NASCAR’s return from its two-week Olympic hiatus ended dramatically, with Austin Dillon earning an extremely controversial win after wrecking Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap of the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway on Sunday.
Lost in the drama is that Dillon legitimately had one of the best runs of his career and was going to win the race going away before a late caution set up the chaotic finish. Even so, Dillon — 32nd in points entering the race — doesn’t appear in this week’s power rankings.
Sixteen other drivers do, though. Here’s where they stand as the Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400.
1. Tyler Reddick (Last week: 3)
For the first time this season, Reddick leads the power rankings after his third-place effort in Richmond. He has six consecutive finishes of sixth or better and has surged to the runner-up spot in the standings, only five points back of Kyle Larson. Reddick is on fire.
2. Denny Hamlin (Last week: 5)
Perhaps Sunday’s finish was the universe’s way of balancing things out for Hamlin. He should have been penalized when he won the spring race at Richmond for jumping the final restart but — pending something unprecedented during the week — ended up losing this time around after Dillon blatantly hooked him coming to the line. Still, Hamlin moves to the No. 2 spot with his runner-up finish after winning the pole and leading the most laps (124).
3. Ryan Blaney (Last week: 1)
Blaney drops from the top spot with an unremarkable showing, albeit an expected one at one of his worst tracks. Still, his 11th-place finish is nothing to be ashamed of, and he’ll look to pick it back up at Michigan, a track he won at in 2021. Blaney is all set playoff-wise, and for him, it’s all about building momentum as he looks to repeat as Cup Series champion.
4. Kyle Larson (Last week: 2)
Some drivers used their two weeks off to enjoy family vacation time, but Larson used his time to dominate on his dirt stomping grounds, notably winning the Knoxville Nationals on Saturday night. Perhaps that’s partly why he was uncharacteristically quiet in Richmond while the rest of the field was fresh. He still finished seventh.
5. Christopher Bell (Last week: 4)
Bell seemed like he had the car to beat Sunday, but an unforced error knocked him out of contention when he sped on pit road during a late stop under green. He rebounded to finish sixth after leading 122 laps and remains among the fastest drivers each week. His execution, however, must be more consistent if he’s going to be taken seriously as a title favorite.
6. Chase Elliott (Last week: 6)
Like Larson, Elliott escaped with a solid top-10 after not making much noise throughout the evening, finishing ninth. That’s the story of his 2024 season, and it’s why he’s still only six points out of the regular-season lead with three races to go. If he’s to contend for a second title, however, he must have consistent speed.
7. Bubba Wallace (Last week: 9)
Wallace is on an absolute tear lately with back-to-back top-five finishes (albeit separated by three weeks) after his fourth-place effort in Richmond. He has climbed back into the playoff picture, although with Dillon’s win throwing another wrench into things, he still has little room for error (three points ahead of both Chris Buescher and Ross Chastain). He could be one to watch in Michigan, where he won the pole and finished second in 2022.
8. William Byron (Last week: 8)
Byron’s quiet summer continued Sunday with a 13th-place finish, which is roughly representative of where he ran throughout the race. It seems like it could be time to panic for the No. 24 bunch if they don’t race well in the next few weeks. Byron has gone from a title favorite to a relative afterthought.
9. Martin Truex Jr. (Last week: 7)
Truex cannot buy a break in his farewell season. Richmond was thought to be one of his best remaining chances for him to win, but he wound up last instead because of a blown motor. He should still be safe playoff-wise at 75 points above the bubble, but this is not the high note he wants and deserves to go out on.
10. Joey Logano (Last week: 15)
Logano can claim that he was the rightful winner of both Richmond races in 2024. He finished second to Hamlin in the controversial spring race finish and was punted by Dillon on the last lap Sunday when he had the race in the bag. Justifiably, Logano was furious after the race, but on the bright side for him, his own chaotic win at the Nashville Superspeedway on June 30 means he will still be part of the playoffs.
11. Ross Chastain (Last week: 14)
Finally, there are signs of life from Chastain, who had several dismal weeks before entering the break. He had a top-10 car all race Sunday and finished fifth, but unfortunately for him, he’s outside the playoffs thanks to Dillon’s win. Chastain, Wallace and Chris Buescher are locked in an absolute dogfight for the final playoff spot, barring another unforeseen winner.
12. Ty Gibbs (Last week: 10)
Don’t look now, but what seemed to be a playoff near-lock only about a month ago is suddenly far from a sure thing for Gibbs, who ran a quiet 22nd in Richmond. He’s only 18 points to the good, and with only one top-15 finish in the past eight races (!), he’s trending downward. One more bad run and he could find himself on the outside looking in.
13. Brad Keselowski (Last week: 11)
Keselowski should have contended at Richmond, one of his best tracks, but he struggled mightily and finished 16th. He’ll head to his home track of Michigan, where he was fast a year ago in a fourth-place finish.
14. Chris Buescher (Last week: 16)
Speaking of Michigan, it was Keselowski’s teammate Buescher who won that race in 2023. He needs a win more than ever after dropping below the cut line thanks to the latest playoff plot twist. Buescher seemed to have speed in Richmond but missed his pit stall during a green-flag stop sequence and never recovered, finishing 18th.
15. Daniel Suarez (Last week: not ranked)
Let’s give a shoutout to Suarez, who led a career-high 93 laps Sunday in one of his best performances in the Cup Series. Credit his team’s unconventional strategy to use a set of alternate tires early in the race to gain him crucial track position. Credit Suarez for maintaining it en route to his 10th-place effort.
16. Alex Bowman (Last week: 12)
Bowman was just straight-up invisible in Richmond, finishing a disappointing 28th at a track he has had success at in the past. It seems his miniature hot streak before the break has ended, but thankfully for him, he took advantage of the momentum while he could with his Chicago Street Course win.
Dropped out: Todd Gilliland