NASCAR Power Rankings After Kyle Larson’s Statement Victory At Talladega

One week ago, Kyle Larson had about as bad a day as you can imagine at Phoenix Raceway, opening the door to six other drivers to compete for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Fast forward one week and Larson may well have just slammed the door shut on all six of his competitiors with a jaw-dropping victory at Talladega Superspeedway that gives him a sizable advantage heading into the last two races of the season at Martinsville and Homestead.

In doing so, Larson solidified his spot atop our latest power rankings. But he also left chaos in his wake as almost every other driver in the rankings was caught up in some sort of wreck on Sunday.

2026 NASCAR Cup Series Power Rankings: Week 34

It’s no surprise that Talladega proved to be a pivotal race in the 10-race Chase for a championship. After all, the largest oval on the NASCAR calendar is known for its chaos.

What is a surprise, however, is that Larson is the one that came out victorious, while seemingly every other championship faltered.

It’s not that Larson has run poorly at superspeedways over the course of his career. In fact, he ofter finds himself toward the front of the pack on drafting tracks. But he also often seems himself involved in a big wreck at some point.

On Sunday, he managed to dodge a slew of wrecks and come from seemingly out of nowhere in the final moments of the race to claim an improbable victory.

10) Carson Hocevar

In a race that was full of chaos, it seems almost impossible that Carson Hocevar, a driver known for chaos, managed to come out of it all unscathed.

Hocevar was nowhere to be seen early in the day, failing to score in either of the first two stages. However, when the pay window opened in the final stage, he was right toward the front of the pack.

He somehow managed to rebound from getting swept up in a late wreck that left Joey Logano sliding over the start-finish line on his roof to finish sixth, and in doing so, moved into the top 10 of the standings.

Last Week: UR NASCAR Point Standings: 10th (-198)

9) Ty Gibbs

In some ways, Gibbs going a lap down early in the race due to an issue on pit road may have been a blessing in disguise.

Sure, he failed to score points in either of the opening two stages after going a lap down. But when the chaos eventually came in the final stage, Gibbs was nowhere near it.

He avoided both major wrecks in the third and final stage and finished 17th. That may not seem impressive. But it’s a lot better than most other Chase competitors.

Last Week: 9th NASCAR Point Standings: 9th (-183)

8) Austin Cindric

Austin Cindric has proven time and again that he’s one of the best restrictor plate racers in the NASCAR Cup Series, and he did so again on Sunday, running inside the top 10 for much of the and picking up points in both of the opening stages.

However, as any NASCAR fan will tell you, when “The Big One” happens on a restrictor plate track, it doesn’t discriminate.

That, unfortunately, included Cindric on Sunday, who was swept up in the huge wreck with his teammate Logano, ending his day early.

Last Week: 8th NASCAR Point Standings: 8th (-183)

7) Tyler Reddick

Reddick clawed his way back into the championship fight a week ago with a gutsy win in Phoenix, only to see it all disappear one week later at Talladega.

After barely finishing the opening stage with enough fuel, Reddick had worked his way into the top 10 in the closing laps of stage two when he was caught up in the first of two massive accidents.

Ryan Blaney checked up trying to avoid running into Logano before Wallace gets into the back of the No. 12 machine to start the chain reaction.

Listed as involved: 1 4 7 9 11 12 23 42 45 54 60 66

#NASCAR https://t.co/2YAGF3trPZ

— Speedway Digest (@speedwaydigest) October 25, 2026

The crash ended his day, leaving him with a 37th-place finish and his championship hopes dashed.

Last Week: 7th NASCAR Point Standings: 7th (-126)

6) Ryan Blaney

Outside of Reddick, perhaps nobody benefitted as much from Larson’s struggles at Phoenix as Ryan Blaney. Blaney pulled within 40 points of Larson’s lead and was heading to a pair of tracks – Talladega and Martinsville – where he’d had a ton of success.

Through 1.5 stages, Blaney appeared as if he might well capitalize on the opportunity. He finished eighth in the opening stage and then ran second late in stage two when he had to lift off the gas to avoid running over Logano, and he himself was run into by Bubba Wallace, turning him into the wall and then back across the field.

