February NASCAR Cup rankings: From best drivers to best moment

Crashes, controversy and close racing made for a memorable opening month to the NASCAR Cup season.

Here is a look at who was the best in February and some of the memorable moments of the month.

February Power Rankings

1. Ryan Blaney

The No. 1 driver is someone who didn’t win in February? How dare us?

At the Clash, Blaney took the provisional and started last in the 23-car field. On a tight quarter-mile track that some questioned if Cup cars could pass on, he made it all the way to second place.

He finished seventh in the Daytona 500 and fourth at Atlanta — one of only two drivers to score top 10s in those races.

What made his Atlanta run more impressive is that contact from Carson Hocevar spun Blaney while running in the top five. Blaney restarted 25th with 22 laps left in the scheduled distance, dropped back to 26th and climbed his way to a top-five finish.

Blaney ranks second in average running position (9.5) for the Daytona 500 and Atlanta race. He ranks fifth in stage points scored with 24. He won the pole at Atlanta.

Oh yes, he also is the points leader after two points races.

2. Austin Cindric

Blaney’s Team Penske teammate ranks first in average running position in the first two points races of the season at 5.4. Cindric also is first in the series with 30 stage points.

Cindric won his Daytona qualifying race. He finished seventh at the Clash. He was eighth in the Daytona (leading a race-high 59 laps). Cindric was racing Kyle Larson for the lead three laps from the scheduled end at Atlanta when he was forced into the wall and crashed, finishing 28th.

3. William Byron

The Daytona 500 winner was headed for another top-five finish when he was collected in the crash with Austin Cindric in the final laps of the Atlanta race.

Byron ranks fourth in stage points scored at 25. He is third in the series in average running position through Daytona and Atlanta at 9.8.

His Daytona 500 win made him the youngest driver with multiple wins in the race, breaking the mark owned by Jeff Gordon.

4. Bubba Wallace

Good start for a driver needing to be better early in the season.

He was fifth at the Clash, won his qualifying race at Daytona, ran well at Daytona until he was collected in a late crash and finished ninth at Atlanta.

Wallace is second in the series with 28 stage points. He has an average running position of 10.4 through the first two points races, putting him fourth in the series.

5. Christopher Bell

While he led only one lap at Atlanta, it was the last lap to earn the win. He passed Kyle Larson for the win.

Another key moment in that race came six laps from the scheduled end. Bell, getting a push from Blaney on the bottom lane, moved up to the middle lane. That put him in position to go for the win in overtime, while Blaney didn’t have any help and fell back.

Bell was racing for the lead five laps from the scheduled end of the Daytona 500 when a shove by Cole Custer turned him, triggering a crash that sent Ryan Preece’s car airborne.

Those outside the top five

John Hunter Nemechek — Only driver other than Ryan Blaney with top 10s in the first two races of the season. Nemechek was fifth in the Daytona 500 and 10th at Atlanta.

Joey Logano — Led a series-best 126 laps in the first two points races of the season and ranks third in stage points with 28.

Tyler Reddick — Runner-up in the Daytona 500, was eighth in the Clash, fifth in his Daytona qualifying race and 19th at Atlanta to rank third in points.

February controversy: When to throw the caution?

Cautions at the end of a race have been the biggest controversy this season.

NASCAR threw a caution in the second Daytona qualifying race with the leaders in sight of the finish. Jusan Hamilton, race director for NASCAR, said on NASCAR’s podcast, “Hauler Talk” that the race should have ended under green.

In the Daytona Craftsman Truck race, a couple of vehicles spun off track near Turn 3 and the race remained green. Multiple trucks wrecked in between Turns 3 and 4. The race ended under caution because some trucks would have had to drive through the incident.

In the Daytona 500, a crash on the backstretch on the last lap did not bring out the caution. NASCAR cited the ability to roll emergency equipment since the field had passed the scene and the distance from the start/finish line to accident site as reasons for finishing under the green.

Then, in the Xfinity race at Atlanta last weekend, multiple cars crashed on the last lap. NASCAR did not throw the caution.

The next day, Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, said in the Cup drivers meeting that NASCAR should have thrown a caution at the end of the Xfinity race and that if the same thing happened in the Cup race, they would do so.

NASCAR admits it should have called a caution at end of Atlanta Xfinity race

The Xfinity race ended under green despite multiple cars crashing on the last lap.

So when Cup cars crashed on the last lap of overtime at Atlanta — even as NASCAR was looking at the potential of another three-wide finish — officials threw a caution.

“It’s on our side to make sure that we do our absolute best as our goal to get to the start/finish line under green, but there are conditions and situations where we need to throw (the caution flag) and we’re going to err more on throwing it than not,” Sawyer said Tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s “The Morning Drive.”

Year of the favorites?

With no real significant rule changes to the car going into this year, there’s been more of a carry-over from last year to this year.

The first two points races were won by drivers who were among the best last year. Daytona 500 winner William reached the Championship 4 and Atlanta winner Christopher Bell was a controversial decision by NASCAR from doing so as well.

If one includes Clash winner Chase Elliott, then the first three races this season were won by drivers who finished in the top seven in points last year.

Best moment of the month

The excitement Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Justin Allgaier had after Allgaier finished ninth in the Daytona 500 in the first Cup race for JR Motorsports.

Check it out:

Social media moment of the month

Ryan Preece had a little fun with the unfortunate fact he went airborne in the Daytona 500, marking the second time since 2023 he had gotten up in the air at Daytona.

Stat of the month

Michael McDowell received a record-tying six free passes during last weekend’s Cup race at Atlanta.

McDowell went to the garage for steering wheel issues and was six laps down when he returned to the race. He got each lap back due to the free pass after a caution and finished 13th.

“Nothing short of miraculous and capitalized there at the end,” McDowell said after the race.

McDowell ties Jamie McMurray (2014 Talladega) and Noah Gragson (2022 Bristol Dirt) for most free passes in a race.