NASCAR Power Rankings: 5 standout drivers shaping up for 2025 Talladega Superspeedway Cup race
Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at the Bristol Motor Speedway saw Kyle Larson lead nearly evey lap en route to his second win of the season. From last week's 37th-place finish at Darlington to a dominant win at Bristol, the driver of the #5 has shook up this week's power rankings.
Nine races into the 2025 season, some drivers are beginning to separate themselves from the pack. With Talladega on the horizon in two weeks, let's take a look at who's going strong in this week's power rankings.
#5 Ryan Blaney
2025 has been a year of ups and downs for Ryan Blaney so far. The driver of the #12 has tallied three top fives this season but also has three finishes outside of the top 25. After nine races, the 2023 Cup champion sits sixth in the points.
While there have been inconsistent finishes, one constant has been Blaney's speed. The Team Penske star continues to bring fast cars to the racetrack, even if he doesn't get the end result expected. One glaring example is Homestead, a race that Blaney was in contention to win before his engine expired.
With the Cup Series heading to Talladega in two weeks, Blaney will have the field on notice. The North Carolina native has won at Talladega three times, with his last victory coming in the fall of 2023. On the heels of back-to-back top fives, Blaney will look to break through for his first win of the season in two weeks.
#4 Christopher Bell
Christopher Bell put the Cup Series field on notice by winning three of the first four races of the 2025 campaign. While the driver of the #20 hasn't made a trip to victory lane since then, he's continued to produce strong, consistent runs, and sits third in the points standings heading into the Easter break.
After a dismal 29th-place finish at Homestead last March, Bell turned things around with three strong runs. He placed second at Martinsville, third at Darlington, and eighth at Bristol. The Joe Gibbs Racing star is making it known that he's going to be a championship contender this season. If Bell continues to run in a similar manner, it's only a matter of when before he racks up win number four of 2025.
#3 Denny Hamlin
Unlike his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin failed to win his third straight NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday at Bristol. However, with a strong runner-up effort, the driver of the #11 is sitting pretty heading into the break as he's currently second in the points standings.
In the last four races, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has finished no worse than fifth and won a pair of races at Martinsville and Darlington. The co-owner of 23XI Racing has bagged five top fives and a two stage victories.
Hamlin has a lot to look forward to after the break as he's a two-time Talladega winner, last winning in October 2020. Still seeking that elusive first Cup title, Hamlin has shown he's a title contender early in the season.
#2 Kyle Larson
After crashing out twice at Darlington and finishing 37th, Kyle Larson bounced back with authority in Bristol. The driver of the #5 put on a masterclass performance as he led 411 of 500 laps and won both stages on his way to his second win of 2025. With the dominant performance, Larson moves back up in the power rankings.
To go along with his victories at Homestead and Bristol, the 2021 Cup champion has the most stage victories this season with four. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has racked up five top fives, which is tied for the most with Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell. As such, Larson has established himself as a title contender this season.
#1 William Byron
While the Daytona 500 win remains his sole victory of 2025, William Byron continues to be arguably the most consistent driver in NASCAR right now. The driver of the #24 battled his way from a 26th-place starting spot to a sixth-place finish in Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol. Byron not only holds the points lead heading into the break but also stands atop the power rankings.
Byron has four top fives, three stage victories, and a win at Daytona this season. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has finished outside the top 20 only twice this season, with one of them being due to a crash at Atlanta. He might not have as many wins as Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, or Kyle Larson, but it's only a matter of time before Byron's strong runs turn into wins.