) Chase Elliott

Perhaps the Easter break came at the wrong time for Chase Elliot and his No. 9 team.

Elliott appeared to be gaining momentum after a surprising win at Martinsville that vaulted him up to fourth in the point standings and seemingly cemented him as a playoff contender.

But he was nowhere to be seen for most of Sunday’s race, qualifying in 18th and spending the entire day running outside the top 10 before a pair of self-inflicted late crashes.

Ultimately, Elliott came home in 22nd position and somehow only lost one spot in the points. But it was a day he’ll soon want to forget.

Last Week: 4th NASCAR Point Standings: 5th (-122)

5) Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson dominated for a large majority of Sunday’s contest, leading a race-high 284 laps and winning both of the opening two stages.

However, when it came down to it, Larson didn’t have the long-run speed he needed to bring home the victory. He lost the lead late in the race to Ryan Blaney, then very nearly avoided disaster in the closing laps while trying to run down Gibbs for the lead.

While he’ll be disappointed to leave a win on the table, Larson did finish the day in third place and racked up a pivotal 54 points, which saw him gain three spots in the standings.

Last Week: 8th NASCAR Point Standings: 6th (-126)

4) Ty Gibbs

It really was just a matter of time until Gibbs found himself in victory lane the way he’d been running of late.

While he likely didn’t have the best, or even the second-best car on Sunday, he put himself in a position to capitalize on a late caution. When that caution came, he made sure he didn’t let the opportunity slip.

Gibbs qualified in fifth, and after a difficult opening stage, he ran inside the top 10 for a majority of the day. When Elliott spun to bring out the caution with just over 20 laps remaining, he made the bold call to stay out on old tires before holding off a hard-charging Larson and Blaney to take home the win.

Gibbs has now racked up five top-five finishes in the last six races following difficult weeks at Daytona and Atlanta. Oh, and the one race he didn’t finish in the top five, he wound up in sixth.

That’ll play.

Last Week: 7th NASCAR Point Standings: 4th (-105)

3) Denny Hamlin

For a brief portion of Sunday’s race, it looked as if Hamlin might well have the speed to contend for a victory. He qualified in 11th and finished the opening stage in sixth, before moving all the way up to third to end the second stage.

Ultimately, however, Hamlin just didn’t have the speed in his car over the short or long run to hang with the likes of Larson, Blaney, and Gibbs.

Still, a ninth-place finish and points in each of the first two stages is certainly a solid day in the office for a driver who many feel could finally win his first championship when it’s all said and done.

Last Week: 3rd NASCAR Point Standings: 3rd (-86)

2) Ryan Blaney

If it’s possible to finish in the top three in each stage and then come home second and still be angry with a result, then Ryan Blaney has every reason to feel that way.

Blaney qualified on the pole and led 190 laps on Sunday, despite the best effort of his pit crew, which has let him down several times throughout the season.

Entering the race, Blaney had lost a series-high 86 spots on pit lane, which was 30 more than the next-worst driver. That trend continued on Sunday as the Team Penske star routinely drove to the front only to lose spots on pit road.

Blaney eventually gained control of the race in the final 150 laps and looked like he was headed for a victory before Elliott’s spin brought out the caution.

Blaney and his team opted to pit for four tires, while Gibbs and four others stayed on the track. He worked his way all the way back up to second and was door-to-door with Gibbs in the final turn of the race, but couldn’t quite get the run off the corner that he needed to take home the win.

Even so, Blaney slowly but steadily continues to cut into the points lead of Tyler Reddick.

Last Week: 2nd NASCAR Point Standings: 2nd (-62)

1) Tyler Reddick

Four victories in the first eight races of the season mean it will be pretty difficult to knock Reddick from his perch atop both the point standings and the power rankings.

After a difficult run two weeks ago at Martinsville, Reddick rebounded with a solid run Sunday at Bristol that ended with a fourth-place finish, tied for the best of his career at the track.

Reddick qualified outside of Blaney on the front row on Saturday, and while he didn’t quite have the pace to compete with him in the race, spending most of the day outside of the top 10, he and crew chief Billy Scott got things sorted when it mattered most, coming back up through the field to claim a top five and regain momentum heading to Kansas.

Last Week: 1st NASCAR Point Standings: 1st.