Week 11 NASCAR power rankings: Cup Series leader races to the top

Denny Hamlin won the Wurth 400 at Dover, Del., on Sunday, holding off Kyle Larson in a late-race duel. 

Hamlin's victory and the misfortune of other top contenders shakes up our weekly power rankings before the series heads to the Kansas Speedway for Sunday's AdventHealth 400.

Here's where the top 16 drivers in the Cup Series rank after 11 races. 

1. Kyle Larson (Last week: 4)

The Cup Series points leader jumps back to the top of our rankings. Larson didn't knock off Hamlin for the win at Dover, but his drive to the front was still impressive considering he started 21st. Larson will try to avenge his 2023 defeat in Kansas City, where it was Hamlin who put him into the wall on the back straightaway. 

2. Chase Elliott (Last week: 3)

Elliott has finished in the top five in four of the past five races. After starting the season with just one top-10 finish in the first six events, Elliott is starting to look more like the driver he was when he made the Championship Four in three straight seasons (2020-22). If Elliott continues to finish up front, his second win of the season is inevitable. 

3. Martin Truex Jr. (Last week: 5)

Truex is winless through 11 races, but his consistency has been top-notch to start the season. Despite being in the twilight years of his career, the 43-year-old driver looks as fast as ever. He was a strong contender Sunday, leading 69 laps and finishing third, a welcome effort at the Monster Mile. 

4. Denny Hamlin (Last week: 7)

He hasn't been the most consistent driver — his four top-10 finishes only rank 11th in the Cup Series — but winning means everything in modern-day NASCAR, and Hamlin is tied for the series lead with three. Hamlin's three top-five finishes this season are all wins, and a fourth narrowly slipped away at Texas. While he hasn't gotten a great result every weekend, Hamlin is the only driver in the Cup Series to lead in every race this season.  

5. William Byron (Last week: 1)

After finishing inside the top-10 for five straight races, Byron had his Lee Petty-esque streak end at Dover, as the Daytona 500 winner was caught up in a crash along with Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell. While Byron was mired in the back for much of the race, it wasn't due to a driver error — his car fell off the jack on an early pit stop, forcing him to the rear of the pack. 

6. Tyler Reddick (Last week: 2)

Reddick's 11th-place finish was nothing special, but the 23XI Racing driver ran inside the top five and top 10 for much of the race. Look for Reddick to be one of the top contenders at Kansas — he held on for a huge playoff win the last time the series raced on the prairie. 

7. Alex Bowman (Last week: 10)

Bowman's eighth-place finish marks his sixth top-10 finish of the season — that's more than Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin and defending champ Ryan Blaney through the first 11 races. He has collected those finishes at a variety of racetracks. Consistency will be key for the No. 48 team, but Bowman, like teammate Chase Elliott, seems to have found his edge again after a disappointing 2023. 

8. Ryan Blaney (Last week: 12)

The defending Cup Series champion barely edges Ty Gibbs for this spot, mainly because Blaney ran inside the top five early and led 47 laps. After a disappointing finish at Talladega, it was nice to see Blaney return to form and look like a contender. He continues to carry the banner for Ford and Team Penske, both of which would be struggling without Blaney. 

9. Ty Gibbs (Last week: 11)

Gibbs' sixth top-10 finish of the season marks his first finish inside the top 10 since Circuit of the Americas on March 24. After nearly a month without a solid day for the No. 54 team, Gibbs returned to form in Dover. Look for him to be a contender at Kansas, where Toyota has dominated since the advent of the Next Gen car in 2022. 

10. Kyle Busch (Last week: 14)

The two-time Cup Series champion finally had an incident-free race at Dover, following up a pole- position starting spot with a fourth-place finish that could jump-start the No. 8 team's season. After a slow start to the season, Busch must focus on stringing good results together. If he gets hot, a win from Rowdy is inevitable. 

11. Joey Logano (Last week: 6)

Make that two consecutive disappointing weeks for Logano, who sits just inside the playoff picture, three points above the cutline. Logano's prolonged struggles are especially concerning for Team Penske. Austin Cindric is showing little sign of development, and Blaney can't carry the organization forever. While it's true that one win could change his season, consistent speed is more important than a fluke trip to victory lane. 

12. Ross Chastain (Last week: 13)

Chastain might not be as flashy as he was at this time last season, but his average finish (13.3) shows how consistent he is. To be a true championship contender, he must finish better than Sunday's 12th, but it's better than the alternative. Chastain will probably win before the season's over, but until he does, Trackhouse will absolutely take more solid races. 

13. Chase Briscoe (Last week: 8)

Briscoe's 19th-place finish Sunday wasn't horrible, but most fans were expecting more after a solid stretch of races. Still, the No. 14 team remains inside the postseason picture, and Darlington and Charlotte should present chances for Briscoe to win. Despite a poor showing at Dover, there's no reason to panic in the Briscoe camp. 

14. Noah Gragson (Last week: NR)

Without a 35-point penalty handed down after Atlanta, Gragson would sit 19th in the points, 45 out of the playoff picture. Sunday's sixth-place run marks his fourth top-10 finish of the season, and after a horrendous rookie season on and off the track in 2023, he has been a pleasant surprise for Stewart-Haas Racing. He's looking for a better weekend at Kansas than he had last season, when he got into a post-race altercation with Ross Chastain. 

15. Chris Buescher (Last week: 15)

Buescher's 17th-place effort at Dover is nothing to write home about, but since nobody deserves to jump up and take his spot, we'll let him keep it for now. It would be nice for Buescher to exhibit some of the race-winning speed he showed in 2023, but he still has 25 chances to get back to victory lane this season. Currently holding the 16th and final playoff spot by two points over Bubba Wallace, Buescher is looking for a solid May to pull away from the playoff bubble. 

16. Daniel Hemric (Last week: NR)

Hemric is not an elite driver or a consistent contender, but he has finished inside the top 10 in two straight races. While Sunday's ninth-place result may have been largely due to pit strategy, he has found a way to finish up front, climbing to 25th in the points. He'll still likely need a win at Daytona to make the postseason field, but any semblance of speed or results at this point are a welcome sight for a No. 31 team that was extremely slow out of the gates. 

Dropped out: Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski.