FitStop Performance 2025 Week 14 Power Rankings

The NASCAR Cup Series hit the Music City for some concrete racing this past weekend. Sitting in Lebanon, Tennessee, Nashville Superspeedway hosted the Cup Series for the Cracker Barrel 400. After last year’s overtime debacle, this year’s edition of the race featured long green flag runs with pit strategy playing a key factor. Passing on equal equipment was extremely difficult, so making up grown on pit road became key. In the end, the eventual winner can chalk up his win to a Stage 1 pit call. Overall though, Nashville offered a fine race with a small fix of chaos sprinkled in the middle. There was a new number 1 crowned in last week’s Power Rankings. Will that happen again for this week’s FitStop Performance 2025 Week 14 Power Rankings?

#10 – Chase Briscoe

Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention

It was a difficult choice for the #10 spot this week. Between the two CBs from the honorable mentions last week, Chase Briscoe barely got the edge to crack into the power rankings for the first time this year. Unfortunately, all the positives for Briscoe’s Cracker Barrel 400 were from Stage 1 and before. Briscoe qualified on pole, his third pole of the season, and led 51 of the first 83 laps. Once he lost the lead though, the 19 car dropped anchor. The final two stages saw Briscoe fighting to keep a Top-20 position on track. However, his strong Saturday and Stage 1 locked him into the rankings this week.

#9 – Ross Chastain

Previous Ranking: 8

Perhaps the most surprising performance on Sunday was from Ross Chastain. After winning the Coca-Cola 600 last week, many were expecting another strong performance from the Melon Man. Afterall, Nashville has been Chastain’s best track in the Cup Series. While Chastain did not drive poorly, he finished outside the Top-10 and only scored a single stage point.

#8 – Chase Elliott

Previous Ranking: 6

Outside of scoring points in Stage 1, Nashville turned out to be another classic Chase Elliott race. He ran in the teens almost the entire race while doing little of note. A Top-15 is nothing to sneeze at, but it is also nothing to celebrate either. Elliott’s 2025 season will be forgotten easily unless he starts collecting Top-5s and wins. Consistency is great, but the lack of competitiveness is a worrisome sign from a Hendrick Motorsports entry.

#7 – Joey Logano

Previous Ranking: 9

A week after being a no-show at Charlotte, Joey Logano bounced back nicely in Nashville. A 2-tire pit call at the start of Stage 2 gave Logano prime track position. From there, he never relented from the Top-5. Managing to lead 10 laps, Logano kept the 22 within shouting distance of the leaders.

#6 – Tyler Reddick

Previous Ranking: 7

Early in the running, Tyler Reddick looked to be a contender for the win. He finished Stage 1 in second and looked faster than Denny Hamlin at the time. An issue with the car in the middle of Stage 2 spoiled Reddick’s chances though. Despite the initial belief that the 45 was done, the team fixed the issue and kept Reddick competitive. In the end, Reddick picked up a Top-10.

#5 – Kyle Larson

Previous Ranking: 4

From the jump, the 5 car was not fast. A poor qualifying effort had Kyle Larson starting 28th on the grid. That is where he remained for the entirety of Stage 1. Despite the struggles, Larson held off the leaders and stayed on the lead lap. Cliff Daniels and the 5 team continuously worked on the car to improve it. After the early struggles (and almost getting caught up in wrecks), fans saw Larson running inside the Top-10 late the race.

#4 – Christopher Bell

Previous Ranking: 1

Christopher Bell had an adventure on Sunday. After starting in the Top-10, the 20 car had Top-5 speed. However, contact with Erik Jones during the Stage 2 caution fest saw Bell back into the wall. At first, it looked that Bell’s hopes of racing a competitive car were dashed. Instead though, Bell drove through the field with his repaired car and sat quietly in the back half of the Top-10.

#3 – Ryan Blaney

Previous Ranking: 5

Finally, Ryan Blaney wins a race where he clearly had the best car. There have been plenty of times this season where Blaney had the winning car but luck was not on his side. Surely, every Blaney fan was waiting with bated breath for that late caution to come out and ruin the win. However, that did not happen. The race stayed green and lapped traffic did not interfere. Blaney cruised to his first win of 2025.

#2 – Denny Hamlin

Previous Ranking: 3

Although baby watch was in full effect, Denny Hamlin still competed in the race on Sunday night. Hamlin had a race winning car, as he led 79 laps and won Stage 1. However, he could not pull away from Ryan Blaney as the night grew long. Still, Hamlin managed to score the second most points for the race and did not miss the birth of his third child.

#1 – William Byron

Previous Ranking: 2

Back to the top of the FitStop Performance Power Rankings, William Byron secured his 7th Top-5 this season. Outside of an exciting battle for the lead at the end of Stage 2, Byron mostly ran inside the Top-3 without challenging for the win. He got jumped by a couple of cars during the final pit cycle. However, this type of day is important for Byron as the calendar continues to shift to the summer. Over the past few seasons, the summer months have been a struggle for the 24 team. Maybe the Cracker Barrel 400 is a sign of a smoother time this year.

Honorable Mention

Chris Buescher – If you ignore Stage 2, Chris Buescher had a solid day. He almost reentered the power rankings, but those string of restarts in Stage 2 firmly planted him at the tail end of the field.

Ryan Preece – Poor pit stops plagued Ryan Preece throughout his race. It ultimately led to his spin during the final stage, as dirty air made him lose control in Turns 1 and 2.

Carson Hocevar – Picking up his third Top-5 of the season, Carson Hocevar has been showing race winning speed recently. The key has been whether the 77 team can finish those strong runs.

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