NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings after 2019 Toyota Owners 400
By Asher Fair
How do the NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings look following Martin Truex Jr.’s first victory of the 2019 season in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway?
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. earned his first victory of the 36-race 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season in the season’s ninth race, the Toyota Owners 400, at Richmond Raceway to end a 25-race win drought that began after he won last July’s race at Kentucky Speedway.
This victory was Truex Jr.’s first victory driving for Joe Gibbs Racing and his first victory on a short track in 81 career attempts.
By winning this 400-lap race around the four-turn, 0.75-mile (1.207-kilometer) Richmond Raceway oval in Richmond, Virginia, Truex Jr. became the fifth different driver to win a race so far this season. He and Team Penske’s Joey Logano, the driver he beat to win this race by a slim margin, have each earned one victory this year.
Meanwhile, Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin have earned three victories and two victories, respectively, so far this season while Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski has earned two victories of his own.
How did Truex Jr.’s first career short track victory affect the NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings? Here are the non-formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings following his first victory of the season.
Non-formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings
Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer – [Last Rank (Trend)]
1st – Kyle Busch – #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [1st (0)]
2nd – Joey Logano – #22, Team Penske, Ford – [2nd (0)]
3rd – Kevin Harvick – #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [4th (+1)]
4th – Denny Hamlin – #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [3rd (-1)]
5th – Martin Truex Jr. – #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [8th (+3)]
6th – Brad Keselowski – #2, Team Penske, Ford – [7th (+1)]
7th – Clint Bowyer – #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [10th (+3)]
8th – Kurt Busch – #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet – [5th (-3)]
9th – Chase Elliott – #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [9th (0)]
10th – Ryan Blaney – #12, Team Penske, Ford – [6th (-4)]
11th – Aric Almirola – #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [11th (0)]
12th – Jimmie Johnson – #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [13th (+1)]
13th – Daniel Suarez – #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [12th (-1)]
14th – Austin Dillon – #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – [17th (+3)]
15th – Ryan Newman – #6, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford – [15th (0)]
16th – Paul Menard – #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford – [14th (-2)]
17th – Erik Jones – #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [19th (+2)]
18th – William Byron – #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [18th (0)]
19th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – #17, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford – [20th (+1)]
20th – Kyle Larson – #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet – [16th (-4)]
21st – Alex Bowman – #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [22nd (+1)]
22nd – Ty Dillon – #13, Germain Racing, Chevrolet – [21st (-1)]
23rd – Chris Buescher – #37, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet – [23rd (0)]
24th – Matt DiBenedetto – #95, Leavine Family Racing, Toyota – [24th (0)]
25th – Ryan Preece – #47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet – [27th (+2)]
26th – Darrell Wallace Jr. – #43, Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet – [25th (-1)]
27th – David Ragan – #38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford – [26th (-1)]
28th – Daniel Hemric – #8, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – [30th (+2)]
29th – Michael McDowell – #34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford – [28th (-1)]
30th – Corey LaJoie – #32, Go Fas Racing, Ford – [32nd (+2)]
31st – Matt Tifft – #36, Front Row Motorsports, Ford – [29th (-2)]
32nd – Landon Cassill – #00, StarCom Racing, Chevrolet – [31st (-1)]
Biggest Movers
Up: Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Austin Dillon (+3)
Down: Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson (-4)
Here are the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings following the Toyota Owners 400. To see how the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings are calculated, click here.