Danny Hamlin there can be no more days like the one he had south 500.
A bad pit stop threw him into the clutch and he was caught damaging his car as he battled for position.
He made the most of what could have been a disastrous day and lost just 13 points from his lead. But one more of them and he’s no longer at the top of the rankings.
Here are my rankings of the NASCAR Cup Series championship contenders after one race in The Chase and with nine races remaining.
This weekend, the Cup teams will take to the 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway).
On the verge (Alphabetical order):
Chris Buescher (RFK Racing No. 17 Ford, -88 points behind the leader): Buescher bent a toe before the Darlington halfway mark. He has never taken a ride at Gateway.
William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet, -114): His engine went up in smoke at Darlington and that was his season. He has a top 10 at Gateway.
Austin Cindric (Team Penske 2 Ford, -102): He needs a win at Gateway to get back into it. He won there in 2024.
Carson Hocevar (Spire Motorsports No. 77 Chevy, -89): Pissing off Brad Keselowski is never a good thing. He will need to make some noise at Gateway, where he played well on his Cup debut in 2023.
Ryan Preece (RFK Racing No. 60 Ford, -104): I don’t have to pit for a loose wheel like I did at Darlington. His average at Gateway is 19.7.
Daniel Suárez (Spire Motorsports No. 7 Chevy, -94): Suarez had a disappointing 21st at Darlington and averaged 22nd at Gateway.
Ranking of competitors
Logano dropped a spot in the rankings because he didn’t show enough speed at Darlington, which doesn’t give much hope that he’ll do well in the intermediates. He won no points on the stage and escaped ninth by staying off the old tyres. Gateway is where he can start a championship. He has been top five at Gateway in each of the four Cup races there, starting with a win in 2022.
9.
An eighth place finish was good, but 15 stage points at Darlington was what was really great for Wallace. However, he has just one career top 10 at Gateway, and has an average finish there of 21.3. He needs a good day this Sunday.
8.
There was miscommunication at the last pit stop and some jokes on the radio. It wasn’t his team’s best day and Elliott finished 14th. Team no. 9 will have to be at her best the rest of the way. Elliott has a top-five finish in three starts at Gateway.
7.
Larson appears to be in one good headroom. The team took a bit of a gamble at Darlington as he was running fourth, but then stayed out on old tires when many crashed late in the race. He ended up finishing fifth. Larson showed championship promise as he led 99 laps. He is strong at Gateway, where he has an average finish of 9.5 in four starts.
6.
Darlington is such a good track for Briscoe that a sixth-place finish was a little disappointing — especially considering he looked like he had the tools for a trophy at the Southern 500. He has one pole and one top-five in four Gateway starts.
5.
Gibbs finished second at Darlington but only scored one stage point, so he was seventh in points on the day. He needs more than that to stay on pace for the championship. He has a top 10 in three Gateway starts.
4.
Blaney finished fourth at Darlington and earned 11 points on the stage. But he was never really a factor, and he will have to be a factor soon. Will Gateway be the place? He has two top fives and 120 laps led in four races.
3.
Reddick said he felt good going into The Chase, and it showed at Darlington, as he won the opening stage and finished third. If he runs well at Gateway, it would be a sign that this team is really back in form had at the beginning of the year. He has a top five in four starts at Gateway with an average finish of 17.8.
2.
Zile is coming out big win at Darlington and threatening Hamlin as the championship favorite. He’s oozing confidence heading into Gateway, where he’s been consistent but not dominant. There, he has finished ninth, 11th, seventh and seventh in his four starts.
1.
Hamlin sits at the top of the list because of the season he’s had, not because of his 18th at Darlington. Can it go back to Gateway? For sure. He is defending champion and has three top fives in four starts at the track.
WHAT YOU SHOULD READ NEXT
With four wins on the season, Denny Hamlin is favored to take home the title as NASCAR heads to The Chase.
