Posted on by Cameron Richardson

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.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

BRISTOL, Tenn. — It was a story of absolute domination on the part of Kyle Larson, who led 462 of 500 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway and won Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race by 7.088 seconds over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott.

Larson’s advance to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs was hardly in doubt. Still, the vicissitudes of the elimination race were unkind to Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Harrison Burton, who are no longer eligible to compete for the series championship.

Sweeping both stages in front of a massive crowd on a near-perfect night, Larson set a record for laps led in a single race by a Hendrick Motorsports driver. He has now led 1,351 laps at Bristol, his most at a single track.

No driver has led as many laps in a victory at Bristol since Cale Yarborough led 495 in 1977.

The victory was Larson’s second at the 0.533-mile track, his series-best fifth of the 2024 season and the 28th of the career. He enters the Round of 12 as the top seed as the series moves on to Kansas Speedway.

“Man, that was just great execution all weekend by the team,” Larson said. “Practiced good. You’ve got to qualify good; we did that. Yeah, just had a great car. Thanks to the whole 5 team. They’re the best in the business.

“We dominate a lot of races, but we might not close them all out, so it feels really good to close one out here in this HendrickCars.com Chevy. We’ve got (team owner) Rick Hendrick here today, too. He hasn’t been to many races this year …

“Just a phenomenal car, could kind of manage my stuff and then really pass some cars there at the end.”

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Unfortunately for Gibbs and Truex, Saturday night’s race also was the story of crippling penalties. Gibbs was flagged for speeding on pit road during the first stage break and spent the rest of the race fighting his way toward the front.

By Lap 500, however, Gibbs had worn out his right-rear tire, finished 15th and lost the final Round of 12 position to Daniel Suárez and Chase Briscoe by 11 points.

“Speeding penalty is on me,” Gibbs said. “You run the lights so close … it’s my fault. Unfortunate.”

Entering the race 14 points below the elimination line, Truex ran fourth in the first stage and second in Stage 2, but the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota sped on pit road during the fifth and final caution and finished 24th, 21 points short of advancing to the Round of 12.

“We did good in the first two stages — we got a lot of points,” said Truex, who will retire from full-time Cup racing at the end of the season. “I guess we would have had to run second or third to make it through. Who knows if we would have been able to? I wish we could have seen if we could have done that.

“I’m just gutted for my team. We worked so hard this week. We all put in a lot all season long, and in the last three weeks, just snake-bit. Can’t do anything right … .09 mph (over the pit road speed tolerance) hurts really bad to take the chance away to know if we even could have done it. I don’t know if we could have run second … maybe. We were close to it all day, but in the end, it doesn’t matter. I feel terrible for my guys.”

Non-playoff driver Bubba Wallace finished third on Saturday night, followed by Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and defending series champion Ryan Blaney, who secured spots in the Round of 12.

Hamlin entered the race six points below the elimination line but maintained a presence in the top five all race long.

“My aspirations were to win it, but it looked like the 5 (Larson) there was better than all of us,” Hamlin said. “Solid car. I thought we were really good towards the middle of the stages, and then at the end, got too loose and couldn’t hang onto what we had.

“Overall, top-five day, good stage points, kind of in the mix, just not really as good as we’ve been here the last few times. But overall, I want to thank this whole FedEx Toyota team for giving me something I can move on with.”

The NASCAR Playoff Grid, with the Round of 12 filled in

MORE: Latest NASCAR Playoffs standings | Cup Series schedule

Ryan Preece ran seventh, trailed by Briscoe and pole winner Alex Bowman, who was locked into the next playoff round after finishing seventh in Stage 2. Austin Cindric (13th), William Byron (17th), Tyler Reddick (20th) and Joey Logano (28th) also were among the 12 drivers to advance.

Logano already had secured his spot with a victory in the playoff opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Larson took charge early, passing Bowman for the lead on Lap 33. Adroitly working traffic as the first 125-lap stage progressed, Larson lapped three playoff drivers in succession — Suárez on Lap 64, Burton on Lap 86 and Keselowski of Lap 104.

Bowman led a lap under caution during the first stage break, but Larson had the top spot back out of the pits one circuit later and continued to assert his authority in Stage 2. Suárez lost a second lap to the leader on Lap 194, putting his playoff future in dire peril — temporarily.

Burton suffered the same fate on Lap 207, all but assuring his elimination. His fate was sealed when he took his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford to the garage on Lap 235 to repair a power steering issue.

Gibbs’ penalty was the saving grace for Suárez, who finished 31st, four laps down but was able to move on.

“It was a struggle,” Suárez acknowledged. “Since yesterday when we unloaded the car for first practice, we just didn’t have the speed. As you know, with a short amount of practice, qualifying, and going to the race, if you don’t have speed out of the trailer, it’s very, very difficult to bring it back to speed.

“We made it better, but it wasn’t good enough. We were running 30th, 28th, 32nd all night long, and that’s what we had. Luckily, we had a great Atlanta (a runner-up finish), decent Watkins Glen after a broken wheel, and we were able to build a cushion, and we definitely used every single point out of that cushion.”

SHOP: Race winner gear

Interestingly, the rapid tire fall-off that exerted a profound influence over this year’s spring race at Thunder Valley was a non-factor on Saturday. Before the race, after consultation with the drivers, NASCAR opted to spray PJ1 traction compound on the bottom two feet of the track.

The Cup Series Playoffs kick off the Round of 12 next Sunday at Kansas Speedway in the Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN BET (3 p.m. ET, USA, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

NOTE: Post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage at Bristol concluded without issue, confirming Kyle Larson as the race winner.

Contributing: Staff report

Posted on by Brandon White

WINCHESTER, New Hampshire — No driver has been as dominant on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour as Patrick Emerling in the last two months.

That momentum continued for Emerling in Saturday’s Winchester Fair presented by USNE at Monadnock Speedway. Not only did a spirited drive give Emerling his third victory of 2024, but he also took home a $3,000 bonus by claiming the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup that encompassed the three Monadnock events.

RELATED: Complete results from the Winchester Fair pres. by USNE

Pursuing and then overtaking Matt Hirschman for the victory was an arduous task for Emerling, who credited everyone within owner Rich Gautreau’s organization for consistently providing stellar cars in their first year together.

“That was a really hard race out there,” Emerling said. “We all raced each other like gentlemen up front there. I knew we had a really good car today, but it came down to strategy. There was a lot of stuff going on there at the end, but we stuck to our plan. I’m so grateful to run with this Fleetworks No. 1 team and we’ll keep on rolling.”

Two consecutive third-place performances in the previous Monadnock races gave Emerling the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup points lead heading into Saturday.

An eighth-place qualifying effort that was not influenced by the redraw meant Emerling would have to fight to maintain his points lead at the end of the evening. Further complicating matters was Hirschman starting in the sixth position, who trailed Emerling by three points in the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup standings.

Hirschman successfully took the lead from Craig Lutz after 77 laps, all while Emerling patiently worked his way to second. Emerling kept Hirschman within striking distance, but could not erase enough ground to challenge Hirschman for the top spot.

A late caution for Trevor Catalano’s spin in Turn 4 gave teams an opportunity to change a tire of their choice, providing both Emerling and Hirschman with some fresh rubber ahead of a sprint to the finish. It took a second restart for Emerling to get the run he needed on the top line to finally put Hirschman in his rearview mirror.

Despite taking control of the race and the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup, Emerling still faced one more challenge from Anthony Nocella in the No. 17 owned by Michelle Davini. Nocella bounced off the wall attempting to chase down Emerling, but ended up settling for a runner-up finish.

Nocella wanted to deliver a strong performance for Michele, who lost her husband and team co-owner Mike Davini earlier this year. While he would have loved to bring home a victory, Nocella was satisfied to see the team get rewarded for a weekend of strenuous work.

“It means a lot,” Nocella said. “[Michelle] wanted to keep going and let us keep racing. This is my second time out with these guys. We had a good car at Loudon and unloaded here fast all day. We had to keep the car clean and stay up there. We had one shot to move [Emerling], but I didn’t do it. We got a little too tight and he got away.”

With the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup points so tight, it was paramount for Emerling to fend off Nocella after rigorously working his way to the front all night. His triumph makes him the third different Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup champion in three years, joining Hirschman and Doug Coby.

For Emerling, capturing the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup in year one highlights how quickly Gautreau’s team has matured. Building a notebook has been a crucial part of that development, particularly when it came to perfecting the setup for Saturday’s Winchester Fair.

“We just had to execute,” Emerling said. “We knew we were going to have a good car coming into the day and were really fast the last couple of races here. There’s races where the driver doesn’t have to work as hard, but we had to work hard tonight.”

Now that they have the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup secured, Emerling and his team are turning their attention towards making a run at the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship.

Hirschman settled for third after a dominant start to the Winchester Fair. He was followed in the top five by Lutz and Woody Pitkat.

Matthew Kimball came home sixth in front of the two championship contenders, Ron Silk and Justin Bonsignore, who had multiple run-ins with one another during the closing laps. Rounding out the top 10 were Tommy Catalano and Austin Beers.

Only three races remain before the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season concludes. Next up is a trip to North Wilkesboro Speedway on Saturday, October 5 for the Brushy Mountain Powersports 150, which will be broadcasted live on FloRacing at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Posted on by Sponsored Content

JOHNSTON, Iowa (Sept. 21, 2024) – Twelve lottery players are one step closer to winning a VIP trip for two to NASCAR Championship Weekend™ at Phoenix Raceway® and entry into a nationally televised drawing to win $1 million!

