The regular season is over and the Chase is set.
Two races have passed since our last rankings, and Michigan and Daytona created plenty of movement. These rankings remain separate from the championship standings — making the Chase doesn’t guarantee a spot here, and missing it doesn’t automatically take a driver out.
1. #75 Shawn Hughes — ↑ 3
There couldn’t be a much better way to enter the Chase.
Hughes followed a fifth at New Hampshire with sixth at Michigan before winning the regular-season finale at Daytona. The No. 75 started ninth, led 15 laps and came through a chaotic finish to earn his second victory of the season.
More importantly for these rankings, Hughes has put together three straight top-six finishes at exactly the right time.
He may not have the win totals of Clark or Whyte, but nobody enters the postseason combining consistency and momentum better than Hughes.
For the first time since the Power Rankings returned, there’s a new No. 1.
2. #44 Chris Romano — ↑ 1
Romano did exactly what he needed to do after New Hampshire.
He won Michigan.
Starting 10th, Romano worked his way to the front and picked up his fourth victory of the season, adding another result to what has been one of the most consistently strong years in the Cup Series.
Daytona was quieter. Romano started 21st and finished 11th, keeping him from making a serious push at No. 1 this week.
Still, his last three races include a third at New Hampshire and a win at Michigan. Romano enters the Chase looking much more like the driver we saw throughout the middle of the season.
3. #51 Zackery King — ↑ 3
King hasn’t won any of the last three races.
He might still have been the fastest driver across them.
After leading 76 laps at New Hampshire before his race unraveled, King went to Michigan and led 57 of 101 laps before finishing fifth. Then at Daytona, he started from the pole, led another 18 and finished seventh.
That’s 151 laps led over the last three races.
Eventually, King needs to convert more of that speed into wins. But Power Rankings aren’t just about looking at the finishing column, and very few drivers are controlling races as frequently as the No. 51 right now.
He’s carrying legitimate championship-level speed into the Chase.
4. #77 W Casey Gross — ↑ 3
Gross continues climbing.
A ninth at Michigan wasn’t spectacular, but he followed it with a third-place finish at Daytona, crossing the line only 0.160 seconds behind Hughes.
Go back one race further and the picture gets even more interesting. Gross led 55 laps at New Hampshire before finishing 11th.
The No. 77 still doesn’t have a win, but he’s increasingly becoming a factor at the front rather than simply collecting solid finishes.
Three races ago, the question was whether Gross could finally turn consistency into race-winning speed.
We’re starting to see the speed.
Now he needs the win.
5. #83 Jordane Whyte — ↓ 4
It’s a significant drop for the former No. 1, but it shouldn’t be mistaken for Whyte suddenly becoming irrelevant.
Not long ago, the No. 83 had won three consecutive points races. He then finished fourth at New Hampshire before slipping to 10th at Michigan.
Whyte didn’t compete at Daytona, which gave several drivers behind him an opportunity to build momentum while he stood still.
Six victories still make Whyte one of the most dangerous drivers in AARN. His earlier run is also too recent to push him much farther down.
But Power Rankings are about who’s hot right now, and for the moment, four drivers have moved ahead.
6. #54 Coulter Clark — ↓ 4
Two races can change things quickly.
Clark left New Hampshire with his eighth win of the season and looked ready to challenge for No. 1. Instead, he finished 16th at Michigan and followed it with a 13th at Daytona.
That’s enough to send the No. 54 tumbling four positions.
There is absolutely no question about Clark’s ceiling. Eight wins, 16 top fives and more than 800 laps led make his season impossible to argue with.
But this isn’t a season résumé ranking.
Clark enters the Chase coming off consecutive races outside the top 10. Considering what he’s capable of, that’s a cold stretch.
7. #72 Joe Konen — NEW
Here’s where the Power Rankings separate themselves completely from the Chase standings.
Konen didn’t make the postseason.
He’s also one of the hottest drivers in the Cup Series right now.
After finishing eighth at New Hampshire, Konen went to Michigan and finished third. He followed that by finishing fourth at Daytona.
That’s three consecutive top-eight finishes, including back-to-back top fours to close the regular season.
Konen doesn’t have the full-season body of work of the championship contenders ahead of him, but based on what the No. 72 is doing right now, there’s no legitimate reason to leave him off this list.
8. #29 Robert Hissong — NEW
Hissong picked an unfortunate time to start putting everything together.
At Michigan, he drove from 11th to second and finished only 0.225 seconds behind Romano.
Then at Daytona, Hissong led 25 laps — the most of anyone in the race — before ultimately finishing 12th.
He won’t be racing for the championship, but that doesn’t matter here.
A runner-up finish followed by a race where he spent more laps out front than anyone else is enough to put Hissong firmly into the Top 10.
9. #10 Joseph Essenberg — NEW
Another non-Chase driver crashes the party.
Essenberg had already started making a case with sixth at New Hampshire. A 12th at Michigan slowed the momentum slightly before Daytona produced his best result yet.
The No. 10 finished second, only 0.101 seconds behind Hughes.
That gives Essenberg finishes of sixth, 12th and second over his last three appearances.
The sample size isn’t as large as many of the drivers around him, but the recent results are becoming difficult to ignore.
10. #66 Elijah Maupin — ↓ 5
Maupin barely hangs onto the final spot.
His rise into the previous Top 5 was built on consistency. Before Michigan, the No. 66 had repeatedly finished around the front and rarely produced a truly bad result.
The last two weeks changed that picture.
Maupin finished 19th at Michigan and 14th at Daytona. Combined with seventh at New Hampshire, that’s now three consecutive races without a top-five finish and two straight outside the top 10.
The strong stretch that originally pushed Maupin up the rankings keeps him on the list.
But entering the Chase, No. 10 is suddenly a vulnerable position.
OUT: #37 Chris Winstone, #15 Kameron M Combs, #24 Gregory Vadnais
Winstone drops out after finishes of 14th at Michigan and 16th at Daytona. Combined with the early exit at New Hampshire, the No. 37’s earlier streak of top-five finishes has now been replaced by three difficult races.
Combs also exits after consecutive DNFs at Michigan and Daytona. The Chase-related penalty adjustment from Daytona isn’t being considered here — the on-track results alone are enough to make the decision.
Vadnais falls out after finishing 21st at Michigan and not competing at Daytona. He’s in the Chase, but that doesn’t automatically make him one of the 10 hottest drivers in the series.
The championship points have been reset.
The Power Rankings haven’t.
Hughes enters the Chase at No. 1, but Romano, King and a rapidly improving Gross are right behind him — while Clark and Whyte suddenly find themselves trying to climb back toward the top.
And with the Chase beginning next, every race carries a little more weight.
Leave a Reply