FitStop Performance 2026 Week 3 Power Rankings

Circuit of the Americas marked the conclusion of the chaotic kick-off to the NASCAR Cup Series season. With two superspeedways and a road course, the beginning of NASCAR’s season certainly throws a wrench into things. Well, outside of who is winning these races. For the second straight season, a driver ends up winning at least 2 of the first 3 races. History was made this year as the same driver won all three opening races. A bit ironic that a piece of the schedule that lends itself to chaos oversees a dominant stretch from one driver. That or the best NASCAR cover-up fans will ever see. Outside of the race winner, COTA never hit the highs of the past couple of races there but also managed to avoid the embarrassing lows. Could it match Week 2’s rankings shuffle though? Find out in the FitStop Performance 2026 Week 3 Power Rankings.

#10 – Shane van Gisbergen

Previous Ranking: Not Ranked

Putting himself in the rankings for the first time this year, Shane van Gisbergen fell a little short in claiming his 6th straight road course win. In a car that seemed to struggle, van Gisbergen managed to consistently wield his way through the field multiple times. It is a testament to his skills on the road courses in this Gen7 car. While many will assume SVG makes it here due to his second place finish, his Top-10 at EchoPark Speedway aided his endeavors to go from unranked to #10 this week.

#9 – Christopher Bell

Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention

A brief hiatus in the honorable mentions ends as Christopher Bell moves up to 9th. Bell earns a podium finish after the 20 team grinded through the day. The 20 car struggled on the long runs, much like many of the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas. However, Bell remained competitive and a strategy of taking new tires late almost looked to work for a win. Bell drove up to third, but stalled out there.

#8 – Denny Hamlin

Previous Ranking: 8

Denny Hamlin called his Top-10 on Sunday a win. Hamlin has struggled to put together a full race on a road course in the Gen7 car, so a hard fought 10th place finish should feel deserved. However, the 11 car certainly did not run up there all race and did benefit from late race chicanery. Hence why Hamlin remains in the 8th spot.

#7 – Chris Buescher

Previous Ranking: 6

Does this past Sunday provide a preview to another season of bad luck for Chris Buescher? After scoring points in Stage 1, Buescher’s journey back to the Top-10 was a steady one. However, a late race run-in with Richard Childress Racing spoiled a good day. Due to no fault of his own, Buescher got sent spinning in Turn 20 after Kyle Busch bulldozed Jesse Love. A bad result for what should have been a decent day.

#6 – Bubba Wallace

Previous Ranking: 4

Similar to Denny Hamlin, the result is not indicative of how well Bubba Wallace ran the entirety of the DuraMAX Grand Prix. That said, Wallace should continue to be commended for his improvements on the road courses as he had the 23 car inside the Top-20 for most of the afternoon. An 11th place finish is a good for Wallace, but his overall day was not enough to keep him from slipping a few spots.

#5 – Kyle Larson

Previous Ranking: 7

While there might be plenty of drivers who were thankful to be away from the superspeedways, none might have more than Kyle Larson. After getting caught up in wrecks the first two races, Kyle Larson got to enjoy a more pleasant driving experience on Sunday. Well, if you ignore the blistering heat and failing cool suit. Larson picked up his first Top-10 of the season at COTA.

#4 – William Byron

Previous Ranking: 5

William Byron’s race certainly looked better than his result. While 13th is not a poor finish, it does a bit of disservice to how well Byron was driving up until the finish. He managed to lead a lap and looked to be a Top-5 car. However, things got away from the 24 team as the race arrived to the finish.

#3 – Chase Elliott

Previous Ranking: 2

Another week, another quietly solid race for Chase Elliott. Sure, he slips a spot in the power rankings this week. However, that is due to the performance of another driver rather than the mistakes of Elliott. It was a quiet race for the 9 team, where they mostly ran in the back half of the Top-10. Once again, not flashing any race winning speed but enough to be consistent.

#2 – Ryan Blaney

Previous Ranking: 3

During Stage 1, it looked as if this was going to be Ryan Blaney’s race to lose. After practice on Saturday, drivers noticed how fast the 12 car was and Blaney lived up to the expectation early on Sunday. Leading the majority of Stage 1, Blaney lost the lead on the Stage 2 restart and never got it back. Tyler Reddick managed to keep him at bay during Stage 2 and beyond. Still, it was a strong day for the 12 team that they can easily build upon with great tracks for Blaney upcoming.

#1 – Tyler Reddick

Previous Ranking: 1

There was no chance that Tyler Reddick would be dethroned after a history making performance on Sunday. After taking it easy in Stage 1, Reddick pushed himself to the lead in Stage 2 and never looked back. Leading a race high 58 laps, the 23XI Racing driver picked up his third straight win to kick off the season. No one else in Cup Series history has accomplished this feat. Now, the goal will be to go 4-for-4.

Honorable Mention

Chase Briscoe – Chase Briscoe looked to be scoring his first Top-5 of the season until the 19’s transmission gave out, leading to a last place finish.

Joey Logano – A Top-15 was a fine effort for Joey Logano, but not enough to catapult him into the power rankings this week.

AJ Allmendinger – Hats off to AJ Allmendinger. Scoring his first Top-10 of the season, Allmendinger did so while battling the extreme heat inside his car. Plus, he has 3 Top-20s to kick of 2026.

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!