NASCAR Power Rankings: Who Is the Favorite Heading Into Martinsville?

The NASCAR Cup Series weekend at Darlington Raceway has come and gone. Tyler Reddick has won his fourth race of the season and is starting to distance himself from the field in points.

As the schedule is now starting to get into the thick of things, teams are learning who has speed and who doesn’t. Chevy is figuring out its new body design, Ford looks to be a step behind, and Toyota, particularly 23XI Racing, have really locked in to start the year.

Let’s get into the NASCAR Power Rankings before turning our attention to Martinsville and some short track action.

10. Brad Keselowski – RFK Racing (NR)

RFK Racing was running 1-2-3 at one point on Sunday with Brad Keselowski leading the way. He came up short, but swept the stages, led the most laps and finished P2. He’s 9th in points, but needs to show more before he moves further up.

Keselowski is off to a much better start to the season than he had just a year ago. So far, he’s yet to finish worse than P20.

9. Kyle Larson – Hendrick Motorsports (-1)

Kyle Larson during driver introductions at Las Vegas. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

((Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images))

The start to the 2026 season hasn’t been the best for the defending champion. Sunday was his second finish of P32 this season. That has hurt him in the point standings, but not too much yet.

Larson and Cliff Daniels will get this thing figured out. But if they want to win the regular season championship, then they are going to have to start winning races sooner than later.

8. William Byron – Hendrick Motorsports (+1)

You could probably just flip flop these two Hendrick drivers in the Power Rankings. However, with a third finish of P8 or better, Byron gets the nod this week. Once Hendrick and Chevy hit the mark on this new body, Byron will be back to winning.

While things have been going alright for the 24 team, they don’t settle for alright. They want to be great.

7. Ty Gibbs – Joe Gibbs Racing (-)

Ty Gibbs during driver introductions at COTA. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

((Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images))

Just short of another top-five finish, Ty Gibbs was P6. He is not far behind Christopher Bell in points, and looks to be keeping pace with his JGR teammates to start the season.

Gibbs feels like he is once again knocking on the door of his first career win. Will 2026 be the year that happens?

6. Bubba Wallace – 23XI Racing (-)

Sunday was the first big slip up for Bubba Wallace and the No. 23 team. They are now third in points, and left Darlington P34. The result doesn’t tell the full picture with Wallace getting involved in a wreck with Denny Hamlin and dropping multiple laps down.

Wallace had the fastest lap on Sunday. His car was not as fast as Tyler Reddick’s, or maybe it was the driver, but there was a real chance the 23 could have won the race had a few things played out differently.

5. Christopher Bell – Joe Gibbs Racing (-1)

NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell (20) during qualifying for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.Mark J&period; Rebilas-Imagn Images

(Mark J&period; Rebilas-Imagn Images)

A bit of a step back for Christopher Bell this season. He finished P19 and found himself fighting his car and the track at Darlington. Martinsville is a track that Bell should be looking forward to very much.

Bell’s got the skill to win at Martinsville, and he’s done it before under the biggest pressure. By this time last year, he had three wins, can he secure his first of 2026 soon?

4. Chase Elliott – Hendrick Motorsports (+1)

Mr. Steady. Chase Elliott rarely ever gets too low on the race track. He brought the car home P15, and will take that and the points to Martinsville. Elliott is P5 in the standings, and he really hasn’t had a truly great race yet.

Elliott likes to lay low. We will see if Martinsville, Kansas, and Texas in the coming weeks will bear any fruit for this No. 9 team.

3. Denny Hamlin – Joe Gibbs Racing (-1)

Denny Hamlin celebrates with a fist pump after winning at Las Vegas. (Photo by Chris Williams/LVMS/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

((Photo by Chris Williams/LVMS/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images))

Denny Hamlin put his car into the wall at one point and somehow was faster for it. He finished P11, but at one point, Hamlin was a top-five driver on the track, and looked like he was going to finish there.

Fourth in points through six races, and speaking of Martinsville, he’s won a few times there in his career. The next four weeks look really good for Hamlin as he searches for his second win of the season.

2. Ryan Blaney – Team Penske (+1)

While it has to be utterly frustrating for Ryan Blaney, it gets exciting when he loses positions on pit road. Getting to watch Blaney race from the back of the field is a treat as a race fan. He is so good at working through the field, and on these tracks with increased horsepower, he’s gotten even better it seems.

P3 on Sunday at Darlington, Blaney had a really good race. Had his team not repeatedly let him down on pit road, we might have seen quite a finish between him and Reddick.

1. Tyler Reddick – 23XI Racing (-)

Tyler Reddick walks down pit road during qualifying at Darlington Raceway. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)

((Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images))

Four wins in six weeks, how is Tyler Reddick not the best driver in NASCAR? He stay son top of the Power Rankings once again and just like he did at COTA, he won the pole and the race. The speed out of the 23XI camp has been unreal to start the season.

The next two weeks will be a real test. We will see if Reddick can finally start to figure his way around the short tracks. He’s done pretty well with the new 750 horsepower package, earning two wins with it, why not another one at Martinsville or Bristol?

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Mar 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the Racing section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Source link