NASCAR Playoff Power Rankings 2025: Ryan Blaney locks in, as the fight for the Round of 8 heats up

Ryan Blaney delivered his third win of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season on Sunday at New Hampshire. The victory guarantees the driver of the #12 a spot in the upcoming Round of 8 in the playoffs. With two races left in the Round of 12, the rest of the playoff field will look to join the 2023 Cup champion in the next round.

For some of the NASCAR playoff drivers, it was a day in New Hampshire they'll look to get past and regroup for Kansas. For others, it was a day of success and they'll aim to ride the momentum into Kansas. Here, we'll take a look at who's going strong into the next race of the Round of 12.

5. Joey Logano

NASCAR: NASCAR Cup Series Race at New Hampshire - Source: Imagn

For much of Sunday's Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire, it looked as if Joey Logano was on his way to his second win of 2025 and a pass through the Round of 12. The driver of the #22 led a race-high 147 of 301 laps and won stage two, but ultimately finished fourth after getting shuffled back in the late laps.

However, Logano's strong performance pushed him above the cut line for the Round of 12. The three-time and defending Cup champion has a 24-point buffer over the cutoff heading into the final two races of the round. Up to this point, the Team Penske driver only has one win and an average finish of 15.9. Yet, he's proven three times before that playoff time is when he heats up.

4. Chase Elliott

AUTO: SEP 21 NASCAR Cup Series Mobil 1 301 - Source: Getty

After rolling off Sunday's race at New Hampshire from the 27th position, Chase Elliott grinded out an impressive top-five finish. The driver of the #9 posted a fifth-place finish when it was all said and done, which gave him a little more of a barrier over the cut line to advance to the Round of 12.

The Hendrick Motorsports star entered the Round of 12 with a five-point gap over the cutoff. Now, the 2020 Cup champion has a 14-point advantage over the cut line with two races left in the round. Elliott is a former winner at both upcoming tracks (Kansas, Charlotte Roval), and will look to send himself to the Round of 8 for the eighth time in his career.

3. Christopher Bell

On the heels of winning the Round of 16 finale last week at Bristol, Christopher Bell backed that up with a quality run at New Hampshire. It wasn't anything flashy, but the driver of the #20 came home with a sixth-place finish and managed to slightly build on his points advantage over the cut line.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver entered the Round of 12 with a 20-point lead over the cutoff, and left New Hampshire with a 29-point barrier. The Oklahoma native finished runner-up at Kansas in the spring and is a former winner at the Charlotte Roval. Performance wise, two solid tracks end the Round of 12 for Bell as he seeks a spot in the Round of 8.

2. William Byron

William Byron made a late charge in Sunday's NASCAR Cup race at New Hampshire to come away with a top-five finish. The driver of the #24 registered a third-place finish, which helped him gain points on the playoff cut line heading into the final two races of the Round of 12.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver started the Round of 12 second in the points with a 24-point margin over the cutoff. After New Hampshire, Byron remained second in the standings but now has a 47-point advantage over the cutoff. Byron has never won at Kansas but has three top-five finishes, including a runner-up in last year's playoff race.

1. Ryan Blaney

No one left New Hampshire on Sunday with more momentum than Ryan Blaney. The driver of the #12 started second, won stage one, and led 116 laps en route to his third victory of 2025. With the New Hampshire triumph, Blaney tops this week's NASCAR Power Rankings and is one step closer to his second championship.

The Team Penske driver has finished top five in the last two Kansas races, despite not having a win at the 1.5-mile track. Blaney has a win at the Charlotte Roval (2018), along with five top-10 finishes. Looking ahead to the Round of 8, Blaney has three victories at Talladega and two wins at Martinsville. Now with a spot in the next round, Blaney will set his sights on advancing to the Championship 4.

About the author

John Breeden is a NASCAR content writer at Sportskeeda with over four years of sports journalism experience. His career began back in 2021, when he started writing for The Breeze - a student-run publication at James Madison University that covered a wide variety of JMU collegiate sports. He graduated from JMU in May 2022 with a degree in media arts and design concentrating in journalism. He currently writes for his local publication, the Daily News-Record, in Harrisonburg, VA, where he covers a variety of sports at the high school and collegiate level.

John has been a lifelong NASCAR fan and has followed the sport closely since 2005. He stays informed on motorsports developments through social media, NASCAR.com, and NASCAR podcasts, which help him craft unique and engaging stories. Interviewing Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon at Martinsville Speedway was a career highlight for John, where he wrote about William Byron taking the famed No. 24 car back to the Championship 4.

Beyond motorsports, John enjoys writing about other sports such as football, baseball, and basketball. He believes that NASCAR could reach the global popularity of Formula 1 by expanding its audience with more international races and enhancing its mainstream appeal, just like F1 has done.

Know More

Get the latest NASCAR All-Star race news, Xfinity Series updates, breaking news, rumors, and today’s top stories with the latest news on NASCAR.

Edited by John Breeden