Five Drivers Who REALLY Need NASCAR’s Off-Week Right Now

By Colin Ward

BRISTOL, TN- APRIL 13: Alex Bowman (#48 Hendrick Motorsports Ally Chevrolet) and Ryan Blaney (#12 Team Penske Menards\Richmond Water Heaters Ford) talk prior to the running of the NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 on April 13, 2025, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN. (Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is nine races in, and this week marks the first and only off-week for Easter. The break couldn’t come soon enough for a few drivers in particular.

While some, like Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin, have enjoyed early success, others could use the time off to regroup—whether that means more laps in the simulator, studying film, taking a vacation, or even heading to an Aaron Rodgers-style darkness retreat. Whatever it takes to turn things around, this is their chance.

So who are the drivers that desperately need a vacation?

5. Alex Bowman

Let’s start with a guy who’s looked fast—on Saturdays, at least. Alex Bowman has already snagged two poles this season, including a record-setting lap last weekend at Bristol.

Don’t get me wrong, Bowman’s had a solid start overall. He’s consistently run inside the top 10, and if the playoffs started today, he’d be the 11th seed.

The issue? How he’s finished lately.

In the last three races, Bowman’s best finish is 27th. Not necessarily reflective of how he and the team have run (he did finish 2nd at Homestead, after all), but bad luck has plagued the No. 48 team. 

They need this week to shake it off and reset. Hopefully their luck will turn around next week at Talladega (yikes…).

4. Ty Gibbs

Gibbs’ struggles are almost the opposite of Bowman’s. He’s actually been solid the last two weeks, with back-to-back top-10s—but oh brother—it was rough leading up to that.

Before his top 10 at Darlington two weeks ago, Gibbs’ best finish of the season was 13th. He also had five straight races finishing outside the top 20.

Thanks to the recent turnaround, he now sits 20th in the points. Not where a JGR car should be, but he’s digging himself out of the hole and giving himself a shot to point his way into the playoffs.

3. Brad Keselowski

Brad K. might be one of the biggest surprises this season—and not in a good way. There’s no sugarcoating it: he’s been terrible.

The numbers don’t lie: zero top-10s, zero laps led, a best finish of 11th, and an average finish of 25th. That puts him 31st in points, well outside the playoff picture.

For a driver-owner who made the playoffs last year with a Darlington win and had RFK trending upward, this is a huge step back. Whether it’s the cars, strategy, or just plain bad luck, something’s clearly off with the No. 6 crew.

If anyone needs a reset, it’s Brad. The off-week might be the perfect time to dig deep and figure out how to turn this around—because time is already running out if he wants to make the playoffs. 

2. Shane van Gisbergen

Truthfully, I almost forgot to include SVG on this list—mainly because I forget he’s even running full-time in the Cup Series. My weekly reminder usually comes when he inevitably causes at least one caution every Sunday.

Jokes aside, I’ll try not to be too hard on him. It’s his first full season in the NASCAR Cup Series after switching from Supercars, and that’s a massive transition. The Cup Series field is just too good—too fast, too precise. Any rookie is going to struggle to keep up.

But it’s been really bad.

He’s averaging a finish of 28th through nine races and currently sits 34th in points. His only decent run came with a 6th-place finish at COTA. 

The No. 88 team needs this off-week to regroup—whether it’s soul-searching or tracking down whoever’s sticking pins in their voodoo doll.

1. Ryan Blaney’s Pit Crew

Yes, you read that right—I’m putting a pit crew at the top of this list.

Ryan Blaney has been running well this year, but pit road has absolutely killed him at times. Most notably at Darlington, where a costly mistake during a late pit stop cost him the win.

He took the lead with less than 30 laps to go, only to lose it in the pits before the overtime restart.

And it’s not just a one-time thing. Before Bristol, this crew ranked 25th in average pit stop performance—not what you want to see from a championship-caliber team.

To Blaney’s credit, he’s been able to overcome it on the track. But constantly being behind the 8-ball will catch up to the No. 12 team if they don’t clean things up fast.

Bottom Line:

Everyone needs a break sometimes—even the best drivers in the world. For these five (well, four drivers and one crew), this off-week is a much-needed opportunity to regroup, refocus, and reload.

Whether it’s dialing in setups, tightening pit stops, or just hitting reset mentally, this pause in the schedule might be exactly what they need to right the ship before the summer grind of 28 straight race weekends kicks in.