SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s 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. Revisit previous editions of our Power Rankings here.

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs rolled into Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday. Here’s a look at the Power Rankings after the Yellawood 500:

1. Chase Elliott

He’s now a five-time winner in 2022 and Elliott did it in dramatic fashion holding off the field after a late restart to take the checkered flag in the Yellawood 500. It was his second career Talladega win and moves him to the next round as Elliott re-established himself as the championship favorite on Sunday.

Playoff Grid: 1st
Last Week: 7th

2. Denny Hamlin

The best finishing Toyota belonged to Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team. A fifth-place finish was another building block in Hamlin’s hopes to get to the next round and continue his quest for a Cup Series championship.

Playoff Grid: 4th
Last Week: 1st

3. William Byron

Not great but not terrible for Byron who stayed out of trouble and kept his car near the top-10 on Sunday. He’ll await an appeal for the 25 point penalty that was assessed after Texas as he tries to race his way to the next round of the Playoffs at The Roval.

Playoff Grid: 10th
Last Week: 4th

4. Ross Chastain

Things are heading back in the right direction for Chastain of late who was in the mix for a Talladega season sweep on Sunday. The Trackhouse Racing driver finished fourth and paced the field for a race-tying 36 laps.

Playoff Grid: 3rd
Last Week: 10th

5. Ryan Blaney

It looked like he would have a good shot at ending his winless season with a win at Talladega. However Blaney just couldn’t find the right help to make a run to the top spot and was forced to settle for a runner-up Yellawood 500 finish.

Playoff Grid: 2nd
Last Week: 9th

6. Kyle Larson

The race began with Larson and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott forces at the front of the field. But that did not last long for Larson who did lead eight laps but ultimately slid back to end up just inside the first twenty finishers on Sunday.

Playoff Grid: 6th
Last Week: 3rd

7. Chase Briscoe

Another consistent day for Briscoe who followed up his top-five at Texas to start this Playoff round with a top-10 at Talladega. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver is still very much in the hunt to advance to the next round of the Playoffs.

Playoff Grid: 8th
Last Week: 8th

8. Joey Logano

A surprising day at Talladega for Logano who finished 27th. He got some damage in an early incident but stayed on track and down the stretch seem to fade back in the race to the checkered flag to earn the disappointing finish.

Playoff Grid: 5th
Last Week: 2nd

9. Christopher Bell

His Playoff hopes took another body blow with Bell’s 17th-place finish at Talladega, Despite starting from the pole Bell’s day went from good to bad in a hurry and he is more than likely in a must-win situation this weekend in Charlotte to stay alive.

Playoff Grid: 11th
Last Week: 6th

10. Tyler Reddick

Disappointing follow-up to his Texas win as the three-time winner wasn’t able to compete for the win despite leading 11 laps on Sunday. Reddick turned in a 28th-place Talladega performance.

Playoff Grid: 13th
Last Week: 5th

Dropped Out: None