FitStop Performance 2026 Week 1 Power Rankings

As the confetti settled on Tyler Reddick’s winning race car, the Daytona 500 ended with a bang rather than a whimper. NASCAR’s decision to bump the race up an hour was a wise one as this was the first 500 since 2019 to not have any weather issues. The race ran from green to checkered without any precipitation or lightning delays. As for the on-track action, it was a mixed bag. Stages 1 and 2 were sporty, but the final stage suffered from the Toyota pace cars at the front of the field. Fuel saving is one thing, but the pack looked to be in slow motion. Luckily, a late caution allowed for an exciting 4-lap sprint to the finish. Credit to NASCAR for their hesitation to wave the yellow as well.

With the Daytona 500 in the bag, it is time for the return of the FitStop Performance Power Rankings. Last season saw plenty of shuffling throughout the season. Now with The Chase, could that be limited or unlock more comers and goers? A focus on consistency might keep the top drivers near the front. At the same time, more drivers might find themselves in contention throughout the season without making Hail Mary moves for a win. Either way, it should be an exciting season to write these rankings. Plus, kicking off the season with two superspeedways and a road course certainly provides plenty of opportunity for new faces in the mix.

Power Rankings Process

For those new to the Power Rankings, the way it works is that every fulltime Cup Series driver is evaluated week to week. Everything from the race weekend is fair game, including practice, qualifying, and the entire race. While results certainly are important, the rankings will attempt to reflect how well a driver performed from start to finish. A driver who runs inside the Top-5 all race long to be wrecked out with 2 to go will be viewed more favorably than a driver who avoids that wreck to jump from 23rd to 4th.

At the start, the rankings from last year’s Finale are used as the “previous week’s ranking”. Early in the season, there will be more movement since the sample is limited. You might see more drastic movements in the first 10 weeks than the last 10. With more data, the movements will be less substantial. Large movements up or down the rankings will be more so based on a streak of races rather than one. Obviously, there are exceptions to this. That said, the goal is not to have insane surges and drops for the sake of it. No unranked driver one week is going to jump to #1 on a single race.

Before heading into the 2026 Week 1 Power Rankings formerly, here is how 2025 finished:

1. William Byron
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Ryan Blaney
4. Kyle Larson
5. Christopher Bell
6. Chase Elliott
7. Tyler Reddick
8. Chris Buescher
9. Chase Briscoe
10. Bubba Wallace

Honorable Mentions: Joey Logano, Ryan Preece, & Alex Bowman

#10 – Christopher Bell

Previous Ranking: 5

It is never a good ending to a race when your car is being towed away. Unfortunately for Christopher Bell, that is how is Daytona 500 ended. After back-to-back third place finishes in 2022 and 2023, Bell now has two straight 30+ finishes in the Great American Race. Obviously, he will bounce back from this. Maybe he can win Atlanta again this coming weekend.

#9 – Bubba Wallace

Previous Ranking: 10

After wrecking in his duel race, Bubba Wallace ran a clean Daytona 500. Avoiding any of the major wrecks, Wallace managed the race well. He won Stage 2 after the seas parted for him. With that track position, he led the majority of the final stage while running 40% throttle. His 40 laps led were enough to be a race high. The best credit to give Wallace was the save he made not running over a slow William Byron heading into Turn 1 on the final lap. It might have cost him a better finish, but it kept his car running.

#8 – Joey Logano

Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention

Somehow, someway, Joey Logano finds himself contending for the Daytona 500 win again. He might have been more of a pusher for Brad Keselowski, but his position throughout most of the final stage would not have foreshadowed a podium finish. Marred in the back of Daytona traffic, Logano rode around frustrated until the final pit stop. During the last restart, he shot himself out of a cannon to get into the lead part of the pack. A third place finish helps put Logano into the rankings for Week 1, plus his duel win as well.

#7 – Denny Hamlin

Previous Ranking: 2

For as good as Denny Hamlin usually runs at Daytona, it was an odd day for the 11 team. Never finding himself near the front too often, Hamlin saw his one time at the front squandered by an errant move by Justin Allgaier. The contact between the two led to the first “big one” of the race. Hamlin was able to continue with a damaged car, but essentially took himself out of the running after being part of another wreck with his teammate Christopher Bell.

#6 – Chris Buescher

Previous Ranking: 8

Thursday’s wreck in his duel must have cleared all of the bad juju for Chris Buescher’s Daytona 500. Three times during the running of the Great American Race did Buescher have incidents happen in front of him. Every time, the 17 managed to get through it with only flat spotted tires to show. Buescher ran a solid race where he scored Stage 1 points and looked to be in prime position to push Brad Keselowski to the win. Instead, he had to settle for a 7th place finish while his boss wrecked.

#5 – Kyle Larson

Previous Ranking: 4

The lone track type where Kyle Larson can walk away with a 16th place finish and feel pretty good. Larson’s bad luck on superspeedways has been long documented. On Sunday, it looked to be that way again after he was caught up in the Stage 2 wreck. The 5 team removed most of the body around the right front tire, which killed the aerodynamics for Larson to be a lead car. However, he was fast enough to keep up with the pack and managed to bring the car back to pit road by race’s end.

#4 – William Byron

Previous Ranking: 1

For a second, it looked like William Byron was going to get his third straight Daytona 500 win. As Erik Jones and Carson Hocevar wrecked in front of the field, Byron’s red, white, and blue car was sitting there in the lead on the inside lane. One quick trigger of a caution flag and history would have been made. Instead, Byron lost control of his car and slowed to catch it. He fell back in the pack and finished in 12th. Until that point though, the 24 received damage in two separate incidents that jeopardized his quest for 3 in a row.

#3 – Tyler Reddick

Previous Ranking: 7

The storylines from this win write themselves. Tyler Reddick, a driver for the team who sued NASCAR, wins the Daytona 500 with Michael Jordan in the building. Reddick, who had a rough season on-and-off the track, wins on his 9th different style of track. Chumba Casino, the sponsor, wins their second Crown Jewel event in under a year. Reddick’s winning decision arrived by pitting with the RFK trio on the final stop. That put himself in the best position to win leading into the final restart.

#2 – Chase Elliott

Previous Ranking: 6

So close. Chase Elliott exited Turn 4 as the race leader. However, he lost the momentum from his drafting partner as the 23XI Racing tandem pulled around him. Maybe he could have drag raced Reddick to the line, but his bumper got clipped entering the tri-oval in the Keselowski/Herbst incident. Despite wrecking to the finish, it was a good Speedweeks for Elliott. He won his duel and finished in the Top-5 for the 500.

#1 – Ryan Blaney

Previous Ranking: 3

Kicking off this year’s FitStop Performance Power Rankings in the top spot is Ryan Blaney. While it might feel like an underwhelming pick, only Blaney’s Daytona 500 result is bad. Blaney finished second in his duel, third in Stage 1, and second in Stage 2. Despite his 27th place finish, the mustached man left Daytona sitting 10th in points. The entire week was solid for Blaney. Getting caught up in the last lap wreck was the only thing he truly did wrong. That is why Blaney sits here this week as the #1 driver in the rankings.

Honorable Mention

Chase Briscoe – After qualifying on the front row for the second straight season, Chase Briscoe did not see much more success throughout Daytona Speedweeks.

Brad Keselowski – Entering the tri-oval, Brad Keselowski might have thought he had a chance to claim his first Daytona 500 win. Instead, Riley Herbst walled him in a late block. Still, Keselowski wound up 5th.

Zane Smith – Winning Stage 1 and almost pushing Chase Elliott to victory lane is enough to get Zane Smith his first appearance as an honorable mention in the Power Rankings.

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!