Week Eight - 2025 StatChat Power Rankings After Darlington

By Adam Carabine

A look at the Top Ten in our weekly Power Rankings, plus the biggest movers! 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.

Bubba Wallace – This week: 10 – Last week: 9

What started as a great day for Bubba Wallace turned sour near the end. Wallace spent most of the day up front, but wound up finishing 21st. He falls one spot in the Power Rankings

Alex Bowman – This week: 9 – Last week: 6

Another driver who had a bad finish to the race was Alex Bowman. After hitting the wall and breaking a toe link, he had to make an unscheduled pit stop for repairs. He wound up finishing 17 laps down.

Kyle Larson – This week: 8 – Last week: 4

You weren’t seeing double, that was Kyle Larson spinning twice at the exact same spot. After an extensive repair that had him coming back out on the track 160 laps down, he fell victim to the same spot on the track and hit the inside wall again.

Ryan Blaney – This week: 7 – Last week: 10

Blaney was a rocket on Sunday at Darlington. He was certainly the car to beat if the final caution hadn’t come out. He fell victim to a slightly slower pit stop, and then was unable to capitalize in the final green-white-checkered to the finish. However, great stats all around, and he moves up three spots in the Power Rankings.

Joey Logano – This week: 6 – Last week: 8

It wasn’t a super showy day for Joey Logano, but he earned some stage points, spent the majority of his day inside the Top 15, and finished 13th. Pair that with some other contenders having bad days, and Logano also moves up in the Power Rankings.

Tyler Reddick – This week: 5 – Last week: 7

It looked like Reddick might have pit-stop-strategy’d himself into a win – that is, until Blaney passed him… and then of course the final caution due to Larson’s spin ruined everything. Reddick had a fast car, though, and led 42 laps.

Chase Elliott – This week: 4 – Last week: 5

Despite having the worst throwback paint scheme, Elliott had a solid day on the track, grinding his way to a Top 10.

Christopher Bell – This week: 3 – Last week: 1

Championship drivers make the most of days that don’t go well, and Bell certainly did that at Darlington on Sunday. At one point early in the race, he was way in the back and got lapped. He salvages the day with a P3 finish. With the Power Rankings formula placing emphasis on the previous 5 races, his three wins in a row are fading from view, but he’s still a weekly contender.

Denny Hamlin – This week: 2 – Last week: 3

Two wins in a row certainly moves Denny up in the Power Rankings, even though he really only led the final 10 laps. His underlying stats weren’t the best on Sunday, but a win is a win.

William Byron – This week: 1 – Last week: 2

Byron was on track to have a perfect race – leading every single lap – that is, until a poorly-handled green flag pit cycle got him caught back in traffic. His number-one pit stall helped get him back to P2 in overtime, and his underlying numbers were so solid he was the undeniable top driver in this week’s Power Rankings.

Biggest Movers

Michael McDowell – This week: 26 – Last week: 19

Falls 7 places

Ty Gibbs – This week: 23 – Last week: 28

Gains 5 places

Daniel Suarez – This week: 18 – Last week: 23

Gains 5 places

Rest of the List

11. Ross Chastain LW: 15 +4

12. Ryan Preece LW: 12 --

13. Austin Cindric LW: 14 +1

14. Kyle Busch LW: 11 -3

15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. LW: 13 -2

16. Chris Buescher LW: 18 +2

17. Josh Berry LW: 16 -1

18. Daniel Suarez LW: 23 +5

19. AJ Allmendinger LW: 22 +3

20. Todd Gilliland LW: 20 --

21. Chase Briscoe LW: 17 -4

22. Ty Dillon LW: 24 +2

23. Ty Gibbs LW: 28 +5

24. Zane Smith LW: 27 +3

25. JH Nemechek LW: 21 -4

26. Michael McDowell LW: 19 -7

27. Erik Jones LW: 26 -1

28. Austin Dillon LW: 29 +1

29. Justin Haley LW: 25 -4

30. Noah Gragson LW: 33 +3

31. SVG LW: 30 -1

32. Brad Keselowski LW: 31 -1

33. Cody Ware LW: 35 +2

34. Riley Herbst LW: 34 --

35. Carson Hocevar LW: 32 -3

36. Cole Custer LW: 36 --