Powerball® and NASCAR® announced today, during the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on USA Network, the 12 lottery players who survived the latest elimination drawing in the NASCAR Powerball Playoff™. The 12 lottery players advancing in the national Powerball promotion, include:

  • Myisha Clark – Birdsboro, PA
  • Christopher Goggins – Greenbelt, MD
  • Anthony Lawrence – Magnolia, DE
  • Meagan Lewis – New Orleans, LA
  • Beverly Lipford – Goldsboro, NC
  • Edward Oechsli – Louisville, KY
  • Thelma Price – Portland, ME
  • Noriko Puckett – Nashville, TN
  • Kathy Sullivan – Albuquerque, NM
  • Tosha Tomlinson – Anderson, IN
  • Kevin Weber – Bradenton, FL
  • Michael Wells – Columbia, SC

The four lottery players eliminated from the NASCAR Powerball Playoff have each won $2,500, they include:

  • Shunda Davis – Magnolia, MS
  • Marilyn Elkie – St. Michael, MN
  • Mary Mauro – Denver, CO
  • Fawn Senn – Fox Lake, WI

The 16 lottery players entered the national Powerball promotion through one of 27 participating state lotteries. Participating lotteries held in-state contests and second-chance drawings throughout the 2024 NASCAR regular season to form a national pool of entrants. The 16 lottery players were randomly selected from the national pool in a preliminary drawing to advance to a series of Playoff drawings.

RELATED: Learn more about the NASCAR Powerball Playoff

The next drawing in the NASCAR Powerball Playoff will be for the Round of 8. The eight lottery players advancing in the playoff will be announced during the Bank of America ROVAL™ 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 13. The four players eliminated from the Playoff at that time will win $5,000 each. The race will air live on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio at 2 p.m. ET.

The four lottery players still in the Playoff after the Championship 4 drawing will win a VIP trip for two to NASCAR Championship Weekend™ at Phoenix Raceway®, Nov. 8-10, plus entry into the drawing for the $1 million prize.

The $1 million drawing will be broadcast live during NBC’s pre-race coverage of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race™ on Sunday, Nov. 10. Cash prizes will be awarded to all 16 lottery players based on their elimination position.

Playoff drawingsDateRace announcementsNotes
Round of 16Sept. 1Cook Out Southern 500, Darlington Raceway16 semi-finalists advance
Round of 12Sept. 21Bass Pro Shops Night Race, Bristol Motor Speedway12 semi-finalists advance, 4 eliminated win $2,500
Round of 8Oct. 13Bank of America Roval 400, Charlotte Motor Speedway8 semi-finalists advance, 4 eliminated win $5,000
Championship 4Nov. 3Xfinity 500, Martinsville Speedway4 semi-finalists advance & win VIP trip, 4 eliminated win $7,500
$1 Million ChampionshipNov. 10NASCAR Cup Series Championship, Phoenix Raceway1 $1 million winner, 3 $10,000 winners

The VIP trip experience includes roundtrip airfare for two to Phoenix, Ariz., three nights hotel accommodations – double occupancy, two Ally Curve Hospitality Club passes for both the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race on Nov. 9 and the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race on Nov. 10, two passes for VIP experiences at Phoenix Raceway during the NASCAR Championship Weekend including Cup Series™ VIP access, NASCAR team hauler tour, MRN radio booth tour, pace car rides, Victory Lane access, welcome dinner and all meals, and ground transportation to scheduled events and activities.

Players can follow the NASCAR Powerball Playoff on Facebook, Instagram, and online at Powerball.com.

NASCAR® is a registered trademark of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC. Copyright ©2024 National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC. All Rights Reserved. NASCAR®, LLC is not a sponsor of this promotion.

powerball round of 12

Posted on by Staff Report

Winchester Fair pres. by USNE

Monadnock Speedway

  • Race results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Laps
 Diff
1 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 200
2 17 Anthony Nocella Xtreme Racing/Sekor Machine/Zilinski Heating & Cooling 200 0.366
3 60 Matt Hirschman Elite 200 0.517
4 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 200 0.884
5 82 Woody Pitkat Horton Avenue Materials/Gunsmoke Stables Racing 200 1.13
6 43 Matthew Kimball J&M Towing and Recovery/Poodlack Wealth Mgmt 200 1.366
7 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine/Future Homes 200 1.722
8 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications, Inc. 200 2.11
9 54 Tommy Catalano Catalano Motorsports 200 2.323
10 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical 200 2.643
11 21 Stephen Kopcik* Newtown Pools/Karchner Warehousing 200 4.808
12 56 Trevor Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 200 4.926
13 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE/Northeast Drilling 199 1 Lap
14 15 Joey Cipriano III* Dependable Energy & Bass Plating 199 1 Lap
15 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 198 2 Laps
16 81 Nathan Wenzel* 1812 Paint & Auto Body/Gene’s Ford & Chev Serv 197 3 Laps
17 19 Anthony Sesely Franzosa Trucking Co/Karchner Warehousing 196 4 Laps
18 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood & Restaurant 196 4 Laps
19 84 Tyler Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 191 9 Laps
20 10 Bob Reis* IronListing.com/B.R. Machineworks 190 10 Laps
21 79 Jonathan McKennedy McKennedy Racing 94 106 Laps

 

Posted on by Steve Luvender

We’re bringing you live updates covering Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Bristol Motor Speedway, the Bass Pro Shops Night Race (7 ET, USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Bookmark this page and check back often as we chronicle the action from ‘The Last Great Colosseum.’

Overview: 

• Iconic NASCAR short track Bristol Motor Speedway hosts the 500-lap Round of 16 playoff elimination race Saturday night. 

