Here’s what’s happening in the world of NASCAR with Phoenix in the rearview mirror and Bristol (Sun., 3:30 p.m. ET, FOX) right around the corner.
THE LINEUP ️
1️⃣ Will this be the season of Christopher Bell vs. Kyle Larson?
2️⃣ What kind of sparks will fly on Sunday at Bristol?
3️⃣ Why the little things matter at Bristol Motor Speedway
4️⃣ High flyers on the high banks
5️⃣ Catch the pack — news and notes from around the garage
1. Is 2024 finally going to be the season Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson trade wins each weekend?
The two most recent Cup Series race winners might be destined to duel each other all season long, and it could end with one of them hoisting the Bill France Cup.
The past two race weekends have gone to dominant victors at the top of their respective games, flexing on the field as they ride into Victory Lane for the first time this year. They also each happen to be, arguably, among the most talented race car drivers in the world across any discipline.
Strap in because Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson might be about to take us on one heck of a ride this season.
Seemingly always on parallel yet totally unique paths, the pair of dirt devils have taken different trajectories to Cup Series superstardom, but make no mistake — they’re both fully, firmly there. Larson already collected a Cup title of his own in 2021, while Bell is the only driver to make both Championship 4 fields since then.
Get used to seeing that, because the notion of at least one of them (and probably both) racing for a title in the finale seems near inconceivable over the next decade.
It’s entirely possible this pair of (mostly) friendly rivals winds up in a tit-for-tat, anything-you-can-do kind of season-long battle, trading wins each weekend as each attempts to gain the upper hand, a la Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon in 1995 and a certain “Big Three” outpacing everyone in 2018.
And it’s entirely possible we see it directly play out this weekend at Bristol, where Bell and Larson are two of the best.
Both are among the top three in points scored on short tracks in the Next Gen car and are tied for the most career Bristol stage wins, with three apiece. Bell is the most recent spring winner at Bristol — albeit on dirt — while Larson is a 2021 winner and has led nearly 800 laps in his last nine starts there while finishing in the top 10 in eight of them.
Sunday afternoon’s short-track showdown feels like a tailor-made opportunity for this pair to showcase again what we’ve seen out of each the past two weekends — only this time, they could be door-to-door, beating and banging as they come to the checkered flag.
2. What kind of sparks will fly on Sunday at Bristol?
With the first true “short track” on deck and a month’s worth of pent-up frustrations to process, we could see some fireworks play out on Sunday.
There’s going to be a lot to unpack after Sunday.
For the first time since 2020, the spring Bristol event will return to its concrete surface, with the Next Gen racers taking to the Tennessee high banks during the day for the first time as well. Despite being half the length of last week’s 1-mile Phoenix Raceway, this weekend won’t deploy the 2024 rules package for short tracks and road courses we saw last week, adding an additional layer of mystery to how things will play out.
Racing intrigue? Check.
The last four short-track races were all won by different organizations, too. The last five Bristol races were won by five different drivers, all five of whom drove for different teams.
Not to mention that Chris Buescher — himself a recent Bristol winner — has just as many short-track wins in the Next Gen era as Team Penske and Stewart-Haas Racing combined.
The final lead change has also come with 32 laps or fewer remaining in nine of the last 11 Bristol races, so it’s going to come down to the wire, whoever it is.
Potential for chaos? You betcha.
And lest we forget that this race is coming at the tail end of a month-plus stretch that saw three separate trips out West, the Super Bowl of the sport and all of the emotion and drama that comes along with it, two races moved a day in each direction because of biblical rainfall and everybody’s clocks just moved forward an hour.
Basically, patience is going to be in short supply come Sunday. If the field is tired and cranky already, surely flying jet fighters in a gymnasium for a few hours (tip of the cap to Kyle Petty) is just what the doctor ordered.
Fists haven’t flown yet this year, but there are a few feuds on the burner, slowly simmering. Sudden elder statesman Joey Logano hasn’t shied away from giving young firestarters Ty Gibbs and John Hunter Nemechek his unsolicited feedback, and reigning champion Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain — former Brad Keselowski Racing teammates — can’t seem to get away from each other on track each week, a trend that dates at least back to last year’s Phoenix finale and probably longer. Keep your eye on Chase Briscoe and Erik Jones, as well, after the pair of typically mild-mannered Midwesterners took umbrage with how they raced each other at Phoenix.
From the competition on track to the potential fireworks off it after the checkered flag, Sunday’s race just offers so much and it’s shaping up to be a can’t-miss event.
3. Around the Track: The little things matter at Bristol Motor Speedway
Find out why winning at Bristol is about all the small things and fine details in this edition of “Around the Track.”
4. High flyers on the high banks
There are some interesting names among drivers with the most amount of laps spent in the top five at Bristol during the Next Gen era — will one take home the hardware Sunday?
| Driver | Car | Laps in top five |
|---|---|---|
| Christopher Bell | No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 835 |
| Kyle Larson | No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 660 |
| Chris Buescher | No. 17 RFK Racing Ford | 609 |
| Denny Hamlin | No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 519 |
| Ty Gibbs | No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 384 |
| William Byron | No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 288 |
| Kevin Harvick | No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford (retired) | 268 |
| Michael McDowell | No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford | 224 |
| Brad Keselowski | No. 6 RFK Racing Ford | 214 |
| Chase Elliott | No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 169 |
5. Catch the pack — news and notes from around the garage
Power Rankings: Ty Gibbs leading series in average finish – first win incoming?
Paint Scheme Preview: See the schemes for Bristol doubleheader
Tuned In: Brad Moran evaluates new short-track package post-Phoenix
Analysis: Bell makes title case for Toyota with Sunday showing
Kyle Petty: How Toyota was able to class the field in Phoenix
Inside The Race: Toyota’s rising from the ashes at Phoenix
Ranking Sunday’s Phoenix top-10 finishers by likelihood of making the Championship 4
RFK Racing drops appeal of No. 17 team penalty; suspensions to begin at Bristol
Logano unloads after Nemechek contact ends No. 22’s day at Phoenix
Ty Gibbs overcomes setbacks after strong start, earns career-high result at Phoenix
@nascarcasm: Fake texts to Phoenix winner Christopher Bell
Chandler Smith surges in overtime, grabs Xfinity Series win in Phoenix
Which driver is favored to win 2024 title after Phoenix?