Week Fifteen - 2026 StatChat Power Rankings After Michigan

Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images

By Adam Carabine

The StatChat Power Rankings return in 2026! 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. Let's look at the Top 10:

Chase Briscoe – This week: 10 – Last week: 11

It felt like Briscoe was barely on the TV broadcast on Sunday in Michigan, though to be fair, there were a lot of things happening all at once.  Briscoe put in a solid day, finishing P10 – his first Top 10 at Michigan.  It wasn’t flashy, but he got the job done, and he’s now 41 points above the cutline for The Chase.

Daniel Suarez – This week: 9 – Last week: 10

Daniel Suarez has been on a heck of a run lately.  Whether it’s a mixture of Spire Motorsports gaining momentum, or Trackhouse faltering at the moment, it’s been a good look for Suarez since joining the 7 team this year.  He led 10 laps at Michigan, earned points in both stages, and finished 6^th.  He’s looking confident.

Ty Gibbs – This week: 8 – Last week: 9

Despite finishing the race a little sooner than he’d have liked with a DNF, Ty Gibbs still gets to move up a spot in the Power Rankings.  He had a solid day going before the incident that took him out.  He led some laps, earned stage points, and was a threat to win this race.  Aside from the finishing position, Gibbs can be happy with how Michigan went, and it looks good for the 54 team.

Kyle Larson – This week: 7 – Last week: 13

Lots was made on the TV broadcast that Hendrick Motorsports had found some speed in these last weeks.  Larson was certainly a benefactor, even though an HMS car didn’t win the race.  Larson was tied for the best average running position of the entire field, led some laps, scored points in both stages, and maybe most importantly, looked fast.  The P4 finish helped him move up into the Top 10 of the Power Rankings again.

Carson Hocevar – This week: 6 – Last week: 7

Carson Hocevar is an absolute menace on the track, and while sometimes that’s not a good thing (ask Tyler Reddick), the stats also speak for themselves when it comes to his performance.  Hocevar was the other driver tied for the best average running position with Larson, he had the most Quality Passes (47), the fastest lap of the race, and scored the second-most stage points of anyone.  His aggression sometimes gets the better of him, and can lead to some big consequences, but he certainly is an interesting one to watch.

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

It was a tough hit for both Chase Elliott and maybe more so Christopher Bell, which ended up taking them both out of the race early, but Elliott put in enough solid work ahead of that to ensure he didn’t lose a spot in the Power Rankings.  He earned the most stage points, including winning Stage Two, he led the most laps on the day (67), and he looked like a real threat to win the race.  The P32 isn’t great for the bottom line, but Elliott is still comfortably in 4^th place in the Season Standings.

SVG – This week: 4 – Last week: 3

It was an off-week for Shane Van Gisbergen, who has shown some real promise on ovals lately.  Again, he was someone we didn’t see a ton of on the TV broadcast, but he finished in 30^th with a DNF, likely caught up in one of the many cautions.  He loses a spot in the Power Rankings, but with the new road course at San Diego looming in the future, don’t count him out for too long.  Does he end up sneaking into The Chase?

Ryan Blaney – This week: 3 – Last week: 4

Blaney had a fairly ho-hum day, and managed to grind out a P8 finish at Michigan.  No stage points, but a solid running position mostly in the Top 15.  While it wasn’t flashy, something can be said for avoiding all of the carnage of the day, and bringing the car home in one piece.  He’s still 3^rd in the Season Standings, and at this point is likely a lock to make The Chase.

Tyler Reddick – This week: 2 – Last week: 1

It was a tough day for Tyler Reddick, though probably the first real tough one of his 2026 season.  Michigan proved to be his first DNF of the year, and unfortunately it wasn’t his fault at all.  Due to a mistimed push from Carson Hocevar on John Hunter Nemechek on a restart, there was a chain reaction of many people spinning.  Reddick got tagged, hit the inside wall, and then also got a secondary hit from Austin Dillon who was gassing up, thinking he was clear of the wreckage.  Before crashing out, Reddick had won Stage One, led 33 laps, and looked like he might just be making his 6^th trip to Victory Lane this year. 

Denny Hamlin – This week: 1 – Last week: 2

Last week we talked about Hamlin needing some more consistency before being able to take over the top spot in the Power Rankings, and while I’m sure he didn’t read the article, he matched last week’s win with another one at Michigan.  Tying the recently departed Kyle Busch on the all-time Cup Series wins chart, Denny’s car really came alive in the final quarter of the race.  He led 40 laps en route to his victory, earned stage points in Stage Two, and eventually won by more than 10 seconds over 2^nd placed Erik Jones.  Did we mention he started in the rear too? 

Biggest Movers

Austin Dillon – This week: 29 – Last week: 19

Falls 11 places

Bubba Wallace – This week: 15 – Last week: 28

Gains 13 places

Rest of the List

11.	Erik Jones	LW: 15	+4
12.	Christopher Bell	LW: 6	-6
13.	Chris Buescher	LW: 8	-5
14.	William Byron	LW: 22	+8
15.	Bubba Wallace	LW: 28	+13
16.	AJ Allmendinger	LW: 17	+1
17.	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	LW: 12	-5
18.	Zane Smith	LW: 14	-4
19.	Riley Herbst	LW: 25	+6
20.	Austin Cindric	LW: 21	+1
21.	Michael McDowell	LW: 20	-1
22.	Brad Keselowski	LW: 18	-4
23.	Ryan Preece	LW: 16	-7
24.	Joey Logano	LW: 30	+6
25.	JH Nemechek	LW: 31	+6
26.	Todd Gilliland	LW: 23	-3
27.	Alex Bowman	LW: 26	-1
28.	Ty Dillon	LW: 27	-1
29.	Austin Dillon	LW: 19	-10
30.	Noah Gragson	LW: 24	-6
31.	Cole Custer	LW: 33	+2
32.	Ross Chastain	LW: 29	-3
33.	Josh Berry	LW: 34	+1
34.	Cody Ware	LW: 32	-2
35.	Connor Zilisch	LW: 35	--