NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings after 2019 Pocono 400
By Asher Fair
With the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season’s first of two races at Pocono Raceway, the Pocono 400, in the books, who ranks where in the NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings?
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch earned his fourth victory of the 36-race 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season by winning the season’s 14th race, the Pocono 400, at Pocono Raceway.
Busch’s victory in this 160-lap race around the three-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Pocono Raceway triangle in Long Pond, Pennsylvania made him the first driver to win four races this season, just as he was the first driver to win two races and the first driver to win three races earlier this year. He had not won a race since he won the race at Bristol Motor Speedway in early April.
Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. now trail Busch in a second place tie on the wins list with three victories each while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin sits in fourth with two.
Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott are the only other two drivers who have won at all this season, and they have each earned one victory. Not since Elliott won the season’s 10th race at Talladega Superspeedway in late April has a driver added his name to the wins list.
How did the 2019 Pocono 400 affect the NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings? Here are the non-formulated NASCAR Cup Series Power Rankings following this race.
Non-formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings
Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer – [Last Rank (Trend)]
1st – Kyle Busch – #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [2nd (+1)]
2nd – Joey Logano – #22, Team Penske, Ford – [1st (-1)]
3rd – Brad Keselowski – #2, Team Penske, Ford – [6th (+3)]
4th – Chase Elliott – #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [3rd (-1)]
5th – Kevin Harvick – #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [5th (0)]
6th – Denny Hamlin – #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [7th (+1)]
7th – Kurt Busch – #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet – [8th (+1)]
8th – Martin Truex Jr. – #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [4th (-4)]
9th – Clint Bowyer – #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [12th (+3)]
10th – Ryan Blaney – #12, Team Penske, Ford – [10th (0)]
11th – Aric Almirola – #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [11th (0)]
12th – Alex Bowman – #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [9th (-3)]
13th – Erik Jones – #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [19th (+6)]
14th – William Byron – #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [14th (0)]
15th – Daniel Suarez – #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [15th (0)]
16th – Jimmie Johnson – #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [13th (-3)]
17th – Kyle Larson – #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet – [18th (+1)]
18th – Ryan Newman – #6, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford – [17th (-1)]
19th – Paul Menard – #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford – [20th (+1)]
20th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – #17, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford – [16th (-4)]
21st – Chris Buescher – #37, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet – [22nd (+1)]
22nd – Austin Dillon – #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – [21st (-1)]
23rd – Ty Dillon – #13, Germain Racing, Chevrolet – [23rd (0)]
24th – Daniel Hemric – #8, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – [24th (0)]
25th – Ryan Preece – #47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet – [25th (0)]
26th – Matt DiBenedetto – #95, Leavine Family Racing, Toyota – [28th (+2)]
27th – David Ragan – #38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford – [27th (0)]
28th – Michael McDowell – #34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford – [29th (+1)]
29th – Darrell Wallace Jr. – #43, Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet – [30th (+1)]
30th – Corey LaJoie – #32, Go Fas Racing, Ford – [26th (-4)]
31st – Matt Tifft – #36, Front Row Motorsports, Ford – [31st (0)]
Biggest Movers
Up: Erik Jones (+6)
Down: Martin Truex Jr., Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Corey LaJoie (-4)
Here are the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Power Rankings following Kyle Busch’s fourth victory of the 2019 season. To see how the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings are calculated, click here.