FitStop Performance 2025 Week 23 Power Rankings

Another week, another late week FitStop Performance Power Rankings article. If you enjoyed a fuel mileage race at Indianapolis, then Iowa certainly gave you a treat. Who could have predicted that a short track would boil down to fuel savings and aero-blocking? Aside from the anti-climatic finish that NBC attempted to sell, the Iowa Corn 350 featured lapped traffic holding off the leaders and calamity central when 11 cautions flew in 100 laps. It is safe to say that Iowa Speedway did not host the best race of the 2025 season. However, all of those cautions allowed for “strategy” to unfold as the race winner was going to be determined by who saved enough fuel. With the fuel question front of mind, did that alter the rankings more than it did last week in Indy? Find out below in the FitStop Performance 2025 Week 23 Power Rankings.

#10 – Bubba Wallace

Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention

A week after stretching his fuel tank for all that it had, Bubba Wallace finds himself in the power rankings. A middling day through most of the race, Wallace made his mark on the final run. Restarting in 30th, the 23 car rocketed through the field to finish the race in 6th. It was an impressive driver for Wallace, who is looking to build up momentum as he enters the playoffs.

#9 – Ryan Preece

Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention

At the start of the day, Ryan Preece looked to be in for a long one. His qualifying and practice efforts left a lot to be desired. However, the 60 team grinded through another race and wound up in a great position to steal a win. While the win escaped Preece, he finished inside the Top-5 and could point his way into the playoffs (if there are no new winners).

#8 – Alex Bowman

Previous Ranking: 10

The litany of cautions helped Alex Bowman find solid track position. Similar to eventual winner William Byron, Bowman managed to be on the right fuel strategy almost through pure luck. Although he could not nab the clean air at the lead, Bowman improved upon where his average speed was with a Top-10 finish.

#7 – Tyler Reddick

Previous Ranking: 5

Despite his spot in the points, is it fair to question whether Tyler Reddick is the number one driver at 23XI Racing? The 45 team has been a shell of their form from last season. Rarely is Reddick running upfront. Meanwhile, his teammate usually outpaces him on Sundays. It might be something to watch for as the regular season winds down and the playoffs kick off. Maybe Reddick is not the 23XI driver to expect a deep playoff run from.

#6 – Chase Briscoe

Previous Ranking: 8

Chase Briscoe has turned into a pole machine. For once though, the 19 team backed up their qualifying speed with a solid race. Arguably, Briscoe had one of the best cars on track Sunday. However, it was still not enough to pick up the win.

#5 – Kyle Larson

Previous Ranking: 4

After the Iowa Corn 350, Kyle Larson was ready to slap the entire field around. The 5 car become a defacto pinball during Sunday’s running. Multiple drivers plowed into Larson in the mid-pack. That might explain why Larson was absent from the front of the field again this week. Despite picking up a second place finish in the Brickyard 400, momentum has not been on Larson’s side during the summer.

#4 – Ryan Blaney

Previous Ranking: 6

Despite running nearly 3 MPH per lap better than the leader, Ryan Blaney could finish no better than fourth on Sunday. Some may argue that Blaney had the best car, that speed mostly arose during the long runs. In short runs, Blaney struggled to fire off well. Proof of this was Blaney’s inability to launch ahead of Brad Keselowski when he was the control car. Still, a Top-5 performance at his “home track” is nothing to sneeze at.

#3 – Chase Elliott

Previous Ranking: 2

Back to the nothing-burger races for Chase Elliott. After being an afterthought in Indianapolis, Chase Elliott followed that up with being an afterthought in Iowa. The only time the 9 driver made noise was when he almost wrecked his teammate on multiple occasions.

#2 – Denny Hamlin

Previous Ranking: 1

There are some races where the team misses the mark. That was Sunday for Denny Hamlin and the 11 team. While Saturday demonstrated some promise, the Iowa Corn 350 turned ugly for Hamlin. It was bad enough to knock Hamlin out of the top spot of this week’s power rankings.

#1 – William Byron

Previous Ranking: 3

Back to the top of the FitStop Performance Power Rankings this week is William Byron. Despite qualifying second and leading the initial 67 laps, Byron did not look to be the car to beat. Honestly, even when leading the final 74 laps, the 24 was still not the car to beat. However, pit strategy and fuel saving propelled Byron to the lead when it mattered most. Though he was saving his rear end off, no one managed to pass the 24 during the last green flag run. It was enough to place Byron back on the top spot in these rankings for the first time since Week 18.

Honorable Mention

Chris Buescher – Unlike his RFK Racing teammate, Chris Buescher and the 17 team could never get the car right. Another disappointing effort on a short track leaves Buescher outside the Top-10.

Christopher Bell – Christopher Bell also falls out of the rankings this week after getting caught in a spin during the final stage.

Ty Gibbs – A week after winning the In-Season Tournament, Ty Gibbs finishes outside the Top-20 in Iowa.

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 Series drivers throughout the season. Give them a follow (Facebook, Instagram, X) and thank them for their sponsorship!