By Adam Carabine
The StatChat Power Rankings return in 2025! While finishing position is important, it’s not always indicative of the full picture. StatChat rankings are determined using a large number of statistical inputs, with an emphasis placed on the most recent 5 races.
AJ Allmendinger – This week: 36 – Last week: --
A rough start to the season, but as I’ll likely be repeating throughout this first round of Power Rankings, it’s early – and the data from one race isn’t really enough to extrapolate over a full season. But Allmendinger only made it 42 laps before a bad engine took him out.
Ross Chastain – This week: 35 – Last week: --
Also not a great start to the season, Chastain didn’t quite make it half way either.
Josh Berry – This week: 34 – Last week: --
Berry’s debut with his new team didn’t fare so well, though he did at least make it halfway through the race.
Zane Smith– This week: 33 – Last week: --
Zane Smith was involved in a crash that took him out in Stage 2.
Denny Hamlin – This week: 32 – Last week: --
A surprising opening week for Hamlin. 32nd in the Power Rankings is interesting considering he led 6 laps, and finished on the lead lap. However, his high qualifying effort (P8) and poor pass differential take him down.
Ty Dillon – This week: 31 – Last week: --
Ty Dillon fared pretty well in the duels, and led a few laps Sunday, but his -42 pass differential was the worst in the field.
Bubba Wallace – This week: 30 – Last week: --
Despite starting on the second row, and leading 18 laps, Bubba Wallace unfortunately got caught in some of the late-race shenanigans and wound up with a DNF.
Austin Dillon – This week: 29 – Last week: --
The older Dillon brother had an average day at Daytona, finishing on the lead lap, but with not much else exciting.
Carson Hocevar – This week: 28 – Last week: --
Hocevar had troubles off the initial green flag with fuel pressure. He fell off the main pack and lost the draft within the first lap. He was the only driver to score 0 quality passes in the race.
Cody Ware – This week: 27 – Last week: --
Cody Ware’s official return to full-time Cup Series competition was no better or worse than to be expected. He finished three spots better than he started, but his pass differential was also -21. He scored a DNF on the second-to-last lap.
SVG – This week: 26 – Last week: --
Poor SVG had early issues and rode around the majority of the race on his own with no drafting help. He may have finished 33rd, but he did battle most of the day and actually passed 13 more cars than passed him.
Ryan Preece – This week: 25 – Last week: --
No bonus points for being the only driver to fly at Daytona on Sunday, but his 6 laps led and +6 pass differential helped keep him in the Top 25.
Kyle Busch – This week: 24 – Last week: --
For a bit there was this idea that Kyle Busch might get his first Daytona 500 win after “20 years of trying,” in an RCR car no less, but a late-race DNF ruined that narrative.
Todd Gilliland – This week: 23 – Last week: --
Gilliland’s official debut in the Love’s #34 car (which will take some getting used to, by the way) was underwhelming. Though his average running position (17th) was better than his finish (27th), and he scored six stage points in Stage Two.
Noah Gragson – This week: 22 – Last week: --
Gragson looked dangerous at times in that outer lane. He even led 2 laps over the course of the race. Unfortunately his actual finish didn’t reflect his efforts. Bonus points for having tied for the most fast laps (12).
Kyle Larson – This week: 21 – Last week: --
Larson might be one of the most talented drivers in the field, but the Daytona 500 continues to elude him for some reason. His P20 finish is uncharacteristic for a driver of his calibre.
Justin Haley – This week: 20 – Last week: --
Haley’s Top 20 in the Power Rankings probably got some help by his poor qualifying effort. A P19 finish isn’t amazing, but after starting P35, that counts for some points.
Chris Buescher – This week: 19 – Last week: --
A Top-10 for Chris Buescher is a nice way to start the year off. He also scored 5 stage points. He falls a little in the Power Rankings due to being passed 19 more times than he passed others.
Brad Keselowski – This week: 18 – Last week: --
Keselowski might not have had as great a finish as his teammate Buescher, but his underlying numbers gave him the edge in our Power Rankings. He also nearly won Stage One.
Cole Custer – This week: 17 – Last week: --
Custer also returns to full-time Cup Series racing with the Haas Factory No. 41 car. He was unfortunately pretty involved in the late-race wrecks, and not in a good way.
