NASCAR Power Rankings After William Byron’s First Win Of The Season At Martinsville

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season has not gone according to plan for Hendrick Motorsports star William Byron, but that all changed on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.

Byron, a perennial title contender, had not yet won this season through the first 34 races. However, with just two chances remaining this season, Byron dominated, leading 362 of 500 laps en route to victory and helping teammate Kyle Larson move one step closer to a championship in the process.

The victory also gives Byron something to hang his hat on as he looks forward to 2027. Meanwhile, Hendrick Motorsports has suddenly hit its stride, winning four of the last nine races after an extremely difficult start to the season.

2026 NASCAR Cup Series Power Rankings: Week 35

After Larson’s dramatic victory last week at Talladega, he’d all but sewn up back-to-back Cup Series championships.

However, he hadn’t mathematically clinched. Technically, a handful of drivers were still alive, and with a huge day on Sunday, both Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin could’ve put themselves back in with a puncher’s chance heading to Homestead next weekend, especially if Larson struggled.

While Larson did struggle early, both Hamlin and Bell failed to capitalize. On the other hand, Byron dominated the day, keeping his teammate from facing any real threat in the process.

10) Austin Cindric

Austin Cindric had been one of the most impressive drivers through the first seven weeks of the Chase for the championship. Unfortunately, bad luck has caught up to him in recent weeks.

Cindric was one of several drivers caught up in “the big one” at Talladega, which was no fault of his own. Then, at Martinsville, he was the victim of an(other) incident involving Carson Hocevar, where Hocevar appeared to brake-check Cindric multiple times, ruining his day.

Cindric’s view of the incidents with Hocevar. https://t.co/wByqF9DclY

— Bozi Tatarevic (@BoziTatarevic) November 1, 2026

Cindric wound up finishing in 36th and lost three spots in the point standings in the process.

Last Week: 8th NASCAR Point Standings: 11th (-206)

9) William Byron

What better way to cure a rough season than to return to a place where you’ve won three times previously?

That was the case for William Byron on Sunday, as he dominated from nearly start to finish on the way to his fourth career win at Martinsville.

Unlikely Cindric, Byron has seemingly hit his stride in the last two weeks and made a significant jump into the top 10 of the standings as well as our6 power rankings.

Last Week: UR NASCAR Point Standings: 9th (-166)

8) Ty Gibbs

After of difficult go of things to start the Chase, Ty Gibbs had his best run in months on Sunday at Martinsville. Gibbs qualified in second, led 44 laps, and ran in the top three for more or less the entire day on the way to a third-place finish.

While Gibbs’ teammates, Hamlin, Bell, and Chase Briscoe, all found misfortune, the young start was consistently in contention for the victory and found his way back in the right direction as the season draws to a close.

Last Week: 9th NASCAR Point Standings: 8th (-160)

7) Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney’s quest for a second NASCAR Cup Series championship has unfortunately come apart at the seams in the last two weeks.

Blaney entered last week’s race at Talladega just 44 points behind Larson for the lead in the standings. However, a mid-race wreck more or less ended his chances, barring a miracle.

In recent years, he’s been the driver to beat at Martinsville in the Fall. However, Blaney never really showed race-winning speed on Sunday and then had his day ruined in an incident with de facto teammate Josh Berry.

Last Week: 6th NASCAR Point Standings: 7th (-133)

6) Tyler Reddick

Like Blaney, Reddick’s chances of a championship essentially disappeared last weekend at Talladega after Larson’s victory.

Unlike Blaney, Reddick was able to avoid trouble at Martinsville, a track that has plagued him in the past. Unfortunately, however, he just never had race-winning speed.

Reddick qualified in 12th and finished ninth in both the first and second stages before finishing back where he started, in 12th.

Last Week: 7th NASCAR Point Standings: 6th (-125)

5) Christopher Bell

Christopher Bell, one of two drivers with a genuine outside shot at catching Larson in the points, qualified back in 14th and quickly made his way through the pack, finishing fourth in the opening stage and cutting into Larson’s point lead when the latter failed to finish in the top 10 and ended up a lap down.

Unfortunately for Bell, he was then the victim of an incident involving himself, Joey Logano, and teammate Denny Hamlin that sent the two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers spinning and also put Larson back on the lead lap.

Ultimately, Bell faded to 10th place, one spot behind Larson, effectively ending any hopes of a crazy comeback.

Last Week: 5th NASCAR Point Standings: 2nd (-67)

4) Joey Logano

One of the few drivers toward the top of the standings who did seem to have the type of speed to contend to a race win was Joey Logano.

Logano qualified in fifth and was running inside the top five in the final stage of the race when a loose wheel following a pit stop caused him to come back down pit road, ending any chances of a victory.

Instead, Logano limped home to a disappointing 18th-place finish, encapsulating the way the last couple weeks have gone for all the title contenders other than Larson.

Last Week: 4th NASCAR Point Standings: 5th (-103)

3) Chase Briscoe

Briscoe qualified in 11th for Sunday’s race but never really made much headway into the top 10. He failed to score points in either of the first two stages and eventually got desperate, trying to run long late in the race on a pair of occasions.

The strategy ultimately put him in the lead twice for a combined six laps. But he didn’t get the caution he needed and faded back to 14th by the end of the day, ending his chances of chasing down Larson.

Last Week: 3rd NASCAR Point Standings: 4th (-84)

2) Denny Hamlin

Perhaps, maybe Denny Hamlin had one final Hail Mary in him at a track where he’s won several times. Hamlin qualified on the pole and led the race early on.

However, his car faded over the course of long runs, and a strategy call by crew chief Chris Gayle to stay out and not pit during the opening stage resulted in him scoring zero stage points.

Hamlin then became the victim of unfortunate timing in stage two when Hocevar appeared to spin himself after Hamlin had pitted, trapping him a lap down. That meant he didn’t score points in the second stage either.

Ultimately, he fought back to sixth position at the end of the race, but made up just three points on Larson.

Last Week: 2nd NASCAR Point Stadings: 2nd (-67)

1) Kyle Larson

Make no bones about it, Kyle Larson and his team were not good on Sunday at Martinsville. In a world where either Hamlin or Bell would have dominated the way Byron did and scored the maximum 76 points on the way, they would have been within a reasonable range of Larson heading into the final race at Homestead.

Instead, both Hamlin and Bell also struggled, for varying reasons, and couldn’t take advantage of Larson’s difficulties.

Now, Larson heads to Homestead, a track where he’s historically run very well, needing just nine points to clinch his second consecutive series championship.

Last Week: 1st NASCAR Point Standings: 1st