• Among the 16 playoff contenders, four drivers will leave Bristol eliminated from the championship fight. And, considering Bristol is famously known for its full-contact short-track racing action, expect some flared tempers and hurt feelings. Bristol, baby!

If it helps to get you in the mood, you can check out past Bristol races ad-free on NASCAR Classics. 

All times listed are Eastern.

Saturday, September 21 

11:00 p.m., checkered flag: That’s it for tonight’s live blog coverage. Thanks for joining us! Race recap | Race results

10:47 p.m., checkered flag: Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kyle Larson will enter the Round of 12 as the top-seeded driver.

10:40 p.m., checkered flag: How about some non-playoff drivers in the top 10? Bubba Wallace finished third, finishing off a top-five run for most of the night. Ryan Preece picked up a seventh-place finish for back-to-back top 10s, following a ninth-place effort at Watkins Glen last week. Ross Chastain came home 10th.

10:38 p.m., checkered flag: Chase Briscoe keeps Stewart-Haas Racing’s championship hopes alive in the team’s final season.

10:36 p.m., checkered flag: Brad Keselowski won’t add a second championship trophy to his collection this year.

10:34 p.m., checkered flag: Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin will carry the banner for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Round of 12, with Ty Gibbs and Martin Truex Jr. eliminated.

10:32 p.m., checkered flag: Despite finishing 31st tonight, Daniel Suárez will advance to the Round of 12. A runner-up finish at Atlanta and a solid outing last week at Watkins Glen saved his playoffs.

10:29 p.m., checkered flag: This is Kyle Larson’s series-leading fifth win of 2024, and the 28th of his career.

10:26 p.m., checkered flag: See the unofficial results from tonight’s race.

10:23 p.m., checkered flag: The Round of 12 is set, kicking off next Sunday at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m., USA Network).

10:21 p.m., checkered flag: Larson’s performance tonight, leading 462 laps, eclipsed Jeff Gordon’s performance at Martinsville in 1997 (431 laps led) for the most laps led in a single race for a Hendrick Motorsports driver.

10:20 p.m., checkered flag: Kyle Larson’s son Owen has joined Dad for a victory celebration.

10:18 p.m., checkered flag: Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Harrison Burton will not advance to the Round of 12.

10:17 p.m., Lap 500: 🏁 Checkered flag! Kyle Larson has walloped ‘em, leading 462 of 500 laps.

10:16 p.m., Lap 499: ⚪️ Final lap for Kyle Larson and the Round of 16.

10:15 p.m., Lap 491: A single-digit lap count remains for Kyle Larson, who has a 5.6-second lead.

10:13 p.m., Lap 487: Chase Briscoe is in position to advance despite numerous issues tonight — a failing rear-view camera, cockpit smoke caused from brake fans, and a bad pit stop late. He’s running sixth, 11 points ahead of elimination.

10:09 p.m., Lap 474: Meanwhile up front, Kyle Larson has stretched his lead to nearly four seconds over Chase Elliott.

10:08 p.m., Lap 469: The No. 54 is going the wrong way as the lap count dwindles. Ty Gibbs has fallen to 12th.

10:06 p.m., Lap 462: Ty Gibbs needs six points in order to advance; he’s running ninth and falling backward. He’ll need to find some speed — fast — or hope for misfortune from Denny Hamlin (+10), Chase Briscoe (+8) or Daniel Suárez (+6).

10:03 p.m., Lap 450: Brad Keselowski, who’d hoped for a caution on a Hail Mary strategy play, has now pitted under green. That will likely end his playoff hopes.

10:02 p.m., Lap 445: Kyle Larson has now led over 400 laps tonight. A total butt-kicking so far — but this one’s not over yet.

10:01 p.m., Lap 444: Here’s the playoff picture with 56 laps to go.

1. Joey Logano, advanced to Round of 12
2. Kyle Larson, advanced to Round of 12
3. Christopher Bell, advanced to Round of 12
4. Alex Bowman, advanced to Round of 12
5. Chase Elliott, +30
6. Austin Cindric, +26
7. Ryan Blaney, +24
8. William Byron, +17
9. Tyler Reddick, +16
10. Denny Hamlin, +8
11. Chase Briscoe, +7
12. Daniel Suárez, +4
— Top 12 drivers after Bristol advance — 
13. Ty Gibbs, -4
14. Martin Truex Jr., -21
15. Brad Keselowski, -36
16. Harrison Burton, -54

9:51 p.m., Lap 405: We’re within the final 100 laps of the Bristol Night Race now — notoriously some of the most intense laps of racing in NASCAR. Hang on, folks.

9:48 p.m., Lap 393: Martin Truex Jr. has not moved from 24th place following his pit penalty. He’s 21 points below the elimination line. That penalty might have cost Truex a shot at a second championship; the 2017 champ announced he’s retiring from full-time competition at the end of the year.

9:42 p.m., Lap 372: Tonight now marks the most laps led for Kyle Larson in a single race — and there are still over 125 laps remaining. Larson led 327 laps in the 2021 Coca-Cola 600.

9:39 p.m., Lap 359: Corey LaJoie is officially done for the day, ending his Spire Motorsports tenure prematurely.

