SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Power Rankings

Pete Pistone will unveil Power Rankings each week of the NASCAR season. Check out this week’s edition of NASCAR Power Rankings below, and listen to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) on the SXM App now.

The NASCAR Cup Series regular season is over and after Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, here’s a look at this week’s “Power Rankings:”

1. Martin Truex Jr.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver didn’t make the Playoffs last season and this year turned things around to win the regular season championship.Truex Jr. will look to continue the amazing turnaround with a strong run in the Playoffs in pursuit of his second career Cup title.

Playoff Ranking: 2nd:
Last Week: 1st

2.  William Byron

The series leader with five wins in the regular season capped things off Saturday in Daytona with an eighth place run. Byron looks to start the Playoffs off on a good note in Darlington where he won earlier in the season.

Playoff Ranking: 1st
Last Week: 3rd

3. Chris Buescher

Red hot at the right time for Buescher who won for the third time in the last five races Saturday night at Daytona. Buescher has proven Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing is not a fluke and he can be a solid contender through the Playoff run.

Playoff Ranking: 4th
Last Week: 4th

4. Denny Hamlin

Penalties on pit road and a crash added up to Hamlin finishing 26th at Daytona. But the No. 11 team can now wipe the slate clean and tackle the Playoff schedule as Hamlin shoots for that elusive first Cup Series championship.

Playoff Ranking: 3rd
Last Week: 2nd

5. Kyle Larson

A rough ending to the regular season for Larson with a 27th place finish after getting swept up one an accident at the end of the season stage. He’s won at eight of the ten tracks on the Playoff schedule so brings confidence into the championship portion of the season.

Playoff Ranking: 6th
Last Week: 5th

6. Brad Keselowski

The RFK driver went winless during the regular season but still had a very strong campaign to earn a Playoff spot. He helped push his teammate Chris Buescher to victory Saturday night at Daytona and has been inside the top-10 in three of the last five races.

Playoff Ranking: 9th
Last Week: NR

7. Bubba Wallace

The 23XI driver secured his first-ever Playoff berth and gives the organization two drivers with a chance to win the championship along with Tyler Reddick. Wallace has a number of tracks in the Playoff schedule where he’s done well during his career.

Playoff Ranking: 16th
Last Week: 7th

8. Kyle Busch

The last two weeks have been much better for Busch and he ended the regular season with a seventh place Daytona performance. But consistency is something Busch will need to find in order to make a deep run through the Playoffs.

Playoff Ranking: 5th
Last Week: NR

9. Chase Elliott

The Hendrick Motorsports driver missed the Playoffs for the first time in his Cup career. Elliott still has an opportunity to play spoiler in the final ten races of the season as well as trying to win the owner championship for his organization.

Point Standings: 20th
Last Week: NR

10. Joey Logano

A top five finish at Daytona to end the regular season for Logano. But after a late summer that was mostly just okay, can the defending champion find a way to rally again with stronger finishes in the Playoff race?

Playoff Ranking: 11th
Last Week: NR

Dropped Out: Michael McDowell, Ryan Blaney, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick