NASCAR Power Rankings: Shane van Gisbergen Remains King of Road Courses

Shane van Gisbergen scored his fourth consecutive road course finish last week at Watkins Glen International. The Trackhouse Racing driver qualified on the front row and pulled away in the final miles on his way to a fourth race victory this season. It was another dominant road course performance from the playoff contender, and the battle to join him as one of the 16 playoff contenders continued to burn fiercely. Defending race winner Chris Buescher added some padding to his points advantage in the final playoff transfer position with a stage win and third-place finish while teammate Ryan Preece muted that damage by scoring his own stage points and a top-15. More comfortable is Tyler Reddick, who can look toward a potential clinch scenario next week at Richmond. Still sweating it out is Alex Bowman, who sits 15th hoping he can stay there without seeing two new race winners in the last regular season races. Ahead of the playoff bubble battle, William Byron backed up his win from the week prior with another top-five finish, extending his regular-season championship lead to 42 points over Chase Elliott.

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NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings After Watkins Glen

1. William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24

Last Week: 2

Byron qualified 10th and never put a foot wrong Sunday at Watkins Glen, scoring stage points in the second segment and driving to a fourth-place finish. The top-five was his ninth of the season, and it extends his lead atop the points. On a day some of his closest competitors had afternoons to forget, Byron took another step toward the regular-season championship. After his win two weeks ago at Iowa, Byron may be approaching the form he wants for the playoffs, too. He has two more races to maintain or improve on that along with the prospect of claiming the regular-season championship along the way, but he needs to continue focusing on a longer game to claim the season's biggest prize at Phoenix in November.

2. Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11

Last Week: 1

Hamlin slips out of the top of the power rankings this week after back-to-back forgettable results. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was nowhere last weekend at Watkins Glen, qualifying 22nd and finishing the race 25th. Throughout the race, Hamlin never looked on pace and battled mid-pack traffic throughout the afternoon, sporting the bumps and bruises to prove it. The finish was his second in a row outside of the top 20 and third from the last five of 20th or lower. This is not the type of finishing form any championship hopeful would be looking to carry into the playoffs. Since missing the Mexico City race, Hamlin has four top-fives and another four finishes 20th or lower. The past few weeks have been sluggish ones for the No. 11, and they have some work to do this coming week at Richmond to turn that around.

3. Ryan Blaney, Team Penske No. 12

Last Week: 5

The Watkins Glen race weekend started well for Blaney when he edged out Shane van Gisbergen for pole position. From there, Blaney had an impressive start and led the first 18 laps of the race. In total, Blaney led 35 laps and finished sixth. That laps led number was just three shy of winner SVG's total for the afternoon. Blaney is not known as a road course specialist and expectations would have been tempered, but he impressed with his fourth straight top-10 finish since Dover. While other drivers are seeking improvement these last few races before the playoffs, Blaney appears to be at his best of the season. This is all great news for Blaney and the No. 12 team with just two races to go before the playoffs get underway.

4. Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports No. 9

Last Week: 4

Not many would have expected a road course to be the venue where Chase Elliott's streak of top-20 finishes in the 2025 season came to a halt. However, that was exactly the case Sunday at Watkins Glen where Elliott started 20th and finished 26th. The points Elliott scored in Sunday's first stage were the highlight of his afternoon and his poor race finish leaves him 42 points adrift of teammate William Byron for the regular-season title. Elliott now has not scored a top-10 finish since Dover, and his six-month stretch of top-20s is out the window. Like others, Elliott will spend the next two races leading up to the playoffs hunting for some momentum. At Richmond, he has zero series victories, but he did finish in the top 10 in both races at the track last season.

5. Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports No. 5

Last Week: 3

Larson didn't even get to the finish of the first stage Sunday before his day was effectively over. The Hendrick Motorsports driver spun entering turn 1 complaining of brake failure. The team took the car behind the wall for repairs, but any chance of a decent finish was already gone. Larson's 39th-place finish was his second in a row worse than 25th and third from the last five, too. With the result, chances for the regular-season championship are also fading quickly. With two races remaining, Larson is 85 points behind teammate William Byron in that battle. It would take a small miracle to make up that much ground, which leaves Larson vying to get things right for the playoffs. He is a two-time winner at Richmond, and a top finish next week could offer some valuable momentum heading toward the playoff races.

6. Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19

Last Week: 6

Sunday's fifth-place finish at Watkins Glen earned Briscoe his 10th top-five finish of the season. That total is just one shy of most on the season, which is held jointly by Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson. Perhaps most importantly is the timing, though. While Hamlin and Larson have been up and down all season, Briscoe's top finishes have been coming more recently. Four of those top-five finishes have come in the last five races and he also hasn't started outside of the top 10 since Mexico City. All of these recent bright spots indicate Briscoe is settled in after making the switch to Joe Gibbs Racing this season, and he is now able to get the most from his equipment. Briscoe confidence and current momentum could make him a favorite to advance deep into the playoff eliminations.

7. Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20

Last Week: 7

Despite finishing second Sunday, Bell was not thrilled that he lost another road course race to Van Gisbergen. Still, Bell's runner-up finish was his ninth top-five of the season and third top-10 from the last five races. The coming week's race at Richmond could help him bolster that momentum ahead of the playoff races, too. From nine prior Richmond starts, Bell finished in the top 10 seven times. He finished sixth in both races there last season and if he were to finish in the top 10 again this coming week, Bell would land his first back-to-back top-10 finishes since May. That would be a big boost with the playoffs just two races away as Bell plots his course to the championship finale at Phoenix, where he won in March.

8. Joey Logano, Team Penske No. 22

Last Week: 8

Expectations would have been tempered for Logano last week at Watkins Glen, and the team did what they needed to do, scoring a 14th-place finish from the 11th starting spot. Avoiding trouble and delivering a solid finish keeps consistency building with better circuits for the No. 22 yet to come. With two top-10s and four top-15s from the last five races, this team is showing the consistency that will help them avoid headaches in the playoffs. Those trends could get even better before the playoffs arrive, too. At Richmond, Logano is a two-time winner, and he was the runner-up finisher in the spring race last fall. At Daytona, Team Penske Fords have been very quick and Logano led 35 laps there in February. Two good tracks for the No. 22 the next two weeks should help Logano and team build toward the playoffs.

9. Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing No. 23

Last Week: 9

Things continue to look up for Wallace and the No. 23 team. Expectations wouldn't have been very high on a road course weekend, but Wallace and team outperformed and landed an eighth-place finish by executing on strategy and not making any mistakes. Sunday's finish also puts Wallace into double-digit territory for top-10 finishes. With four top-10 finishes from the last four races, the No. 23 team is in their best form of the year so far, which is perfect timing with just two races remaining in the regular season. Wallace and team should be able to keep the ball rolling, too. Wallace scored his best career Richmond finish in last fall's race, and he will feel like he is a potential race winner when he pulls into Daytona the following week. 

10. Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing No. 45

Last Week: 10

After a disappointing race at Iowa, Reddick bounced back with a top-10 finish at Watkins Glen. That finish came from a rather disappointing qualifying effort of 21st, too. However, Reddick kept his nose clean and was one of the biggest movers of the afternoon, climbing to the ninth spot by the end. It was Reddick's ninth top-10 of the season and, with no new winner, Reddick looks to be in great shape to make the playoffs with or without a race win. Heading to Richmond, he sits two positions above the playoff bubble with a 57-point margin over Alex Bowman. With a playoff spot within his grasp, Reddick should feel confident heading to Richmond where he finished in the top 10 in both visits last season.

Knocking on the Door

Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing No. 88

Last Week: N/A

Van Gisbergen overcame last season's loss at Watkins Glen to Chris Busecher with an emphatic outing last week to win his fourth race of the season and fourth consecutive on a road course. Van Gisbergen's margin of victory over Christopher Bell was more than 10 seconds, which further illustrated his dominance at these types of tracks. Sunday's win was his first top-15 finish since Sonoma, though. His highest oval finish of the season remains his 14th-place finish at Charlotte, too. With three ovals comprising the first round of championship eliminations, Van Gisbergen may have a hard time advancing. His points tally with four victories will help his seeding, but he'll still need to be at his best to survive until the first road course race of the playoff battle.

Chris Buescher, RFK Racing No. 17

Last Week: N/A

From a playoff perspective, Buescher and his RFK Racing No. 17 team did exactly what they needed to Sunday at Watkins Glen. The defending race winner qualified 12th for the race, but used strategy to cycle to the lead and win the first stage of the day. That early strength carried through the afternoon with Buescher gaining ground in the final stage to finish the race third behind SVG and Christopher Bell. That result bettered playoff rival and teammate Ryan Preece, which leaves Buescher in the final playoff position with a 34-point advantage. That spot is still precarious with two races remaining in the regular season, though. Buescher and team will have heavy pressure on their shoulders the next two races as they try to force their way into the championship battle.

Ryan Preece, RFK Racing No. 60

Last Week: N/A

Minimizing potential damage in the points battle was likely the goal for the No. 60 team at Watkins Glen, and Preece and the team delivered. Despite losing a little ground to Buescher in the playoff battle, Preece managed to score stage points in both stages before finishing the race 13th. Those stage points, combined with his race finish, limited Buescher's gain on the day to just 11 points, which could prove vital in deciding who will get into the playoffs and who will not. Preece has been at his best this season, and he and the team are consistently delivering top-15 finishes since the All-Star Race. Even if a playoff spot doesn't materialize, Preece and the No. 60 team have a lot to be proud of in what is shaping up to be a great season for the pairing.