9:39 p.m., Lap 359: Chase Briscoe is digging. He’s already up to fifth, up eight spots since the restart. Similarly, Ty Gibbs restarted 15th and he’s up to eighth.

9:33 p.m., Lap 338: 🟢 Green flag again for Kyle Larson, who’s now led 300 laps tonight. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott has come to life in the final stage; he now runs second.

9:32 p.m., Lap 336: Look away, No. 19 fans. Martin Truex Jr. will give up second place and go to the end of the line for the restart after speeding on pit road. This puts him below the elimination line as they run.

9:30 p.m., Lap 333: Time for more pit stops. Kyle Larson again led the field off pit road after a speedy four-tire stop, while Chase Briscoe lost a considerable amount of track position after an equipment issue. It seems Briscoe will restart 14th.

9:26 p.m., Lap 329: 🟡 Caution No. 5. Corey LaJoie has crashed in his final race driving for Spire Motorsports. LaJoie was having a solid run in the top dozen for most of the night. It seemed LaJoie’s No. 7 broke loose, and Josh Berry made contact while LaJoie tried to gather up the car. Justin Haley moves from the No. 51 to the No. 7 next week, while LaJoie takes over Haley’s ride at Rick Ware Racing.

9:24 p.m., Lap 324: There’s an intense three-wide battle happening for second between Martin Truex Jr., Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin. Chase Elliott’s ready to pounce in fifth. Hamlin backed out, leaving Truex and Briscoe to battle for second.

9:22 p.m., Lap 316: Harrison Burton re-entered the race 77 laps off pace.

9:19 p.m., Lap 303: Ty Gibbs is putting in work in 16th place after his penalty on the first pit stop of the night. He’s passed Chris Buescher and Carson Hocevar since the restart, and there are still 200 laps for the sophomore driver to continue moving forward.

9:14 p.m., Lap 287: The difficult night for Daniel Suárez continues. Since the restart, he’s lost four positions, now running 33rd. He’s three points below the elimination line as they run.

9:10 p.m., Lap 271: Bubba Wallace has moved up to third. Could he play playoff spoiler?

9:07 p.m., Lap 260: 🟢 Back to green for the final stage — the longest one of the night. Kyle Larson leads Martin Truex Jr.

9:06 p.m., Lap 258: Alex Bowman has clinched his spot in the Round of 12 thanks to the stage points he’s earned tonight.

9:03 p.m., Lap 255: Holding steady in fifth, Bubba Wallace remains the only non-playoff driver in the top 10.

9:00 p.m., Lap 251: 🟡 Caution No. 4 for the end of Stage 2, the halfway point of the night. Kyle Larson picked up the stage win, just ahead of Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin. On old tires, Tyler Reddick picked up seven stage points by finishing fourth — that’s a success for the No. 45, though he’ll now need to pit and will likely restart outside the top 20.

8:58 p.m., Lap 248: 🟢 Tyler Reddick leads the field to green on old tires, but Kyle Larson quickly pounces and retakes the top spot.

8:56 p.m., Lap 246: Tyler Reddick opted to stay out and inherit the race lead; he’d been running around 18th place all night, so stage points here could benefit his race. Reddick’s decision to stay out also traps some cars a lap down who might have otherwise stayed out and taken the wave around at the stage break.

8:55 p.m., Lap 245: Cars are again on pit road. This stage ends in five laps, which will make for an interesting strategy decision — stay out to try to go for stage points, or set up for the best position in the final stage?

8:54 p.m., Lap 243: 🟡 Caution No. 3. Joey Logano has crashed from 12th place after a stack-up while negotiating lapped traffic. Luckily for Logano, he’s already locked into the Round of 12 thanks to his Atlanta win.

8:53 p.m., Lap 240: Harrison Burton has gone behind the wall with power steering issues. That will likely end the playoff hopes for the No. 21 team, even if they can get Burton’s car back on track.

8:51 p.m., Lap 234: Kyle Larson has eclipsed the 200-laps-led mark tonight.

8:42 p.m., Lap 200: It’s been a miserable night for Daniel Suárez. At the 200-lap mark, he’s two laps down running 32nd, and his 36-point advantage entering tonight has virtually vanished.

8:37 p.m., Lap 183: Keep an eye on Denny Hamlin in third. The defending race winner has moved up three spots since the restart and it seems his car gets better over a run. Teammate Christopher Bell is in his sights.

8:36 p.m., Lap 178: Ty Gibbs has only moved up one position after his penalty. He’s running 23rd, and the leaders are coming quickly.

8:27 p.m., Lap 144: William Byron has already lost three spots after the restart. Byron’s never led a lap at Bristol.

8:25 p.m., Lap 136: 🟢 The green flag is back out for Stage 2!

8:24 p.m., Lap 134: Well, scratch that note about Ty Gibbs; he’s been penalized for speeding on pit road. He’ll restart 24th instead of sixth.

8:22 p.m., Lap 131: Kyle Larson keeps his lead after a four-tire pit stop. Christopher Bell exited pit road second, moving past Alex Bowman. Ty Gibbs jumped from eighth up to sixth, while Chase Briscoe slipped from seventh to ninth.

