© Scott Kinser/Imagn
Audio By Carbonatix
After some last-lap chaos and a dominating victory by Shane Van Gisbergen at the Charlotte Roval, we’re officially through to the round of eight of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
That means it’s time for a new set of our NASCAR Power Rankings, which gets cut down to the eight remaining title contenders this week.
At this point of the season, everyone still left in the game is a genuine threat to win a championship next month in Phoenix. But some drivers enter the third round with more momentum than others, and a win next week in Las Vegas could be just what’s needed to get a leg-up on the competition in the championship race.
NASCAR Power Rankings Entering Round Three Of The Playoffs
Of the final eight drivers remaining in contention for a championship, four already have a championship to their name, while one, Joey Logano, is looking to add a fourth championship that would put him in elite company.
Meanwhile, future Hall of Famer Denny Hamlin is looking to finally break through for his first championship, as are teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe, as well as Hendrick Motorsports star William Byron.
So, how do they stack up entering the round of eight? Let’s take a look.
8) William Byon
© Jerome Miron/Imagn
William Byron entered the playoffs as the regular-season champion. But it’s been a mediocre run to the round of eight to this point.
Byron has just two top-10 finishes and one top-five finish in the playoffs. And, perhaps more worryingly, he just has had the same speed as teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson.
On the bright side, Byron gets to begin the next round at Las Vegas, where he’s finished in the top five each of the last five races, including a victory in 2023 and back-to-back fourth-place finishes in the last two.
Last Week: 7th NASCAR Playoff Standings: 4th (4 points above cut line)
7) Chase Briscoe
Getty Image
In his first year with Joe Gibbs Racing, Chase Briscoe has been nothing short of impressive. The Indiana native has two wins this season, including a dominant victory at Darlington to open the playoffs.
The second round wasn’t as kind to him, however, with an average finish of 9.33. While that’s certainly nothing to scoff at, that likely won’t be good enough to reach the championship race in Phoenix unless he can pick up a victory at some point in the next three races.
Making matters worse is the fact that Briscoe heads to Las Vegas with a career-average finish of 23.4 at the track, making it the fifth-worst track for him on the calendar.
Last Week: 6th NASCAR Playoff Standings: 7th (14 points below cut line)
6) Joey Logano
© Jerome Miron/Imagn
Make no mistake, Joey Logano enters the round of eight with the least consistent speed of any driver remaining in the field. The defending series champion just has not consistently been fast this year, especially on intermediate tracks such as Las Vegas.
But that was the case last year as well, and all Logano did was go and use strategy to claim a win in Vegas, which served as a springboard for his eventual race and title win in Phoenix.
Some will call it luck. But when you do it three times, it’s hardly a coincidence. Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe always seem to be at their best when the stakes are the highest, which is why he gets the nod over both Byron and Briscoe.
Last Week: 8th NASCAR Playoff Standings: 8th (24 points below cut line)
5) Denny Hamlin
© Jim Dedmon/Imagn
For many, Denny Hamlin entered the playoffs as the championship favorite. He had a fantastic regular season that included four victories.
Things looked even better for Hamlin when he dominated at St. Louis, a track not too dissimilar to the championship race in Phoenix.
But since that point, Hamlin of 31st, 12th, 2nd, and 23rd. Perhaps more concerningly, it seems as if outside noise and on-track incidents are beginning to pile up for Hamlin.
Would it be any surprise if he went on to win next week in Las Vegas? No. But it’s also fair to start wondering if Hamlin’s usual playoff problems are beginning to rear their head.
Last Week: 5th NASCAR Playoff Standings: 1st (8 points above cut line)
4) Kyle Larson
© Peter Casey/Imagn
Kyle Larson had a fantastic second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. His worst finish of the three races was 7th at New Hampshire, and he racked up more points than anyone en route to easily advancing.
So, why is he not higher on this list?
That’s because Larson has not won a race since May 11th at Kansas. There’s a solid chance he will either have to win a race in the next round or put together three elite finishes to make the championship race in Phoenix.
He’ll have a great shot in Las Vegas, a place where he has three wins, including one each in 2023 and 2024. But he doesn’t do so there; a treacherous race at Talladega looms ahead of the final race of the round in Martinsville.
Last Week: 3rd NASCAR Playoff Standings: 3rd (four points above cut line)
3) Chase Elliott
© Kylie Graham/Imagn
Chase Elliott very easily could’ve been No. 2 on this list. After all, he’s coming off a round in which he recorded three top-10 finishes and a big win in Kansas that moved him automatically in the round of eight.
The benefits of that win are wide-ranging. Of course, it moved him on in the playoffs. But it also allowed Elliott’s team an extra week over most of the competition to prep for Las Vegas, a track not too different from Kansas.
The downside, however, is that Elliott’s best finish in the last seven races at Las Vegas is 10th, which came earlier this season. He also does not enter the round with a ton of bonus points like some others, meaning that a truly bad day in Las Vegas could put him in a must-win scenario.
Last Week: 2nd NASCAR Playoff Standings: 6th (14 points below cut line)
2) Christopher Bell
© Peter Casey/Imagn
After a difficult 29th-place finish to open the playoff at Darlington, Christopher Bell has been downright flawless. Bell has quietly put together five straight finishes in the top seven, including a win at Bristol and back-to-back third-place finishes to close round two.
The stats show that Bell hasn’t won at Las Vegas, but had it not been for Logano’s miraculous fuel saving a year ago, Bell would’ve taken home the checkered flag in a race he dominated, leading 155 laps.
Additionally, Bell finished second at Martinsville earlier this season after sitting on the pole and leading 25 laps. Yes, Talladega looms large for him as well as everybody else, but Bell is as well-position as anyone to make the championship four.
Last Week: 4th NASCAR Playoff Standings: 5th (4 points below cut line)
1) Ryan Blaney
© Jerome Miron/Imagn
Absolutely nothing is a sure thing in the NASCAR playoffs, especially not when the top eight are seemingly as evenly matched as they’ve ever been before.
That being said, the round of eight really couldn’t set up much better for Ryan Blaney.
Not only did Blaney win in New Hampshire, locking himself into the next round and giving his team a head start at prep for Las Vegas, but he also has three tracks in this round that he’s shown speed on in the past.
Yes, Blaney finished 35th and 32nd the last two times in Las Vegas, but he showed significant speed in both before encountering issues outside his control. Otherwise, Blaney has 10 top-10 finishes at the track in 18 races, including six top-fives.
He has three career victories on his resume at Talladega, where Penske always has speed, and two at Martinsville, where he has an astonishing 8.5 career average finish in 19 races and where he has won the last two fall races.
It’s certainly possible Blaney has a bad at Las Vegas or has some sort of accident or mechanical issue at Talladega or Martinsville. But if those things don’t happen, it becomes harder to see how he doesn’t make the final four in Phoenix.
Last Week: 1st NASCAR Playoff Standings: 2nd (6 points above cut line)