NASCAR Cup Series: Driver Power Rankings after 2018 STP 500 at Martinsville
By Asher Fair
Non-formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings
| Rank | Driver | Car, Team, Manufacturer | Last Rank | Trend |
| 1 | Kyle Busch | #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota | 2 | +1 |
| 2 | Martin Truex Jr. | #78, Furniture Row Racing, Toyota | 1 | -1 |
| 3 | Clint Bowyer | #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford | 10 | +7 |
| 4 | Ryan Blaney | #12, Team Penske, Ford | 7 | +3 |
| 5 | Kevin Harvick | #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford | 8 | +3 |
| 6 | Joey Logano | #22, Team Penske, Ford | 4 | -2 |
| 7 | Brad Keselowski | #2, Team Penske, Ford | 3 | -4 |
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota | 6 | -2 |
| 9 | Kyle Larson | #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet | 5 | -4 |
| 10 | Kurt Busch | #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford | 13 | +3 |
| 11 | Aric Almirola | #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford | 11 | 0 |
| 12 | Alex Bowman | #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet | 14 | +2 |
| 13 | Erik Jones | #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota | 9 | -4 |
| 14 | Chase Elliott | #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet | 19 | +5 |
| 15 | A.J. Allmendinger | #47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet | 24 | +9 |
| 16 | Paul Menard | #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford | 15 | -1 |
| 17 | Jimmie Johnson | #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet | 17 | 0 |
| 18 | Ryan Newman | #31, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet | 16 | -2 |
| 19 | William Byron | #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet | 18 | -1 |
| 20 | Austin Dillon | #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet | 12 | -8 |
| 21 | Daniel Suarez | #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota | 22 | +1 |
| 22 | Michael McDowell | #34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford | 25 | +3 |
| 23 | Chris Buescher | #37, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet | 26 | +3 |
| 24 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | #17, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford | 20 | -4 |
| 25 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | #43, Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet | 21 | -4 |
| 26 | Kasey Kahne | #95, Leavine Family Racing, Chevrolet | 27 | +1 |
| 27 | David Ragan | #38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford | 28 | +1 |
| 28 | Jamie McMurray | #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet | 23 | -5 |
| 29 | Ty Dillon | #13, Germain Racing, Chevrolet | 30 | +1 |
| 30 | Trevor Bayne | #6, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford | 29 | -1 |
| 31 | Matt DiBenedetto | #32, Go Fas Racing, Ford | 31 | 0 |
| 32 | Gray Gaulding | #23, BK Racing, Toyota | 32 | 0 |
Biggest Movers
Up: A.J. Allmendinger (+9)
Down: Austin Dillon (-8)
Conclusion
With the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway having been the sixth race of the season, it is the first race after which not every race of the season so far is included in the “average finish in last five races” category of the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings.
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As a result, there were a few unexpected changes in the rankings that took place essentially as a result of the fact that drivers’ results in the Daytona 500 were replaced by their results in the STP 500. Even if drivers did poorly in the STP 500, they may have moved up in the rankings thanks to the fact that they still did better than they did in the Daytona 500. Conversely, even if drivers did well in the STP 500, they may have moved down in the rankings thanks to the fact that they still did worse than they did in the Daytona 500.
From here on out, drivers’ most recent race results are set to replace their results from whatever race was five races ago at the time. How will the fact that drivers’ average finishes in the last five races are not guaranteed to be the same, and likely won’t ever be the same, as their average finishes throughout the entire season affect these rankings moving forward in the first season during which this new formula-based rankings system has been used?
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Don’t miss the next NASCAR Cup Series race, which is the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. That race is set to take place on Sunday, April 8th following the week off that NASCAR has for Easter. The race is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 from Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, starting at 2:00 pm ET on that date.