8:22 p.m., Lap 131: After earning stage points in Stage 1, Christopher Bell now has enough points to advance to the Round of 12. That’s a sigh of relief for the No. 20.

8:19 p.m., Lap 129: Time for the first pit stops of the night.

8:15 p.m., Lap 126: 🟡 Caution No. 2. Kyle Larson has won Stage 1, his 11th of the year — that’s a playoff point and 10 stage points for the No. 5. Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr., William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace collect stage points, too. Wallace is the only non-playoff driver in the top 10.

8:10 p.m., Lap 104: Tough going for Brad Keselowski, running 27th, the second playoff driver to lose a lap to leader Kyle Larson.

8:08 p.m., Lap 93: Chase Briscoe has told his team his rear-view camera — the equivalent of a mirror — isn’t functioning. He’s running sixth but will need to rely on his spotter and team to defend his position.

8:06 p.m., Lap 87: Running 28th, Harrison Burton has gone a lap down. He’s 47 points below the cut line and will need some help to keep his season alive.

8:05 p.m., Lap 85: The No. 5 car is getting bigger and bigger in the mirror for playoff drivers Harrison Burton and Brad Keselowski. Leader Kyle Larson will fight to put them a lap down next.

7:59 p.m., Lap 63: The Joe Gibbs Racing cars seem to have solid long-run speed. Christopher Bell has moved up to fifth past Chase Briscoe; behind them, Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs are picking off cars one at a time and closing.

7:51 p.m., Lap 34: Kyle Larson has passed teammate Alex Bowman for the top spot, the first lead change of the night.

7:50 p.m., Lap 27: On the other hand, Brad Keselowski is struggling. He started 23rd and has already fallen to 27th. Driver No. 6 started this one below the elimination line, so look for some adjustments over time for the three-time Bristol winner.

7:48 p.m., Lap 20: Daniel Suárez started deep in the field — 35th — after a disappointing qualifying run, but he’s up to 29th. He entered tonight with a healthy points cushion.

7:45 p.m., Lap 11: 🟢 Back to green! Alex Bowman is still in command. Follow along with our Race Center Live Leaderboard.

7:42 p.m., Lap 7: It’s not immediately clear what went wrong for Nemechek, who’s not in playoff contention, but a damaged car will make for a long night at Bristol. 

7:40 p.m., Lap 4: 🟡 Caution No. 1. It didn’t take long for the first yellow flag of the night. John Hunter Nemechek has gone for a spin at the back of the pack, damaging the rear of his No. 42.

7:39 p.m., Lap 2: Pole-sitter Alex Bowman cleared teammate Kyle Larson and he’s set sail.

7:39 p.m., Lap 1: 🟢 Green flag! Let’s go racing for 500 laps under the lights.

7:35 p.m.: Cars are rolling and it’s time to get this one underway.

7:20 p.m.: The Motor Racing Outreach kids — children of NASCAR drivers and crews — are kicking things off with a wonderful performance of the national anthem. Great singing, kids!

7:12 p.m.: This 500-lapper has stage breaks at Lap 125 and 250. Stage points will play a factor tonight.

7:05 p.m.: Here’s my Fantasy Live lineup for this evening. It’s heavy on Hendrick Motorsports, and I selected William Byron in my NASCAR.com 36 for 36 pick, too. We’ll see if qualifying speed translates to results.

7:01 p.m.: Last night in the Xfinity Series, we watched Justin Allgaier’s seemingly-insurmountable 43-point lead vanish after a crash, handing the regular-season title to race winner Cole Custer. In other words, nobody’s safe from elimination — other than Joey Logano, who’s headed to the Round of 12 thanks to his Atlanta win two weeks ago.

7 p.m.: It’s almost time to end the Round of 16! Let’s take a look at playoff standings heading into tonight’s race while we fire up USA Network, shall we?

1. Joey Logano, advanced to Round of 12
2. Christopher Bell, +46
3. Austin Cindric, +43
4. Alex Bowman, +41
5. Daniel Suárez, +36
6. Tyler Reddick, +30
7. Chase Elliott, +30
8. Ryan Blaney, +29
9. Kyle Larson, +26
10. William Byron, +25
11. Chase Briscoe, +6
12. Ty Gibbs, +6
— Top 12 drivers after Bristol advance — 
13. Denny Hamlin, -6
14. Brad Keselowski, -12
15. Martin Truex Jr., -14
16. Harrison Burton, -20

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Winchester Fair pres. by USNE

