Week One - 2026 StatChat Power Rankings After Daytona
- Adam Carabine
- 35 minutes ago
- 4 min read
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:
Noah Gragson – This week: 10 – Last week: --
How about a nice start to the season for Noah Gragson? He started with screwing up his qualifying attempt, but rebounded nicely. He earned points in Stage One, and finished the race P11.
Kyle Busch – This week: 9 – Last week: --
Kyle Busch started the season off with a bang, winning the first pole of the year. He was involved in some carnage (who wasn’t?) throughout the race but rebounded nicely to a P15 finish.
Joey Logano – This week: 8 – Last week: --
Logano won one of the duels, putting him on the second row of the Daytona 500 starting lineup. Despite an average running position of 16th, he found his way back up front and finished in third – the same place he started. Compared to others, his underlying numbers weren’t as strong, but a strong finish still counts.
Daniel Suarez – This week: 7 – Last week: --
Suarez, brand new in the 7 car this year, had a solid outing at Daytona. Points in both stages, a +23 passing differential, and a P13 race finish. I’d like to see this momentum continue into Atlanta before I’m completely sold.
Bubba Wallace – This week: 6 – Last week: --
Bubba Wallace led the most laps of anyone at Daytona (40), won Stage Two, and finished with a Top 10. He’s a gifted drafting track racer, and probably hoped for better for himself, but it’s a good start to the season.
Chris Buescher – This week: 5 – Last week: --
Buescher literally qualified worse than anyone in the field, but rallied back to finish P7 on a strong day for RFK Racing. He also got points in both stages, led four laps, and tied for the best average running position on the day.
William Byron – This week: 4 – Last week: --
Byron had to move to a backup car and start at the rear of the field. Then he got caught up in some carnage and sustained some fairly substantial damage. Despite all that, he had the highest pass differential on the day (+57) and finished P12. Talk about making the most out of a rough start!
Riley Herbst – This week: 3 – Last week: --
While much was made of a poorly timed block at the end of the race in front of Brad Keselowski, let’s give Herbst his props for being there in the conversation at the end of the 500. Widely seen as the clear third driver at 23XI last year, Herbst had a solid run all day, earned some stage points, and was in position to take the victory at the end. He messed up his own day, and a few others’, but a solid start to the season for the young driver.
Zane Smith – This week: 2 – Last week: --
I didn’t necessarily have Zane Smith on my Daytona Bingo Card this year, but he certainly showed up in fashion! He won the first stage despite starting 30th, led 9 laps, and finished P6. It’s early to say whether this is a sign of things to come this year for Zane Smith and the 38 team, but it’s nice to see a smaller team get some success.
Tyler Reddick – This week: 1 – Last week: --
After a winless season, and a tumultuous year last year with his family’s health, Tyler Reddick came back and won the biggest race of the year. A few impressive moments of wreck-avoidance, both during “The Big One,” earlier on, and on the final lap, allowed Reddick to cross the finish line first. He may have only led one lap, but it was the most important one.
Rest of the List
11. | Kyle Larson | LW: -- | -- |
12. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | LW: -- | -- |
13. | Ty Dillon | LW: -- | -- |
14. | Ross Chastain | LW: -- | -- |
15. | Ryan Blaney | LW: -- | -- |
16. | Ty Gibbs | LW: -- | -- |
17. | Carson Hocevar | LW: -- | -- |
18. | Chase Elliott | LW: -- | -- |
19. | Michael McDowell | LW: -- | -- |
20. | Cody Ware | LW: -- | -- |
21. | JH Nemechek | LW: -- | -- |
22. | Brad Keselowski | LW: -- | -- |
23. | Josh Berry | LW: -- | -- |
24. | AJ Allmendinger | LW: -- | -- |
25. | Austin Cindric | LW: -- | -- |
26. | SVG | LW: -- | -- |
27. | Connor Zilisch | LW: -- | -- |
28. | Ryan Preece | LW: -- | -- |
29. | Erik Jones | LW: -- | -- |
30. | Denny Hamlin | LW: -- | -- |
31. | Chase Briscoe | LW: -- | -- |
32. | Alex Bowman | LW: -- | -- |
33. | Cole Custer | LW: -- | -- |
34. | Todd Gilliland | LW: -- | -- |
35. | Austin Dillon | LW: -- | -- |
36. | Christopher Bell | LW: -- | -- |
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