Denny Hamlin rose to the occasion at Dover Motor Speedway, elevating the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in double OT to go back-to-back at the “Monster Mile” and collect a series-best fourth 2025 win and 58th overall. On the opposite end of the career victories spectrum, will his teammate Ty Gibbs, riding a hot streak, finally capture his first Cup Series win this weekend at the Brickyard and claim the inaugural In-Season Challenge prize?
NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 Cup Series contenders after the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover and before Sunday’s Brickyard 400 presented by PPG at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
RELATED: 2025 Cup Series schedule | Full Cup Series standings
Analysis: Elliott dominated much of the afternoon but eventually drove to a sixth-place result at Dover, elevating his name atop the standings with his 12th top-10 finish of the season. Although he’s still chasing his first Brickyard 400 win, Elliott’s history of clean execution and recent momentum make him one of the best bets to convert at Indy and maintain his edge in the championship race.
Analysis: At Dover, Hamlin claimed his fourth victory of 2025, seizing the lead in overtime with a perfectly timed restart and breaking a tie atop the pile, as now the series’ winningest driver this year. He’s never won at Indy but has five top fives at the Brickyard. With Joe Gibbs Racing on a hot streak, few enter the weekend with more confidence or experience in big-event pressure.
Analysis: Byron’s promising Dover pace went unrewarded after a late crash ended his race in 31st, extending a frustrating summer season for No. 24. The Brickyard has been a frustrating track for him as well, but with Hendrick Motorsports consistently sharp in Indy’s crown-jewel race, he should still have a shot.
Analysis: A determined fourth-place run at Dover helped Larson bounce back after a streak of puzzling results for a series-leading 13th top 10. There’s a lot of baggage coming into this Indy trip for him after what happened there in May, but he triumphed in last year’s return to the Indianapolis oval and, with three wins already this season, heads to the Brickyard with a car capable of repeating.
Analysis: Bell’s speed at Dover put him in contention, but multiple late spins left him 18th and denied a shot at his fourth win of the season. No. 20 nabbed a top five at Indy last year and remains one of the grid’s best closers — thus, a date with the bricks could be in his future.
Analysis: Reddick quietly posted a 12th at Dover, failing to lead a lap for the sixth time in the past seven races. Indianapolis has historically provided him a chance to shine, and last year’s runner-up could be a popular pick to break his winless drought.
Analysis: Briscoe nearly claimed victory No. 2 of the season — the other was a battle with teammate Denny Hamlin as well — further staking his claim as one of 2025’s most improved performers. As an Indiana native, the Brickyard 400 is his home race, and with momentum building, he has a tremendous shot to win a true-to-form Indy contest.
Analysis: Blaney’s eighth-place Dover run stopped the bleeding a bit — and just in time. A win on the Indy oval feels destined to be in No. 12’s future, and with Team Penske’s traditional strength at the Brickyard, Blaney is likely to factor heavily as the team aims to regain some footing before the playoffs at a track owned by the big man.
Analysis: Bowman’s late surge to third at Dover was one of his best of the year, continuing to bring renewed optimism to the No. 48 team after a tough early summer. While Indy’s oval has typically been … less than flattering for Bowman, his Hendrick horsepower and recent momentum could make him a dark horse for a breakthrough victory at the Brickyard.
Analysis: Buescher netted a ninth-place showing at Dover for his fifth top 10 in the past seven races, all seven of which were top 20s. He’s a sneaky pick for a surprise top-five run in what could be a chaotic Brickyard 400 — Buescher landed a top 10 there in 2017 with much less experience and in lesser equipment.
Analysis: Not much to write home about for Logano in his 600th career start, landing P14 and an overdue Victory Lane date with Miles the Monster having to wait yet another year. With two runner-up finishes but no wins at the Brickyard, Logano’s experience and Team Penske’s Indy pedigree make him dangerous if he can qualify up front and survive its wild restarts.
Analysis: Chastain’s Dover ended in the garage after contact and a 33rd-place result, extending a difficult string of races (only interrupted by a P10 at Chicago) and netting just four points. Indianapolis has not been his strongest oval, but he has improved there in each of his starts and led eight laps last year.
Analysis: Wallace ended a discouraging run of results with a seventh-place showing at Dover, finally netting a finish that matches his car’s true pace this summer. Indy has actually been a real solid track for him, too — he led 28 laps last year en route to his second top five in three Indy races, all of which were top 10s.
Analysis: A charge to fifth place at Dover continued Gibbs’ recent surge, and he now sits in the top 16 in points after averaging an 8.0 finish over the past seven races. He’s a former Brickyard winner — on the road course and in the Xfinity Series, so take it with a grain of salt as it pertains to Sunday — but lines up well to perhaps crack through for his first Cup triumph there this weekend, with extra motivation fueling him with $1 million on the line.
Analysis: Busch is doing all he can with what he’s given — cars that are not enough in his owner’s eyes — and a P11 at Dover was typical of his frustrating but competitive season. “Rowdy” won back-to-back Brickyard 400s a decade ago and is always a threat at Indianapolis, though. His veteran savvy could be a serious difference maker in a race historically won by heavyweights.
Analysis: Preece survived a tough, contact-filled afternoon for 19th at Dover despite a late mix-up with Zane Smith, continuing a season teetering on the playoff bubble and sinking further away from a spot in Delaware. The Brickyard oval’s long green-flag runs could suit his methodical short-track-bred knack for developing a rhythm, but he’ll need to qualify well to avoid Indy’s notorious mid-pack mishaps.
Analysis: McDowell’s 13th-place run at Dover was his best non-road-course result since Charlotte, as he and Spire Motorsports continued to develop their oval acumen. The 2021 Daytona 500 winner has often raced smartly at long speedways, and if the Brickyard turns into a survival test, his experience could pay unexpected dividends as it has over the past decade there (15.0 average finish since 2016).
Analysis: Cindric finished 16th at Dover, showing competitive pace in the second half of the race but ultimately falling short of collecting his second top 10 since winning at Talladega. Like Gibbs, he’s a former Indy road-course winner in the Xfinity Series, and he’ll be another one looking to claim a traditional, oval-style win at the Brickyard, so people like me will stop pointing this out.
Analysis: SVG’s steep learning curve continued at the steeply banked Dover, where he struggled with traffic and finished 30th, seven laps down after puncturing a tire early. As he makes his first Indianapolis oval start, his exceptional adaptability and qualifying prowess could help offset a lack of oval experience, but a clean finish will be priority No. 1 as he continues to gain experience.
Analysis: A difficult Dover weekend left Berry three laps down in 28th, and with just a single top 10 since mid-March, it appears likely the No. 21 car could be headed for a first-round playoff exit for a second straight year. While Indy’s high-speed oval may not play to his traditional strengths, a smooth, mistake-free race could certainly happen for him this weekend — but neither of his Indy trips thus far in his national series career has gone well.