FitStop Performance 2025 Week 35 Power Rankings

The penultimate race of the season took place at Martinsville Speedway this past week. Marking the final elimination race of the playoffs, the stakes were high heading into the Xfinity 500. 6 playoff drivers were fighting for the final two spots in the Championship Four. With Joe Gibbs Racing already having two drivers locked in, the question was whether Hendrick Motorsports or Team Penske would manage to keep the third driver out. Would a driver outside of the playoffs play spoiler by winning and taking away the automatic bid? In the end, an enthralling race ended the Round of 8 with two heavyweight teams moving on to Phoenix. However, those pesky playoffs are not much of factor in the FitStop Performance 2025 Week 35 Power Rankings.

#10 – Chris Buescher

Previous Ranking: 8

Fall Martinsville has been a struggle for Chris Buescher over the past two seasons. Both times, a poor qualifying effort led to going down a lap early and never recovering. An opportunity to take a wave around was passed up by the 17 team due to the nature of the race at that point. As it has been all season for Buescher, luck proved to be against him as a caution came out immediately. Still, Buescher manages to hang onto a spot in the rankings.

#9 – Ryan Preece

Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention

If Ryan Preece’s pit crew did not pick the worst time to have bad pit stops, a non-playoff driver could have won this race. Preece looked to be the strongest on the long run, often exceeding the speed of the leaders. If the caution on Lap 379, the 60 car looked poised to be a threat for William Byron and Ryan Blaney.

#8 – Joey Logano

Previous Ranking: 10

A strong effort from the 22 team was not enough to get Joey Logano into the Championship Four. Logano never got to the lead, but managed to ride in second for much of Stage 1. However, the speed was not there for the 22 to contend with William Byron and Ryan Blaney.

#7 – Tyler Reddick

Previous Ranking: 7

After cutting his long hair, Tyler Reddick went out at Martinsville and again had an unmemorable run. Finishing outside the Top-10, Reddick fell down a lap early but got the free pass with the Stage 1 caution. Sunday was an improvement though over last year’s performance.

#6 – Christopher Bell

Previous Ranking: 6

Christopher Bell finishes the first 9 races of the playoffs with the most points scored by any of the playoff drivers. Yet, he will be on the outside looking in for the Championship Four. What a great format. As for Martinsville, Bell struggled mightily in Stage 2 before a caution helped save his track position. Although the 20 car had fire off speed, the long runs killed the 20 car.

#5 – Denny Hamlin

Previous Ranking: 3

A blown engine spoiled Denny Hamlin’s day in Stage 3. Before the blown engine, Hamlin was the best Joe Gibbs Racing entry in the field. Since Hamlin had absolutely nothing to race for, the blown engine means little in the grand scheme of things. Could it be bad foreshadowing for Phoenix? Maybe, but more than likely Toyota/JGR were experimenting with the engine since there was no risk.

#4 – William Byron

Previous Ranking: 5

A dominate performance by William Byron secured his spot in the Championship Four. Winning the pole on Saturday led to Byron sweeping the stages and collecting the win. When most thought Ryan Blaney would run away with the race after gaining the lead, Byron managed to stay in the 12’s tire tracks. When an opening arose, Byron took full advantage of it to make the race winning pass.

#3 – Chase Briscoe

Previous Ranking: 1

See Denny Hamlin’s section about the engine and copy/paste it here. Chase Briscoe was not running too well before the engine expired though, barely hanging onto the lead lap in Stage 1. A meaningless race with a DNF does lead to Briscoe dropping from the top spot though.

#2 – Ryan Blaney

Previous Ranking: 3

When Ryan Blaney took the lead in the final stage, it looked to be curtains for his competitors. Blaney steadily drove through the field after starting 31st. As expected, the long run speed was there. Blaney managed his tires well and took advantage of others who failed to do so. However, William Byron’s pressure during the final stage forced Blaney to burn his tires off. Even with time left after the pass, Blaney could not keep pace.

#1 – Kyle Larson

Previous Ranking: 2

Back to the top of the FitStop Performance Power Rankings for Kyle Larson this week. While Larson takes over the #1 spot, it comes off the back of less than spectacular race for the 5 team. It is a bit crazy to think Larson has advanced to the Championship Four without a single win these playoffs. Yet, here he is. Larson was a Top-5 car at Martinsville all race long though. Will he have the race winning speed next week when the lights are brightest though?

Honorable Mention

Chase Elliott – A valiant effort from Chase Elliott almost led him back into the power rankings, but he fell a tick short.

Brad Keselowski – Brad Keselowski’s finish does not represent how good of a car he had on Sunday. Unfortunately, poor qualifying hurt him as he got trapped a lap down early and never recovered.

Todd Gilliland – What a run for Todd Gilliland. Fresh off a 2nd place at Talladega, Gilliland put together a great race where he finished Top-10 in every stage.

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