Monadnock Speedway

  • Qualifying results
Pos. No. Driver Sponsor Best Time Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff.
1 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical 11.723 76.772 2 2
2 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 11.882 75.745 2 2 0.159
3 17 Anthony Nocella Xtreme Racing/Sekor Machine/Zilinski Heating & Cooling 11.898 75.643 2 2 0.175
4 54 Tommy Catalano Catalano Motorsports 11.911 75.56 2 2 0.188
5 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications, Inc. 11.931 75.434 2 2 0.208
6 60 Matt Hirschman Elite 11.948 75.326 1 2 0.225
7 21 Stephen  Kopcik* Newtown Pools/Karchner Warehousing 11.996 75.025 1 2 0.273
8 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 12.028 74.825 2 2 0.305
9 56 Trevor Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 12.03 74.813 1 2 0.307
10 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 12.05 74.689 1 2 0.327
11 15 Joey Cipriano III* Dependable Energy & Bass Plating 12.094 74.417 2 2 0.371
12 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine/Future Homes 12.102 74.368 2 2 0.379
13 84 Tyler Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 12.105 74.349 2 2 0.382
14 43 Matthew Kimball J&M Towing and Recovery/Poodlack Wealth Mgmt 12.166 73.977 2 2 0.443
15 79 Jonathan McKennedy McKennedy Racing 12.179 73.898 2 2 0.456
16 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE/Northeast Drilling 12.301 73.165 2 2 0.578
17 19 Anthony Sesely Franzosa Trucking Co/Karchner Warehousing 12.304 73.147 2 2 0.581
18 82 Woody Pitkat Horton Avenue Materials/Gunsmoke Stables Racing 12.327 73.01 2 2 0.604
19 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood & Restaurant 12.415 72.493 2 2 0.692
20 81 Nathan Wenzel* 1812 Paint & Auto Body/Gene’s Ford & Chev Serv 12.878 69.887 1 2 1.155
21 10 Bob Reis* IronListing.com/B.R. Machineworks 12.943 69.536 1 2 1.22

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Winchester Fair pres. by USNE

Monadnock Speedway

  • Practice results
Pos. No. Driver Sponsor Best Time Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff.
1 54 Tommy Catalano Catalano Motorsports 11.635 77.353 33 34
2 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 11.656 77.213 49 50 0.021
3 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical 11.662 77.174 49 52 0.027
4 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 11.698 76.936 39 50 0.063
5 21 Stephen  Kopcik* Newtown Pools/Karchner Warehousing 11.735 76.694 40 42 0.1
6 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 11.764 76.505 32 34 0.129
7 17 Anthony Nocella Xtreme Racing/Sekor Machine/Zilinski Heating & Cooling 11.766 76.492 30 42 0.131
8 79 Jonathan McKennedy McKennedy Racing 11.775 76.433 32 37 0.14
9 60 Matt Hirschmann Elite 11.785 76.368 24 25 0.15
10 56 Trevor Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 11.799 76.278 50 50 0.164
11 84 Tyler Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 11.824 76.116 61 62 0.189
12 15 Joey Cipriano III* Dependable Energy & Bass Plating 11.831 76.071 37 40 0.196
13 43 Matthew Kimball J&M Towing and Recovery/Poodlack Wealth Mgmt 11.853 75.93 38 40 0.218
14 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine/Future Homes 11.855 75.917 40 42 0.22
15 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications, Inc. 11.881 75.751 29 66 0.246
16 19 Anthony Sesely Franzosa Trucking Co/Karchner Warehousing 11.904 75.605 43 47 0.269
17 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE/Northeast Drilling 11.947 75.333 43 47 0.312
18 82 Woody Pitkat Horton Avenue Materials/Gunsmoke Stables Racing 12.022 74.863 29 30 0.387
19 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood & Restaurant 12.157 74.031 26 28 0.522
20 81 Nathan Wenzel* 1812 Paint & Auto Body/Gene’s Ford & Chev Serv 12.181 73.886 27 51 0.546
21 10 Bob Reis* IronListing.com/B.R. Machineworks 12.514 71.919 18 21 0.879

 

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Ty Gibbs has led 503 laps in his still-budding NASCAR Cup Series career. A whopping 239 of those — 47.5% — have been led at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The 21-year-old sophomore pilot of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is looking to add more to that total in Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs elimination race in the Round of 16.

MORE: Starting lineup | Playoff standings before Bristol

Gibbs enters 12th in the standings, six points above the elimination line that will see four of the 16 postseason drivers’ chances to win a championship come to an end. In fact, Gibbs is tied with future teammate Chase Briscoe for the final spots above the pivotal separator. And what better track for Gibbs to defend a margin and advance than Bristol? He led a career-high 137 laps in the spring at the 0.533-mile short track, backing up a performance under the lights last year in which he led 102 circuits.

“This place is so much fun, so I always look forward to coming here and racing,” Gibbs said Friday afternoon. “Just such a fun track, so unique. I feel like it’s a driver’s track in a way, kind of I feel like I put in the (category of) Darlington and Homestead. It’s just a fun place.”

Despite leading the second-most laps in April’s 500-lap race, Gibbs wasn’t sure what exactly he learned. Severe tire wear threw the field for a loop, leaving the Charlotte, North Carolina native more perplexed than anything else with a ninth-place finish.

“The one time I went the hardest, I drove all the way to the lead, had no tire issues and won the stage,” Gibbs said. “And then the last part of the race, I saved and had tire problems. So I don’t know. We’ll see.”

Ty Gibbs drives during NASCAR Cup Series practice at Bristol.
Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media

What we saw Friday was another fast No. 54 Toyota. Gibbs set the fastest single lap during the extended 45-minute session at 124.719 mph (15.385 seconds), besting defending Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney, 2021 champ Kyle Larson, 2023 Championship 4 finalist William Byron and 2020 title winner Chase Elliott. He was also eighth-fastest in 30-lap averages, meaning there may be some long-run speed in his vehicle to boot.

