Four championship hopefuls were eliminated from title contention after the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night, resetting the standings board and cementing the Round of 12.
WINNER
Kyle Larson was the class of the field Saturday night, sweeping both stages and leading 462 laps of the 500-lap showdown around the short track to score his fifth win of 2024. The victory also advanced Larson into the Round of 12.
RELATED: Race results | Playoff grid
ELIMINATED DRIVERS
Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing
Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing
Brad Keselowski, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing
Harrison Burton, Wood Brothers Racing
ADVANCING TO THE ROUND OF 12
Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, 3,047 points
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, 3,032 points
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, 3,028 points
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, 3,022 points
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, 3,019 points
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, 3,015 points
Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, 3,014 points
Joey Logano, Team Penske, 3,012 points
Austin Cindric, Team Penske, 3,008 points
Daniel Suárez, Trackhouse Racing, 3,006 points
Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports, 3,005 points
Chase Briscoe, Stewart-Haas Racing, 3,005 points
WHO’S HOT?
Kyle Larson. After one of the most dominant performances in the sport’s history, Larson now heads to Kansas Speedway, where he’s the most recent winner and has five top fives in the last six races at the 1.5-mile oval. While Talladega won’t favor Larson, another big points day next weekend could cancel out any woes at the superspeedway in October.
Alex Bowman. Bowman silenced any doubters through the first three races of the playoffs with top 10s at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Bristol, clinching a spot in the Round of 12 on points before the checkered flag waved Saturday night. Kansas has been a favorable venue for the No. 48 driver recently, with four consecutive top 10s.
WHO’S NOT?
Daniel Suárez. Suárez scraped into the Round of 12 after finishing four laps down in 31st at Bristol. He needed every point he earned at Atlanta to open the playoffs to move on but will start the next round below the elimination line. Kansas is not one of Suárez’s better tracks, with just two top 10s in 15 starts.
William Byron. Byron continues to dip in performance after a mum summer, finishing 17th at Bristol. It’s his fourth result outside the top 15 in the last five races, and he owns just three top-five results dating back to Iowa Speedway. Kansas used to be a pretty consistent top-10 landing spot for the No. 24 team, but Byron had no speed in the spring with a 23rd-place result and was 15th in the playoff race there last year.
NEXT RACE
The Round of 12 opens at Kansas for the Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN BET on Sept. 29 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
WHO IT FAVORS
Tyler Reddick. Struggles at Watkins Glen International and Bristol had the regular-season champ on shaky ground, but Reddick was able to advance to the Round of 12 where he should thrive. He won the Kansas playoff race last year that set the No. 45 driver up for a run to the Round of 8. The Toyotas are historically strong at Kansas, but 23XI Racing surprisingly did not have speed in the spring. That should be a different story next weekend.
WHO IT HURTS
Ryan Blaney. There’s a handful of Round of 12 drivers that could fit into this category for Kansas but the defending Cup Series champ’s numbers at the intermediate oval are alarming. Blaney has just one top 10 in the last seven Kansas races, which was only a ninth-place result in the fall of 2022. He’s also led just 20 laps combined across the last 10 races at the track. Entering only 11 points above the elimination line heading into next weekend, he’ll need to turn it around at Kansas before finding himself in a hole heading to Talladega and the Charlotte Roval to close the Round of 12.