How did Erik Jones’s first victory of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season and the rest of the action from Darlington Raceway affect the NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings?
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones ended his 43-race win drought by getting to victory lane in his 100th career NASCAR Cup Series start. He secured the second victory of his career by winning the 2019 regular season’s penultimate race, the Bojangles’ Southern 500, at Darlington Raceway.
How did Jones’s victory in this 367-lap race around the four-turn, 1.366-mile (2.198-kilometer) Darlington Raceway oval in Darlington, South Carolina affect the NASCAR Cup Series Power Rankings?
These NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings were calculated using a formula, which you can see here. But before they are revealed, take a look below at some of the highlights of this edition of these rankings.
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NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings Analysis
Following a six-race streak of top five finishes during which his average finish was 2.33 and a five-race streak of top three finishes during which his average finish was 1.80, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin was involved in an accident during the Bojangles’ Southern 500 that ended his hot streak.
He still finished this race, but he finished in 29th place, his second worst result of the season. As a result, he dropped from the top spot in these rankings and relinquished that spot to a familiar face.
Meanwhile, Kyle Larson replaced Hamlin as the driver with the best average finish in the last five races. His second place finish in this race replaced his 33rd place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the calculation for this average, and as a result, this average dropped by 6.20 from 11.00 to 4.80.
Larson made the biggest move up these rankings this week because of his hot streak. But how high did he ascend?
Now let’s get started with the rankings.
#31 through #26
Last Rank: 31st (-)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 0
Top 5 finishes: 0
Podium finishes: 0
Wins: 0
Average finish: 26.36
Average finish in last five races: 27.20
Most recent finish: 26th
Points in most recent race: 11
Standings position: 30th
Points: 268
Last Rank: 29th (-1)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 1
Top 5 finishes: 0
Podium finishes: 0
Wins: 0
Average finish: 25.80
Average finish in last five races: 28.20
Most recent finish: 36th
Points in most recent race: 1
Standings position: 29th
Points: 280
Last Rank: 30th (+1)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 1
Top 5 finishes: 0
Podium finishes: 0
Wins: 0
Average finish: 26.52
Average finish in last five races: 25.20
Most recent finish: 27th
Points in most recent race: 10
Standings position: 31st
Points: 263
Last Rank: 28th (-)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 1
Top 5 finishes: 1
Podium finishes: 0
Wins: 0
Average finish: 25.56
Average finish in last five races: 27.60
Most recent finish: 38th
Points in most recent race: 1
Standings position: 28th
Points: 304
Last Rank: 27th (-)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 0
Top 5 finishes: 0
Podium finishes: 0
Wins: 0
Average finish: 25.00
Average finish in last five races: 23.00
Most recent finish: 24th
Points in most recent race: 13
Standings position: 27th
Points: 317
Last Rank: 26th (-)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 3
Top 5 finishes: 1
Podium finishes: 1
Wins: 0
Average finish: 23.76
Average finish in last five races: 24.00
Most recent finish: 22nd
Points in most recent race: 15
Standings position: 26th
Points: 333
#25 through #21
Last Rank: 25th (-)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 2
Top 5 finishes: 1
Podium finishes: 0
Wins: 0
Average finish: 22.44
Average finish in last five races: 23.40
Most recent finish: 37th
Points in most recent race: 1
Standings position: 25th
Points: 370
Last Rank: 23rd (-1)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 2
Top 5 finishes: 1
Podium finishes: 0
Wins: 0
Average finish: 21.16
Average finish in last five races: 22.00
Most recent finish: 20th
Points in most recent race: 17
Standings position: 24th
Points: 417
Last Rank: 22nd (-1)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 2
Top 5 finishes: 1
Podium finishes: 0
Wins: 0
Average finish: 20.56
Average finish in last five races: 26.00
Most recent finish: 33rd
Points in most recent race: 4
Standings position: 21st
Points: 483
Last Rank: 24th (+2)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 4
Top 5 finishes: 0
Podium finishes: 0
Wins: 0
Average finish: 20.84
Average finish in last five races: 21.40
Most recent finish: 10th
Points in most recent race: 27
Standings position: 23rd
Points: 454
Last Rank: 21st (-)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 8
Top 5 finishes: 3
Podium finishes: 1
Wins: 0
Average finish: 16.20
Average finish in last five races: 20.60
Most recent finish: 16th
Points in most recent race: 34
Standings position: 18th
Points: 599
#20 through #16
Last Rank: 20th (-)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 3
Top 5 finishes: 0
Podium finishes: 0
Wins: 0
Average finish: 16.52
Average finish in last five races: 16.60
Most recent finish: 9th
Points in most recent race: 28
Standings position: 19th
Points: 548
Last Rank: 19th (-)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 4
Top 5 finishes: 0
Podium finishes: 0
Wins: 0
Average finish: 17.12
