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Bubble Watch, presented by Xfinity: Where drivers stand before Bristol
By Staff Report | Thursday, September 15, 2022
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Only one driver is locked into the Round of 12 after two races. With six drivers near the elimination line separated by just 15 points, all hands will be on deck for the first playoff elimination race. See where drivers nearest to the elimination line stand before Saturday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m., ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), with stats and ratings provided by Racing Insights.
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Ross Chastain
Points above elimination line: 26 | Full standings
Trending -- Kansas Snapped Cold Streak: After some mechanical issues at Darlington, Chastain bounced back last Sunday at Kansas with a seventh-place finish to build a decent gap over the elimination line.
Bristol outlook -- Cold: Chastain finished 14th in the Bristol Night Race last year, and after a handful of run-ins with drivers during the regular season, the two-time winner in 2022 so far may have other obstacles than just completing 500 laps around the 0.533-mile short track.
Points above elimination line: 26 | Full standings
Trending -- Kansas Snapped Cold Streak: After some mechanical issues at Darlington, Chastain bounced back last Sunday at Kansas with a seventh-place finish to build a decent gap over the elimination line.
Bristol outlook -- Cold: Chastain finished 14th in the Bristol Night Race last year, and after a handful of run-ins with drivers during the regular season, the two-time winner in 2022 so far may have other obstacles than just completing 500 laps around the 0.533-mile short track.
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Daniel Suárez
Points above elimination line: 6 | Full standings
Trending -- Hit or Miss: Suárez scored a top 10 at Kansas last Sunday, but after some run-ins and a late penalty at Darlington, he had to settle for an 18th-place finish.
Bristol outlook -- Cold: Suárez's best finishes at Bristol came in 2019 with a pair of eighth-place runs in the spring and night race. However, he has three straight finishes of 18th or worse on the 0.533-mile short track.
Points above elimination line: 6 | Full standings
Trending -- Hit or Miss: Suárez scored a top 10 at Kansas last Sunday, but after some run-ins and a late penalty at Darlington, he had to settle for an 18th-place finish.
Bristol outlook -- Cold: Suárez's best finishes at Bristol came in 2019 with a pair of eighth-place runs in the spring and night race. However, he has three straight finishes of 18th or worse on the 0.533-mile short track.
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Tyler Reddick
Points above elimination line: 2 | Full standings
Trending -- Kansas Snapped Hot Streak: After three straight finishes of seventh or better, Reddick cut a tire while leading on Lap 66 on the 1.5-mile oval last Sunday. The poor result saw the two-time Cup Series winner plummet down to 11th in the playoff standings.
Bristol outlook -- Hit or Miss: Reddick finished fourth in the 2020 edition of the Bristol Night Race but finished outside the top 10 in last year's race. He'll need something closer to the former to advance in this year's playoffs.
Points above elimination line: 2 | Full standings
Trending -- Kansas Snapped Hot Streak: After three straight finishes of seventh or better, Reddick cut a tire while leading on Lap 66 on the 1.5-mile oval last Sunday. The poor result saw the two-time Cup Series winner plummet down to 11th in the playoff standings.
Bristol outlook -- Hit or Miss: Reddick finished fourth in the 2020 edition of the Bristol Night Race but finished outside the top 10 in last year's race. He'll need something closer to the former to advance in this year's playoffs.
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Austin Cindric
Points above elimination line: 2 | Full standings
Trending -- Cold: Cindric's had a fairly quiet and calm start to the postseason, but finishes outside the top 10 won't help the Daytona 500 champion advance in the playoffs.
Bristol outlook -- No Cup Experience: No past Cup races on the concrete for the rookie so it's nearly impossible to gauge how Cindric will do in his fight to hold on to a Round of 12 spot, especially with the Next Gen's debut on the surface.
Points above elimination line: 2 | Full standings
Trending -- Cold: Cindric's had a fairly quiet and calm start to the postseason, but finishes outside the top 10 won't help the Daytona 500 champion advance in the playoffs.
Bristol outlook -- No Cup Experience: No past Cup races on the concrete for the rookie so it's nearly impossible to gauge how Cindric will do in his fight to hold on to a Round of 12 spot, especially with the Next Gen's debut on the surface.
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Kyle Busch
Points below elimination line: 2 | Full standings
Trending -- Cold: Like Kevin Harvick, the two-time Cup champion couldn't have started the playoffs any worse. The driver of the No. 18 Toyota suffered a shocking engine failure while dominating the Southern 500. Then, a pit road penalty and spin forced him to settle for a 26th-place run at Kansas.
Bristol outlook -- Warm: Busch is the active wins leader inside 'The Last Great Colosseum' and even won the dirt race in the spring. If anyone should get themselves above the elimination line that will enter Saturday night below it, it will be Busch.
Points below elimination line: 2 | Full standings
Trending -- Cold: Like Kevin Harvick, the two-time Cup champion couldn't have started the playoffs any worse. The driver of the No. 18 Toyota suffered a shocking engine failure while dominating the Southern 500. Then, a pit road penalty and spin forced him to settle for a 26th-place run at Kansas.
Bristol outlook -- Warm: Busch is the active wins leader inside 'The Last Great Colosseum' and even won the dirt race in the spring. If anyone should get themselves above the elimination line that will enter Saturday night below it, it will be Busch.
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Austin Dillon
Points below elimination line: 3 | Full standings
Trending -- Cold Except For Win: Outside of his Daytona win, Dillon only has one top-10 run in his last 16 races. He finished 17th and 14th at Darlington and Kansas, respectively.
Bristol outlook -- Mostly Cold: With eight finishes of 12th or worse in his last nine races at Bristol, Dillon will likely need help if he is to advance out of the Round of 16. With the way the first two races have gone, that could possibly be in the cards for him Saturday night.
Points below elimination line: 3 | Full standings
Trending -- Cold Except For Win: Outside of his Daytona win, Dillon only has one top-10 run in his last 16 races. He finished 17th and 14th at Darlington and Kansas, respectively.
Bristol outlook -- Mostly Cold: With eight finishes of 12th or worse in his last nine races at Bristol, Dillon will likely need help if he is to advance out of the Round of 16. With the way the first two races have gone, that could possibly be in the cards for him Saturday night.
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Chase Briscoe
Points below elimination line: 9 | Full standings
Trending -- Cold: Briscoe had a playoff debut at Darlington he'd like to forget. However, he nabbed a 13th-place result last Sunday at Kansas that opened the door for him to point his way in Saturday night.
Bristol outlook -- OK Start: There's little to go off of for Briscoe at Bristol but he did have a solid 13th-place run in his first Cup outing on the concrete last fall.
Points below elimination line: 9 | Full standings
Trending -- Cold: Briscoe had a playoff debut at Darlington he'd like to forget. However, he nabbed a 13th-place result last Sunday at Kansas that opened the door for him to point his way in Saturday night.
Bristol outlook -- OK Start: There's little to go off of for Briscoe at Bristol but he did have a solid 13th-place run in his first Cup outing on the concrete last fall.
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Kevin Harvick
Points below elimination line: 35 | Full standings
Trending -- Cold: Despite entering the playoffs with two wins, Harvick failed to capitalize with misfortunes as he DNF'd in the first two playoff races at Darlington and Kansas.
Bristol outlook -- Hot: Harvick came through in crunch time to clinch a playoff spot with back-to-back wins at Michigan and Richmond. There should be little doubt that Harvick can do it again at Bristol with his back against the wall. He was the winner of the 2020 edition of the Bristol Night Race and was in line to win last year's race before an infamous run-in with Chase Elliott.
Points below elimination line: 35 | Full standings
Trending -- Cold: Despite entering the playoffs with two wins, Harvick failed to capitalize with misfortunes as he DNF'd in the first two playoff races at Darlington and Kansas.
Bristol outlook -- Hot: Harvick came through in crunch time to clinch a playoff spot with back-to-back wins at Michigan and Richmond. There should be little doubt that Harvick can do it again at Bristol with his back against the wall. He was the winner of the 2020 edition of the Bristol Night Race and was in line to win last year's race before an infamous run-in with Chase Elliott.
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