GFT AI NASCAR Driver Rankings Update: Elliott Wins Kansas, Byron retakes P1 Ranking
1 October 2025
By Bob Francis, Managing Editor
Go Full Throttle Racing News
KANSAS CITY, KS — A bold last-lap pass by Chase Elliott, driver of the №9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, after a second overtime restart saw Elliott power under Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace as they made contact through Turns 3 and 4 to win the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Elliott lined up P10 for the 2nd overtime and in two laps positioned himself for the win on a day where Denny Hamlin had the dominant car, winning both stages. While Hamlin held on for 2nd place, the Joe Gibbs Racing №11 driver sparked lots of drama by sending his damaged car (no power steering) into the final corners, making contact with Bubba Wallace, who was leading and set to win the race. In fact, Toyota had 5 cars up front as the field took the white flag: Wallace, Hamlin, Bell, Briscoe, and Reddick. But it was Elliott on fresher tires who was able to ‘go full throttle’ while holding the bottom line and win the race. Elliott had 2 Hendrick teammates in the top 10 for the 2nd overtime restart, but the №9 passed both William Byron (finished P9) and Kyle Larson, who finished P6.
GFT AI NASCAR Driver Rankings Update:
Elliott wins Kansas and moves up 2 spots to P6 in the rankings. William Byron retakes P1 ranking with a hard-fought 9th place finish on a day when he was a lap down and fighting the car from the start of the race. An impressive comeback for the 24.
Last week’s P1 driver, Ryan Blaney, had a rough outing at Kansas, hitting the wall hard in practice, did not set a qualifying time (started 37th), and was only able to muster a 24th-place finish.
Updated Playoff Standings
As we wrap up Kanses and head to the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the four drivers below the cutline are: Chastain -13, Wallace -26, Reddick -29, and Cindric -48.
A preliminary look at Driver Ratings for the 12 playoff drivers at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course:
Of the four drivers below the cut line, Tyler Reddick at 101.7 appears strong with 5 races, 1 pole, 1 Top 5, and 3 Top 10s. Austin Cindric was very strong at the ROVAL in the Xfinity series, but in his 3 Cup starts, he had only 1 Top 5 and 1 Top 10.
Go Full Throttle Racing News will have much more data and analysis in our weekly column, ‘Facts and Stats Friday’ along with our initial GFT AI Race Prediction Model FAST 5 for Sunday’s race on the ROVAL — Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
