Tyler Reddick has won the first two races of the 2026 season, so it’s a little bit of a no-brainer to put him atop the power rankings. His leap caused some shake up in this week’s order.
So here are the rankings heading into the first road-course race of the season at Circuit of the Americas in Austin (3:30 p.m. ET, Sunday on FOX):
Dropped out: Chris Buescher (LW: 10); Joey Logano (LW: 8)
On the verge: Buescher, Brad Keselowski, Logano, Ryan Preece, Zane Smith, Daniel Suarez.
10. Carson Hocevar (Last Week: NR)
Hocevar finished fourth at Atlanta and was in the mix at the end of Daytona. He still needs to avoid a little bit of the drama, but the Spire driver appears to be making progress.
9. Kyle Larson (Last Week: 6)
Larson made a big mistake at Atlanta and it cost him with a crash that ended his day. A few more of those, and the defending Cup champion likely won’t be a two-time defending Cup champion.
8. Bubba Wallace (Last Week: NR)
Wallace drove a great race until the final overtime at Atlanta. He sits second in the standings behind his teammate Reddick, a solid place to be for the 23XI Racing driver.
Bubba Wallace has had a strong start to 2026 with a pair of top-10 finishes.
7. William Byron (Last Week: 4)
Byron got caught up in an incident at Daytona and then was the incident at Atlanta, where he failed to finish. Byron is going to be strong this year, but the Hendrick driver could really use a clean weekend (and he’s not the only one).
6. Denny Hamlin (Last Week: 3)
Hamlin is happy as a car owner of 23XI but as a Joe Gibbs Racing driver, he still seeks a top-10 finish this year. And COTA isn’t the best place for him to get one.
5. Christopher Bell (Last Week: 9)
Bell had a shot at Atlanta until being the victim in the first overtime. So while he didn’t get the result nor the points, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is showing he will be a threat this year.
Christopher Bell saw his hopes of victory in Atlanta fall short.
4. Ryan Blaney (Last Week: 2)
Blaney finished 10th at Atlanta, a respectable finish for him as the Team Penske driver sits eighth in points. The real indication for Blaney’s season will come in a couple of weeks at Phoenix, where he won in November.
3. Chase Elliott (Last Week: 1)
Elliott finished 11th at Atlanta, a little bit of a disappointing result at his home track. He was fifth at the end of each of the first two stages, and if the Team Hendrick driver continues to do that, he’ll be fine in the points even if the finishes aren’t always great.
2. Chase Briscoe: (Last Week: 5)
Briscoe placed second at Atlanta, vaulting him into the top 16 in the standings. He was one of the few who were in a wreck at Daytona but able to get out of the points hole quickly.
1. Tyler Reddick (Last Week: 7)
Only six drivers have ever won the first two races of the season. No driver has won three. Reddick is a solid road-course race and has won at COTA, so don’t rule the 23XI driver out this weekend just because the odds say he won’t win.
Tyler Reddick is a perfect 2-for-2 so far in 2026.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