His Cup experience is limited, but Gibbs knows what feel he is looking for behind the wheel.

“You have to be, I think, a little bit free to roll the center, but you can’t be too free, so I think it’s a pretty fine balance,” he said. “But if you’re too free, you can just run the top. Usually, you can make up for it. So that’s what’s fun here is you can move around.”

Gibbs has playoff experience thanks to his 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship campaign, but this is his debut year in the NASCAR Cup Series postseason. On the precipice of his first experience in a Cup elimination race on the bubble, Gibbs said he is not intimidated by the task ahead Saturday.

“I mean, it’s, of course, it’s hard, and going to the Cup Series is always a big jump,” Gibbs said. “But I feel like we’re working the hardest we can and go try to make it happen. And if we make it happen, we do; if we don’t, we don’t. But we just try to give 100% effort the whole time, and same with me on the track, same with my pit crew, and try to make it happen.”

Gibbs will fire off 13th in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race (7 ET, USA, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

Posted on by Alex Cadavid

The Round of 16 delivered yet another dose of mayhem, with Chris Buescher playing spoiler and doing so in an all-time fashion at Watkins Glen. Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race (7 p.m. ET, USA, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) at Bristol Motor Speedway is shaping up to be an exciting wrap-up of a wild-card round with a handful of big names on the bubble and one last chance to advance.

RELATED: Set your Fantasy Live lineup | Weekend schedule

After practice and qualifying, Racing Insights expects the gladiators of Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs to battle their way into the Round of 12 with projected top-five efforts. Other bubble drivers like Brad Keselowski and William Byron are predicted to be in the mix, with solid metrics pointing them to seventh- and ninth-place finishes, respectively.

Underdogs like Daniel Suárez and Austin Cindric have been riding momentum waves, rocketing up the standings the last two weeks with solid performances. However, coming in with projected results well outside of the top 15 is something to watch, especially if all the top dogs show up as Racing Insights expects. Still, with how they are seeded, it would take more than one herculean effort to knock one of them out.

As if tensions weren’t already high for an elimination race, because so many playoff drivers found trouble last week, there is more pressure for title hopefuls to have a clean day. One thing is for sure: The 12 drivers who move on will have mastered one chaotic round and be one step closer to championship glory.

MORE: Full starting lineup | Top Bristol story lines to watch

DRIVERS TO WATCH

DENNY HAMLIN: The 2024 playoffs started slowly and got worse for Hamlin last week at Watkins Glen after a Lap 1 wreck. The positive? Hamlin’s won the last two races at Bristol and owns top-10 finishes in six of the last eight Bristol races. Plus, out of the last eight short-track races, Hamlin has finished in the top three in six of them.

RYAN BLANEY: The reigning champ entered 45 markers to the good at The Glen; he left only 29 points above. His best finish in the Next Gen car on the high banks of Bristol is 16th and he has a career average finish of 19.5 at the track. It would still take a lot for Blaney to get bounced out, but someone has to fall if the advance metric expects drivers on the bubble to rise.

TY GIBBS: Gibbs will be making his 80th Cup start and is very much lurking toward a win. He’s finished in the top 10 in the last two Bristol races and also led north of 100 laps in each contest. The sophomore driver has also been able to stay clean and finish races with only two DNFs this year.

MARTIN TRUEX JR.: Bristol isn’t one of Truex’s best tracks, with only three top fives in 34 starts. However, in the Bristol race last year, he picked himself up and got out of a seven-point deficit in the Round of 16 closer. He will need a similar clutch factor again or lean on his veteran experience like he did in the spring to finish second.

JOSH BERRY: There are more playoff story lines and drivers to watch, but how about another spoiler? Berry came out the gates hot in the spring race, he started second and led 25 laps before finishing 12th with the wild tire fall-off that became a factor late in the race. The second reason Berry is strong at short tracks is crew chief Rodney Childers, a man who knows something about winning around this time of year.

RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE BASS PRO SHOPS NIGHT RACE

Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a projected winner and full race results. 

FinishCar NumberDriver
15Kyle Larson
29Chase Elliott
320Christopher Bell
411Denny Hamlin
554Ty Gibbs
612Ryan Blaney
76Brad Keselowski
845Tyler Reddick
924William Byron
1017Chris Buescher
1148 Alex Bowman
1223Bubba Wallace
131Ross Chastain
1419Martin Truex Jr.
158Kyle Busch
1622Joey Logano
1777Carson Hocevar
184Josh Berry
1934Michael McDowell
2043Erik Jones
2114 Chase Briscoe
2241Ryan Preece
2342John Hunter Nemechek
247Corey LaJoie
2599Daniel Suárez
263Austin Dillon
272Austin Cindric
2838Todd Gilliland
2947Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
3051Justin Haley
3116AJ Allmendinger
3210Noah Gragson
3371Zane Smith
3421Harrison Burton
3531Daniel Hemric
3615Kaz Grala
3766Josh Bilicki