NASCAR Power Rankings Following Denny Hamlin’s Win At Las Vegas To Reach The Championship Four

Denny Hamlin became the first driver to qualify for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship on Sunday afternoon with a dramatic victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Hamlin, 45, also picked up the 60th win of his career in the process and made himself the unquestionable, odds-on favorite to win a championship, which would be the first of his illustrious career.

But where does that put Hamlin in our latest NASCAR power rankings? And where do the other drivers in the round of eight rank?

NASCAR Power Rankings After First Race In Round Of Eight

Hamlin’s victory not only assures his spot as one of four drivers racing for a championship in Phoenix, but it also gives his team an extra two weeks to focus on the race, while not worrying about upcoming races at Talladega and Martinsville.

Meanwhile, the seven other drivers in the Round of Eight will battle it out the next two weeks for the three remaining spots in Phoenix, with some potentially in a must-win scenario.

Here is how our rankings stack up heading into the final two races of the round.

8) Joey Logano

The reigning champion came into the round likely needing a victory in order to reach the championship race at Phoenix. But the same was true last year when he managed to win in Las Vegas against all odds.

This time around, Logano was never really competitive in Vegas and managed to salvage a sixth-place finish.

That left him 24 points below the cut line with just two races remaining. That’s certainly not an insurmountable number of points, especially given Logano’s previous success at Talladega and Martinsville, but it’s far from an ideal spot for a 22 team that hasn’t been all that fast throughout the year.

Last Week: 6th NASCAR Playoff Standings: 7th (24 points below cut line)

7) Chase Elliott

For the first half of Sunday’s race in Las Vegas, it looked as if Chase Elliott could well win and lock himself, not Hamlin, into the Championship Four.

Instead, an uncontrolled tire penalty on a green flag pit stop put Elliott a lap down, and he spent the rest of the day trying to recover. Elliott eventually salvaged an 18th-place finish, which is far better than it could have been.

But he’s now 23 points below the playoff cut line, and while he, like Logano, has had success at Talladega and Martinsville in the past, he hasn’t had race-winning speed for much of the 2025 season.

Last Week: 3rd NASCAR Playoff Standings: 6th (23 points below cut line)

6) Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney entered this round ranked No. 1 in our power rankings. He had a ton of momentum and was many people’s favorite to lift the championship at the end of the season.

But Las Vegas Motor Speedway continued to be a house of horrors for Blaney, who blew a tire in the opening stage of the race, finishing in dead last (38th). Blaney has now finished 32nd or worse in three straight Vegas races.

He’s also now 31 points below the cut line. The good news for Blaney? He goes to Talladega, a place he’s won three times, and Martinsville, where he’s won the last two fall races, in the next two weeks. The bad news? He’ll likely need a win in one of those two races to keep his title hopes alive.

Last Week: 1st NASCAR Playoff Standings: 8th (31 points below cut line)

5) William Byron

Much like Elliott, Byron looked like a serious contender for a race win on Sunday. In fact, he led the race with about 50 laps remaining.

However, things can change in an instant in the world of racing. Byron made a small mistake and lost the lead to teammate Kyle Larson, then shortly after, plowed into the back of Ty Dillon in a strange incident, ending his race in violent fashion.

Byron finished in 36th after running in the top five for the overwhelming majority of the race in the top five, and he now goes to Talladega and Martinsville needing to make up points on the top four.

Last Week: 8th NASCAR Playoff Standings: 5th (15 points below cut line)

4) Christopher Bell

Bell had a perfectly good weekend in Las Vegas. He qualified third. He ran inside the top 10 in both stages, picking up crucial points in the process, and he finished third, putting him well inside the cut line as it stands.

But while Hamlin won the race and Briscoe led 57 laps, Bell struggled for much of the day to keep up with his teammates, not leading any laps.

Now, does that really matter if he still finds his way into the Championship Four in Phoenix? Not really. But it caps how high he could go on this week’s power rankings.

Last Week: 2nd NASCAR Playoff Standings: 3rd (20 points above cut line)

3) Chase Briscoe 

Briscoe may feel like he left one out there by failing to win on Sunday, but he had an undoubtedly successful day.

After qualifying second, Briscoe finished third and fifth in the opening two stages and brought home a fourth-place finish, going from 14 points below the cut line to start the round to 15 points above it through the first race.

Now, 15 points is nowhere near enough for Briscoe to rest on his laurels in the next two weeks, but it puts him in a far stronger spot than he was coming into the round.

Last Week: 7th NASCAR Playoff Standings: 4th (15 points above cut line)

2) Kyle Larson

Larson continued his remarkably strong run through the playoffs in Las Vegas, finishing second in stage one, winning stage two, and claiming second at the end of the race.

However, he, even more than Briscoe, may feel like he left a victory on the table after leading late in the race and leading a race-high 129 laps.

Larson has not won now in over five months, and while he sits in a really good points position, that could go away in a flash with one crash or mechanical issue at Talladega.

Last Week: 4th NASCAR Playoff Standings: 2nd (35 points above cut line)

1) Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin didn’t have the fastest car for most of Sunday’s race despite sitting on the pole. But he did have the fastest car and was the best driver when it mattered.

Hamlin went and passed both Larson and Briscoe in the final 10 laps at Las Vegas to claim victory, and in doing so, may have changed the narrative surrounding his chase for a first career championship.

Until that point, many fans felt it was just a matter of “when” and “how,” not “if” Hamlin’s title charge would come apart. Now, he heads to Phoenix as perhaps the favorite and with a ton of momentum.

Last Week: 5th NASCAR Playoff Standings: 1st (Locked into Championship Four with win)