The AARN Cup Series Power Rankings are back.
With New Hampshire up next and only three races remaining in the regular season, we’re resetting the board after a long break between editions. These rankings focus on recent performance, consistency, speed and what drivers have actually shown on track — not just where they sit in points.
There are no movement arrows this week. Those return with the next edition.
1. #83 Jordane Whyte — 5th in Points
There isn’t much of an argument against Whyte being No. 1 right now.
The No. 83 has won each of the last three points races he has entered, taking victories at Chicagoland, Iowa and Richmond. More importantly, these haven’t simply been races where Whyte happened to be in the right place at the end.
He led 54 laps at Chicagoland, 69 at Iowa and then controlled Richmond with 139 laps led.
That’s 262 laps led across those three victories.
Whyte now has six wins on the season despite making only 19 starts and has quickly become the driver everyone else is trying to knock off the top.
2. #44 Chris Romano — 3rd in Points
Richmond was a rough one, and some of Romano’s recent problems have been self-inflicted, but the stretch immediately before it was too strong to ignore.
Romano finished second at Chicagoland, second at Indianapolis and second again at Iowa. At Iowa, the No. 44 led 92 laps and looked capable of finally breaking through before Whyte took over.
Three consecutive runner-up finishes without a win can be frustrating, but they also show just how consistently Romano has been putting himself in position to win.
The speed is there. Eliminating the mistakes may be the difference between being one of the fastest cars and actually becoming the championship favorite.
3. #54 Coulter Clark — 4th in Points
Clark may be going through one of his rougher stretches of the season, but it’s difficult to push a seven-time winner much farther down the list.
The No. 54 has 15 top-five finishes in only 19 starts and has led an incredible 800 laps this season. Clark also won the Dover All-Star Race after starting 17th.
Lately, though, the results have been less predictable.
A 22nd-place finish at Indianapolis was a major hit, and Iowa produced only a 10th. Clark responded at Richmond with a third-place finish and 22 laps led, showing that the speed hasn’t disappeared.
The issue right now isn’t whether Clark can run up front. It’s whether he can stop making the mistakes that prevent those strong cars from becoming wins.
4. #66 Elijah Maupin — 9th in Points
Maupin might be the quietest hot driver in the Cup garage.
The No. 66 has finished fourth at Chicagoland, seventh at Indianapolis, third at Iowa and fourth at Richmond over the last four points races.
That’s a 4.5 average finish during a stretch where several championship contenders have mixed great races with disastrous ones.
Maupin still doesn’t have a Cup victory this season, but he has been putting himself near the front every week. If that continues, the win column may not stay empty much longer.
5. #75 Shawn Hughes — 1st in Points
Seeing the championship leader fifth might raise a few eyebrows, but that’s exactly why these aren’t the standings.
Hughes has arguably been the most consistent driver in the series all season. He has 19 top-10 finishes in 23 starts and has avoided many of the major swings that have hurt the drivers around him.
Recently, Hughes finished third at Chicagoland, second in the Dover All-Star Race, seventh at Iowa and seventh again at Richmond.
The No. 75 isn’t winning at the same rate as Whyte or Clark, but while other contenders have huge nights followed by trouble, Hughes keeps stacking points.
That’s why he enters New Hampshire as the championship leader.
6. #37 Chris Winstone — 15th in Points
Winstone is exactly the type of driver power rankings are supposed to recognize.
He has made only 12 starts, so his 15th-place position in the standings doesn’t tell much of the story.
When Winstone races, he’s almost always near the front.
The No. 37 has nine top-five finishes and 10 top 10s in those 12 starts. More recently, he finished third at Indianapolis, fourth at Iowa and fifth at Richmond.
Three straight top-five finishes are enough to put Winstone comfortably inside the Top 10 regardless of where he sits in points.
7. #51 Zackery King — 2nd in Points
King sits just two points behind Hughes entering New Hampshire and recently delivered one of the most dominant races of anyone in the series.
At Indianapolis, King led 73 of 80 laps and took the victory.
Richmond went in the opposite direction. King finished 14th after completing only 84 laps, immediately cooling some of the momentum from Indianapolis.
Still, two wins, 12 top fives and 16 top 10s make it impossible to ignore how strong the No. 51 has been throughout the year.
New Hampshire gives King an opportunity to put Richmond behind him — and potentially leave with the championship lead.
8. #77 W Casey Gross — 6th in Points
Gross hasn’t had the huge breakthrough race that launches somebody toward the top of the rankings, but he continues to be one of the steadier drivers in the field.
His last four points-race finishes are seventh at Chicagoland, fifth at Indianapolis, 11th at Iowa and sixth at Richmond.
Gross also finished eighth in the Dover All-Star Race.
Seven top fives and 13 top 10s have kept him firmly in the championship picture. The next step is turning some of those strong runs into a win.
9. #15 Kameron M Combs — 7th in Points
Combs continues to be one of the hardest drivers in the series to figure out.
He finished third in the Dover All-Star Race, then followed that with 17th at Indianapolis and 18th at Iowa.
Then Richmond happened.
Combs charged from 14th to second and led 25 laps, immediately reminding everyone what the No. 15 is capable of when everything comes together.
Two wins, nine top fives and 330 laps led show that the speed is real. The question is whether Combs can string together a few of those performances instead of bouncing between the front and the back of the field.
10. #16 Douglas Scalice — 8th in Points
Scalice holds onto the final position, but the No. 16 has clearly cooled compared to earlier in the season.
Recent finishes include 13th at Chicagoland, 12th at Indianapolis, fifth at Iowa and 11th at Richmond.
The Iowa run showed that the speed hasn’t completely disappeared, but Scalice hasn’t been consistently running near the front lately.
He remains eighth in the standings with 10 top-10 finishes, but with only three regular-season races remaining, New Hampshire would be a good place to start turning the momentum back around.
Just Missed: #24 Gregory Vadnais and #29 Robert Hissong
Vadnais sits 10th in points and has been hanging around the edge of the conversation, including consecutive eighth-place finishes at Indianapolis and Iowa. Another strong run could easily move the No. 24 onto the list.
Hissong has shown enough speed in limited starts to remain on the radar, but he’ll need another strong performance to break into a crowded Top 10.
The Power Rankings are back.
New Hampshire now gets the first chance to shake them up.
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