FitStop Performance 2025 Week 28 Power Rankings

Race 2 of the Round of 16 illuminated from WWT Raceway in Illinois. The flat, 1.25 mile track enjoyed its brief moment in the playoff spotlight. Heading into the race, the concern was that the Enjoy Illinois 300 would turn into a track position race. Were those concerns realized in the final product? Well, yes and no. Especially early in the event, tire wear allowed for passing with comers and goers. However, as the rubber started to lay in, the track morphed into a one-lane racing surface. Calling the race a mixed bag would be the most accurate description. Still, there were still moments in this race that altered the leaderboard. Darlington swayed the rankings a bit last week. Did WWT Raceway do the same for the FitStop Performance 2025 Week 28 Power Rankings?

#10 – Christopher Bell

Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention

According to Christopher Bell, the 20 car was the best in the field. Despite this, Bell only managed to finish 7th. Deciding to run long on the last cycle, the 20 team thought the fresher tires would give them the edge. Unfortunately, the last caution spoiled that plan. Although Sunday was enough to get Bell back into the rankings, his winless streak continues.

#9 – Chris Buescher

Previous Ranking: 10

Consistency is key. Picking up his 15th Top-10 of the season, Chris Buescher enjoyed a solid day. The 17 was firmly stuck around the 9th position all race. Even when fortune found Buescher, his time around the Top-5 never lasted long. Buescher bumps up a spot this week and looks forward to redeeming his poor short track performances at Bristol.

#8 – Chase Elliott

Previous Ranking: 9

Entering WWT Raceway, there was plenty of rear that Hendrick Motorsports would be severely behind. However, the Hendrick drivers featured in this week’s rankings proved that Hendrick brought their A game. Starting with Chase Elliott, another mediocre qualifying performance led to gloomy thoughts for the race. Instead, the 9 team maximized their day via strategy and found their way to the Top-5.

#7 – Tyler Reddick

Previous Ranking: 6

A week after being in contention for the win, Tyler Reddick found himself back in familiar territory. Once again being outran by his teammate, Reddick was stuck in the teens for most of the race. No stage points scored also hurts his cushion heading into Bristol.

#6 – Bubba Wallace

Previous Ranking: 7

Leading 73 laps and winning Stage 2 put a nice bow on a solid day for Bubba Wallace. Once he missed a gear on the Lap 154 restart, Wallace never found himself back near the front. He recovered well enough to secure another Top-10. However, this race will leave a question mark for the 23 team after being 2 laps shy of leading the most laps.

#5 – William Byron

Previous Ranking: 4

Despite dropping a spot in the rankings, William Byron’s Gateway race was not a bad one. He finished Stage 1 in fourth, but that would be the end of the highlights from the day. Still, the 24 team managed to avoid any costly mistakes that would set themselves up for disappointment heading into next weekend.

#4 – Kyle Larson

Previous Ranking: 5

Back-to-back weeks sees Kyle Larson’s Top-5 run spoiled by damage obtained during a restart. During the Wallace stack-up on the outside, the 5 car received rear end damage when he was plowed into. Had it not been for this incident, Larson could have been the one to find victory lane. Larson had the fastest pace in the field even after the damage. For the first time in a bit, Larson and the 5 team looked to be in the peak form fans expect from this team.

#3 – Ryan Blaney

Previous Ranking: 2

While Kyle Larson was in “peak form”, he did manage to rain on Ryan Blaney’s day. Attempting an aggressive maneuver to get around Blaney, Larson slid up the track into Blaney’s quarter panel. With the spin, Blaney lost his crucial track position. By the end of the race, Blaney managed to regain it but never felt like a threat for the win. A Top-5 usually helps maintain the previous spot in the rankings. However, when the race winner is directly behind you, that usually leads to a drop.

#2 – Denny Hamlin

Previous Ranking: 3

After Denny Hamlin’s postrace interview, there is only one question to ask: does the bandwagon breakdown before the end of Martinsville or in Phoenix? Jokes aside, Hamlin picked up his series leading fifth win of the season. Leading the most laps, the 11 team had to fend off a strong challenge from Chase Briscoe. However, the last caution of the day definitely helped Hamlin get around Briscoe.

#1 – Chase Briscoe

Previous Ranking: 1

Remaining at the top of the FitStop Performance Power Rankings is Chase Briscoe. How do you follow up a dominate performance in the Southern 500? Win a stage the following race and make bold strategy play to steal the win. Briscoe could have been upfront on merit though had it not been for a terrible stop in Stage 2. The 19 team did recover to put the car in the Top-10 heading into the final green flag stop. Making a bold move, James Small decided to take 2-tires on the stop. Had it not been for a caution, maybe Briscoe could have stolen the win from Denny Hamlin.

Honorable Mention

Brad Keselowski – It was a tough choice to drop Brad Keselowski from the rankings. A 10th place car, Keselowski tried to survive on old tires but dropped down the leaderboard quickly on the final run.

Ryan Preece – Although he did not finish in the Top-10, Ryan Preece’s race was an indictment of the grind-out mentality of the 60 team as they finished 13th.

John Hunter Nemechek – John Hunter Nemechek has kicked off the playoffs hot with back-to-back strong runs at Darlington and Gateway.

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!