With one race remaining in the first round of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, how do the sport’s full-time teams stack up against one another?
Just one race remains in the round of 16, the first of four rounds that make up the 10-race 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch won the second race, the Federated Auto Parts 400, of the round of 16 after Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski won the first, the South Point 400, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Busch’s victory in the 400-lap race around the four-turn, 0.75-mile (1.207-kilometer) Richmond Raceway oval in Richmond, Virginia is Joe Gibbs Racing’s eighth victory of the season.
Joe Gibbs Racing trail only Stewart-Haas Racing on the wins list this season, and they have twice as many victories as the two teams tied for third place on that list with four. Those two teams are Furniture Row Racing and Team Penske.
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With 28 of the season’s 36 races in the books, Joe Gibbs Racing trail Stewart-Haas Racing by two victories, as Stewart-Haas Racing have earned 10 victories so far this season. However, they have not been victorious in any of the last four races.
Busch’s victory was Joe Gibbs Racing’s first victory in nearly two months. Prior to the Federated Auto Parts 400, their most recent victory was Busch’s victory in the race at Pocono Raceway in late July. They were on a six-race winless streak heading into this past weekend’s race, which was tied for their longest winless streak of the season. They also failed to win any of the season’s first six races before Busch won the April race at Texas Motor Speedway.
How did Joe Gibbs Racing’s eighth victory of the season and first victory of the playoffs affect the NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings? Here are the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings and the non-formulated NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings following the penultimate race of the round of 16.
To see how the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings are calculated, click here.
Formulated NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings
| Rank | Team | Manufacturer | Last Rank | Trend |
| 1 | Team Penske | Ford | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 4 | +2 |
| 3 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 2 | -2 |
| 5 | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 | 0 |
| 7 | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 7 | 0 |
| 8 | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 8 | 0 |
| 9 | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 9 | 0 |
| 10 | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 10 | 0 |
| 11 | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 11 | 0 |
| 12 | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 12 | 0 |
| 13 | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 13 | 0 |
| 14 | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 14 | 0 |
| 15 | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 15 | 0 |
Biggest Movers
Up: Chip Ganassi Racing (+2)
Down: Stewart-Haas Racing (-2)
Non-formulated NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings
| Rank | Team | Manufacturer | Last Rank | Trend |
| 1 | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 2 | +1 |
| 2 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 | +1 |
| 3 | Team Penske | Ford | 1 | -2 |
| 4 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 | 0 |
| 7 | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 7 | 0 |
| 8 | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 8 | 0 |
| 9 | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 9 | 0 |
| 10 | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 10 | 0 |
| 11 | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 11 | 0 |
| 12 | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 12 | 0 |
| 13 | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 14 | +1 |
| 14 | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 13 | -1 |
| 15 | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 15 | 0 |
Biggest Movers
Up: Furniture Row Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports (+1)
Down: Team Penske (-2)
Formulated rankings predictions for after next race
The calculation used to calculate the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings predicts that after this weekend’s race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval, the Bank of America Roval 400, this is how the formulated set of rankings will look.
| Formulated Rankings Predictions |
| 1st – Team Penske (-) |
| 2nd – Joe Gibbs Racing (+1) |
| 3rd – Chip Ganassi Racing (-1) |
| 4th – Stewart-Haas Racing (-) |
| 5th – Furniture Row Racing (-) |
| 6th – Hendrick Motorsports (-) |
| 7th – Richard Childress Racing (-) |
| 8th – Wood Brothers Racing (-) |
| 9th – Roush Fenway Racing (-) |
| 10th – JTG Daugherty Racing (-) |
| 11th – Front Row Motorsports (-) |
| 12th – Germain Racing (+1) |
| 13th – Leavine Family Racing (-1) |
| 14th – Richard Petty Motorsports (-) |
| 15th – Go Fas Racing (-) |
The third and final race of the opening round of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is the Bank of America Roval 400, which is set to be broadcast live on NBC from the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval in Charlotte, North Carolina beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 30.