Week Thirty-Three - 2025 StatChat Power Rankings After Las Vegas

Adam Carabine
4 minutes ago
6 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.

Josh Berry – This week: 28 – Last week: 34 – Eliminated

The biggest positive mover in the Power Rankings this week, Josh Berry moves up to 28^th after a not-so-great run at Las Vegas. However, with the most recent 5 races more heavily weighted, the formula has favoured a P28 instead of a dead last. Berry has had much worse races in these playoffs, but it was certainly a fall after he won his lone race of 2025 at this track in the spring.

Austin Cindric – This week: 27 – Last week: 28 – Eliminated

A solid P11 for Austin Cindric this past weekend in Las Vegas bumps him up a spot in the Power Rankings. His average running position was around 25^th, so his near-Top-10 was a bit of a lucky break near the end. However, it was a decent enough day for a driver that is eliminated and doesn’t have much to worry about at this point in the season.

Austin Dillon – This week: 26 – Last week: 24 – Eliminated

It’s hard to know exactly what’s going on at RCR, but things aren’t good. Dillon’s teammate Kyle Busch actually had a solid day, but it felt more lucky than skilled. Dillon finishes P25, and tumbles down two spots in the Power Rankings.

Bubba Wallace – This week: 20 – Last week: 11 – Eliminated

Bubba was unfortunately this week’s biggest mover in the negative direction, losing 9 spots in the Power Rankings. Vegas was not super kind to him, finishing P22, and never really seeming to have much speed. He had the worst Pass Differential of any driver (-22), and while he was already eliminated, this left no doubt.

Alex Bowman – This week: 15 – Last week: 19 – Eliminated

Bowman is a strange entity to keep tabs on. As likely the 4^th driver at Hendrick Motorsports, he does well enough to be happy with… if he didn’t drive for Hendrick. However, he’s compared to his teammates who often outrun him. This week, Bowman was solid, and he moves up in the Power Rankings after a nice P7 finish in Las Vegas, though his playoff hopes are already over.

Ross Chastain – This week: 12 – Last week: 15 – Eliminated

While Chastain’s finishing position of P23 doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, his underlying numbers were actually decent at Las Vegas, and his finish didn’t tell the whole story. He had the highest Pass Differential of any driver on the day (+20), and it helped him move up a few spots in the Power Rankings.

SVG – This week: 10 – Last week: 9 – Eliminated

SVG is learning at the ovals, and that should probably scare the rest of the field. He’s getting better and better each week on the left-turn-only tracks. He’s already a menace on the road courses. His P33 finish at Vegas didn’t show how his day truly went, as he was riding around the Top 15 most of the race. A DNF at the end of the day took him out, but he’s one to watch at any race these days.

Tyler Reddick – This week: 9 – Last week: 10 – Eliminated

A Top 5 for Tyler Reddick is quite something considering the personal turmoil he’s going through with his son, Rookie at the moment. He had points in both stages, had the highest number of Quality Passes of anyone, and finished P5. It only moves him up one spot, but it’s something that could help him build some momentum to finish this season out – last year’s Regular Season Champ is still looking for his first win of the year.

Chase Elliott – This week: 8 – Last week: 8

It was neither a great nor terrible day for Chase Elliott in Vegas. He maintains his spot in the Power Rankings, but also has some work to do if he’d like to make it to the Championship Four. His P18 wasn’t enough to help his spot in the Playoff Standings, and he now sits -23 to the cutline with two difficult races in Talladega and Martinsville coming up to finish out this round.

William Byron – This week: 7 – Last week: 7

Aside from the crazy end of William Byron’s race at Las Vegas (where he basically killed Ty Dillon as Dillon tried to merge onto pit road – jury is still out on who’s fault it was), Byron was having a decent day until that point. He had led 55 laps, was running in the Top 10 all day, and won the first stage outright. He is -15 to the cutline, but that’s enough to make up over the next two races if he wants.

Ryan Blaney – This week: 6 – Last week: 1

It was an unfortunate week for Ryan Blaney, who finds himself in quite the hole now after an unlucky flat tire at Vegas gave him his 8^th DNF of the season. He finished 38^th, last place, after only 70 laps on the track. Blaney is now -31 to the cut line, and has his work cut for him, though he’s won at both Talladega and Martinsville in the fall before.

Joey Logano – This week: 5 – Last week: 5

Since it’s an odd-numbered year, Logano didn’t win at Las Vegas, and is now no longer poised to add another championship to his resume. Jokes aside, it was a decent day for the reigning champ, as he finished P6, earned some stage points, and even led a lap. He’s still -24 to the cut line, so he’ll need some other stuff to go his way in the next two races.

Chase Briscoe – This week: 4 – Last week: 6

Has Chase Briscoe low-key been the star of these playoffs? His average finish over these playoff races has been just over 6, and his worst finish is P14 at the Charlotte Roval. He’s proving the haters wrong, and looks poised to make it to the Championship Four, if things continue in the same way for him. He led 57 laps in Vegas, and finished P4, and now has +15 to the good on the cut line.

Denny Hamlin– This week: 3 – Last week: 4 – Advanced

Hamlin’s 60^th Career win couldn’t have come at a better time for the veteran driver of the 11 car, as he now has a few extra weeks to prep for the ever-elusive championship he seeks. While it wasn’t enough to bump him up to the top of our Power Rankings, I’m sure he doesn’t mind. It wasn’t a dominant win, but it was just enough at the right time. He’ll be hoping he can do it again in Phoenix in a few weeks.

Christopher Bell – This week: 2 – Last week: 2

If it hadn’t been for a terrible start to the playoffs (P29 at Darlington), Christopher Bell would definitely be the driver to beat this year. Other than that first race, he has finished in the Top 10 in each of the last six races, including a win at Bristol. He’s been a Championship Dark Horse before, but this year he might come in as a favourite – if he can make it to the final race. He’s +20 as things stand right now.

Kyle Larson – This week: 1– Last week: 3

Larson didn’t come away with the victory at Las Vegas, but he was the dominant car of the day. He led 129 laps (most of anyone), had the best average running position (3^rd), and scored the most stage points of anyone (19) all day. He’s a threat to point his way into the Championship Four if he doesn’t win in these next two weeks, as he sits +35 on the cutline.

Biggest Movers

Bubba Wallace – This week: 20 – Last week: 11

Falls 9 places

Josh Berry – This Week: 28 – Last Weekend: 34

Gains 6 places

Best of the Rest:

11.	Chris Buescher	LW: 12	+1
13.	Ryan Preece	LW: 13	--
14.	Brad Keselowski	LW: 16	+2
16.	Michael McDowell	LW: 14	-2
17.	Carson Hocevar	LW: 18	+1
18.	Ty Gibbs	LW: 17	-1
19.	Todd Gilliland	LW: 20	+1
21.	Kyle Busch	LW: 23	+2
22.	Zane Smith	LW: 22	--
23.	Erik Jones	LW: 21	-2
24.	Noah Gragson	LW: 29	+5
25.	AJ Allmendinger	LW: 27	+2
29.	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	LW: 26	-3
30.	Riley Herbst	LW: 32	+2
31.	Ty Dillon	LW: 30	-1
32.	Justin Haley	LW: 31	-1
33.	JH Nemechek	LW: 25	-8
34.	Daniel Suarez	LW: 35	+1
35.	Cole Custer	LW: 33	-2
36.	Cody Ware	LW: 36	--