FitStop Performance 2025 Week 21 Power Rankings

No practice and qualifying set up Dover to be an interesting race. Bringing a new tire to the track, the teams were thrown to wolves for the day. As per the usual Dover race, the heavy hitters found their footing first (and best). Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing dominated the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400. Numerous times throughout the race, positions 1 through 8 were the 8 drivers from those 4 teams. By the end, it was different combinations of those teams restarting with a chance for the win. Unfortunately, aero-blocking reigned supreme at the lead, bogging down some enjoyment of the race. However, there was a new number 1 in Week 20‘s rankings. Will there be another new top driver in the FitStop Performance 2025 Week 21 Power Rankings?

#10 – Alex Bowman

Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention

Dover Motor Speedway has been one of Alex Bowman’s best tracks. That did not change on Sunday. Bowman quickly climbed inside the Top-5 after starting 16th. The 48 had good long run speed, which helped with the limited number of cautions. However, Bowman never got the track position to take control of the race. Still, his performance was solid enough to get him back into the rankings.

#9 – Christopher Bell

Previous Ranking: 8

Despite leading 67 laps, Christopher Bell drops a spot in the rankings. Bell looked to be one of the contenders for the win. However, he managed to spin himself out twice while fighting for the lead. Bell overcame his first spin by choosing to stay out while waiting for rain. That gave him great track position on better tires. Yet, Bell found himself spinning out again during the post-rain restart while battling Denny Hamlin.

#8 – Chase Briscoe

Previous Ranking: 9

Chase Briscoe has hit his stride after getting off to a slow start with Joe Gibbs Racing. Back to back second place finishes raises Briscoe up to 8th in the rankings. Briscoe has been producing two good finishes followed by two poor results over the past 10 races. At Dover, Briscoe had a shot at the win on the final restart. However, he could not pull ahead of his teammate.

#7 – Ryan Blaney

Previous Ranking: 7

Ford struggled to compete this weekend at Dover. The lack of practice and qualifying seemed to be a more significant detriment to them compared to Chevy and Toyota. Ryan Blaney ran inside the Top-15 for the bulk of the race. Taking advantage of the late race restarts, Blaney picked up his 9th Top-10 of the season.

#6 – Chris Buescher

Previous Ranking: 4

As mentioned in the previous entry, RFK Racing felt the wrath of the Ford struggles on Sunday. Chris Buescher was no different. While he did wind up with a Top-10 finish, the 17 car did not have Top-10 speed all race long. Fighting a mishandling car, Buescher struggled to stay within the Top-20 most of the race. Hence why Buescher falls 2 spots this week.

#5 – Kyle Larson

Previous Ranking: 6

For the first time since Michigan, Kyle Larson picked up a Top-5 finish. The summer struggles certainly have hit the 5 team hard. Even with a solid run this weekend, Larson failed to lead a lap again. Since Charlotte, Larson has only managed to lead 3 laps. All 3 were at Sonoma where Larson only led due to drivers flipping Stage 2.

#4 – Tyler Reddick

Previous Ranking: 5

Another race where Tyler Reddick is simply there. The 45 team has been a ghost of its former self from last year. For the team who won the regular season championship, their efforts this season has been a far cry from that performance. At Dover, Reddick averaged an 11th place running position. His teammate outran him easily throughout the race. Still, his Sunday efforts were good enough to bump him up a spot.

#3 – William Byron

Previous Ranking: 2

Part of the Hendrick/JGR dominance, William Byron looked to be on his way to a Top-5 finish. Never finding his way to the lead, Byron maintained a Top-5 running position for a majority of the race. However, Byron became collateral during Christopher Bell’s second spin. The damage resulted in Byron’s third DNF of the season.

#2 – Denny Hamlin

Previous Ranking: 3

Similar to his Darlington win, Denny Hamlin wins a race where he was not the dominate car. Riding near the front all day, Hamlin managed to take advantage of the 9 team’s foolishness. Track position was king and Hamlin masterfully used it to win the race. However, his overall race leaves him a bit short of reclaiming the top spot.

#1 – Chase Elliott

Previous Ranking: 1

He might not have won the race, but Chase Elliott remains on top of the FitStop Performance Week 21 Power Rankings. Receiving the pole via a rained out practice/qualifying on Saturday, Elliott kept the 9 car out front for the bulk of the race. Leading 238 of the 400 laps, only pit road could stop the 9 from finding victory lane. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened. A dropped jack during the Stage 2 stop lost Elliott the lead. After the rain delay, Alan Gustafson strangely gave up track position to pit for tires. Both incidents led to a disappointing result for Elliott. However, the consolation prize is holding onto this week’s top spot.

Honorable Mention

Ty Gibbs – The Ty Gibbs hot streak continues to roll as he picked up his second Top-5 in 3 races.

Ryan Preece – Never much of a factor during the race, Ryan Preece got collected in the Zane Smith wreck on one of the final restarts.

Ty Dillon – Ty Dillon’s Cinderella run through the In-Season Tournament continued after besting John Hunter Nemechek at Dover.

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!