What an underwhelming race. Normally, Darlington Raceway can be counted upon to provide at least a solid race. No matter the generation of car on the track, Darlington has usually been reliable to see good action for the Cup Series. Sometimes a driver might dominate the lead, but at least the mid-pack is great for passing. With tires being so critical, strategies help see comers and goers throughout a race. However, this past Throwback Weekend did not see any of that. Essentially, the Goodyear 400 became a track position race where only one driver was able to knife his way through the field. An untimely caution during Stage 2 will certainly help throw a wrench into this week’s FitStop Performance 2025 Week 8 Power Rankings. Martinsville had Week 7 see a massive shift, so maybe another week of chaos will be featured this week.
#10 – Joey Logano
Previous Ranking: 9
Joey Logano’s Darlington weekend did not get off to the best start. Despite a neat throwback to Cale Yarborough, the 22 car unloaded sluggish. Logano was slow in practice and only managed a 18th starting position in qualifying. The beginning of the Goodyear 400 did not improve the weekend either, as he ran in the 20s for the bulk of Stage 1 and early Stage 2. However, Logano benefitted greatly from the Stage 2 caution and wound up running Top-5 for most of the second half of the race. Still, the lack of pure speed in the car saw Logano finish outside the Top-10.
#9 – Bubba Wallace
Previous Ranking: 7
If the power rankings were based on pit crews, then the 23 team would have bumped up a few spots. In Stage 1, Bubba Wallace’s pit crew boosted him to a second place finish after gaining 5 spots during stops. However, the speed was not there for Wallace as he struggled to maintain at the front on a longer run. Wallace fell victim to the Stage 2 caution and never recovered. Most notably, Wallace spun Kyle Larson out to bring out the final caution of the day. To be fair, Wallace had nowhere to go after Larson checked up dramatically for Tyler Reddick.
#8 – Chris Buescher
Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention
Back into the power rankings this week for Chris Buescher. Once again though, Darlington becomes a track where Buescher runs well but finds bad luck. Last year, Tyler Reddick doored him into the wall to essentially eliminate him from the playoffs. In the Southern 500, Buescher’s Top-10 became hollow after Chase Briscoe won his way into the playoffs. This weekend, Buescher had a Top-5 car. However, that Stage 1 caution put him in the mid-pack and Buescher struggled to move forward from there. Thanks to a quick stop from his pit crew, Buescher almost nabbed a Top-5 on the final restart.
#7 – Tyler Reddick
Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention
Another return into the power rankings sees Tyler Reddick boost up to 7th. Arguably, Tyler Reddick had the second best car in the field. Barely unlapping himself before that Stage 2 caution, Reddick managed to become 1 of 3 drivers to score points in both stages. An aggressive pit strategy in the final stage almost set Reddick up for the win. However, fresher tires (and a better car) caught him after a couple of run-ins with the wall.
#6 – Chase Elliott
Previous Ranking: 6
Chase Elliott certainly drove in the Goodyear 400 on Sunday. In his lackluster “throwback” to Ken Schrader, Elliott had a pedestrian day at Darlington. Most of the afternoon saw the 9 car in the mid-teens, not gaining or losing many spots. During the final stage, Elliott found his way to the Top-10. Ultimately, the cautions played out where they never hurt or helped Elliott too much. Due to the chaos around him, he remains at 6 in rankings.
#5 – Kyle Larson
Previous Ranking: 2
Hendrick Motorsports usually knocks it out of the park with Kyle Larson’s throwback schemes. Honoring Terry Labonte’s last win at Darlington, the old Tony the Tiger Kellogg’s scheme from 2003 was replicated almost perfectly on the Gen7 car. Winning the award for best throwback for the second straight year, Larson also decided to throw it back to last year’s race and spin out twice. Larson brought out the first caution after spinning off Turn 2. After repairing the car and losing over 160 laps, Larson limped around and spoiled the race for Ryan Blaney.
#4 – Christopher Bell
Previous Ranking: 1
Sunday should be a lesson to all future race leaders: if you have a chance to lap Christopher Bell, make sure to do it. At the end of Stage 1, Bell was in jeopardy of losing a lap. William Byron was right on his bumper as the end of the stage approached. Luckily for Bell, Byron had to deal with the shenanigans of Carson Hocevar. After not losing a lap, Bell’s bad handling car flipped to a Top-5 car after gaining all of the track position. Sometimes, it is better to be lucky than good. However, Bell loses his top spot in the rankings.
#3 – Ryan Blaney
Previous Ranking: 5
Without a doubt, the best car of the weekend was Ryan Blaney’s 12. Throwing it back to his father’s Xfinity Series win at Charlotte, Blaney was the only driver who could weave his way through the field. If Blaney could have managed to nab the lead earlier in the race, it would have been over. However, pit road became the stuff of nightmares for the 12 team. Blaney got stuck behind Shane van Gisbergen on his first stop, leaving him down the running order. However, the pit crew struggled to maintain Blaney’s track position all race, including the money stop that lost Blaney 3 positions.
#2 – Denny Hamlin
Previous Ranking: 3
From domination at Martinsville to golden horseshoe lucky, Denny Hamlin goes back-to-back after winning the Goodyear 400. Prior to the noteworthy Stage 2 caution, Hamlin was the best running Joe Gibbs Racing car in the field. That meant he ran in the back-half of the teens. However, track position became king as Hamlin rode in the Top-5 during the final portion of the race in his Carl Edwards throwback. The 11 pit crew truly deserved the credit for the win, gaining Hamlin the lead on the final stop.
#1 – William Byron
Previous Ranking: 4
Back to the top of the FitStop Performance Power Rankings is William Byron. Until the green flag pit stops during the final stage, Byron had led every lap at that point. The thought of a perfect race certainly was on the mind as Byron logged lap after lap. However, the clean air should take the bulk of the credit as Byron did not have the speed of Blaney or Reddick. After losing the lead on the pit cycle, Byron could not make up any ground. While the lack of win after leading 243 laps is frustrating, there is some solace that Byron sits as the #1 driver in this week’s rankings.
Honorable Mention
Ryan Preece – It was tough to take Ryan Preece out of the rankings this week. The 60 car had Top-5 speed, but Preece fell most unlucky in Stage 2 as he sat the second car a lap down when the caution flew.
Alex Bowman – A bad qualifying effort foreshadowed a trying race for Alex Bowman. Smacking the wall in the final stage torpedoed Bowman’s chances at a Top-10.
Ross Chastain – Resilient effort from Ross Chastain and the 1 team to pick up a Top-10 while his other Trackhouse teammates struggled.
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 is in its second season sponsoring the weekly FitStop Performance Power Rankings which tracks the highest-performing NASCAR Cup Seires drivers throughout the season. Give them a follow (Facebook, Instagram, X) and thank them for their sponsorship!
