Sunday's Food City 400 at Bristol Motor Speedway was dominated by two drivers, but after running among the top five all day, Ty Gibbs made a late call for track position over fresh tires to overcome those dominators, earning him his first NASCAR Cup Series victory after multiple seasons of trying. Now in his fourth full-time season in the series, Gibbs timed the remaining restarts perfectly and expertly blocked the faster cars behind him with perfect positioning each corner. It was a veteran performance from a driver many expected to have multiple wins by now. Now, with his victory drought finally over, Gibbs may be the driver to watch in the coming weeks now that the floodgates have opened.
Sunday's trip to Victory Lane gave Toyota its sixth win of the season, keeping both Chevrolet and Ford stuck at just one each despite the pair dominating much of Sunday's laps. With a combined 474 laps led out of 505, Chevrolet and Ford appear to have closed the gap on Toyota's early-season advantage, but victories remain elusive. The upcoming races could test that, though. Next week at Kansas, Chevrolet has swept both races in the last two seasons, but Toyota did the same in the two years before that. In short, even though Toyota has taken six of the first eight victories of the 2026 season, there is still plenty of time for that to change, and signs suggest the trend may shift soon.
To keep up with all your favorite
Sunday's Food City 400 at Bristol Motor Speedway was dominated by two drivers, but after running among the top five all day, Ty Gibbs made a late call for track position over fresh tires to overcome those dominators, earning him his first NASCAR Cup Series victory after multiple seasons of trying. Now in his fourth full-time season in the series, Gibbs timed the remaining restarts perfectly and expertly blocked the faster cars behind him with perfect positioning each corner. It was a veteran performance from a driver many expected to have multiple wins by now. Now, with his victory drought finally over, Gibbs may be the driver to watch in the coming weeks now that the floodgates have opened.
Sunday's trip to Victory Lane gave Toyota its sixth win of the season, keeping both Chevrolet and Ford stuck at just one each despite the pair dominating much of Sunday's laps. With a combined 474 laps led out of 505, Chevrolet and Ford appear to have closed the gap on Toyota's early-season advantage, but victories remain elusive. The upcoming races could test that, though. Next week at Kansas, Chevrolet has swept both races in the last two seasons, but Toyota did the same in the two years before that. In short, even though Toyota has taken six of the first eight victories of the 2026 season, there is still plenty of time for that to change, and signs suggest the trend may shift soon.
To keep up with all your favorite drivers and get updates throughout the season, head to RotoWire's latest NASCAR news or follow @RotoWireNASCAR on X.
NASCAR Power Rankings After Bristol
1. Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing No. 45
Last Week: 1
Sunday's fourth-place finish at Bristol marked Reddick's best result at the track since 2020. After a dominant start to the season, the No. 45 team continues to show impressive pace. Reddick still leads the standings by more than 60 points and is effectively minimizing setbacks at tracks that have not been his best. That consistency bodes well looking ahead to Kansas, where Reddick won in 2023 and finished seventh last fall. The Toyota advantage, while it will not last forever, could also give a boost to the No. 45 in the coming week. Even though Reddick has been a bit quieter compared to the first races of the season, he's still performing like a championship favorite and that shows no signs of changing yet.
2. Ryan Blaney, Team Penske No. 12
Last Week: 2
Ryan Blaney's strong start to the season rolled on Sunday at Bristol with a second-place finish from pole and 190 laps led. In the final laps, Blaney's new tires just weren't enough to get by Ty Gibbs, but they were enough to give the No. 54 a run to the finish line while also holding off Kyle Larson. In all, it was Blaney's best Bristol race and his four straight top-10 at the circuit. Looking ahead, the No. 12 team's opportunity to improve looks to be on pit road. Slow stops continue to lose Blaney track position, and cleaning up those points should put him in better position to capitalize on his car's speed. Next up is Kansas where the team has been quick in past and improving their work on pit road could pay big dividends.
3. Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11
Last Week: 3
A mediocre qualifying effort set the stage for a relatively quiet race at Bristol from Denny Hamlin. The short-track ace started 11th and remained inside the top 10 throughout Sunday's distance, but it wasn't the dominant Hamlin performance fans expect at these tracks. Still, his ninth-place finish was enough to maintain third in the standings and marked his sixth consecutive result of 11th or better. This kind of consistency is a hallmark of Hamlin's approach, and fantasy players can expect it to continue next week at Kansas. Hamlin is a four-time winner at the track and has led laps in each of the last six races there, finishing second in last season's fall race after leading 159 laps. Quiet productivity is a crucial trait in this championship format, and that's exactly what the No. 11 team is delivering.
4. Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports No. 5
Last Week: 5
Although Larson didn't secure Sunday's win, he still delivered a memorable performance. Starting from eighth, he quickly advanced through the field and took command of the race. Once in the lead, Larson rarely looked back, leading 284 laps and sweeping stage wins. In the closing laps, Larson chose a two-tire strategy, but it wasn't enough to overcome the No. 54's track position, so he settled for third place. This result marks his fourth top-10 finish in the last five races and lifts him three spots in the standings to sixth. Hendrick Motorsports has taken some time to hit their stride, but the last two short-track races have shown real progress, with Chase Elliott winning at Martinsville and Larson dominating at Bristol. Now, Larson's next goal is to finish it off with a race win.
5. Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports No. 9
Last Week: 4
Just one race after celebrating a win at Martinsville, Elliott faced a setback at Bristol. The former champion qualified only 18th and struggled to move up in the field. He missed out on valuable stage points, and spun with about 30 laps to go to bring out the yellow flag. Elliott ultimately finished 22nd, which was his second finish outside the top 20 in the last five races. However, that same stretch also included a victory and a runner-up result. If the No. 9 team can find a way to consistently turn their top-five speed into top finishes each week, they could shift from championship contenders to championship favorites. For now, Elliott has dropped one spot in the standings heading into Kansas, as Hendrick Motorsports continues working toward more consistency.
6. Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54
Last Week: 10
In the closing laps of Sunday's race at Bristol, the No. 54 team chose track position instead of fresh tires. Ty Gibbs capitalized on that decision during the final restarts, edging out Ryan Blaney at the finish to secure his first series win. This victory was years in the making, representing the payoff of six consecutive top-10 finishes. The team has gained momentum since Atlanta, and now, with the pressure of getting that first win gone, they could be poised to add more to their record. Gibbs has only one top-five result at Kansas, but his average starting spot is 11.6. With Toyota currently holding an advantage over the rest of the garage, running a mistake-free race next week could give Gibbs another chance to extend his impressive finishing streak.
7. William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24
Last Week: 6
The Bristol race weekend was a forgettable one for Byron. After steering issues early in the weekend, the team made changes to the car for the race and Byron started from the rear. Those efforts didn't seem to make a difference, though. Once the race was underway, Byron failed to keep pace and went down several laps to the leaders as he and the team struggled to find a fix to their problems. No stage points and a 30th-place finish brought the team's four-race run of top-10 finishes to an abrupt end. Despite the week off to adjust and make up ground to the competition, it looks as though the No. 24 team still has work to do. Kansas may be a spot they can rebound, though. Byron has nine top-10s there from 16 career starts.
8. Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20
Last Week: 8
Bell's Bristol weekend began perfectly with a Friday night victory in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race. However, that success didn't carry over to Sunday. Bell qualified well for Sunday's race and was in a strong position with a second-place finish in the first stage. Unfortunately, that's where the good news ended. Bell was penalized for speeding on pit road during the stage break. Things got worse when he spun early in the second stage. Those incidents effectively ended the No. 20 team's chances for a good result, and Bell limped home to a disappointing 27th-place finish. Eliminating these mistakes will be the team's top priority in the coming weeks. Bell leaves the weekend ninth in points and hopes to return to top-10 form next week at Kansas.
9. Joey Logano, Team Penske No. 22
Last Week: 9
Sunday's seventh-place finish from the 20th starting spot earned Logano his first consecutive top-10 finishes at Bristol since the 2018/2019 seasons. Despite the low starting position, Logano managed to work his way through the pack and collected some stage points in the second segment. This finish marked Logano's third top-10 of the season as well. The No. 22 Team Penske entry has often shown race pace this season, but the results have been inconsistent. However, Bristol's top-10 was Logano's second straight, which could indicate the trend is improving. Kansas might be a good test of how real that shift is. Logano is a three-time winner at the track but was inconsistent there last season, finishing ninth in the spring and 21st in the fall.
10. Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing No. 23
Last Week: 8
Wallace bounced back from an inexplicable error last time out at Martinsville. After starting the season with a head full of momentum, bad luck at Darlington and then a lapse in judgment at Martinsville derailed his campaign. Following a week to regroup and assess the situation, Wallace seemingly regained some of his lost form at Bristol. The 23XI Racing driver started and raced in and around the top 10 throughout the distance, picking up a few stage points in both segments. Wallace's 11th-place finish ended the two-race skid that threatened to upend the points platform he built in the first races of the year. Fans will be anxious to see if the No. 23's return to form can continue at Kansas. Wallace is a former winner there and could be a threat among the leaders again.
Knocking on the Door
Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports No. 77
Last Week: N/A
Hocevar scored his third top-10 finish of the season Sunday at Bristol and took home stage points in both segments. The effort boosted him from 15th to 13th in the standings, giving him a 33-point margin of safety in the hunt for a spot in the championship battle. While some of the bigger Chevrolet teams have struggled with the manufacturer's new body style, Hocevar and Spire Motorsports seem to have things figured out. They're off to one of their best starts to a season and continuing to develop the car and refine their race craft could put them in a position to compete for the title at the end of the season. Fantasy players should continue to keep this team in mind as they look for value options in the races to come.
Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19
Last Week: N/A
Briscoe's strong day at Bristol could be a meaningful indicator that the tide is turning in his favor. His best result to start the 2026 season was a second-place finish at Atlanta, but back-to-back 37th-place finishes held him back immediately afterward. With Sunday's fifth-place finish at Bristol, Briscoe now has four consecutive top-15 finishes, though. That run of improved form has moved him to 17th in the standings, up four positions and just one point shy of the championship positions. Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs have shown that Joe Gibbs Racing has the equipment to win and Briscoe just needs to unlock it in his No. 19 entry. A stop at Kansas could help him do that. He finished fourth in both races last season.
Daniel Suarez, Spire Motorsports No. 7
Last Week: N/A
Daniel Suarez's move to Spire Motorsports after being released from Trackhouse Racing in 2026 was a disappointment for the veteran, but eight races into the season, he is making the most of the situation. Spire has adapted well to the new Chevrolet body style, and Suarez has finished in the top 15 in half of the races so far, including a 12th-place result Sunday at Bristol. The veteran now sits 15th in the standings and has been consistently delivering better-than-expected finishes, keeping him in touch with the battle for championship spots. There's still a long season ahead and plenty of work to do to maintain his position, but Suarez is off to an admirable start with his new team at Spire. Few would have predicted this outcome last season when Suarez was searching for a new ride.
