NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings after 2018 Can-Am 500
By Asher Fair
The 2018 NASCAR Cup Series round of 8 is in the books. Where do the sport’s 29 full-time drivers rank against one another heading into the Championship 4?
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch earned his eighth victory of the 36-race 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season in the season’s 35th race, the Can-Am 500, at ISM Raceway. This race was the third and final race in the third round of the four-round, 10-race playoffs, the round of 8.
Busch’s victory in the 312-lap race around the four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona gave him an automatic berth in the Championship 4.
That said, Busch would have advanced to the Championship 4 even without winning the race because of his point total. In fact, he officially clinched a berth in the Championship 4 as the laps wound down in the race and other round of 8 drivers fell out of contention.
Busch is set to join Team Penske’s Joey Logano, Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway this Sunday, November 18.
How did the action from ISM Raceway affect the NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings? Here are the non-formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings with the round of 8 in the books.
Non-formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings
Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer – [Last Rank (Trend)]
1st – Kyle Busch – #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [4th (+3)]
2nd – Kevin Harvick – #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [1st (-1)]
3rd – Martin Truex Jr. – #78, Furniture Row Racing, Toyota – [3rd (0)]
4th – Joey Logano – #22, Team Penske, Ford – [2nd (-2)]
5th – Brad Keselowski – #2, Team Penske, Ford – [10th (+5)]
6th – Aric Almirola – #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [7th (+1)]
7th – Chase Elliott – #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [5th (-2)]
8th – Kurt Busch – #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [6th (-2)]
9th – Kyle Larson – #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet – [12th (+3)]
10th – Ryan Blaney – #12, Team Penske, Ford – [9th (-1)]
11th – Denny Hamlin – #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [13th (+2)]
12th – Clint Bowyer – #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [8th (-4)]
13th – Austin Dillon – #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – [14th (+1)]
14th – Jimmie Johnson – #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [16th (+2)]
15th – Erik Jones – #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [11th (-4)]
16th – Alex Bowman – #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [15th (-1)]
17th – Ryan Newman – #31, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – [17th (0)]
18th – Jamie McMurray – #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet – [21st (+3)]
19th – Paul Menard – #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford – [19th (0)]
20th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – #17, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford – [18th (-2)]
21st – Daniel Suarez – #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [20th (-1)]
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 – Darrell Wallace Jr. – #43, Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet – [28th (+2)]
27th – Michael McDowell – #34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford – [27th (0)]
28th – Ty Dillon – #13, Germain Racing, Chevrolet – [26th (-2)]
29th – Matt DiBenedetto – #32, Go Fas Racing, Ford – [29th (0)]
Biggest Movers
Up: Brad Keselowski (+5)
Down: Clint Bowyer, Erik Jones (-4)
Here are the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings following Busch’s eighth victory of the season. To see how the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings are calculated, click here.