FitStop Performance 2025 Week 27 Power Rankings

The Southern 500 kicked off the playoffs once again this year after the Olympics meddled with NASCAR’s schedule last year. 16 playoff drivers entered to attempt to win their way to the next round (or survive the Lady in Black). Meanwhile, the rest of the field looked to play spoiler. As expected, the Southern 500 turned into a race of attrition. Almost every playoff driver faced some major issue during the race. Meanwhile, one playoff driver dominated the day and picked up his second win of the season. With the numerous driver/team errors, did they help shake up this week’s rankings? A wild Daytona regular season finale jumbled the rankings a bit. What did Darlington do to the FitStop Performance 2025 Week 27 Power Rankings.

Quick note: for those who might be following the FitStop Rankings for the first time this year, the next 10 weeks will be no different than the previous 26. Every driver is still considered for the Top-10. This will not be a playoff only ranking. There is a good chance the eventual champion will not be the #1 driver by season’s end. It could be a driver who missed the playoffs all together. This ranking series still reviews the entire field based on their recent performances.

#10 – Chris Buescher

Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention

Returning to the power rankings this week, Chris Buescher fought adversity twice on Sunday to grab his 14th Top-10 finish of the season. On the first lap, Daniel Suarez slammed into the 17’s rear bumper. Having to pit due to the contact, Buescher started the day from the rear. With solid pit stops and good long run speed, Buescher managed to get back into the Top-10. However, a slow stop on the final caution lost Buescher his track position. He recovered to finish tenth on the final run.

#9 – Chase Elliott

Previous Ranking: 6

What a dud of a race for Chase Elliott. Although a poorly timed caution trapped Elliott down a lap during the race, the Southern 500 was not going swimmingly for the 9 team before that moment. Surprisingly, Hendrick Motorsports missed the mark this week. Even with his mediocre performance, Elliott’s 17th place finish turned out to be Hendrick’s best result.

#8 – Brad Keselowski

Previous Ranking: 8

Before analyzing where each driver would be ranked, it seemed that Brad Keselowski would be slipping out of the Top-10 this week. Afterall, Keselowski spent most of his race deep in the field after serving a penalty for Logano’s crew securing his left front tire. However, Keselowski managed to get his lap back and drive up to 15th by the time the checkered flag waved. While it was not a spectacular day, overcoming that adversity helps keep Keselowski at 8th this week.

#7 – Bubba Wallace

Previous Ranking: 9

Bubba Wallace had the ideal first race of the Round of 16. His car was fast enough to compete for a Top-5, which helped him rake in 10 stage points. The 23 team executed on pit road and never made a massive mistake to put Wallace deep in the field. While he was not competing for the win, Wallace rarely ran outside the Top-10.

#6 – Tyler Reddick

Previous Ranking: 7

On Lap 1, it looked to be a disastrous day for Tyler Reddick. Josh Berry slammed into Reddick’s left side after getting loose in Turn 2. With the major impact, it was shocking to see Reddick not come to pit road to at least access the damage. That was the right call though, as the 45 maintained its pace throughout the race. Reddick turned out to be Chase Briscoe’s biggest threat. Although the 45 seemed to be the faster car, Reddick could not overcome the aero advantage of the 18.

#5 – William Byron

Previous Ranking: 2

The past 3 races have been a rough stretch for William Byron. Despite looking solid in the Top-10 early, Byron fell into the mid-pack after backing up to secure a potential loose wheel on a pit stop. Once he got trapped in the teens, Byron could not recover. During the final run, the 24 slowly faded down the leaderboard until he fell out of the Top-20.

#4 – Kyle Larson

Previous Ranking: 4

Gen7 cars are very fragile. After netting 12 stage points, Larson’s Top-10 car turned sour in the final stage. A seemingly normal bump on a restart damaged the 5 car enough to ruin his race. Larson could not maintain speed and dropped like an anchor out of the Top-10. He managed to stay within the Top-20, but the 5 team had more speed in their car than a 19th place finish.

#3 – Denny Hamlin

Previous Ranking: 5

If Denny Hamlin’s pit crew did not mess up back-to-back stops, would he have been able to fight for the win? Hamlin deprived Chase Briscoe of his fourth pole in a crown jewel event on Saturday. He managed to led 12 laps after overtaking Briscoe on a restart. However, his slow pit stops sent him deep into the field where he struggled to recover. The long green flag runs played into the team’s pit strategy well, where Hamlin was able to overcome his poor track position. Heading into WWT Raceway, Hamlin sits atop of the points (sans Briscoe).

#2 – Ryan Blaney

Previous Ranking: 1

Many expected Ryan Blaney to be a factor on Sunday. During Throwback Weekend, Blaney’s long run speed should have brought him the win. The theory was that he would have been able to replicate that performance this past weekend. Instead, Blaney barely nabbed a Top-10 in Stage 1 and then got sent spinning checking up for Kyle Busch in Stage 2.

#1 – Chase Briscoe

Previous Ranking: 3

For the first time this year, Chase Briscoe has hit the top spot in the FitStop Performance Power Rankings. It was a dominating effort on Sunday for Briscoe. Despite missing the pole, Briscoe took the lead early and seldomly let it go. On the short run, no car could touch Briscoe. His long run speed was more questionable, but the pit cycle or a caution would prevent another driver from overtaking him. As for the finish, Briscoe would have made Ryan Newman proud with his blocking skills.

Honorable Mention

Ryan Preece – What looked to be a Top-10 day turned sour by the end of the race for Ryan Preece. Losing his brakes in the final stage helped keep him out of the rankings.

Christopher Bell – Easy come, easy go. Christopher Bell exits the rankings this week after getting damage on pit road by crashing into Carson Hocevar.

Erik Jones – Back-to-back Top-5s for Erik Jones sees him hit his best mark since 2020.

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!