NASCAR Power Rankings After Austin Dillon’s Win At Richmond

One year after he was at the center of the biggest controversy of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, Austin Dillon returned to Richmond Raceway and left no doubt, claiming victory for the second year in a row.

Dillon’s shocking win vaults him into the playoffs for the first time since 2022, while a number of other top drivers struggled, shaking up the regular-season points battle with just one race remaining until the playoffs.

NASCAR Power Rankings After Austin Dillon’s Win At Richmond

While Dillon’s victory at Richmond did secure him a playoff spot, it wasn’t quite enough to vault him into our power rankings for the first time this season.

But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a good amount of movement. Big nights for a handful of playoff drivers, as well as early exits for others, meant that this week’s rankings look a bit different from the way they did a week ago.

10) Alex Bowman

After a runner-up finish at Richmond, Bowman moves into our power rankings for the first time. He now has four top-10 finishes in his last five races, and six in his last eight.

Bowman has been the most consistent Hendrick Motorsports driver over the last two months and has put himself in a position where he could make the playoffs on points even if we do get a new winner next week in Daytona.

He takes the final spot from Tyler Reddick, who sits 30 points ahead of Bowman in the regular season standings, but has foundered of late while Bowman has flourished.

Last Week: UR NASCAR Playoff Standings: 16th

9) Shane Van Gisbergen

It wasn’t pretty, but Saturday night’s race at Richmond was exactly what the doctor ordered for Shane Van Gisbergen. He tied his career-best finish on an oval with a 14th-place finish and completed all the laps.

If Van Gisbergen wants to make a deep playoff run, he’s going to have to prove that he’s at least capable on the ovals. He’s started to do that in recent races, with strong showings at Charlotte and now Richmond.

The Trackhouse Racing star is slowly but surely growing more comfortable at different types of tracks, and that should be a big warning sign to his competition.

Last Week: 9th NASCAR Playoff Standings: 3rd

8) Chase Elliott

Things just continue to go against Chase Elliott since taking the points lead earlier this summer. Elliott and crew chief Alan Gustafson used a strategy call to save an extra set of new tires early on in the race. But a pit road penalty put Elliott behind the eight ball, and he never recovered.

Ultimately, the Hendrick Motorsports star got caught up in a wreck on lap 197 that ended his day, leaving him with a 38th-place finish.

Elliott’s rough night wrapped up the regular-season points crown (and 15 playoff points) for teammate William Byron, while Elliott now sits at risk of finishing as low as sixth in the regular-season standings.

Last Week: 6th NASCAR Playoff Standings: 11th

7) Bubba Wallace

For much of the race on Saturday night, it looked like Bubba Wallace was going to fly up these rankings and potentially even pick up his second race win of the year.

Wallace led a race-high 123 laps and scored the victory in stage two, picking up an all-important playoff point in the process. Unfortunately, a mistake by his pit crew on the final stop undid all of Wallace’s good work, leading to a 28th-place finish and the end of his career-long streak of consecutive top-10 finishes.

Still, Wallace and his 23 team have brought speed almost everywhere they’ve gone of late, and he appears to be entering the playoffs with a ton of confidence.

Last Week: 8th NASCAR Playoff Standings: 7th

6) Chase Briscoe

Richmond continues to be a track that gets the best of Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe. He now has nine career starts at the track without a top-10 finish.

Briscoe wasn’t awful on Saturday night, which is why he doesn’t drop behind Wallace, but he really never factored into the discussion for a win or even a top 10.

In the end, he brought home a solid but unspectacular 13th-placed finish.

Last Week: 6th NASCAR Playoff Standings: 9th

5) Christopher Bell

Christopher Bell’s tumultuous summer run seemed to be coming to a close with a runner-up finish at Watkins Glen a week ago. But he was once again his own worst enemy this week in Richmond.

Bell finished sixth in the opening stage and looked as if he was in line for a strong top-10, if not top-five run. But a late speeding on pit road penalty undid his day completely, leading to a 21st-place finish.

The rough finish cost Bell two spots in the regular-season points standings and potentially some very valuable playoff points.

Last Week: 3rd NASCAR Playoff Standings: 5th

4) Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson didn’t contend for the win on Saturday night in Richmond, but he did have a sorely needed strong run.

After qualifying all the way back in 30th, it appeared early on as if Larson could go a lap down and toil to another rough finish. But he and crew chief Cliff Daniels chipped away and caught a well-timed caution to gain both track position and tire advantage.

Ultimately, Larson worked his way to a sixth-place finish, which isn’t the standard for he or the team, but provides a good building block moving forward.

Last Week: 4th NASCAR Playoff Standings: 2nd

3) Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney might feel as if he and his team let one slip at Richmond after leading late, only to be passed by Austin Dillon and Alex Bowman en route to a third-place finish.

But that represents Blaney’s best finish, by far, at the track in 18 starts. Blaney now has five consecutive top-five finishes and, despite seven DNFs, he sits in fifth place in the regular season standings with a legitimate shot to move as high as second with one week remaining in the regular season.

Like Wallace, Blaney is heading into the playoffs with a ton of speed and confidence.

Last Week: 5th NASCAR Playoff Standings: 6th

2) Denny Hamlin

When it comes to Richmond Raceway, no driver in the NASCAR Cup Series is better than Denny Hamlin. Hamlin, a Virginia native, has five wins at the track and finished first or second in six of the previous eight visits to the track.

It looked for a while as if he was in for another strong showing on Saturday night after finishing third in the opening stage. But Hamlin’s pit crew just could not get out of its own way.

Not once, not twice, but three times, Hamlin was cycled to the back of the field due to issues on pit lane. He still managed to bring home a solid 10th-place finish, but he’ll leave the track wondering what could have been.

Last Week: 2nd NASCAR Playoff Standings: 1st

1) William Byron

Byron maintains the top spot in this week’s power rankings almost by default. He qualified in 14th and finished 12th in Saturday night’s race, and never really showed much more speed than that.

But due to Elliott’s struggles, he locked down the regular-season championship and the 15 playoff points that come with it.

Byron and his team will wonder where the speed was, as it’s a potential red flag for the upcoming playoffs with similar race tracks such as St. Louis, New Hampshire, and the championship race at Phoenix all on the calendar.

Last Week: 1st NASCAR Playoff Standings: 4th