Take 5: Shuffling and underdog stories at Bristol Night Race

Bristol Motor Speedway's annual night race didn't disappoint Saturday, providing a dramatic turn of events in the waning laps that nearly produced a first-time winner. With the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series ready to take a collective breath heading to an idle weekend, here are five stories to unpack from a starry Saturday night in Tennessee.

HAMLIN'S GREAT HEIGHTS: Saturday night's victory was Denny Hamlin's fourth of the season, thrusting him into tie for the series' lead and injecting his name into the conversation of championship favorites. The Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota group opened the season with a new crew chief in Chris Gabehart. That partnership produced quick chemistry and a Daytona 500 win off the bat, but may be peaking as the playoffs near. Hamlin's last five races: second, first, third, second and first. "Really it comes down to trust and faith in one another, faith in this group," Gabehart said. "I think trust is earned, it's not something that's given. I think fortunately we got off on a good foot, Denny and I, this race team. Over time he's just realized that if he stays in the game, we're going to have a shot at it."

SENTIMENTAL FAVORITE: While he placed one spot short of Victory Lane, Matt DiBenedetto won the hearts of the throng in attendance for Saturday night's Bristol event. The loudest cheers were reserved for the driver of the Leavine Family Racing No. 95, who announced just days earlier that he'd be moving on at season's end. Saturday night proved to be a buttoned-up audition for any prospective team owner willing to snap him up for 2020. "I want to win," DiBenedetto said. "People know I'm here to win and I think they know my dedication and passion for racing. I think that's what people, they can feel that. I think drivers can feel that, fans can feel that, my team can feel that. Yeah, I'm happy and proud to be proving myself because that's big. That's what I have to do. I have to earn it the old-school way."

COACH'S PLAY CALLS: The 2020 driver roster for Joe Gibbs Racing and its Leavine affiliate team gained some measure of clarity during the Bristol weekend, with DiBenedetto's ouster, Erik Jones' indications that a return was near and Christopher Bell's seeming rise to a Cup Series home with the organization. Post-race, Gibbs joked that his career as a Hall of Fame football coach taught him how to deliver non-answers, but he did shed some light on the potential timetable for firming up his NASCAR lineup. "I wish that things like this would go quicker," Gibbs said. "The only thing I say is, as quick as we can we would like to announce something. The problem is there's so many things that are involved with it. There's sponsors, so many things that have to get done. We're not there yet, but I'm hoping we're going to be there pretty quick."

PLAYOFF POSITIONING: Bristol's events provided a slight shake-up of the playoff picture, with Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Daniel Suarez and Clint Bowyer trading places on the bubble; Suarez is now a precarious in, with Bowyer a scant two points out. Seven-time series champ Jimmie Johnson lurks behind both, with the No. 48 driver sitting 26 points behind the cutline. Two regular-season races -- Darlington, Indianapolis -- remain to lock in the 16-driver postseason field, and all the big names won't fit into that funnel.

BUSCHES BEDEVILED: Kyle and Kurt Busch entered Bristol as pre-race favorites, but the brothers had to settle for top-10 finishes well back of the lead battle. Kyle rallied from a lap down, led 30 laps and took fourth place; Kurt was in front for nine laps and ninth was his place in the final order. Kyle Busch said he took some comfort in rallying to a top-five effort, but that his team had work to do after finishing behind two JGR-affiliated drivers in Hamlin and DiBenedetto. "It's better than some other situations for sure," Kyle Busch said. "Obviously Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and the guys do a really good job of being able to work on the car and constantly improve it and constantly make it better, but flat-out getting our ass kicked right now by our teammates, so we've got to get better."