NASCAR Cup Series Power Rankings Week 22 Edition

By Justin Tessier – Shady Sports Network, Tessierja on Sleeper app & Discord app

Dover Motor Speedway Review

Affectionately known by drivers and NASCAR fans alike as “The Monster Mile”. This track lived up to that reputation it was not forgiving with some  drivers succumbing to the circumstances of the track leaving them with a shorter day and in far worse condition than they started by the end of their race. Tires, Tires and more tires being eaten up by the speedway as NASCAR debuted a new untested tire from Goodyear to the course this weekend there was no practice or qualifiers due to in-climate weather canceling that so no data could be collected for drivers and their teams which made a significant impact for the critical pit strategies in this race.

Chase Elliott started from the pole position asserting his control over the race, During a green-flag pit stop late in the stage, Elliott’s team suffered a mishap when the jack slipped under the car. This error cost them approximately 15 seconds, allowing Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin to cycle by for a brief lead. Despite the setback on pit road, Elliott maintained strong pace and kept the lead at stage end, confirming his dominance over the opening segment.

Elliott’s performance in Stage 1 laid a strong foundation for his race, not only scoring important stage points but also eventually vaulting him into the regular‑season points lead after Sundays race leading 238 of the total 407 laps at Dover Motor Speedway. Although having the frustrating finish of 6th place, it left a sense of frustration from the team of the #9 car at Hendrick Motorsports feel as though they let a win slip away from them.

Stage 2 began which was quickly taken over by Christoper Bell at the front having a good race day to this point which he ended up blazing through a 53-consecutive lap lead to establish his victory in stage 2 of the race. Bell led a total of 67 laps on the day and finished stage 2 with a 4 second lead over the next closest driver that being Alex Bowman who secured second place in the stage, then, being followed closely behind by Denny Hamlin lurking to finish third in the stage. Another pit-stop issue for Chase Elliott hindered him potentially winning stage 2 only for him to fall back in the top of the pack, but he earned a crucial playoff point by maintaining a 4th place finish at the end of stage 2.

Entering the final stage that was filled with no shortage of highlights, things got eventful for the finish real quick. On a restart early in the final stage, Christopher Bell lost control in Turn 1 and spun without contact dropping him back significantly despite remaining on the lead lap. His crew team choose to keep him out of the pits on older tires gambling on a yellow-flag caution and it paid off for him.

A 56-minute rain delay halted the race with 14 laps to go. After track drying, teams faced a crucial decision: pit for fresh tires or stay out to preserve track position. With about 7 laps remaining, Bell spun again, triggering a major crash that involved several contenders including William Byron and Noah Gragson who were both running towards a top 10 finish at the time of the incident and forced NASCAR into overtime.

Alas double overtime drama was upon them at “the monster mile”, leaving those who still remained through the rain delay wondering how will their favorite driver seize the day and snag victory under the current conditions. During the first of the overtime periods Chase Briscoe being the only driver to go in for a pit stop on the red flag caution restarted on fresh new tires catching up quickly to his teammate Denny Hamlin to challenge him for the lead, Hamlin had the edge, but yet another caution before the white flag could come out forced a second overtime period extending the race for another few laps. As the cars stacked again ready, tensions were high and drivers towards the front rows conflicted with contemplating the impact of their decision to pit or stay out that would end up being enough to land a win.

Briscoe lined up on the inside with newer tires, posing a serious threat. Hamlin, despite wearing older rubber, executed a clutch launch and maintained his outside line and neutralized Briscoe’s momentum pulling him ahead into Turn 3. Briscoe made a last-lap bid but got loose entering the white flag and couldn’t complete the pass, Hamlin crossed the line first to claim the win. The win for Denny Hamlin marked his 4th win in the 2025 Cup Series Season surpassing all other drivers in wins for the year and back-to-back wins at Dover Motor Speedway, it was also his 58th career NASCAR cup series win.

Full Driver Results & Finishing Order

Bracket Challenge Update

The Finalists

• Ty Gibbs (No.6 seed)
• Ty Dillon (No. 32 seed)

A Cinderella type tournament run going up against one of the top seeds in the whole bracket, the stage has been set for one dramatic showdown at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Brickyard 400.

The Path

Ty Dillon – eliminated high-seeded drivers inluding the No.1 seed Denny Hamlin in the first round of the tournament, followed up by drivers such as Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman and John Hunter Nemechek earning him the spot in the final round. Despite his modest finishing positions and successful means of surviving the races as a critical point to how he got to the championship round, his consistency in the head-to-head match-ups propelled him through to each round and closer to the $1mil prize.

Ty Gibbs – advanced by beating the competition such as Justin Haley, A.J. Allmendinger, Zane Smith and Tyler Reddick. Maintaining an average finish of 7th place in those races, those results have kept him at the top of the field of drivers in Cup Series and now a favorite to win in the championship round of the bracket. He may have had the arguably easier path to the finals, however, hes been overall one of the best race finishers of the entire bracket and his momentum bodes well for his odds of taking that $1mil prize.

Pick & Prediction

I believe this will be a solid showdown with both drivers positioning their cars, driving conservatively and playing to their strengths ensuring an optimal finish. While leaning on their pit crews to provide an edge on the field, strategically timing their runs if possible during the stages to do just enough that gets them ahead of the competitor even if its by as little of a margin as one position. I am choosing Ty Gibbs is my pick to win the battle between the “Ty’s” and take home the bonus cash prize, which would be a massive boost of confidence for the young driver going forward in the season with 5 regular season races to go and be one of the top drivers to earn his spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Top 16 Driver Power Rankings

1. Denny Hamlin +3 (Previously 4th)
2. Chase Elliott -1 (Previously 1st)
3. Kyle Larson +2 (Previously 5th)
4. Chase Briscoe +2 (Previously 6th)
5. Ryan Blaney +5 (Previously 10th)
6. Tyler Reddick +1 (Previously 7th)
7. Alex Bowman
8. Ty Gibbs +3 (Previously 11th)
9. Christopher Bell -5 (Previously 2nd)
10. William Byron -7 (Previously 3rd)
11. Chris Buescher +4 (Previously 15th)
12. Joey Logano -3 (Previously 9th)
13. Kyle Busch -1 (Previously 12th)
14. Ross Chastain -6 (Previously 8th)
15. Bubba Wallace
16. Ryan Preece -2 (Previously 14th)

Gaining Fast:

• Michael McDowell
• Brad Keselowski
• Ty Dillon

Skidding And Sliding:

• A.J. Allmendinger
• Erik Jones
• Josh Berry

Driver To Watch Week 22

Bubba Wallace, #23, 23XI Racing. Finishing Last weekends race at Dover in 7th place while holding a good steady pace and positioning was a sight to see finally for Bubba after a rocky month of June leaving him hanging on to the final spot going into the Cup Series playoffs with only 5 regular season races to go. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a good place for Wallace to showcase what his car can do, continue his momentum from a potential season saving top-10 finish to create some distance from the other drivers on the bubble looking to take over that final spot by again this weekend finishing inside the top 10 with hopes after finishing the race with a win. I have the sense that Bubba Wallace could be turning a corner here after the Dover race and manage to salvage a mostly underwhelming campaign by getting hot at the right time, that time is this Sunday for the Brickyard 400.

Current Points Standings & Playoff Standings