After back-to-back superspeedways to kick off the year, heading to Texas to run the Circuit of the Americas was definitely a change of pace. On a shorter configuration, COTA offered something a bit new for the Cup Series drivers. Considered another potential “wild card” race, the expectation was that the road course aces would thrive and steal a win. However, the race did not pan out in that way. Still, the shorter design allowed for intense racing throughout the day. With the first road course on the books, will it alter the rankings much compared to Week 2? Where do the Cup drivers sit in the 2025 Week 3 Power Rankings?
#10 – Kyle Busch
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked
So far, this season has started off right for Kyle Busch. Sure, the Daytona 500 ended with the 8 car behind the wall after misinterpreting the new DVP rules. Since then though, Busch has collected back-to-back Top-10s. At COTA, Busch looked to be on his way to a dominate victory. After leading the most laps, an untimely caution spoiled Busch’s best shot at the win.
#9 – Chris Buescher
Previous Ranking: 10
Another road course, another Chris Buescher Top-10. Buescher has been a machine at road courses, improving upon his Cup best average finish in the Gen7 car this weekend. However, this Top-10 again comes after a mediocre qualifying run. That is the underappreciated aspect of Buescher’s road course excellence. He seldomly starts near the front, so he ends up passing a lot of cars to secure his Top-10s. Sunday was no different.
#8 – Alex Bowman
Previous Ranking: 9
Heading into Sunday, Alex Bowman had been on a streak of 3 straight Top-5s at COTA. That history never factored into the race though, as Bowman remained outside the Top-5 for the entire time. The Trackhouse Racing caution hurt Bowman too since he had to serve his stop-and-go penalty during the caution. Despite that, Bowman managed to bounce back and secure his second Top-10 of the season.
#7 – Denny Hamlin
Previous Ranking: 4
Denny Hamlin will look forward to the “normal” tracks during this next stretch of the schedule. COTA certainly proved to be a challenge, as Hamlin received right front damage in the Turn 1 stack-up on the opening lap. From there, Hamlin mostly ran inside the Top-20. Late in the race, the 11 car ran through some dirt and clobbered into Austin Dillon to bring out the final caution of the day.
#6 – Chase Elliott
Previous Ranking: 8
Bouncing back became the theme of the week for Chase Elliott. During his qualifying effort, his first lap went awry and he aborted the attempt. Despite the worn tires, Elliott’s second effort sat him in third on the grid. However, that put him in the line of fire for Ross Chastain’s dive bomb into Turn 1. The 9 car’s left rear toe-link broke, which the team repaired after Stage 1. Elliott made a charge through the field, especially during the final green flag stint, to secure a Top-5 finish.
#5 – Kyle Larson
Previous Ranking: 3
In a day of misfortunes, Kyle Larson will be happy to leave COTA. At the start, Larson ran inside the Top-5. Then he got called for course cutting and had to serve a stop-and-go penalty. During his green flag pit stop in the final stage, Larson’s right front tire was not secured properly and his tire fell off. After that penalty, the 5 car never showed signs of life again.
#4 – Ryan Blaney
Previous Ranking: 2
After only being 1 of 2 drivers to secure a Top-10 in the first 2 races of the season, Ryan Blaney fell back down to earth a bit at COTA. Before the final caution, Blaney looked to be on path for a Top-10. However, staying out on older tires turned out to be the wrong move as Blaney fell to 19th before the checkered flag flew. Although he drops a few spots, Blaney still looks to be a strong contender for the top spot in the rankings this season.
#3 – Tyler Reddick
Previous Ranking: 5
Although Tyler Reddick qualified on the pole, the 45 car definitely lacked the race winning speed many expected. Reddick quickly fell out of the lead and never regained it during the course of the race. He lurked from third place at the end of the race, but Reddick did not have much to offer the leaders. Still, it was a good weekend for the 23XI Racing team as Reddick moves up a couple of spots in this week’s rankings.
#2 – Christopher Bell
Previous Ranking: 6
Shooting up the leaderboard this week is Christopher Bell. Becoming the first driver to win back-to-back races since Chris Buescher in 2023, Bell is setting 2025 up to be a dominate season. On Sunday, Bell utilized his tire advantage against Kyle Busch to smartly pass the 8 car for the lead. It was a spectacle to watch (when FOX showed it) as Bell patiently waited for his moment to strike. With 2 wins in 3 races, Bell could easily rack up a handful more over this next stretch of races at tracks where the 20 team has thrived.
#1 – William Byron
Previous Ranking: 1
Retaining the top spot for a third straight week in the FitStop Performance Week 3 Power Rankings is William Byron. Difficult to argue against this, as Byron finished second after moving up from his starting spot of 15th. Plus, the drivers immediately behind him had mediocre to bad races. Byron has started out the past few season strongly, so it is no surprise to see him here in 2025. Heading into Phoenix, the question is whether he can outrun Christopher Bell to keep his #1 ranking for Week 4.
Honorable Mentions
Austin Cindric – Surprisingly, Austin Cindric struggled mightily at COTA this week. Usually road courses are a strength, but not on Sunday.
Michael McDowell – Three straight Top-15s might not seem too impressive for Michael McDowell, but the 71 team has overcome adversity to get those respectable results.
Carson Hocevar – After a strong practice/qualifying day on Saturday, Carson Hocevar never flashed that same speed during the race, keeping him in the honorable mentions.
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