NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings after 2018 1000Bulbs.com 500

With the 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in the books, how do the 29 full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers stack up against one another?

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola earned his first victory of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season in the 1000Bulbs.com 500, which was the 31st race of the 36-race season, the fifth race of the 10-race playoffs and the second race of the three-race second round of the four-round playoffs, the round of 12.

Almirola led only one lap of the 193-lap race around the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) Talladega Superspeedway oval in Lincoln, Alabama, but he led the 193rd and final lap, which was all that was needed for him to win the race, which was originally only scheduled to last for 188 laps but went into overtime as a result of a late caution flag period.

How did Almirola’s victory and the rest of the action from the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway affect the NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings? Here are the non-formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings following the second race of the round of 12.

NOTE: Because of the fact that Leavine Family Racing’s Kasey Kahne has retired, he has been removed from each of these sets of power rankings.

Non-formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer – [Last Rank (Trend)]
1st – Kevin Harvick – #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [1st (0)]
2nd – Aric Almirola – #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [10th (+8)]
3rd – Clint Bowyer – #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [11th (+8)]
4th – Joey Logano – #22, Team Penske, Ford – [4th (0)]
5th – Kyle Busch – #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [2nd (-3)]
6th – Kurt Busch – #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [6th (0)]
7th – Martin Truex Jr. – #78, Furniture Row Racing, Toyota – [5th (-2)]
8th – Chase Elliott – #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [3rd (-5)]
9th – Brad Keselowski – #2, Team Penske, Ford – [7th (-2)]
10th – Ryan Blaney – #12, Team Penske, Ford – [8th (-2)]
11th – Kyle Larson – #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet – [9th (-2)]
12th – Alex Bowman – #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [12th (0)]
13th – Denny Hamlin – #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [13th (0)]
14th – Jimmie Johnson – #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [16th (+2)]
15th – Erik Jones – #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [15th (0)]
16th – Austin Dillon – #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – [14th (-2)]
17th – Ryan Newman – #31, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – [17th (0)]
18th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – #17, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford – [19th (+1)]
19th – Paul Menard – #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford – [20th (+1)]
20th – Daniel Suarez – #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [18th (-2)]
21st – Jamie McMurray – #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet – [21st (0)]
22nd – William Byron – #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [22nd (0)]
23rd – A.J. Allmendinger – #47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet – [23rd (0)]
24th – Chris Buescher – #37, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet – [24th (0)]
25th – David Ragan – #38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford – [25th (0)]
26th – Michael McDowell – #34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford – [26th (0)]
27th – Ty Dillon – #13, Germain Racing, Chevrolet – [29th (+2)]
28th – Darrell Wallace Jr. – #43, Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet – [28th (0)]
29th – Matt DiBenedetto – #32, Go Fas Racing, Ford – [30th (-1)]
{30th – Kasey Kahne – #95, Leavine Family Racing, Chevrolet – [27th (-3)]}

Biggest Movers
Up: Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer (+8)
Down: Chase Elliott (-5)

Here are the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings following Almirola’s first victory of the season. To see how the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings are calculated, click here.