NASCAR Power Rankings: Chase Elliott Wins at Home

Saturday night's race at EchoPark Speedway served up a dose of home cooking for Chase Elliott, who survived the melee to capture his first win of 2025. It was Elliott's second win at his home track, and it was exactly what he was hoping for to ensure he is part of the playoff field when the knockout round commence. Winning took making it all the way to the finish, though. Several multi-car crashes affected a significant number of cars and 12 didn't make it to the finish, including many of the pre-race favorites. Elliott avoided those potholes and led 41 laps, which was just the second time he led laps in a race since the All-Star Race weekend. With a spot in the championship confirmed, Elliott and his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team can rest a little easier for now. However, his victory ramps up the pressure on many others. Eight races remain in the regular season and Elliott's win leaves just four spots for drivers to claim in that span to ensure they have their name in the mix to compete for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship.

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NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings After Atlanta

1. Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11

Last Week: 1

Sometimes you need some luck when superspeedway racing, and Hamlin had none Saturday night. His streak of top-three finishes came to a screeching halt Saturday night with a forgettable 31st-place finish. The bad outcome was set up by a bad qualifying effort. Starting 33rd left Hamlin deep in the pack, and despite avoiding some of the night's carnage, Hamlin wasn't immune to it all and crashed out after just 72 laps. The finish was Hamlin's worst since Kansas, but it takes more than one race to make a trend. Hamlin should fare better at Chicago, where he started on pole in 2023.

2. William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24

Last Week: 2

Like Hamlin, luck was not on Byron's side Saturday night. The Hendrick Motorsports driver started 18th and was caught up in one of the night's big wrecks. Unfortunately for Byron, Saturday's 37th-place finish was his third finish from the last five races outside of the top 25. However, he still leads the points and should be poised to recover through the next few weeks. If he is unable to end his current streak through the next two races at Chicago and Sonoma, fantasy players will have good reason to be nervous. Byron finished eighth at Chicago last season despite starting 27th.

3. Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports No. 5

Last Week: 3

Much has been said about Larson's ability to perform on superspeedways, but Atlanta is becoming a happy hunting ground for him. After crashing out of five of the first six races at the track since its reprofiling, Larson now has two finishes inside the top 20. In February, he finished third from the 17th starting spot and Saturday he finished 17th despite having a front-row seat for many of the race's incidents. Larson is beginning to figure out how to get to the end of these types of races, and getting to the finish is half of the battle in scoring top superspeedway results. Even better is Larson's Chicago output. He started on pole last season and finished fourth in the 2023 race.

4. Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20

Last Week: 4

Driving a Toyota at Atlanta was a disadvantage to start, and Saturday night's attrition was just the nail in the coffin for Bell. Like teammate Hamlin, Bell's troubles started with a poor qualifying effort and a starting spot deep in the field. The lack of track position set up a difficult night, and superspeedway accidents just finished the job. Bell's 30th-place finish was his worst since the last superspeedway race. Luckily for him, a street course race is next on tap. At Chicago, Bell has showed tons of promise. He qualified inside the top 10 in both visits so far and led a combined 51 laps. This week he just needs to finish the job.

5. Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports No. 9

Last Week: 6

Avoiding Saturday night's many issues gave Elliott the chance he needed to confirm his place in the 2025 playoffs with a race win. For much of the season, Elliott was the picture of consistency. He seemingly always finished in the top 10, but he lacked the edge of the leaders and didn't state his intentions to visit Victory Lane through spending a significant portion of a race out front. That changed Saturday night as some of the race's favorites were eliminated before things truly got started. Still, it takes a championship-caliber driver to seize the opportunities that present themselves, and that is exactly what Elliott did to win Saturday night at his home track.

6. Ryan Blaney, Team Penske No. 12

Last Week: 5

Prior to Saturday night's race, it looked as though Blaney had the power and speed to grab another victory for his 2025 season. However, that potential all came crashing down when he was caught up in the problems of others and crashed out of the race prematurely. The 40th-place finish was Blaney second worse than 30th in the last five races. That has been emblematic of his rough season to date, though. His win at Nashville has him comfortably in the playoffs, though. His quest is just to peak at the right time, which is ideally when the playoffs start. That gives the No. 12 team a few more weeks to get things going their way.

7. Joey Logano, Team Penske No. 22

Last Week: 8

A top qualifying effort and a clear advantage in speed did not net a good result for Logano at Atlanta. The Team Penske driver looked set to have a commanding night, but the festivities were over for him before the party even got started. Logano was one of the many cars caught up in a massive crash that collected several of the top contenders, but Logano will be looking at Saturday as a missed opportunity. There aren't many races that set themselves up for a driver simply to seize the chance, and it looked like Saturday was one of those for the No. 22. Still, superspeedway racing can be unpredictable. However, that has largely been the story for Logano for much of 2025.

8. Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing No. 1

Last Week: 7

Consistent speed week to week is what would make the difference between Chastain the race winner and Chastain the championship threat. Under the current playoff format, getting to Phoenix in contention is what really matters, but we'd still like to see Chastain demonstrate more consistency from week to week. That is a tough ask at superspeedways, though. The unpredictable nature of racing in the pack is exactly what thwarted the No. 1 team Saturday night at Atlanta and Chastain's 33rd-place finish from the 34th starting spot was his second finish outside of the top 25 in a row. While it isn't a dire situation due to his win at Charlotte, were it not for that triumph, the No. 1 team would be in a very different spot with eight regular-season races remaining.

9. Chris Buescher, RFK Racing No. 17

Last Week: N/A

Buescher was one of the few drivers able to keep his nose clean Saturday night in Atlanta, and doing so gave him his fourth consecutive top-10 finish. Were it not for a bit more luck and speed, Buescher might have found himself in Victory Lane with a playoff spot wrapped up. As it stands, Buescher now heads to Chicago with a relatively comfortable cushion above the cutline. He should be feeling confident despite transitioning to a street course next week, too. Buescher finished 10th at Chicago in 2023 and is a prior road course winner. If conditions are favorable for him next week, Buescher stands a great chance of extending his run of top-10 finishes, which would give him a valuable boost in the battle to make the playoffs.

10. Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19

Last Week: 9

Like many of the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota's, Briscoe fell afoul of Atlanta's chaos. Toyota was always expected to be at a disadvantage at the superspeedway, but Briscoe held his own early in the weekend by qualifying 10th. That positive track position was a boost many of his fellow Toyota drivers didn't enjoy. However, like many of the night's combatants, Briscoe was caught up in the unpredictability of superspeedway racing. His collection in one of the race's early crashes left him with a disappointing 35th-place finish, ending his run of back-to-back top-10 finishes. Luckily, Briscoe was able to get the win at Pocono, which secures his playoff position. Fantasy players may also have to temper their expectations of him next week, too. Briscoe's best Chicago result was 20th in 2023.

Knocking on the Door

Josh Berry, Wood Brothers Racing No. 21

Last Week: 10

Like Logano, Saturday night's race at Atlanta presented a golden opportunity for Berry and his No. 21 Wood Brother Racing Ford. The manufacturer put eight of its cars in the top 10 starting spots and Berry was second among them. Despite demonstrating that same strength early in the race, Berry was one of the many top contenders to get caught out by the many crashes. He survived the race's first scare to score stage points but was quickly caught out in the second once racing resumed. His 32nd-place finishing spot was Berry's third worse than 25 from the last five races, too. It was always unlikely that Berry would win two races this season, but Saturday's early exit is no less a disappointment for him and the team.

Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing No. 23

Last Week: N/A

While he might be a go-to for fantasy players at superspeedways, Atlanta hasn't been the best of those tracks for Wallace. Saturday night's drama gave Wallace his fourth Atlanta finish outside of the top 20 since the track was reconfigured eight races ago. More importantly, Saturday's 22nd-place finish extended Wallace's slump. It has been three races since he finished inside the top 10, and with two road courses on the horizon, it is going to be a tall order for Wallace to turn the ship around. The No. 23 has been steadily losing the points advantage enjoyed in the playoff picture and some top-10 finishes must come soon in order to stop the slow bleed.

Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports No. 77

Last Week: N/A

The second half of the season is shaping up to be a good one for Hocevar. The Spire Motorsports driver was already making waves in the first round of track visits, but the second time could give him the confidence and experience he needs to capitalize. Despite being caught up in one of Saturday night's many incidents, Hocevar leveraged the speed he showed at Atlanta in February to overcome the adversity and claim a 10th-place finish. That result was Hocevar's fourth top-10 of the season, too. He sits 20th in points and is 62 points out of the playoff positions with eight races remaining. While it might take a win for him to get in, fantasy players should not sleep on Hocevar's potential to get the job done.