Week Six - 2026 StatChat Power Rankings After Darlington
- Adam Carabine
- Mar 24
- 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:
Chris Buescher – This week: 10 – Last week: 13
It was a great day, not just for Chris Buescher, but for the entire RFK Team, as they at one point were running 1-2-3. Buescher had a very fast car until a poorly timed pit call led to some contact with Tyler Reddick. But before that, Buescher earned points in both stages, led 41 laps, and looked to be the one who could challenge teammate Brad Keselowski.
Kyle Larson – This week: 9 – Last week: 7
Another driver where things started out well in Darlington, and turned for the worse near the end. Larson earned points in both stages, led 20 laps, and had a great running position most of the day – until some of the final laps. The TV broadcast didn’t get to show us much, but he took an unscheduled pit stop late, and looked to have some toe link damage. He wound up finishing 32nd.
Ty Gibbs – This week: 8 – Last week: 8
A solid day for Ty Gibbs, who now finds himself 11th in the NASCAR points standings. Gibbs led a single lap, likely just on pit cycles, but it counts! He earned a couple of points in Stage Two, and looked pretty fast out there. He didn’t have a car to compete for a win, but he brought it home P6.
Brad Keselowski – This week: 7 – Last week: 18
What a day for Keselowski in Darlington! He was on fire (not literally), and looked like he could take it all the way to victory lane. He won both stages, led the most laps of anyone (142), and his average running position on the day was 2nd. That’s quite the accomplishment. In the end, his older tires weren’t enough to battle Reddick for the win, but he should be happy. Did we mention he still has a BROKEN LEG!
Christopher Bell – This week: 6 – Last week: 3
Darlington was an uncharacteristically quiet day for Bell, as he ran a little farther back than we’re used to seeing out of him. He finished a lap down, P19, and just really didn’t have a whole lot to show for his efforts.
Denny Hamlin – This week: 5 – Last week: 5
While Erik Jones might not be a big fan of him right now, after an incident they shared on track that sent Jones spinning, Denny Hamlin is still looking strong in that 11 car. He didn’t earn any stage points, but he was in the Top 15 for most of the day, and finished P11. He sits 64 points above the Chase Cutoff Line at this point.
William Byron – This week: 4 – Last week: 6
It feels like Byron has been a little quieter to start this year, but he’s still showing up consistently. He earned points in both stages at Darlington, finished in the Top 10, and is only 3 points out of the Top 5 of the points standings. He has great underlying numbers too, but he’s just not super flashy. If this translates to his first Cup Series title, I’m sure it won’t matter how flashy he is.
Bubba Wallace – This week: 3 – Last week: 2
Both Bubba Wallace and his 23XI teammate Tyler Reddick looked strong early in Darlington. They qualified on the front row together, and Bubba got some points at the end of Stage One, but there was an incident on the track that was mostly caused by the team boss, Denny Hamlin, and Wallace sustained too much damage to be able to compete from there. He did earn the Xfinity fastest lap of the race early, but ended up finishing P34.
Ryan Blaney – This week: 2 – Last week: 4
What really showcases the new points system, and how much more valuable a win is – look at how well Ryan Blaney has fared this year, and he’s still 95 points behind Tyler Reddick in the battle for the Regular Season Championship. Blaney had a great day at Darlington, finishing P3, and earning 8 stage points. In any other year, we’d be discussing the consistency of Blaney and how well he’s doing, but this isn’t any other year.
Tyler Reddick – This week: 1 – Last week: 1
Tyler Reddick puts together a gutsy performance in Darlington, gets his 4th win of this young season, and somehow manages to do it with no cool suit, and a faulty alternator. Points in both stages as well, bringing his total points earned on the day to 70, he was in an absolute rocket. At the start of the year, one of my bold predictions for Reddick was that he would win 5 races this year – and I thought I was pushing it. Now he just needs one more and he has 30 more races to do it.
Biggest Movers
Austi Dillon – This week: 31 – Last week: 24
Falls 7 places
Brad Keselowski – This week: 7 – Last week: 18
Gains 11 places
Rest of the List
11. | Chase Elliott | LW: 9 | -2 |
12. | Ross Chastain | LW: 15 | +3 |
13. | Carson Hocevar | LW: 17 | +4 |
14. | SVG | LW: 10 | -4 |
15. | Ryan Preece | LW: 14 | -1 |
16. | Joey Logano | LW: 11 | -5 |
17. | Daniel Suarez | LW: 19 | +2 |
18. | AJ Allmendinger | LW: 12 | -6 |
19. | Michael McDowell | LW: 16 | -3 |
20. | Zane Smith | LW: 20 | -- |
21. | Austin Cindric | LW: 25 | +4 |
22. | Kyle Busch | LW: 22 | -- |
23. | Ty Dillon | LW: 21 | -2 |
24. | Chase Briscoe | LW: 27 | +3 |
25. | Riley Herbst | LW: 23 | -2 |
26. | Erik Jones | LW: 30 | +5 |
27. | Todd Gilliland | LW: 26 | -1 |
28. | Noah Gragson | LW: 28 | -1 |
29. | JH Nemechek | LW: 28 | -1 |
30. | Connor Zilisch | LW: 31 | +1 |
31. | Austin Dillon | LW: 24 | -7 |
32. | Cody Ware | LW: 32 | -- |
33. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | LW: 33 | -- |
34. | Alex Bowman | Injured | ** |
35. | Josh Berry | LW: 35 | -- |
36. | Cole Custer | LW: 36 | -- |
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