Week Twenty-Five - 2026 StatChat Power Rankings After New Hampshire
- Adam Carabine
- 5 minutes ago
- 5 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:
Kyle Larson – This week: 10 – Last week: 18
It was a solid weekend for Kyle Larson in New Hampshire, as he finds his way back into the Power Rankings Top 10. He earned the most stage points of anyone (including winning Stage One), led 18 laps, and was the highest finishing Chevrolet (P5) on the day. It might be hard to gain another spot on the Regular Season Standings, as Chase Briscoe is 19 points ahead of him, but if there’s anywhere it could happen, it’s Daytona.
Ryan Preece – This week: 9 – Last week: 17
Ryan Preece did what he needed to do to keep himself alive in his quest to make The Chase, though it may still fall short. He is known for being good on short tracks, and he eked out a P9 finish in New Hampshire. He earned points in both stages, and maybe most importantly, gained on SVG, who currently holds the last spot in The Chase. The gap is still 29 points, so it will be a tall order to get in this year, but it’s not impossible.
William Byron – This week: 8 – Last week: 9
Byron’s New Hampshire race ended horribly, as a wheel came off of his car and he was held two laps. He’ll also lose some crew members for the next two races. But aside from that unfortunate finish, he was actually having a fairly solid day. He qualified P3, earned some stage points, and his underlying numbers were better than the P30 finish showed.
Bubba Wallace – This week: 7 – Last week: 8
Bubba Wallace wasn’t super happy with his qualifying effort, starting in the 23rd spot at New Hampshire. But they clearly did some good work on adjustments throughout the race, as he wound up finishing P2, and looked like he could have challenged for the win if there were an extra 10-15 laps or so. The result essentially guarantees a spot for Bubba in The Chase.
Christopher Bell – This week: 6 – Last week: 6
Christopher Bell had a quiet day in New Hampshire (and hey, didn’t finish P2!), but somehow still managed to finish with a Top 5. It’s not a bad rebound after nearly running over one of his tire carriers early in the race. After that Bell remained pretty under the radar, but he was rewarded by his consistent effort once again.
Chase Briscoe – This week: 5 – Last week: 5
Something weird happened with Chase Briscoe at the end of the New Hampshire race this weekend, and he fell off really quickly. Earlier he was challenging Ryan Blaney for the lead, when things just started not going well. Despite a P26 finish, though, his underlying numbers were good and he didn’t lose any ground in the Power Rankings. He also had the most Quality Passes (62) of any driver in the field.
Ty Gibbs – This week: 4 – Last week: 4
I’m not sure Ty Gibbs was really mentioned at all on the broadcast this week, but he still performed well enough to maintain his Top 5 in our Power Rankings. He scored points in both stages, had an average running position of P7 all day, and finished 6th. It might not have been flashy but he’s also third in the Regular Season Standings, and at this point hard to deny as a Championship threat.
Joey Logano – This week: 3 – Last week: 2
Logano is coming off of a win last week in Richmond, which explains his sudden resurgence to the top of our Power Rankings. He didn’t follow it up with a repeat win, but it was a respectable day for the 22 team. Especially after getting caught up in some trouble when Carson Hocevar spun out after contact with Connor Zilisch. Logano didn’t have the best car on track but he finished with a Top 15, and is locked into The Chase.
Ryan Blaney – This week: 2 – Last week: 1
It might not seem super fair that Ryan Blaney wins a race and falls a spot on the Power Rankings, but there is a method to the madness. Blaney had a great race in New Hampshire, don’t get me wrong, but his average finish over the last 5 races is 10.8, with three races finishing outside of the Top 10. With the Power Rankings formula taking the last five races more heavily into account, it’s also worth noting that his last victory was six races ago, so this was the first week it didn’t buoy him up some more too. Look ahead to see how Denny’s previous five races have gone…
Denny Hamlin – This week: 1 – Last week: 2
As I alluded to above, Denny Hamlin’s been on a good run these last five races, and with our Power Rankings formula weighing those a bit heavier than any other races, he’s rewarded with our top spot this week! Denny hasn’t finished outside of the Top 10 in the last five races, and his average finish is 4.6. He might not have a win in there, but the consistency is key. He’s also locked himself into winning the Regular Season Championship, which gives him the best odds at this moment to win his first Championship.
Biggest Movers
Ross Chastain – This week: 21 – Last week: 12
Falls 9 places
Josh Berry – This week: 12 – Last week: 21
Gains 9 places
Rest of the List
11. | Austin Cindric | LW: 13 | +2 |
12. | Josh Berry | LW: 21 | +9 |
13. | SVG | LW: 7 | -6 |
14. | Tyler Reddick | LW: 10 | -4 |
15. | Carson Hocevar | LW: 11 | -4 |
16. | Daniel Suarez | LW: 15 | -1 |
17. | Brad Keselowski | LW: 20 | +3 |
18. | Chris Buescher | LW: 16 | -2 |
19. | Chase Elliott | LW: 14 | -5 |
20. | Todd Gilliland | LW: 19 | -1 |
21. | Ross Chastain | LW: 12 | -9 |
22. | Zane Smith | LW: 23 | +1 |
23. | Noah Gragson | LW: 25 | +2 |
24. | Michael McDowell | LW: 24 | -- |
25. | Austin Dillon | LW: 22 | -3 |
26. | Alex Bowman | LW: 29 | +3 |
27. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | LW: 27 | -- |
28. | AJ Allmendinger | LW: 32 | +4 |
29. | Riley Herbst | LW: 26 | -3 |
30. | JH Nemechek | LW: 30 | -- |
31. | Cole Custer | LW: 33 | +2 |
32. | Ty Dillon | LW: 31 | -1 |
33. | Cody Ware | LW: 34 | +1 |
34. | Erik Jones | LW: 28 | -6 |
35. | Connor Zilisch | LW: 35 | -- |
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