Week Thirty-Four - 2025 StatChat Power Rankings After Talladega
- Adam Carabine
- 7h
- 5 min read
By Adam Carabine
With the Cup Series playoffs in full swing, Power Rankings will now follow only the 16 playoff drivers (even after they’re eliminated) for the rest of this season.
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.
Austin Cindric – This week: 33 – Last week: 27 – Eliminated
It was not a great day for Austin Cindric at Talladega. He now moves to the bottom of the Playoff Power Rankings after a P34 finish. Technically it wasn’t a DNF, as he came back out on the track and ran a few laps to pass Erik Jones, but he finished 116 laps down.
Austin Dillon – This week: 25 – Last week: 26 – Eliminated
Austin Dillon seemed to have troubles all day at Talladega this past weekend, and he wound up finishing P27, two laps down. RCR has been a disappointment this year.
Josh Berry – This week: 21 – Last week: 28 – Eliminated
Unfortunately, it was another DNF for Josh Berry in this playoff run, but his finishing position was not indicative of his day. He actually led 27 laps, and had 204 quality passes. Berry is making his way up the Power Rankings after an abysmal start to his playoffs.
Alex Bowman – This week: 19 – Last week: 15 – Eliminated
It looked like there was some trouble for Alex Bowman about midway through the race. He wasn’t getting full throttle power and wound up finishing 6 laps down in P29. He did earn a single bonus point at the end of Stage 2, but he didn’t look like a Hendrick car out there for the rest of the day.
Bubba Wallace – This week: 13 – Last week: 20 – Eliminated
Bubba Wallace is really good at drafting tracks. Already a winner at Talladega, he was in the hunt right until the end, and finished P4. His playoff hopes are already dashed, but he’s looking to finish the year strong.
Ross Chastain – This week: 11 – Last week: 12 – Eliminated
Chastain had some moments of flash in the race at Talladega last weekend, and he ultimately finished P13. In the mad dash to the finish, he was trying to make that third lane work, but it didn’t come to fruition fast enough for him to capitalize on it.
Chase Elliott – This week: 10 – Last week: 8
Elliott was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and wound up finishing dead last, P40 at Talladega. Of note, P40 was the only finishing position Elliott had yet to score over the course of his Cup Series career, and so he completed the Scorigami by finishing last.
SVG – This week: 9 – Last week: 10 – Eliminated
Look at Shane Van Gisbergen suddenly showing up on ovals! The road course king has been upping his game lately, and despite a poor qualifying performance, he truly held his own at Talladega, bringing his car home P11.
Tyler Reddick – This week: 8 – Last week: 9 – Eliminated
Still searching for his first win of the season, Reddick had a solid run late at Talladega, though it wasn’t enough. The driver of the 45 finished P7, but also earned some decent stage points, led a few laps, and kept a positive pass differential – all good enough to keep him in the Top 10 of the Power Rankings.
Ryan Blaney – This week: 7 – Last week: 6
Ryan Blaney has been put into a must-win situation heading into Martinsville next weekend, despite a solid showing at Talladega. He led some laps, and was in the conversation at the front of the pack near the end, but his lane got shuffled out of the momentum, and he wound up finishing 23rd. He’s -46 to the cut line, with one last chance to get a spot in the championship race.
William Byron – This week: 6 – Last week: 7
A super unfortunate final run messed up Byron’s day at Talladega. If things had been just a tad different in the final 100-or-so feet of the race, we might be talking a different result for the driver of the 24. He was spun out at the last minute as he was pushing for the win. He likely couldn’t have caught race winner Chase Briscoe, but he’s now got a 36-pt deficit to make up next weekend in Martinsville.
Joey Logano – This week: 5 – Last week: 5
Logano, like his teammate Ryan Blaney, had a solid try going at Talladega, but was in the wrong lane near the end of the race. Logano actually led the most laps of anyone, and had the best average running position on the day, but came up short with a P16 finish. He’ll be in must-win territory for Martinsville as well.
Chase Briscoe – This week: 4 – Last week: 4 – Advanced
The qualifying king of 2025, Briscoe turned a front row starting spot into a win at Talladega this past weekend. His average running position was actually farther back in the pack (around 13th) but the only lap that counts is the last one, and he was at the front of the pack. He earns his spot in the Championship Four, and silences the doubters once and for all with his 3rd win of the season.
Denny Hamlin – This week: 3 – Last week: 3 – Advanced
Hamlin was already locked into the championship race, so originally looked to be taking it easy at Talladega, a place that can be dangerous. However, he did find himself up front a few times too, even leading three laps on the day. It was a safe P24 for Hamlin as he’s likely in prep mode for Phoenix in two weeks.
Christopher Bell – This week: 2 – Last week: 2
Bell came into Talladega in a fairly comfortable position, needing just to maintain a decent run to stay above the cutline. It was a fairly quiet day for the driver of the 20, but he extended his seven-race Top-10 run with a P8 finish. It’s not mathematically impossible for him to be eliminated, but he’ll be in really good shape heading to Martinsville +37 to the cutline.
Kyle Larson – This week: 1 – Last week: 1
Larson, like his teammate William Byron, was in a decent spot right up to the end of the race in Talladega, but got lost in the late shuffle. He finished P26, but luckily had a big enough lead over the others, so he heads to Martinsville +36 to the cut line – and perhaps more importantly, at the top of our Power Rankings.
Biggest Movers
Austin Cindric – This week: 33 – Last week: 27
Falls 6 places
Erik Jones – This week: 29 – Last week: 23
Falls 6 places
Daniel Suarez – This Week: 24 – Last Weekend: 34
Gains 10 places
Best of the Rest:
12. | Todd Gilliland | LW: 19 | +7 |
14. | Ryan Preece | LW: 13 | -1 |
15. | Michael McDowell | LW: 16 | +1 |
16. | Chris Buescher | LW: 11 | -5 |
17. | Carson Hocevar | LW: 17 | -- |
18. | Brad Keselowski | LW: 14 | -4 |
20. | Ty Gibbs | LW: 18 | -2 |
22. | Kyle Busch | LW: 21 | -1 |
23. | Zane Smith | LW: 22 | -1 |
24. | Daniel Suarez | LW: 34 | +10 |
26. | JH Nemechek | LW: 33 | +7 |
27. | Noah Gragson | LW: 24 | -3 |
28. | AJ Allmendinger | LW: 25 | -3 |
29. | Erik Jones | LW: 23 | -6 |
30. | Cole Custer | LW: 35 | +5 |
31. | Ty Dillon | LW: 31 | -- |
32. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | LW: 29 | -3 |
34. | Riley Herbst | LW: 30 | -4 |
35. | Justin Haley | LW: 32 | -3 |
36. | Cody Ware | LW: 36 | -- |
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