2025 NASCAR Power Rankings, Week 14: Nashville

Now that the longest race of the year is in the record books, Jey and I reconvened to drop back down from a 36-driver ranking back down to our standard top-10 entries.

The next time you’ll see a 36-driver power ranking will be at the conclusion of the regular season, right after the playoff grid is set after the summer Daytona cutoff race.

Until then, we’ll be charting the top-10 drivers in the sport just like we have been: eye test, statistics, and perhaps most importantly, recent performances.

Without any further ado, let’s get back to basics!

1. Christopher Bell (Last Week: 2)

Last Four Races: 35th, 9th, 2nd, 8th

Tanner: Christopher Bell and the 20 team endured a challenging night in Charlotte. The team failed to defend their World 600 crown despite a strong showing in stage 1 that ended with a third-place finish, but they drifted back into the midpack for much of the rest of the night, rising back to eighth by lap 400.

Coming into this season, I pointed to the summer stretch as the time of year when the 20 machine showed so much pace last with little trophies and accolades to show for it. They might be poised to add to their season-high three wins as soon as this week at Nashville.

2. Kyle Larson (Last Week: 1)

Last Four Races: 2nd, 4th, 1st, 37th

Jey: Kyle Larson’s experience with the infamous “Double” did not go according to plan in the slightest. Of the possible 1,100 miles between both races, Larson completed just 595 total miles on the day after crashing out early in the Indy 500 before spinning from the lead early in the World 600 prior to his night being ended when he was swept in a stage 3 crash.

Larson displayed pace early and was a bystander in the incident that ended his World 600 bid. The Hendrickcars.com Chevy team looks to rebound like it’s 2am on Broadway in Nashville this week.

3. Denny Hamlin (Last Week: 3)

Last Four Races: 21st, 38th, 36th, 16th

Tanner: Much like the first Crown Jewel race of the year at Daytona, the World 600 wilted into a tragedy so abruptly for the 11 crew. Hamlin led 53 laps on the night while earning 22 stage points on the night, but a fueling issue on his final green-flag stop took him out of the race for the win, coming home 16th.

The result shouldn’t keep the Progressive pit crew down too much as they have two wins already this season, and they return to the Music City where they were in a position to win at the end of regulation.

4. William Byron (Last Week: 5)

Last Four Races: 3rd, 13th, 24th, 2nd

Jey: William Byron put on quite simply the most impressive weekend of his career, even if that ended one spot short on Sunday night. Byron swept the stages and overcame a speeding penalty to win the Xfinity race on Saturday and followed that up by sweeping all three stages in the World 600.

If not for a late bobble, Byron would likely have won that race too. Byron and Rudy Fugle have started the “summer stretch” better than they ever have as a duo and look to ride that momentum into Nashville this week.

5. Ryan Blaney (Last Week: 4)

Last Four Races: 37th, 3rd, 3rd, 38th

Tanner: The World 600 was yet another race weekend that got ripped away from Ryan Blaney. Rumors swirled throughout the week about Team Penske’s IndyCar team that some thought might trickle over into their NASCAR program, and based on the speed of their three cars, there might be truth to that theory.

Blaney got swept into a crash caused by Chase Briscoe forcing a three-wide when it wasn’t necessary, saddling the 12 team with their fifth DNF in 13 events. They’ll look to Nashville to turn their fortunes around and get back to victory lane for the first time since Martinsville last season.

6. Chase Elliott (Last Week: 7)

Last Four Races: 5th, 16th, 15th, 6th

Jey: Chase Elliott quietly ran an excellent race in Charlotte last weekend as the Napa Chevy team improves its performance. Bringing home six stage points to pair with a sixth-place finish is not bad by any stretch.

The team absolutely lacks that last little bit of something that their teammates in the No. 24 and No. 5 have had, but the 9 crew are rounding a corner and just ran a complete race in the longest race of the year.

7. Ross Chastain (Last Week: 12)

Last Four Races: 20th, 2nd, 18th, 1st

Tanner: Ross Chastain’s weekend went up in smoke after he wrecked their primary car in practice. Or, so we all thought. The Trackhouse team worked together through the night to prepare a new car, and over the course of 400 laps, Ross Chastain rose from last place all the way to the lead with six laps to go.

Chastain held on to notch his first win of 2025 in spectacular fashion, effectively completing a last-to-first challenge in the series’ most grueling race. On top of all of this, Ross returns to a track he won at two years ago and saw his chances at victory evaporate in a crash from the front row in overtime last season.

8. Alex Bowman (Last Week: 6)

Last Four Races: 7th, 35th, 5th, 29th

Jey: Another week where Alex Bowman has pace, and another week where a non-mechanical issue relegates the Ally Chevrolet to a poor finish. This is quickly becoming a trend that needs to be addressed and stopped before Bowman slips out of the playoffs completely.

They sit 59 points above the cutline, but another bad race or two or a couple new winners from below the cutline could spell trouble for the 48 team.

9. Austin Cindric (Last Week: 8)

Last Four Races: 1st, 25th, 11th, 31st

Tanner: Cindric dodged a lot of unnecessary comments last week after his dad was fired by Team Penske. Though the fourth-year racer wanted to prove his worth by putting in a great performance, the 2 crew suffered a mechanical failure in stage 2 stemming from contact Cindric made with the wall.

This setback became insurmountable as Cindric crawled across the line 31st, 12 laps down. The flagship Penske team will look to reverse their fortunes by grabbing the axe in Nashville victory lane.

10. Chris Buescher (Last Week: 9)

Last Four Races: 34th, 18th, 8th, 22nd

Jey: Chris Buescher showed pace early in the World 600, collecting stage points in the first stage. This would be the last good thing to happen to the team as Buescher would be caught in an incident after Carson Hocevar lost his engine at the start of the final stage while fighting for the lead.

The damage plummeted any hopes of fighting for a good result, relegating the 17 team to 22nd place. Even still, this team has shown consistent pace and should rebound well next week.

Honorable Mentions: Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe

(Top Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)