Power Rankings: Will 2025’s best driver finally lead his first lap at Bristol?

Analysis: No. 24 has been the most complete driver across the board in 2025, even as frustrating as Sunday’s ultimate result was for him after a surefire win turned into a sour runner-up. Like much of Darlington, Byron is dominating the field, and he’ll get a bit of a heat check at Bristol, where he’s never won -- or even led a lap.

Analysis: It wasn’t the display of dominance that Byron and Co. exhibited, but Denny did at Darlington what he does best -- deliver. That’s back-to-back race wins for Hamlin, and the four-time Bristol winner -- including last spring -- may go for the triple.

Analysis: Sunday’s third-place finisher didn’t earn the drop here; Byron just leap-frogged him. That will likely be a common occurrence between the two this year. Bell was the only driver in the top five to fail to lead a lap, though. Bell’s been banging on the door of a (non-dirt) Bristol win for years, and it feels likely he’ll have a shot this weekend.

Analysis: Larson has the talent and accolades to back up his stature as arguably the greatest driver on the planet, but he could do himself a favor by avoiding the solo spins that seem to plague him. Thankfully for No. 5, it should be a quick hop back on the horse this weekend, as he turned in perhaps the most dominant Bristol showing of all time there last fall, leading 462 laps en route to victory.

Analysis: Elliott maintained his top-20 streak to open the year (now at eight) and turned in a second straight top 10, but it didn’t look like he was going to after striking out in the first two stages. No. 9 has yet to win at Bristol but did recently have a six-race stretch of at least 23 laps led in every one and a pair of runner-ups from 2022 on.

Analysis: Reddick can’t escape Darlington these days without making some kind of headline, but at least this time it came with a fourth-place run. Bristol, thus far, is not at all his kind of track, though, with a 20.3 average finish and his last top 10 all the way back in 2020. However, he did lead his first laps there last year.

Analysis: Blaney has just three top 10s in eight races and yet … feels like a favorite to make the Championship 4. There’s no denying the speed in the No. 12 and Blaney’s willingness to fight back in these races; eventually, a boatload of wins will come along with that combo as the dominoes start falling in the other direction. Unfortunately for a driver with six Bristol top 10s in 16 tries and just one in the last four, it’s not likely to come Sunday.

Analysis: After securing his first top 10 of the year last week, Logano was back in the teens from a finishing standpoint but did walk away with a solid 33 points. He’s been incredibly hit-or-miss at Bristol ahead of what will be his 30th start there, having won two of the previous 29 … but none in the past decade and without a top-10 finish in the current decade. (Of course, with the caveat that he did win the inaugural Bristol Dirt Race.)

Analysis: A less-eventful Darlington spring race than last year didn’t see him competing for the win, but it did result in a better overall finish with a 38-point, sixth-place effort. He’s now finished in the top seven in four of the past six races and heads to one of his tracks at Bristol, where he led 169 laps en route to the Night Race win in 2022.

Analysis: Every finish of the season so far for Wallace is either better than 10th or no higher than 20th and unfortunately for him, Darlington resulted in the latter despite showing some initial speed. It’d be easy to write him off for Bristol with just one top five (and just two top 10s) in 11 starts there -- but it was a P3 last fall, and he’s running even better now.

Analysis: After notching five top 10s in the season’s first six races -- more than anybody else to that point -- Bowman has now finished outside the top 25 in consecutive races, clinging to a spot in the top 10 in the standings. It’s been a long haul for him to start to see some Bristol results, but he did turn in a pair of top 10s there last year for the first time since 2018.

Analysis: Chastain has now earned consecutive top 10s for the first time since the last time we were at Bristol, in last year’s playoffs, as he continues to make the most of a car that doesn’t appear to have the same spark behind it as some of the other top Chevrolets. His overall Bristol stats aren’t desirable, but perhaps he can lead his first lap there on Sunday.

Analysis: Preece landed a P3 in the opening stage and appeared headed for a solid day at Darlington before striking out in Stage 2 and ultimately settling for 26th. Not the day he wanted, but he’s showing speed and has proven to be more than capable at Bristol in the past in lesser equipment, so a rebound should be in order.

Analysis: No. 19 entered Darlington with tons of momentum and, as the most recent winner there, only to walk away with nine points and his second-worst finish of the year. He’s been sneakily a pretty decent driver at Bristol, though, despite just one top 10 there. In four of his five of his starts -- in lesser equipment than his current Toyota -- Briscoe finished 14th or better.

Analysis: Baby steps. It’s a far cry from three top 10s in the first four races, but Busch has bettered his finish each race since a P33 at Las Vegas and landed his fourth 2025 top 10 at Darlington before we turn the corner to perhaps his best track. While that very much has not been the case lately (no Bristol finishes better than 20th since 2020), you can’t just wash away a resume with eight Tennessee wins on it.  

Analysis: Give this man some credit -- he has yo-yo’d back and forth between the Cup and Xfinity Series more than anybody in recent memory and yet here he is, in the top 16 in the standings nearly a third of the way through the Cup regular season. He’s had a few Bristol runs pop off over the years as well, too -- P7 as recently as the 2022 Night Race -- and it wouldn’t be the biggest shocker to see him compete for a top-15 spot or higher this weekend.

Analysis: McDowell’s worst showing of the year so far has him dipping, and only 20 points separate him (in 17th place) from 24th in the standings (Daniel Suárez). With just one top 10 to date on top of that, there’s certainly some concern for his season-long prospects. Despite just two Bristol top 10s in 26 starts he could sneakily get back on track Sunday, though -- McD has been 11th or better in five of the last six races there.

Analysis: Not a whole lot has gone right for Berry and the No. 21 since their Las Vegas win (outside of having arguably the best Darlington throwback paint scheme), with back-to-back finishes outside the top 30 adding to the sting. The short-track star should have a shot to compete at Bristol, though, where he led 25 laps as a rookie in his first start there last year.

Analysis: You know it’s still early in the season when a driver can finish 25th, collect just 12 points and still move up two spots in the Cup standings, but Stenhouse will take it. Back in his Roush days, a Bristol win felt like an inevitability for him, but Stenhouse has just one top 20 there since 2018.

Analysis: Cindric narrowly missed out on just his second top 10 since Daytona, and still can’t quite seem to find the early season speed that saw him lead 47 or more laps in three of the first five. It’s unlikely that he turns around at Bristol, where he’s yet to lead a lap and averages a 24.0 finish.