NASCAR Power Rankings After Joey Logano’s Statement Win At Richmond

Team Penske star Joey Logano reminded everyone why he’s a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion on Sunday night with an impressive victory at Richmond Raceway.

In doing so, Logano took a second big jump in the standings in the last month, and also climbed back into our NASCAR Power Rankings for the first time since April’s race at Bristol.

Logano is now firmly in the darkhorse champion category as we near the Chase, and has moved from 20th to ninth in points in just a handful of weeks.

Additionally, his win shook up the back half of our rankings, which take on a completely new look as the season begins to wind down.

2026 NASCAR Cup Series Power Rankings: Week 24

Two months ago, Joey Logano left Sonoma Raceway in 20th position in the Cup Series point standings and staring down the possibility of missing the 16-driver chase for the championship altogether.

It was an unthinkable situation for a driver of Logano’s pedigree, especially as teammate Ryan Blaney sat in the top three in points and looked like a championship contender.

Since that point, Logano has been on an absolute tear. In six races, his worst finish is 14th, and he has four top-10 finishes. That includes victories at North Wilkesboro and now Richmond, and a third-place finish at Iowa.

He now sits ninth in the standings, and with races at New Hampshire and Daytona coming up, could continue his ascent before the field resets entering the chase.

10) Carson Hocevar

While Logano is on the rise, Spire Motorsports star Carson Hocevar is heading in the opposite direction, and quickly.

Just two weeks ago, Hocevar sat fifth in the series point standings and sixth in our power rankings after a top-10 run in the Brickyard 400. However, in the two races since, Hocevar has finished 31st at Iowa and now 37th at Richmond after he mistakenly double-downshifted, causing an engine failure that ended his night.

Hocevar is still plenty fast, and it’s probably not the last we’ll hear of him this season. But he’s begun to show some of the inexperience that keeps him from being a real title contender this season.

Last Week: 7th NASCAR Point Standings: 11th (-324)

9) Kyle Larson

Similar to Hocevar, Larson had been in a pretty serious backslide of late, much of which was his own doing. It seemed that would continue Saturday at Richmond as well after a poor qualifying performance and difficulties working his way through the field early in the race.

However, Larson and crew chief Cliff Daniels remained resilient. They worked on the car and fell on the right side of a couple of strategy calls, ultimately working their way forward for an impressive sixth-place finish.

It was an impressive show of strength from a driver and team that had been struggling immensely, and perhaps a sign of things to come as they look forward to the Chase.

Last Week: 10th NASCAR Point Standings: 8th (-309)

8) Joey Logano

As we mentioned above, the idea of Logano being in the top 10 of both the point standings and power rankings would have been unthinkable just six weeks ago.

Now, he’s not only in the top 10 of each, but it would be a mild surprise if he didn’t continue his rise up the ranks.

Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe have shown in the past that they have the ability to get red hot when they’re on the same page. That could portend bad things for the rest of the field as the duo appears to be entering the Chase with as much momentum as any in the series.

He’ll now carry that momentum into New Hampshire next week, which is his de facto home race and a place where he has 10 top-five finishes and a pair of victories.

Last Week: UR NASCAR Point Standings: 9th (-310)

7) Chase Elliott

Elliott, like his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Larson, badly needed a strong run on Saturday night to show that he was a threat to contend when the Chase for the championship rolls around.

Thankfully for him and his team, that’s exactly what they got.

Elliott didn’t quite have the speed to compete for a race win, but he spent the majority of the night inside the top 10 after qualifying in 13th, picking up points in both stages and bringing his car home in fifth, the best of any Hendrick driver, each of whom finished in the top 10.

Elliott will now look to build on that success next week at New Hampshire, a place where he finished fifth a year ago.

Last Week: 8th NASCAR Point Standings: 6th (-274)

6) Christopher Bell

Bell drops a spot from a week ago, which seems a little harsh when you consider he finished inside the top 10 in both stages before bringing home a seventh-place finish at the end of the night.