Average finish in last five races: 14.40
Most recent finish: 12th
Points in most recent race: 25
Standings position: 20th
Points: 531
Last Rank: 17th (-1)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 6
Top 5 finishes: 3
Podium finishes: 1
Wins: 0
Average finish: 19.20
Average finish in last five races: 10.60
Most recent finish: 8th
Points in most recent race: 29
Standings position: 22nd
Points: 467
Last Rank: 16th (-1)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 10
Top 5 finishes: 1
Podium finishes: 0
Wins: 0
Average finish: 14.84
Average finish in last five races: 20.60
Most recent finish: 17th
Points in most recent race: 20
Standings position: 14th
Points: 674
Last Rank: 14th (-2)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 8
Top 5 finishes: 1
Podium finishes: 0
Wins: 0
Average finish: 14.20
Average finish in last five races: 17.00
Most recent finish: 23rd
Points in most recent race: 14
Standings position: 16th
Points: 617
#15 through #11
Last Rank: 18th (+3)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 11
Top 5 finishes: 5
Podium finishes: 2
Wins: 0
Average finish: 16.12
Average finish in last five races: 16.20
Most recent finish: 6th
Points in most recent race: 36
Standings position: 15th
Points: 625
Last Rank: 13th (-1)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 8
Top 5 finishes: 2
Podium finishes: 1
Wins: 0
Average finish: 14.76
Average finish in last five races: 15.00
Most recent finish: 21st
Points in most recent race: 19
Standings position: 13th
Points: 683
Last Rank: 15th (+2)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 9
Top 5 finishes: 3
Podium finishes: 1
Wins: 0
Average finish: 15.00
Average finish in last five races: 13.00
Most recent finish: 11th
Points in most recent race: 26
Standings position: 16th
Points: 617
Last Rank: 12th (-)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 7
Top 5 finishes: 4
Podium finishes: 4
Wins: 1
Average finish: 13.88
Average finish in last five races: 15.40
Most recent finish: 18th
Points in most recent race: 19
Standings position: 11th
Points: 694
Last Rank: 8th (-3)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 11
Top 5 finishes: 7
Podium finishes: 2
Wins: 0
Average finish: 14.92
Average finish in last five races: 12.40
Most recent finish: 13th
Points in most recent race: 24
Standings position: 10th
Points: 710
#10 through #6
Last Rank: 11th (+1)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 10
Top 5 finishes: 8
Podium finishes: 3
Wins: 2
Average finish: 13.92
Average finish in last five races: 14.40
Most recent finish: 19th
Points in most recent race: 23
Standings position: 8th
Points: 780
Last Rank: 10th (+1)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 14
Top 5 finishes: 5
Podium finishes: 4
Wins: 1
Average finish: 11.08
Average finish in last five races: 15.20
Most recent finish: 7th
Points in most recent race: 49
Standings position: 7th
Points: 790
Last Rank: 6th (-2)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 14
Top 5 finishes: 9
Podium finishes: 7
Wins: 2
Average finish: 10.68
Average finish in last five races: 16.60
Most recent finish: 14th
Points in most recent race: 26
Standings position: 2nd
Points: 919
Last Rank: 7th (-)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 13
Top 5 finishes: 9
Podium finishes: 7
Wins: 1
Average finish: 13.44
Average finish in last five races: 9.40
Most recent finish: 1st
Points in most recent race: 48
Standings position: 11th
Points: 694
Last Rank: 5th (-1)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 16
Top 5 finishes: 8
Podium finishes: 2
Wins: 2
Average finish: 12.04
Average finish in last five races: 11.40
Most recent finish: 4th
Points in most recent race: 34
Standings position: 4th
Points: 864
#5 through #1
Last Rank: 4th (-1)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 14
Top 5 finishes: 9
Podium finishes: 7
Wins: 3
Average finish: 11.52
Average finish in last five races: 8.80
Most recent finish: 5th
Points in most recent race: 38
Standings position: 6th
Points: 832
Last Rank: 9th (+5)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 12
Top 5 finishes: 6
Podium finishes: 4
Wins: 0
Average finish: 14.52
Average finish in last five races: 4.80
Most recent finish: 2nd
Points in most recent race: 49
Standings position: 9th
Points: 714
Last Rank: 3rd (-)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 15
Top 5 finishes: 10
Podium finishes: 9
Wins: 4
Average finish: 10.64
Average finish in last five races: 7.40
Most recent finish: 15th
Points in most recent race: 24
Standings position: 5th
Points: 862
Last Rank: 1st (-1)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 16
Top 5 finishes: 13
Podium finishes: 7
Wins: 4
Average finish: 9.84
Average finish in last five races: 7.20
Most recent finish: 29th
Points in most recent race: 22
Standings position: 3rd
Points: 877
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Last Rank: 2nd (+1)
Races: 25
Top 10 finishes: 21
Top 5 finishes: 13
Podium finishes: 11
Wins: 4
Average finish: 7.00
Average finish in last five races: 6.60
Most recent finish: 3rd
Points in most recent race: 51
Standings position: 1st
Points: 983
Biggest Movers
Up: Kyle Larson (+5)
Down: Ryan Blaney (-3)
The next race on the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the 26th and final race of the regular season. This race, the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard, is scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 8. NBC is set to broadcast this race live from Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET.