FitStop Performance 2026 Week 5 Power Rankings

Wrapping up the west coast swing, Las Vegas served as host for the first intermediate track of the season. After a chaotic start to the year, the Pennzoil 400 would be the first test of where these teams stack against each other. Would some of the hot starts from the unexpected teams continue? For the expected contenders who have struggled thus far, would Las Vegas be the start of the return to form? As it turned out, the usual suspects found their way to the front. There were few surprises during Sunday’s race, as Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing lead the way. Although the underdogs were nonfactors, that does not mean there will be no movement in the rankings. Phoenix might have jostled things a bit last week, but Las Vegas has the potential to throw a wrench into the FitStop Performance 2026 Week 5 Power Rankings.

#10 – Ty Gibbs

Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention

Cracking his way into the rankings this week, Ty Gibbs is off to an impressive start to the 2026 season. After getting caught up in incidents on the superspeedways, Gibbs has rattled off three straight Top-5 finishes. It is a promising sign for the young driver, who could use a strong season to help brush off some of the unsavory things being brought up in NASCOURT.

#9 – Chris Buescher

Previous Ranking: 9

The lone driver to break up the Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing party at the front of the field was Chris Buescher. A strong qualifying effort for the RFK driver kept him running essentially in the Top-10 all race long. If Buescher could have been able to drive through dirty air a bit better, his pace could have seen him in the Top-5.

#8 – Bubba Wallace

Previous Ranking: 5

The rankings are tight right now, hence why Bubba Wallace drops a few spots after a ninth place finish. Wallace was fast all weekend long, but he did not stack up to the Hendrick/JGR cars near the front. Still sitting second in points, Wallace will be difficult to knock down further in the rankings.

#7 – Chase Elliott

Previous Ranking: 7

After being a bit worried about Chase Elliott last week, the 9 team rebounds well to give Elliott his best finish at Las Vegas in the Gen7 era. If the race lasted another 2-3 laps, there is a good possibility that the 9 car goes to victory lane instead of the 11. Consistency with this team will continue to be key and seeing a strong performance at a track Elliott has struggled is a promising sign.

#6 – William Byron

Previous Ranking: 4

As mentioned with Bubba Wallace, the difference between the drivers within the rankings right now is tight. At one point during the Pennzoil 400, it looked as if Byron would win the race. Instead, he finishes in third behind his Hendrick teammate. It might be a bit unfair to drop him after his performance this week, but the other drivers had compelling cases to move up.

#5 – Denny Hamlin

Previous Ranking: 8

If Denny Hamlin is not clocked for speeding during the Stage 1 caution, would this have been a world-class butt whooping? The 11 car was inarguably the strongest in the field, especially considering how quickly he made it back to the lead after the penalty. Despite the penalty, Hamlin managed to lead the most laps. While the long runs were not Hamlin’s best, he manage the car well enough to hold off Chase Elliott at the end.

#4 – Christopher Bell

Previous Ranking: 6

Back to back strong runs from Christopher Bell vaults him up the rankings. When Bell’s pit crew gave him the lead on the final restart, it seemed set that Bell would cash out with the win. However, his teammate managed to pass him early in the run. Still, Bell led 31 laps and captured his second straight Top-5 finish.

#3 – Ryan Blaney

Previous Ranking: 2

An off day as a whole for the Team Penske organization. While Ryan Blaney’s day was not bad, his 12 car could not meaningfully compete with the top two organizations. Blaney lurked around the backend of the Top-10 until the only natural caution arrived at the most unfortunate time. Blaney had kicked off the green flag pit cycle at the time, so the caution trapped him a lap down and forced him to take the wave around.

#2 – Kyle Larson

Previous Ranking: 3

Stage 2 as the Kyle Larson show. Larson snagged the lead on a nifty three wide pass with a little help from his teammate. He used that pass to lead the second most laps in the race (62) until that same teammate passed him before the end of the stage. A bad pit stop late in the race trapped Larson in the back half of the Top-10.

#1 – Tyler Reddick

Previous Ranking: 1

For the fourth week in a row, Tyler Reddick remains the #1 driver in the FitStop Performance Power Rankings. Similar to Phoenix, Reddick’s car had good speed to be in the Top-5, but never could contend for the win. Honestly, Bubba Wallace looked to be the better car between the two (main) 23XI Racing drivers. Still, Reddick’s hot start to the season has made him tough to drop from the top spot. However, more races like this (and strong performances from 2-4 ranked drivers) could see the points leader lose his top spot.

Honorable Mention

Chase Briscoe –  Chase Briscoe sped on the way to the track and then he did it on pit road in Stage 1. A long day to grind back onto to the lead lap, Briscoe managed to salvage the day with a Top-10.

Shane van Gisbergen – While the entire Trackhouse organization looked slow, Shane van Gisbergen’s last place finish is the result of his save on Lap 1 of the race where he broke the front splitter.

Brad Keselowski – Picking up his second Top-10 of the season, Brad Keselowski’s Las Vegas would have been better if he qualified where his two teammates did on Saturday.

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