Blaney’s car and championship hopes were both destroyed, ending in the 38th-place finish.

Last Week: 4th NASCAR Point Standings: 6th (-107)

5) Christopher Bell

Bell is just about the only person on this list, sans Larson, who doesn’t have outside circumstances to blame for a rough finish.

Instead, the driver who came in second in the standings, just five points behind Larson, and second in the power rankings, made a massive error of his own doing.

While trying to get to pit road in the opening stage, Bell locked up the brakes and spun into the inside wall, heavily damaging his car and essentially ending any hopes of a strong finish. He wound up limping home to a 35th-place finish.

Last Week: 2nd NASCAR Point Standings: 3rd (-74)

4) Joey Logano

Sometimes you’re the hammer, and sometimes you’re the nail.

Unfortunately for three-time series champion Joey Logano, he was the nail on Sunday. After finishing in ninth in the opening stage and winning the second stage, Logano found himself contending for the win with laps winding down on Sunday.

However, he also found himself pinned in behind the lap-down car of Ross Chastain. At one point, Chastain had to lift out of the gas, causing Logano to do the same and get run over by Carson Hocevar, which eventually sent him flipping onto his roof.

Oh, no… I’m upside down…

That was not a good moment, but I can’t thank the safety crew enough. They did an amazing job flipping the car back over. The last time I flipped, the bars crushed on my head. This time, I don’t think anything caved in or crushed at all. I appreciate what @NASCAR has done and thank you again to the @TALLADEGA safety team for getting me out of the car safely and quickly. There were some vicious hits in that pile up. I’m just happy to be alive.

@Team_Penske @ShellStationsUS @Pennzoil @FordRacing @CocaColaRacing #CokePartner @AutoTrader_com @DiscountTire @hbpRacing @PlanetFitness #NASCAR

— Joey Logano (@joeylogano) October 25, 2026

Thankfully, Logano climbed out of the car unscathed. Unfortunately, his hopes of a fourth championship are over.

Last Week: 6th NASCAR Point Standings: 5th (-100)

3) Chase Briscoe

Briscoe, who won at Talladega a year ago, sat on the pole for Sunday’s race and ran inside the top 10 for almost the entirety of the day, finishing seventh in stage one and third in stage two.

Ultimately, however, his luck would run out at the same time as Logano’s.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was running two spots behind Logano when the driver of the No. 22 car went careening into the wall and rebounded back into Briscoe, destroying his car and, likely, his championship hopes in the process.

Last Week: 3rd NASCAR Point Standings: 4th (-79)

2) Denny Hamlin

The good news for Denny Hamlin is that he didn’t have his day ended in either of the massive wrecks that happened, and he brought home a very solid eighth-place finish despite picking up some damage in the wreck that ended Blaney and Reddick’s days.

The bad news, however, is that he failed to score points in either stage and lost massive ground to Larson, all but killing his dreams of an elusive first NASCAR Cup Series championship.

But that’s been the story of the Chase for Hamlin, who has been good, but nowhere near good enough. Now, he almost assuredly enters what he says will be the final year of his career, still seeking a championship to add to his resume.

Last Week: 5th NASCAR Point Standings: 2nd (-73)

1) Kyle Larson

Call it luck; call it skill; call it fortunate NASCAR officiating.

Whatever you want to call it, Kyle Larson bounced back from what could’ve been a back-breaking performance last week at Phoenix with one of the best moments of his already Hall of Fame career.

Larson had plenty of help from his Hendrick Motorsports teammates and fellow Chevy drivers along the way, helping him secure a fourth-place finish in stage one and a runner-up finish in stage two.

But he looked to be down and out after getting shuffled back on the final lap of the race, only to come from out of nowhere to steal a memorable victory.

KYLE LARSON WINS AT TALLADEGA! What an incredible final lap. https://t.co/CA07npiJ4X

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) October 25, 2026

In doing so, Larson gave himself a massive 73-point buffer heading into the final two races of the season, and barring complete catastrophe, he’s likely to repeat as the Cup Series champion, marking the third championship of his remarkable career.

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