Ty Gibbs – This week: 16 – Last week: --
It was a quiet day for Ty Gibbs, but in a race where nearly the entire field was involved in some sort of wreck, that’s maybe not a bad thing. A P16 lead-lap finish is decent enough at a track as unpredictable as Daytona.
Christopher Bell – This week: 15 – Last week: --
Bell’s P31 finish was not at all indicative of his day. While he didn’t lead any laps, he was a passing machine (+36 pass differential), and scored some stage points to boot.
Riley Herbst – This week: 14 – Last week: --
Herbst deserves bonus points just for the amazing save he had on the final lap. After getting out of shape in the tri-oval, he somehow got things back on track and managed to avoid a caution coming out. Herbst takes the early lead in the battle for Rookie of the Year, too.
Michael McDowell – This week: 13 – Last week: --
McDowell’s debut with Spire Motorsports was pretty solid. He just missed out on a Top 10, led 4 laps, and got the coveted extra point for the fastest lap of the race!
Chase Briscoe – This week: 12 – Last week: --
The Power Rankings don’t take any penalties into account, so his massive 100 pt penalty after the fact isn’t part of this. Briscoe won the pole, spent quite a bit of time up front, and finished in the Top 5. If his modified spoiler helped, he should return to reality next week.
Joey Logano – This week: 11 – Last week: --
Logano may have finished P35 after essentially wrecking himself and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (though Logano came out on the worst side of things), he did have the best pass differential (+42) of anyone in the field. He also led 43 laps and scored 13 stage points.
Erik Jones – This week: 10 – Last week: --
Jones was Legacy Motor Club’s worst finishing driver in the Daytona 500, and he finished 12th. He scored points in each stage, had a positive pass differential, and squeaks into the Power Rankings Top 10.
Chase Elliott – This week: 9 – Last week: --
Elliot’s average running position for the race was in 10th, meaning he stayed up front for most of the day. Eight stage points, two laps led, and a lead lap finish put him in the Top 10 of our Power Rankings.
JH Nemechek – This week: 8 – Last week: --
It was a heck of a finish for Nemechek, as he survived the carnage and finished in the Top 5. The rest of his underlying stats were pretty solid, but his finish definitely was the thing that pushed him over the top.
Tyler Reddick – This week: 7 – Last week: --
Reddick somehow eked his way to P2, though I’m not entirely sure how he navigated his way through the wrecking. He also scored three stage points, and had the highest number of quality passes of any driver in the field (443 total).
Daniel Suarez – This week: 6 – Last week: --
Suarez was in the conversation a few times on Sunday, despite not leading a lap. His pass differential of +12 is great, he earned stage points and finished on the lead lap. How does the dynamic at Trackhouse change for Suarez after Pitbull’s quick departure? We may see in the coming weeks.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – This week: 5 – Last week: --
Stenhouse was having a solid day before he was involved in a fracas with Joey Logano. While the first half of his race was pretty impressive, his bounce back after that wreck earned him a spot in our Top 5.
William Byron – This week: 4 – Last week: --
It’s weird to not have the race winner as your top spot in the Power Rankings, but it was some last lap shenanigans (and probably some luck) that got Byron the checkered flag for the second year in a row. He led 10 laps, but his pass differential was -7. I’m sure Byron will happily sleep soundly, despite us putting him at 4th in the Power Rankings.
Austin Cindric – This week: 3 – Last week: --
Cindric once turned many heads by winning the Daytona 500 in his first race as a full-time Cup Series driver a few years back. Since then things haven’t gone quite as well, but it was a nice showing for Cindric on Sunday. He led the most laps (59), had the best average running position (6th), and nearly won Stage Two. Can he carry this momentum forward?
Ryan Blaney – This week: 2 – Last week: --
It was a respectable P7 for Blaney at the Daytona 500. Pair that with the most Stage Points scored by any driver, 22 laps led, and an average running position of 9th, and you have P2 in our Power Rankings.
Alex Bowman – This week: 1 – Last week: --
I’ll admit this surprised me, as Bowman didn’t exactly pass the eye test on Sunday. But let’s look at his accomplishments at the 500: P6 finish, 11 stage points, 11 laps led, +28 pass differential, and a lead lap finish.
The competition is close and fierce, so if your favourite driver is low in the Power Rankings, give them a few weeks to iron it out. Things will eventually course-correct!
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