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NASCAR Driver Power Rankings – Austin Dillon leads after Daytona

By Asher Fair

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 18: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, and Aric Almirola, driver of the #10 Smithfield Ford, lead the field in the final restart during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 60th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 18: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, and Aric Almirola, driver of the #10 Smithfield Ford, lead the field in the final restart during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 60th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 18: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, and Aric Almirola, driver of the #10 Smithfield Ford (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 18: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, and Aric Almirola, driver of the #10 Smithfield Ford (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

Austin Dillon won the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season opener at Daytona, and he is on top in the first ever edition of our formulated team power rankings.

Austin Dillon led one lap of the 207 laps in the 60th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida on Sunday. But he led the most important lap, lap 207, and is the 2018 Daytona 500 champion as a result of it.

Dillon entered the race with one career NASCAR Cup Series victory, with that lone victory coming as a result of fuel mileage in last year’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He doubled his career win total in Sunday’s race after putting his car’s nose to the bumper of Aric Almirola’s #10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, causing him to spin out. Dillon took the lead and went on to win the race after leading it for just mere seconds.

With the first of 36 races in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season in the books, let’s have a look at the first ever edition of our new formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings. Which drivers rank where as the series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia next Sunday, February 25th for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500?

NOTE: These power rankings are based solely on a mathematical formula. Only full-time drivers are included in these rankings. Aside of “Last Rank”, only factors that are included in the formula are included in this article. Standings positions reflect rank among full-time drivers only.

Here are the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings after Daytona.

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