2023 NASCAR Daytona 500 Driver Ratings

Ricky Stenhouse Jr - 10

Stenhouse will forever be known as a Daytona 500 champion.

Joey Logano - 9

No one likes finishing second, especially in the Daytona 500. That being said, Logano has already won this iconic event, and has a nice start in his bid to win back-to-back titles this season.

Christopher Bell - 9

Bell was consistently at the front of the field throughout the race, and only continues to get better after a breakout season a year ago.

Chris Buescher - 9

It looked as though Buescher and his RFK Racing owner/teammate were in control of the race. The last caution was ultimately a back-breaker, but this team is certainly headed in the right direction.

Alex Bowman - 7

The pole sitter still has not won this race since 2000, but Bowman stayed in the hunt and was able to finally finish the race.

AJ Allmendinger - 8

Not many people envisioned Allmendinger contending for the win, but he did exactly that in the closing laps. It was a solid start to his return to full-time competition.

Daniel Suarez - 5

His spin with three laps to go ultimately shook up how this race played out, but he was never really a factor in this race, other than that.

Ryan Blaney - 6

Blaney entered as the betting favorite, but an incident collected his No. 12 Mustang once again, which really hindered his performance the rest of the way.

Ross Chastain - 6

Much like his teammate, Chastain was never a serious threat in this race.

Riley Herbst - 9

A top-ten finish in his first career Daytona 500 start was a massive result for this young driver. Even more so for the Rick Ware Racing team, who had both cars finish inside the top 14.

Travis Pastrana - 9

His 11th place finish might not be indicative of how he performed, but his Cup debut was a sensational one, with the finishing position and leading a lap in the race.

Kevin Harvick - 7

His 22nd and final Daytona 500 did not go the way he wanted, but Harvick survived a couple of incidents on the track and still managed a solid 12th place finish.

Martin Truex Jr - 6

This could have been Martin’s final Daytona 500 as well, and it ended with a thud. After leading laps early, Martin nearly won the first stage but was freight trained on the final lap. His race went downhill from there.

Denny Hamlin - 6

The three-time Daytona 500 winner could not stick at the front of the field, and ultimately was a non-factor in the closing stage.

Kyle Larson - 6

Starting on the front row obviously doesn’t matter in this race, and Kyle has proven that for a second straight year.

Kyle Busch - 8

Three more laps. That is how close Kyle came to finally capturing that elusive Daytona 500 victory. For the second time in less than a week, he was leading the race, only to see it ruined by Daniel Suarez.

Bubba Wallace - 6

This was one of the bigger disappointments on Sunday. With two runner-up finishes in this event, Bubba was one of the favorites to win. Unfortunately, his day went off the rails early when Truex bumped him up and into the wall.

Brad Keselowski - 8

The RFK organization certainly flexed its muscle today, as both of their cars looked unbeatable. In the end, Daytona carnage struck again and Brad must wait until next year for another shot at the Great American Race.

Austin Cindric - 7

The defending race winner didn’t appear to have the same speed as last year, and was collected in one of the late-race accidents.

Noah Gragson - 6

Expectations may have been a little high, but it was just a so-so outing for the rookie.

Ty Gibbs - 7

Gibbs was doing fine in his Daytona 500 debut, but he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Conor Daly - 9

The last-minute decision to try his hand at Daytona turned out to be a tremendous one. After a shaky start where they missed qualifying, and snuck their way into the race with a bouncing car, Daly managed to finish 29th for Floyd Mayweather’s small race team.

Jimmie Johnson - 9

The two-time Daytona 500 winner was in pursuit of a third, as he moved his way into the top ten after starting the race in the back of the field. It was a strong showing for the owner/driver as he made his return to the Cup series.

William Byron - 7

He was in the picture late in the race, only to be collected in no fault of his own.

Chase Briscoe - 7

Similar to Byron, he was doing well before disaster struck.

Chase Elliott - 4

A promising day quickly turned sour for the sport’s most popular driver. Chase was taken out in the first major incident, ending any real hope of scoring a Daytona 500 win.

Tyler Reddick - 5

Like many others, he was just a victim of this type of racing.