NASCAR Power Rankings: Who Is The Favorite Heading Into Talladega Superspeedway?

Another week in the NASCARCup Series has come and gone. Kansas Speedway proved that the Toyotas are strong on the 1.5-mile tracks, and Tyler Reddick is still king. A little heartbreak for Denny Hamlin, and a little movement throughout the Power Rankings.

Talladega is next up on the schedule, a wildcard weekend. Without win-and-in, the dynamic of these superspeedway races has changed. Will we see a surprise winner, and will effect the Chase in a meaningful way?

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Right now, these are the 10 best drivers in the Cup Series. Perhaps that will change at Dega, but these are the drivers and teams who have been trending up, for the most part, these last few weeks.

10. William Byron – Hendrick Motorsports (-1)

While William Byron managed to score a top-10 finish at Kansas, that was not the entire story. For most of the race, prior to overtime, Byron was average at best. He sits at 7th in the points and will try to bounce back at Talladega.

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9. Bubba Wallace – 23XI Racing (+1)

For Bubba Wallace, the last two weeks went well. Bristol and Kansas have provided a nice bounce back after a couple of disappointing races at Darlington and Martinsville. Wallace is hoping to climb the point standings once again, and a win at Talladega would do a lot for his efforts.

8. Brad Keselowski – RFK Racing (-)

Mr. Steady this season. Brad Keselowski is perhaps the most consistent driver in the Cup Series this season. He picked up another top-10 finish and was hovering right around the back half of that group for most of the race. The entire RFK Racing group has been very evenhanded this season. Will they find winning speed soon?

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7. Christopher Bell – Joe Gibbs Racing (-)

Since he was more or less dumped in overtime, Christopher Bell isn’t going to get dinged for his P20 finish at Kansas. He stays put this week right here at No.7 because he otherwise had a very strong race. Bell has yet to win this year, but he’s had great speed at times already.

6. Chase Elliott – Hendrick Motorsports (-1)

Chase Elliott is no stranger to winning at Talladega. We will see if he is able to get the job done this Sunday. For Elliott, it’s been a solid season so far. He won at Martinsville and is 6th in the points. Another top-10 finish has Elliott looking good almost halfway through the regular season.

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5. Kyle Larson – Hendrick Motorsports (+1)

Since Kyle Larson was so fast and led so many laps at Kansas, I had to move him above Elliott this week. Larson notoriously has a bad relationship with superspeedways, so this might be a lost week for the No. 5 team. Then again, any stage points or strong finish that might come of this race will only be bonuses.

4. Ryan Blaney – Team Penske (-2)

Where was the speed from Team Penske at Kansas? Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano, Logano even more so, were stuck in the back all day long. No speed, no ability to improve it during the race. Just a dud of a race overall. So, Blaney falls two spots for his first real hiccup of the year.

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3. Ty Gibbs – Joe Gibbs Racing (-)

Seven straight top-10 finishes for Ty Gibbs. He barely held on there at the end in overtime with a P9. Gibbs is a legitimate championship threat this season. It feels like he is likely to win almost every week at this point. They are almost always one or two adjustments away from making a real run at the lead.

2. Denny Hamlin – Joe Gibbs Racing (+2)

Heartbreak for Denny Hamlin in overtime once again. He loses at Kansas to Tyler Reddick, but he can’t even enjoy the win as a team owner because of how close he was to winning. Hamlin settled for P4, but he wanted a lot more. Led the most laps, won a stage, so Hamlin moves up this week.

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1. Tyler Reddick – 23XI Racing (-)

No one is taking this top spot from Tyler Reddick unless something major happens for multiple weeks in a row. Reddick can seemingly do no wrong and has now won three races rom the pole this season, four if you count Atlanta where qualifying was rained out. If Reddick is on the pole, is that a sign he’s on his way to victory?

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Apr 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the Racing section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.