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NASCAR Power Rankings: Post-Daytona 500

By Charles Rahrig V

Feb 21, 2016; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; Drivers past the start/finish line during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 21, 2016; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; Drivers past the start/finish line during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 21, 2016; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; The U.S. Air Force F-16 Thunderbirds perform a flyover during the national anthem before the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY SportsFeb 21, 2016; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; xxxxxxx during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 21, 2016; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; The U.S. Air Force F-16 Thunderbirds perform a flyover during the national anthem before the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY SportsFeb 21, 2016; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; xxxxxxx during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports /

Who’s trending up and who’s trending down after the 2016 Daytona 500 on Sunday?

Sunday’s 2016 Daytona 500 featured one of the most thrilling endings in the history of NASCAR. With the race winding down on the final lap, Matt Kenseth had the lead and it appeared that he was going to hold off the field and Martin Truex Jr. for the win.

That’s when Denny Hamlin popped out of the fourth spot and decided to split Kenseth and Truex Jr. three-wide and it caused Kenseth to slip and lose control. Hamlin and Truex Jr. would then have a photo finish ending and it would end up being the closes finish in Daytona 500 history, as Hamlin won by one-one-hundredth of a second.

It was the first time that a Toyota has won the Daytona 500 and it really was just a day of domination by Joe Gibbs Racing. Each of the drivers made their mark on the race at some point and even Carl Edwards battled back strong after banging his car up early in the race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Chase Elliott were two of the race favorites heading into Sunday, but both wrecked, hit the tri-oval and saw their days come to an early end. The good news is that they were racing well until then and they should be able to have a great shot at bouncing back next week.

With the 2016 Daytona 500 finally over and Hamlin earning a spot in the Chase, who’s trending up and who’s trending down?

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