NASCAR Power Rankings: Bubba Wallace Earns Playoff Berth with Brickyard Victory

A red flag for rain and two overtime restarts were not enough to stop Bubba Wallace as he fought like mad to retain the lead and win Sunday's Brickyard 400, firming up his spot among the playoff contenders for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship. It was Wallace's first victory since 2022 and it came in confident fashion after he started on the front row and led 30 of the race's 168 total laps. His 23XI Racing Toyota looked strong all weekend and Wallace didn't put a foot wrong as he held off competitors' charges in the closing laps to capture the all-important win. That victory relieves the building pressure he faced to earn a playoff spot and leaves teammates Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece battling in the points for the final transfer spot. 

Just four races remain in the regular season and fights in the points are tightening as the knockout races approach. At the top of the order for the regular-season championship, it is a four-way fight with Chase Elliott, William Byron, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin separated by just 20 points. At the opposite end, Alex Bowman, Buescher, and Preece face a race to the playoffs with 63 points separating the trio. That battle could change any week with three playoff positions available for new 2025 victors, though. Tension continues to ratchet upward as the championship races approach and Iowa Speedway is up next as the schedule marches onward.

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NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings After Indianapolis

1. Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11

Last Week: 1

A crash in qualifying forced Hamlin to a back-up car for Sunday's race and gave him a starting spot in the very back of the field. It wasn't a good start for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver just days after announcing a multi-year extension with to continue driving the No. 11. Once the race started, Hamlin charged forward, though. He quickly moved through the field and was comfortably inside the top 10 by the end of the second stage. By the end of the race, he was in the mix for the race win and ended the day third. He was the biggest mover of the race, and turned a potential disaster into a top finish, which is a mark of championship pedigree. Sunday's turnaround is just further evidence of this team operating at full potential.

2. Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports No. 5

Last Week: 3

The seesaw points battle between the Hendrick Motorsports drivers continued at Indianapolis. This time it was Larson that had the edge over the rest. The former champion had a quiet qualifying effort, but came to life during the race. He quickly moved inside the top 10 early in the day and went on to firmly establish himself in the top five all the way to the finish. In the closing miles, it was Larson that seemingly had the pace to challenge for the win. However, the No. 5's progress slowed and two overtime restarts were not enough of an opportunity for him to win consecutive Brickyard 400 races. However, the runner-up finish gave Larson back-to-back top-fives ahead of the coming race at Iowa, where he started on pole and led 80 laps last season before late contact thwarted his race.

3. Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports No. 9

Last Week: 2

A terrible qualifying effort gave Elliott a hole to dig out of Sunday at Indianapolis. Once racing got underway, Elliott had a better performance, but the lack of track position from the start meant there wasn't much he could accomplish. When everything was complete, Elliott was 13th and failed to score any stage points. He now heads to Iowa still leading the standings but only narrowly. The battle for the regular-season championship is shaping up to be a three-way Hendrick Motorsports tussle with Elliott just four points ahead of William Byron and Larson just 11 points further behind him. Elliott is focused on winning that championship prequel to the playoffs and is looking forward to rebuilding his lead next week at Iowa where he finished third last season.

4. William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24

Last Week: 4

Byron rebounded from an early exit at Dover to qualify sixth at Indianapolis. The Hendrick Motorsports driver ran inside the top 10 for most of the afternoon, adding stage points in both segments, but slipped backward at the end to finish 16th after running out of gas on the final lap. However, since teammate Chase Elliott had a trying afternoon, Byron was able to remain close to the No. 9 in the regular season championship standings. Sunday's top-20 finish was just the second for Byron in the last five races but it shows that perhaps his slump is coming to an end. A true test for the No. 24 and his ability to build confidence and momentum ahead of the playoffs will be the coming race at Iowa where he finished second last season.

5. Ryan Blaney, Team Penske No. 12

Last Week: 6

The Brickyard race weekend started quietly for Blaney who qualified 24th. That was his second start in a row outside of the top 20. However, contrary to those qualifying efforts, Blaney and team battled back in the race to finish seventh on Sunday. It was the second week in a row that the No. 12 fought back from a poor finish to grab a top-10 finish, which suggests that if they can fix their qualifying problems, the team could be even more competitive in the races. The coming week should suit them nicely, too. Blaney won at Iowa last season in dominating fashion with 201 laps led after starting second. Back-to-back top-10 finishes in the last two weeks sets this team up perfectly for even more success next week.

6. Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20

Last Week: 5

Bell's eighth-place finish Sunday at Indianapolis was his 13th top-10 finish of the season, which is just one behind Kyle Larson for most of the season so far. His season's top finishes and race wins make Bell one of the favorites for the championship, but a little bit of inconsistency lately is holding him back from even greater heights. Sunday's eighth-place finish was just his second in the last five races at a time when the regular season rounds are counting down. There is still time to improve, and Bell doesn't need much to flip that switch. Fantasy players should expect him to advance deep into the playoff rounds, but the No. 20 team has just a little work to do over the next few weeks in order to be ready for that.

7. Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19

Last Week: 7

Briscoe continued his roll at Indianapolis, completing the crown jewel circuit with pole positions in each of NASCAR's most prestigious races this season and being the first driver in history to do so. That is no small accomplishment and it is just further evidence that Briscoe is growing more comfortable at Joe Gibbs Racing. After snagging pole on Saturday, Briscoe led 34 laps and won the afternoon's first stage. However, late fuel concerns meant a lower finish than he probably deserved. Still, Briscoe is in fine form despite Sunday's 18th-place finish, and it looks like there is still more to come. He now heads to Iowa eighth in the championship standings and closing quickly as the playoffs loom nearer.

8. Joey Logano, Team Penske No. 22

Last Week: 8

Logano and the No. 22 team have some work to do after a disappointing Brickyard 400. The Team Penske driver had already taken a step backward at Dover, and despite showing early pace at Indy, a rear-tire failure ruined what could have been a top finish. The worst news is perhaps that the failure came after teammate Austin Cindric suffered the exact same fate. One wonders how well information from Cindric's crew was relayed to Logano when the pair both fell afoul of the tires' limits. Logano now has just one top-10 finish from the last eight races. With time running out before the playoffs get underway, Logano and his No. 22 team must turn things around at Iowa where they finished sixth last season.

9. Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing No. 45

Last Week: 9

Sunday's race was shaping up to be a good one for Reddick until a late crash ended his hopes of contesting the victory. The No. 45 started the race on the second row and raced inside the top five for much of the afternoon, but got caught up in an overtime restart crash and was forced out of the race just a few laps shy of the official finish. Despite scoring his worst finish since Pocono, Reddick remains quick with a significant margin in points to the playoff drop zone. He is 75 points ahead of Alex Bowman and nearly 100 points clear of Chris Buescher in the final transfer position. With four races remaining, assuming there isn't a string a first-time season winners, Reddick can remain confident of advancing to the championship rounds.

10. Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing No. 23

Last Week: N/A

After spending the past few races building his point margin while on the playoff bubble, Wallace seized his golden ticket at Indianapolis with a crown jewel victory. Not only was Wallace's win at Indianapolis one of the races every NASCAR driver dreams of winning, it firmed up his 2025 playoff charge after spending weeks scraping together every point possible to remain relevant in the championship conversation. Sunday's win was Wallace's fourth top-five of the season, second top-10 in a row, and it enables him to put the worry of making the playoff field out of mind for the rest of the year. He led 30 laps in a commanding performance Sunday afternoon and can now fully concentrate on playoff preparations with Iowa ahead next week. 

Knocking on the Door

Chris Buescher, RFK Racing No. 17

Last Week: 10

Buescher did everything right Sunday at Indianapolis, but even when everything seemingly works out, you can still lose ground. That unfortunately was the case for Buescher. Despite running a confident race, scoring stage points in both segments, and finishing 14th, Wallace's victory pushed Buescher back a spot to the playoff bubble with four races remaining in the regular season. Just one more first-time winner this season (not named Reddick or Bowman) would put Buescher on the outside looking in. The No. 17 team will need to do everything they can these next few weeks with no mistakes and simultaneously hope that no additional winners step up. It will be a nervous month for Buescher with a 42-point margin to Ryan Preece as the regular season draws to a close.

Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing No. 1

Last Week: N/A

Sunday's race had barely gotten underway when contact from behind sent Chastain spinning hard into the outside wall and out of Sunday's Brickyard 400. Contact at Indianapolis is a well-known hazard of racing deep in traffic and Chastain's fate was set up when he qualified just 33rd for Sunday's race. It was the No. 1 machine's second finish in a row outside of the top 30 and fifth worse than 20th from the last six races. While Chastain's playoff fate is secured through his win at Charlotte, the team isn't showing the kind of form that would carry them far into the knockout phases. Chastain and team have a lot of work to do to return to competitiveness before the championship battle kicks off at Darlington.

Ryan Preece, RFK Racing No. 60

Last Week: N/A

Despite playoff rival Bubba Wallace winning his way into the championship battle, Preece did the job he needed to keep his playoff hopes alive with a fourth-place finish on Sunday. Sunday's raced looked like he was set to lose significant ground due to a 24th-place qualifying effort, but Preece dug deep and kept battling to the finish to score his second top-five finish of the season. As a result, he sits 42 points behind the playoff positions with four races to make up the ground. It is a bit of a long shot, but running inside the top five consistently could offer Preece an opportunity to force his way in just as Wallace did. Preece now has seven top-15 finishes from the last eight races, and is in a hurry to make up ground before the playoffs.