Kyle Larson won the first leg of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. With his third win of the year, Larson’s ELO rating increased to 1833 (revision 3.0.5). Chris Buescher’s third-place finish leaves him atop of the NASCAR ACTIVE DRIVERS LIST with a 2084 ELO driver rating.
Brad Keselowski (1972) sits second in the ELO standings behind Chris Buescher, his RFK Racing teammate.
Bubba Wallace (1888) and Kevin Harvick (1764) are currently rated eighth and eleventh respectively by the objective ELO rating. However, Wallace and Harvick are listed as bubble drivers not to advance to the next round because of their NASCAR points. The other two bubble drivers, Michael McDowell (1573) and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (1653), are in the bottom ELO quartet of the playoff drivers along with Denny Hamlin (1703) and Ryan Blaney (1748). Drivers have the upcoming Darlington, Kansas, and Bristol races to amass enough points to avoid the next playoff cut.
The playoffs continue on Sunday at 3:00 PM ET at the Kansas Speedway. Check back Monday night for updated driver ratings.
| Playoff Driver | Current ELO Rating |
| Chris Buescher | 2084 |
| Brad Keselowski | 1972 |
| William Byron | 1962 |
| Bubba Wallace | 1888 |
| Tyler Reddick | 1879 |
| Joey Logano | 1859 |
| Ross Chastain | 1858 |
| Kyle Larson | 1833 |
| Kyle Busch | 1813 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 1789 |
| Kevin Harvick | 1764 |
| Christopher Bell | 1756 |
| Ryan Blaney | 1748 |
| Denny Hamlin | 1703 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 1653 |
| Michael McDowell | 1573 |
(2023-09-05 – sps)