NASCAR Power Rankings shake up as Denny Hamlin stays hot with second straight 2025 Cup win

With Denny Hamlin's surprise victory in Sunday's Goodyear 400 at the Darlington Raceway, this week's power rankings have another new look. Sunday's race at the South Carolina track was the eighth race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign.

Between Kyle Larson's dismal 37th-place finish to William Byron nearly leading every single lap before finishing second, there's some key storylines that came out of Darlington. Let's take a look at this week's power rankings.

#5 Tyler Reddick

It hasn't been flashy, but Tyler Reddick has put together solid runs throughout the 2025 season. With three top fives, including a fourth-place run at Darlington, the driver of the #45 23XI Racing Toyota jumps back into the top five of the power rankings.

Reddick had a shot to win Sunday's race as he was leading with under 10 laps to go. However, between getting passed by Ryan Blaney and the late-race restart that shook things up, Reddick settled for fourth. Still, Reddick is putting together strong finishes and it's only a matter of time before he breaks into victory lane.

#4 Kyle Larson

It was a race to forget for Kyle Larson on Sunday at the Darlington Raceway. The driver of the #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet crashed out twice, once on lap four and again with four laps to go, and scored a 37th-place finish at the end of the race.

Still, the 2021 Cup Series champion has run strong this season. He picked up a win two weeks ago at Homestead and backed it up with a solid fifth-place run at Martinsville. Yet, every driver has their bad days on the racetrack, and it's safe to say Larson had one at Darlington. The poor performance drops Larson to fourth in the power rankings.

#3 Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin has stamped himself as the hottest driver in the series the last two weeks. On the heels of a dominant Martinsville win, the Joe Gibbs Racing #11 pit crew performed at the right time, giving Hamlin the lead for the final restart on Sunday at Darlington and allowed him to drive to victory.

Still seeking that elusive first Cup Series championship, Hamlin has quickly emerged as an early-season favorite. Along with his pair of wins, the driver of the #11 placed runner-up at Phoenix and fifth at Homestead. Now second in the points, Hamlin is heading to Bristol Motor Speedway where he's won two of the last three Cup races. Don't be surprised if we see our second three-peat of the season with a Hamlin victory at Bristol.

#2 Christopher Bell

NASCAR: Cup Practice and Qualifying - Source: Imagn

He's had a few off weeks, but Christopher Bell is still showing why he's a top contender in the NASCAR Cup Series. After placing runner-up at Martinsville, the driver of the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing came home third on Sunday at Darlington, maintaining his second spot in the power rankings.

After winning three straight races at Atlanta, CoTA and Phoenix, Bell posted back-to-back finishes outside the top 10. However, with now back-to-back top-three finishes, it's safe to say the Oklahoma native has gotten back on track. With recent strong runs, Bell is sure to find victory lane again soon.

#1 William Byron

After his performance on Sunday at Darlington, there's no denying William Byron a return to #1 on this week's power rankings. The driver of the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet led a staggering 243 of 297 laps on Sunday, and for the bulk of the race, was uncontested for the top spot on the racetrack.

While it had to be disappointing to come home second, there's no taking away how strong Byron was on Sunday. This year's Daytona 500 winner looked to be on his way to leading every single lap, but the green flag pit stop cycle mired him back in traffic. With a win at Daytona, the points lead, and one of the strongest runs ever seen in the NextGen era, there's no doubt that Byron is at the top of the power rankings.

About the author

John Breeden is a NASCAR content writer at Sportskeeda with over three years of sports journalism experience. His career began back in 2021, when he started writing for The Breeze - a student-run publication at James Madison University that covered a wide variety of collegiate sports. He graduated from JMU in May 2022 with a degree in media arts and design concentrating in journalism. He currently writes for his local publication, the Daily News-Record, in Harrisonburg, VA, where he covers a variety of sports at the high school and collegiate level.

John has been a lifelong NASCAR fan and has followed the sport closely since 2005. He stays informed on motorsports developments through social media, NASCAR.com, and NASCAR podcasts, which help him craft unique and engaging stories. Interviewing Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon at Martinsville Speedway was a career highlight for John, where he wrote about William Byron taking the famed No. 24 car back to the Championship 4.

Beyond motorsports, John enjoys writing about other sports such as football, baseball, and basketball. He believes that NASCAR could reach the global popularity of Formula 1 by expanding its audience with more international races and enhancing its mainstream appeal, just like F1 has done.

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Edited by Luke Koshi