Hendrick Motorsports takes the top spot in the NASCAR Power Rankings after winning the most races this season.
Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske round out the top three after winning multiple races and sending drivers to the Championship 4.
NBC SPORTS NASCAR POWER RANKINGS
1. Hendrick Motorsports — Two of the organization’s four drivers missed a combined 11 weeks of the season. The other two combined to win the most races in the series. William Byron won six and Kyle Larson won four. They both finished top three in the series after reaching the Championship 4.
2. Joe Gibbs Racing — JGR’s four drivers delivered this season. Christopher Bell won two races and reached the Championship 4. Denny Hamlin won three races and finished fifth in points. Martin Truex Jr. won three races and the regular-season championship before fading in the playoffs and finishing 11th in points. Rookie Ty Gibbs finished 18th in points after nearly securing a playoff spot on points. He ended the year with 10 top-10 finishes and four top fives.
3. Team Penske — Ryan Blaney won three races and the Cup championship for the first time in his career, but Team Penske lacked consistency. Joey Logano won one race but became the first reigning champion to be eliminated in the Round of 16 of the playoffs. Reigning Rookie of the Year Austin Cindric only had five top-10 finishes and one top five. He ended the year 24th in points.
4. RFK Racing — 2023 was a big year for RFK Racing. Brad Keselowski did not win a race but finished eighth in points after running consistently and posting an average finish of 14.4. Chris Buescher had a breakout season, setting career-highs with three wins, 17 top-10 finishes and nine top fives.
5. 23XI Racing — For the first time in team history, both 23XI Racing drivers made the playoffs. Tyler Reddick won two races and finished sixth in points after moving beyond the Round of 16 for the first time as a Cup driver. Bubba Wallace finished 10th in points after reaching the playoffs for the first time. He set a career-best average finish of 15.9 and improved his average starting position from 18.4 to 12.4.
6. Richard Childress Racing — RCR had big moments early but struggled as the season progressed. Kyle Busch won three races in the first 15 weeks of the season. He and Austin Dillon had podium finishes during the Busch Light Clash. Busch had nine finishes of 20th or worse in the final 16 races and failed to reach the Round of 8 of the playoffs. Dillon received a 60-point L1 penalty after the spring Martinsville race. He finished 20th or worse in 19 of the 36 races.
7. Trackhouse Racing — The two-car organization celebrated three wins this season. Ross Chastain won two. Shane van Gisbergen won the other. Daniel Suarez missed the playoffs and went winless after scoring his first career Cup win last season. Trackhouse didn’t have consistent speed this season.
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8. JTG Daugherty Racing — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the Daytona 500 after reuniting with his former Xfinity crew chief, Mike Kelley. Stenhouse posted nine top-10 finishes, matching his career-best from 2017. He had an average finish of 17.8, his best since 17.1 in 2017.
9. Front Row Motorsports — Michael McDowell scored his second career win and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2021. He finished a career-best 15th in points. Todd Gilliland scored four top-10 finishes and improved his average finish from 23.2 to 22.0. Both drivers earned contract extensions for next season as Front Row made progress.
10. Stewart-Haas Racing — Kevin Harvick closed out his final season by reaching the playoffs and finishing 13th in points. Chase Briscoe lost 120 points and 25 playoff points after SHR received an L3 penalty. He finished 30th in points. Aric Almirola scored five top-10 finishes and two top fives. He ended his final full-time season 22nd in points. Ryan Preece ended his first full season at SHR 23rd in points after scoring only two top 10s and one top five.
