The first points race of the 2026 NASCAR season is in the books, with Sunday's Daytona 500 providing some excitement, crashes and a wild finale to open the regular season. With many of NASCAR's best drivers involved in crashes, Sunday's results were a little worse than usual, and that has some impact on the power rankings entering Week 2.
Let's dive into our latest NASCAR Power Rankings after the Daytona 500. There will be plenty of changes in the coming weeks, with players like Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe sure to rise as they provide better finishes.
1. Tyler Reddick
Tyler Reddick won the Daytona 500 thanks to great final-lap driving and a push from teammate Riley Herbst. It's reminiscent of the driver we saw in 2024, who won the regular season title and reached Championship 4 in a season where he won three races (T-3rd most), finished fourth in laps led (597) and tied for second most top 10s (21). Redick's 2025 campaign always felt like a reflection on everything going on around him off the track, but all that is behind him now. That's why 23XI Racing has a chance to win the championship this season.
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2. Chase Elliott
There was heartbreak for Chase Elliott and the No. 9 team at the Daytona 500. Until the final seconds, Elliott was hoping for a dominant win and a winning start to the 2026 NASCAR season. Then, disaster struck. Tyler Reddick got around Elliott thanks to a push from teammate Riley Herbst. Herbst then swerved to the right to avoid hitting Elliott, resulting in a collision with Michael McDowell, after which Herbst's car flipped into Elliott and crushed him at the finish line. Still, Elliott finished fourth in the 500 just days after winning Duel 2, and he is third in points heading into Atlanta.
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3. Joey Logano
Both winners of the duel at Daytona finished in the top five in the 500 on Sunday and had to give post-race interviews in the care center after a massive crash at the finish line. Joey Logano performed well in the first superspeedway race of the season, recording the fifth-most points (36) and leading the sixth-most laps (9), which is impressive considering he was 29th at the end of Stage 1. Logano now heads to Atlanta, a track he has won at twice before and has a stellar history of starting at the front of the field (3.2 average starting positions since 2023).
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4. William Byron
The reason William Byron ranks so high in our NASCAR Power Rankings after Daytona is because he finished 12th despite accomplishing so much on the track. He already had to resort to the backup No. 24 car to start the Daytona 500, and then he hit the wall twice during Stage 1, requiring multiple trips to the pits under caution. He finally seemed to be gaining momentum, but then he ran into the Big One and suffered more damage. Somehow, Byron finished 12th on the day, with Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe all finishing outside the top 25.
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5. Ryan Blaney
Ryan Blaney finished 27th in the Daytona 500, but he was one of NASCAR's best drivers for most of Sunday until the Big One took him out. The No. 12 recorded the most stage points on Sunday – third in Stage 1 (8 points) and second in Stage 2 (9 points) – and was in the top 18 with one lap to go when he went out in Carson Hocevar's wreck. It felt like he had bad luck last season – 9 DNFs – but Blaney's stage points still helped him have a strong day, and his overall performance is even more important than the finish.
RELATED: NASCAR points standings today after the Daytona 500
6. Chris Buescher
Sunday proved to be a productive day at the track for Chris Buescher, especially considering the context. Forced to use a backup car in the Daytona 500, he had to navigate his way from last (41st) on the starting grid, and he did so very quickly, as evidenced by his sixth-place finish in Stage 1. Buescher kept himself at the front from then on, finishing seventh in Stage 2 and retaining that position at the end. Possibly NASCAR's most underrated driver is poised for a strong 2026 campaign, and his performance on Sunday shows he should win at least one race this season.
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7. Bubba Wallace
Bubba Wallace led the most laps in the Daytona 500 (39), scored his first stage win of the season, and probably should have done better than 10th on Sunday. Unfortunately for the No. 23 team, Hocevar's crash on the final lap pushed William Byron below the yellow line; When he came back slower than the rest of the field – almost clipping Joey Logano – Wallace had to check out to avoid an even bigger crash. Wallace probably deserved a top-five finish on Sunday, but he fell out of it with 37 points, and 23XI Racing showed it has the speed to be dangerous this year.
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8. Kyle Larson
It was a disappointing day for the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion. Starting eighth in the field at Daytona International Speedway, Larson's No. 5 car suffered heavy damage in the Big One. He got caught in a stack-up and, when contact from behind sent him sideways, his front was pushed by teammate Alex Bowman. A battered No. 5 car had no chance of fighting its way back to the front, but another major crash on the final lap allowed Larson to finish at least 16th. He'll head to Atlanta ranked 15th in points, but we'll still bet on him to lead NASCAR in wins this year.
9. Denny Hamlin
What would have happened to Denny Hamlin if it weren't for Justin Allgaier's serious mental error? With eight laps to go in Stage 2, Allgaier pitted late to try to hold off Hamlin to preserve the lead. Instead, the contact triggered the Big One, causing damage to the front of the No. 11 car. Hamlin dropped back to 11th until Corey Haim came up behind him with nine laps to go, resulting in the No. 11's right side hitting the wall. Hamlin finished 31st in the race and left Daytona in 33rd place in points.
10. Kyle Busch
Sitting on the pole for the Daytona 500, it finally seemed like Kyle Busch had a real chance to end his two-year winless drought in the Cup Series. Unfortunately, as seems fitting for his time with Richard Childress Racing, it ended in disappointment. Busch still led 19 laps at Daytona and finished fourth in Stage 2. Indeed, the points total (29) and finish (15th) could have been worse. Thankfully, the experienced driver's wisdom caused him to slow down in the final lap in fear of another accident. Busch's approach paid off, as staying behind kept him out of a final lap upset, and he spun around the carnage to earn a top-15 finish. It was not the result he had hoped for after starting on pole, but it could have been much worse.
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