What a finish. The ending of the Go Bowling at The Glen was a masterclass of everything great about NASCAR racing. Two drivers duked it out for the victory, no playoffs required. For the rest of the race, your opinion on it determines how in love with chaos and strategy you are. Despite the tire falloff being greatly advertised, it did not live up to the billing. Drivers on significantly older tires were able to keep fresher tires behind them for a significant amount of laps. Meanwhile, NASCAR’s best and brightest turned the esses into a demolition derby. Still, it was an entertaining playoff race to be sure. With most drivers on Sunday finding their way into carnage, how will this shake up the power rankings compared to Week 27? Find out where the drivers settle in the FitStop Performance Week 28 Power Rankings.
#10 – Ross Chastain
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked
Watkins Glen was truly a chaotic race where the usual suspects were absent from the front. It truly lived up to the wild card nature of this Round of 16. Due to this, there is more movement in the power rankings than usual. For example, Ross Chastain cracks back into the Top-10 for the first time since Week 18. Arguably, Chastain had the most consistent weekend from start to finish. He qualified on pole, led the most laps (51), and finished in the Top-5. Despite missing the playoffs, Chastain has been running well over the past 3 races.
#9 – Carson Hocevar
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked
After spending six weeks in the honorable mentions, Carson Hocevar arrives in the power rankings properly for the first time. Since Chicago, Hocevar has been a Top-15 machine in the Spire Motorsports 77 car. Outside of wrecking out at Darlington, Hocevar has not finished outside the Top-20 over the past 8 races. His strongest race yet, Watkins Glen proved his merits on a road course. Utilizing great strategy, Hocevar made his way forward after starting from the rear. He also managed to muscle Shane van Gisbergen out of second in two of the last three restarts.
#8 – William Byron
Previous Ranking: 8
Staying pat where he was last week, William Byron’s quiet day almost took an ugly turn. During the first restart after the Harrison Burton caution, Byron made contact with Brad Keselowski through the esses. Due to the contact, Byron’s car got airborne and crash into the fence. Luckily, he did not get too high and slam into the catch fence. Instead, his tire lodged into Keselowski’s left side. Prior to that incident, Byron again failed to bring enough speed to inspire confidence about his championship aspirations.
#7 – Denny Hamlin
Previous Ranking: 6
It has not been the best start to the playoffs for Denny Hamlin. After his strategy play at Atlanta blew up in his face, Watkins Glen greet the 11 team with adversity. Lap 1 saw Hamlin get caught up in the incident at the bus stop. While the damage hurt his car’s performance, Hamlin managed to get his lap back and remain there until his next incident. From there, the carnage at the end of the race allowed the 11 team to again regain the lead lap again. Once back on the lead lap, Chris Gabehart put the fresh tires he lied to Hamlin about not having to help salvage a 23rd finish.
#6 – Brad Keselowski
Previous Ranking: 5
At the point of the Harrison Burton caution, Brad Keselowski’s outlook for the day seemed solid. Sure, he had pitted right before the caution to gas up the car. However, he had fresh tires and figured he could navigate his way to a Top-10 finish. Plus, his driver/teammate was leading the race. Then his old friend Joey Logano sent him on an adventure that ended with a tire through his car. A roller coaster day for Keselowski sees him enter Bristol below the cutline.
One of those days… Still not sure how to feel about it.
👎🏻Lap1 crash
👎🏻Speeding penalty
👎🏻Pit road violation
👍🏻👍🏻nice strategy gets us to 16th w/new tires & a Great shot at top-10 or better
👎🏻👎🏻Get wrecked
😊👍🏻👍🏻Chis wins for @RFKracing pic.twitter.com/ugmRmbhgSA
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) September 16, 2024
#5 – Chris Buescher
Previous Ranking: 9
Only for the second time since returning from the Olympic break has the race winning driver been featured in the power rankings. Not only is Chris Buescher featured, he makes a massive jump to number 5 this week. After starting in the mid-pack, Buescher slowly climbed his way forward. Ultimately, the call of the race was Scott Graves bringing Buescher down 4 laps before the Stage 2 end. This allowed him to leapfrog those who pit one lap after and gave him the tire advantage for the final stage. Still, it came down to an overtime restart. After getting passed in Turn 1 on the green flag lap, Buescher chased Shane van Gisbergen down to pick up his first road course win.
He was not going to be denied. pic.twitter.com/0W69105oKO
— RFK Racing (@RFKracing) September 16, 2024
#4 – Chase Elliott
Previous Ranking: 4
There is not much to say about Chase Elliott’s day at Watkins Glen. He managed to pick up 4 points in Stage 1. Other than that, he never made his presence felt in any noticeable throughout the race. Seemingly, the drivers who took the points in Stage 1 struggled to recover from that for the remainder of the race. Elliott continues to have decent days, but his lack of top end speed is surely concerning for his fans.
#3 – Christopher Bell
Previous Ranking: 3
Essentially, you can take what was said about Denny Hamlin’s day and apply it Christopher Bell. While the negatives were not as costly for Bell, his day was also faced with adversity. After getting caught up in the Lap 1 wreck, the 20 car never seemed to regather the usual Toyota speed. Later in the race, Bell got spun by Austin Dillon as he was attempting to pit. Despite the issues, the 20 team rallied to capture a 14th place finish.
#2 – Kyle Larson
Previous Ranking: 2
Heading into the Go Bowling at The Glen, many would have expected Kyle Larson to be one of the contenders for the win. Afterall, Hendrick Motorsports had won the past five Watkins Glen races. Yet, the best performing driver on the day was Alex Bowman. Meanwhile, Larson got slapped with a penalty for vehicle interference during green flag pit stops. With track position being key, Larson struggled to recover. However, he managed to pull out a Top-15 result despite the costly penalty earlier in the race.
#1 – Tyler Reddick
Previous Ranking: 1
If there was a week to have a dip in performance, it was this one for Tyler Reddick. Reddick maintains the top spot in the FitStop Performance Power Rankings thanks to his consistency over the summer and the lack of quality races from his competitors. During Stage 2, Reddick spun out after contact with Daniel Suarez. From there, the 45 car turned sour and Reddick remained in the mid-pack. Ultimately, he found himself in the last caution of the day with Kyle Busch. Luckily, his playoff point cushion should help him rest easy as the Cup Series heads to Bristol next week.
Honorable Mention
Ryan Blaney – For the second time in three weeks, an early incident leaves Ryan Blaney behind the wall. His bad luck sees him drop out of the power rankings this week.
Ty Gibbs – Until the end of the race, it seemed to be a solid day for Ty Gibbs. However, the late race shenanigans saw Gibbs fall down to 22nd once the dust settled.
Austin Cindric – A dark horse for the first two rounds of the playoffs, Austin Cindric positioned himself well for Bristol after scoring back-to-back Top-10s.
The brainchild of Hunter Smith, FitStop Performance is dedicated to training the toughest around – from motorsports athletes to multi-tasking soccer moms. He desires to help everyone who walks through the doors of his gym to perform optimally throughout life. FitStop Performance jumped on board with Pit Pass Network in 2024 to sponsor the weekly FitStop Performance Rankings which tracks the highest performing NASCAR Cup Series drivers throughout the season. Give them a follow (Facebook, Instagram, X) and thank them for their sponsorship!
