NR-Rating Driver Rankings
Ratings updated: Sun, Aug 16, 2026, 07:09 AM ET
NR-Rating is NASCAR Reference's proprietary Elo rating system that measures driver skill across five track types: superspeedway, intermediate, short track, road course, and street course. Unlike traditional rankings based on points or wins, Elo ratings update after every race based on how a driver finishes relative to expectations; beating higher-rated drivers earns more rating points than beating lower-rated ones.
The NR-Rating model predicts finishing positions with a Mean Absolute Error of 8.5 positions. Short tracks (7.9 MAE) are most predictable; superspeedways (9.7 MAE) are most chaotic.
For bettors and DFS players: Higher Elo ratings indicate a driver who consistently outperforms expectations at a given track type. Compare a driver's track-type Elo to the field average (~1500) to gauge relative strength. A driver rated 1530+ on intermediates is a strong play at Charlotte or Kansas; one rated below 1480 on superspeedways is a fade candidate at Daytona and Talladega. Use the per-track-type columns to identify mismatches between public perception and model-based skill.
Looking for traditional stat-based rankings? See the Power Rankings. For official season points, visit Standings. Browse all driver profiles for career stats and track-by-track breakdowns.
| Rank | Driver | Overall | Races |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denny Hamlin | 1656.4 | 745 |
| 2 | Ryan Blaney | 1610.2 | 402 |
| 3 | Chase Briscoe | 1594.3 | 204 |
| 4 | Ty Gibbs | 1582.5 | 147 |
| 5 | Christopher Bell | 1579.6 | 240 |
| 6 | Chris Buescher | 1545.1 | 389 |
| 7 | Chase Elliott | 1544.1 | 382 |
| 8 | William Byron | 1536.8 | 312 |
| 9 | Joey Logano | 1529.4 | 639 |
| 10 | Tyler Reddick | 1527 | 242 |
| 11 | Kyle Larson | 1510 | 426 |
| 12 | Daniel Suarez | 1501.1 | 347 |
| 13 | Ryan Preece | 1493.8 | 247 |
| 14 | Bubba Wallace | 1493.7 | 315 |
| 15 | Corey Heim | 1491.9 | 15 |
| 16 | Carson Hocevar | 1485.4 | 105 |
| 17 | Ross Chastain | 1479.9 | 283 |
| 18 | Austin Cindric | 1477.4 | 175 |
| 19 | Shane van Gisbergen | 1475.1 | 74 |
| 20 | Brad Keselowski | 1453.8 | 617 |
| 21 | Michael McDowell | 1449.4 | 561 |
| 22 | Kyle Busch | 1448.8 | 762 |
| 23 | Erik Jones | 1446.9 | 349 |
| 24 | Alex Bowman | 1442.5 | 381 |
| 25 | Todd Gilliland | 1420.8 | 168 |
| 26 | Justin Allgaier | 1418.6 | 87 |
| 27 | Austin Dillon | 1416.2 | 468 |
| 28 | A.J. Allmendinger | 1406.9 | 506 |
| 29 | Zane Smith | 1406.9 | 105 |
| 30 | John Hunter Nemechek | 1398.6 | 120 |
| 31 | Casey Mears | 1391.3 | 497 |
| 32 | Riley Herbst | 1390.4 | 68 |
| 33 | Jimmie Johnson | 1383.3 | 702 |
| 34 | John Nemechek | 1382 | 17 |
| 35 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 1376 | 496 |
| 36 | Josh Berry | 1370.2 | 108 |
| 37 | Anthony Alfredo | 1361.6 | 44 |
| 38 | Cole Custer | 1356.1 | 177 |
| 39 | Noah Gragson | 1344.6 | 135 |
| 40 | Joey Gase | 1326.8 | 94 |
| 41 | Ty Dillon | 1325.2 | 305 |
| 42 | Jesse Love | 1306.7 | 7 |
| 43 | Timmy Hill | 1301.1 | 146 |
| 44 | Kevin Magnussen | 1301 | 1 |
| 45 | Connor Zilisch | 1298.7 | 27 |
| 46 | B.J. McLeod | 1296.3 | 152 |
| 47 | Katherine Legge | 1287.5 | 9 |
| 48 | Austin Hill | 1279.9 | 29 |
| 49 | Daniel Dye | 1278.7 | 3 |
| 50 | Josh Bilicki | 1274.7 | 109 |
| 51 | J.J. Yeley | 1256.5 | 399 |
| 52 | Chad Finchum | 1243.9 | 18 |
| 53 | Cody Ware | 1235.6 | 166 |
Showing 53 rated drivers sorted by overall Elo rating.