However, the margins between him and teammate Chase Briscoe were extremely fine entering the week, and Briscoe had a notably stronger race from start to finish.

Still, with 30 laps remaining in the race, Bell held the lead, albeit on an alternate strategy, and there were questions whether he could nab his first win of the year. That win didn’t come, but it was still a solid night for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.

Last Week: 5th NASCAR Point Standings: 7th (-274)

5) Chase Briscoe

For much of the night on Saturday, Briscoe was the car to beat, and it appeared that if the race ran green, he’d end up in victory lane.

However, despite leading 171 laps, more than any other driver,  Briscoe had trouble with his brakes on the penultimate run of the race that allowed Logano to run him down and ultimately pass him for the lead.

While the problem seemed to subside, Briscoe wasn’t quite able to catch Logano and repass him for the lead on the final run, having to settle for a runner-up finish.

Still, it was an extremely encouraging finish for a team that is trending upward at the right time, and in particular for Briscoe, who had struggled at Richmond in years prior.

Last Week: 6th NASCAR Point Standings: 5th (-254)

4) Tyler Reddick

Given Reddick’s almost unbelievable bad fortune over the last two months, an 11th-place finish at Richmond almost feels like a small victory, especially when you consider he spun in practice then qualified all the way back in 32nd.

By the end of the second stage, Reddick had worked himself into the top 10 and picked up a pair of stage points.

However, he found himself on the wrong end of a strategy call on the final run, hanging onto worn tires and watching the field pass him by.

Still, given the way the weekend started, it’s nice to see Reddick seemingly getting this going in the right direction.

Last Week: 4th NASCAR Point Standings: 4th

3) Ryan Blaney

For the second week in a row, Blaney dominated in practice and entered the race as everyone’s favorite for victory, especially after qualifying on the pole on Friday afternoon.

That status only seemed even more certain when he led the majority of the opening stage and ultimately took home the stage win.

However, just like at Iowa a week ago, Blaney’s car faded as the race went on. He finished fifth in the second stage, and then got off strategy in the final stage while dealing with fading brakes, ultimately causing him to fall back to 13th position.

The strong stage finishes still saw Blaney jump up a spot in the standings. But it’s hard to look at Saturday’s race as anything other than a missed opportunity.

Last Week: 3rd NASCAR Point Standings: 2nd (-115)

2) Ty Gibbs

Gibbs qualified on the second row for Saturday’s race and looked as if he’d contend for his second victory in as many weeks.

However, unlike at Iowa a week ago, this time he couldn’t rebound from an early pit-road penalty.

Gibbs got caught speeding during the opening round of green-flag pit stops, and the resulting penalty caused him to lose a lap. He eventually worked his way back into the top 20, but he was never able to get back on the same page as the leaders and ultimately brought home a disappointing 15th-place finish.

Gibbs holds onto second in our power rankings after Blaney’s late-race struggles. But it’s a tenuous grasp on that position, to say the least.

Last Week: 2nd NASCAR Point Standings: 3rd (-127)

1) Denny Hamlin

Runs like the one he had on Saturday night are what make Denny Hamlin the heavy favorite to claim his first career NASCAR Cup Series championship this season.

Sure, the five-time Richmond winner wasn’t dominant in the way that we’ve seen him be before at this track, but even when they “struggles,” Hamlin and his team just find ways to be there at the end.

Hamlin qualified in 14th position, worked his way into the top 10 by the end of the opening stage, and then finished second in stage two.

Then, despite an issue on the final pit stop of the race, Hamlin still drove back to fifth place and had one of the fastest cars on track as the laps wound down.

Hamlin and company’s remarkable consistency makes them extremely difficult to beat under the revived Chase format, and it’s going to take either something special from another driver or a major falter from the 11 team so see someone else crowned champion.

Last Week: 1st NASCAR Point Standings: 1st