With the first 16 races of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series schedule in the books, which drivers rank where in the NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings?
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. took the checkered flag at Sonoma Raceway to win the 36-race 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season’s 16th race, the Toyota/Save Mart 350, giving him two consecutive victories in this race and three victories in it over the course of the last seven seasons.
Truex Jr.’s victory in this 90-lap race around the 12-turn, 2.52-mile (4.056-kilometer) Sonoma Raceway road course in Sonoma, California was his fourth victory of the season, which tied him atop the wins list with teammate Kyle Busch.
Truex Jr., however, has earned all four of his victories in the last eight races. Busch has earned just one victory during this eight-race span after winning three races in a five-race span earlier this season.
As a result of Truex Jr.’s most recent victory, the number of drivers who have been victorious this season is six for the seventh consecutive race. Not since Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, the only race winner who has not won multiple races this season, won the season’s 10th race at Talladega Superspeedway has a driver been added to the wins list.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano have also been victorious this season. Keselowski has won three races while Hamlin and Logano have each won two.
How did Truex Jr.’s series-high fourth victory of the 2019 season affect the NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings? Here are the non-formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings following the 16th race 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 – [2nd (+1)]
2nd – Joey Logano – #22, Team Penske, Ford – [1st (-1)]
3rd – Martin Truex Jr. – #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [6th (+3)]
4th – Kevin Harvick – #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [4th (0)]
5th – Denny Hamlin – #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [8th (+3)]
6th – Brad Keselowski – #2, Team Penske, Ford – [3rd (-3)]
7th – Chase Elliott – #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [5th (-2)]
8th – Kurt Busch – #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet – [7th (-1)]
9th – Ryan Blaney – #12, Team Penske, Ford – [9th (0)]
10th – Aric Almirola – #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [11th (+1)]
11th – Alex Bowman – #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [10th (-1)]
12th – Clint Bowyer – #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [13th (+1)]
13th – Kyle Larson – #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet – [16th (+3)]
14th – Daniel Suarez – #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [12th (-2)]
15th – William Byron – #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [14th (-1)]
16th – Ryan Newman – #6, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford – [15th (-1)]
17th – Erik Jones – #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [18th (+1)]
18th – Jimmie Johnson – #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [17th (-1)]
19th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – #17, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford – [20th (+1)]
20th – Paul Menard – #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford – [19th (-1)]
21st – Chris Buescher – #37, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet – [21st (0)]
22nd – Austin Dillon – #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – [22nd (0)]
23rd – Matt DiBenedetto – #95, Leavine Family Racing, Toyota – [25th (+2)]
24th – Daniel Hemric – #8, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – [24th (0)]
25th – Ty Dillon – #13, Germain Racing, Chevrolet – [23rd (-2)]
26th – Ryan Preece – #47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet – [26th (0)]
27th – David Ragan – #38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford – [29th (+2)]
28th – Michael McDowell – #34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford – [30th (+2)]
29th – Darrell Wallace Jr. – #43, Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet – [28th (-1)]
30th – Corey LaJoie – #32, Go Fas Racing, Ford – [27th (-3)]
31st – Matt Tifft – #36, Front Row Motorsports, Ford – [31st (0)]
Biggest Movers
Up: Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson (+3)
Down: Brad Keselowski, Corey LaJoie (-3)
Here are the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings following the action from Sonoma Raceway. To see how the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings are calculated, click here.