Posted on by Brandon White

Eddie Partridge 256

Riverhead Raceway

  • Race results
Pos Car No. Name Sponsor Laps Diff
1 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc. 256 —
2 81 Mark Stewart Cromers Market/Truck & Auto Works 256 0.514
3 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine & Future Homes 256 1.283
4 64 Austin Beers AP Marquadt & Sons/Lumiere Electrical/Andrew James Interiors 256 1.468
5 2 J.R. Bertuccio Gershow Recycling 255 1 Lap
6 66 Timmy Solomito Natural Design/USNEPOWER/Kennedy Realty 255 1 Lap
7 88 Roger Turbush Rheem 255 1 Lap
8 82 Craig Lutz Horton Avenue Materials 254 2 Laps
9 32 Tyler Rypkema Northeast Drilling/MUSCO Lighting 254 2 Laps
10 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant 251 5 Laps
11 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 236 20 Laps
12 01 Melissa Fifield Pine Knoll Auto Sales 235 21 Laps
13 26 Gary McDonald Lakeland Ave Landscape Supply/L.I. Wood Heat 223 33 Laps
14 3 Jake Johnson* Propane Plus/Lin’s Propane Trucks 198 58 Laps
15 5 John Beatty Jr. MSM Elite Motorsports Inc. 197 59 Laps
16 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 197 59 Laps
17 34 JB Fortin A&R Materials/John’s Fuel Oil 98 158 Laps
18 96 Matthew Brode* Peter Clark Motorsports 90 166 Laps
Posted on by Staff Report

Four championship hopefuls were eliminated from title contention following the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night, resetting the standings board and setting the Round of 12.

WINNER

After finishing second at Kansas Speedway a week prior, Denny Hamlin continued the upward trajectory with a convincing win at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and Chris Buescher were a trio of additional drivers to make up the top five.

RELATED: Race results | Full playoff grid 

ELIMINATED DRIVERS

Joey Logano, Team Penske
Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., JTG Daugherty Racing
Michael McDowell, Front Row Motorsports

ADVANCING TO THE ROUND OF 12

William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, 3,036 points
Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing, 3,036 points
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, 3,032 points
Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, 3,023 points
Chris Buescher, RFK Racing, 3,021 points
Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing, 3,019 points
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, 3,016 points
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, 3,014 points
Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing, 3,011 points
Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing, 3,011 points
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, 3,008 points
Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing, 3,000 points

WHO’S HOT? 

Kyle Larson. Starting at the rear of the field to begin the Bristol finale didn’t dissuade the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet from working up toward the front of the field and contesting the lead with Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin. With Saturday’s finish, Larson finished the Round of 16 with results of first, fourth and second. Momentum-wise, that’s not too shabby.

Christopher Bell. Starting from the pole position for three consecutive races is definitely a jolt for the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and for Bell, this jolt helped net two top-10 finishes in the Round of 16, with both coming in back-to-back contests. Bell very well could be finding the speedy touch at the right time.

WHO’S NOT? 

Ryan Blaney. The No. 12 Team Penske Ford finished several laps down and snapped a two-race stretch of finishing inside the top 15. Although Blaney has advanced to the Round of 12, there will be work to do.

Ross Chastain. Similar to Blaney, the playoff driver in Chastain will likely wish to flush his Bristol performance, with the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet finishing outside the top 20. The Round of 12 will be a fresh slate to regain early momentum found during the Round of 16.

NEXT RACE

The Round of 12 opens at Texas Motor Speedway for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 on Sept. 24 (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

WHO IT FAVORS

Tyler Reddick. In four career Cup races at Texas, Reddick’s worst finish was 15th (2020). His three other finishes? Second, ninth and first, with the Victory Lane appearance coming last year. Reddick’s 6.8 average finish ranks first among all active drivers with a minimum of two Cup races at the track. Couple the fact that Reddick has shown blistering speed up to this point of the postseason, and this seems like an easy layup for the No. 45.

WHO IT HURTS

Chris Buescher. RFK has taken a monumental leap forward in 2023, especially for Buescher, who has put together a career year behind the wheel of the No. 17 Ford. Texas, however, has proven to be a tough cookie in the past, with the Prosper, Texas native failing to crack the top 10 in any of his 13 career Cup races at the track. To make matters worse, Buescher has failed to lead a single lap, and his only finish inside the top 15 came in April of 2018. This year’s Buescher is admittedly a different version, but even still, Texas could prove to be a playoff roadblock for the title contender.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Denny Hamlin landed a knockout punch in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

NASCAR Cup Series regular-season champion Martin Truex Jr. survived to fight another round.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Bristol

Bubba Wallace rescued himself from the brink of playoff elimination and advanced to the Round of 12 by four points.

Kevin Harvick, winner of the first elimination playoff in 2014, won’t be around to fight for the title in his final season of Cup racing. He joins defending champion Joey Logano on the outside looking in for the final seven Playoff races.

Despite a strong run on Saturday night, Michael McDowell didn’t get the win he needed to advance, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. likewise fell by the wayside in a car that couldn’t compete for a top-five position.

Taking the lead off pit road on Lap 366 of 500, Hamlin beat Kyle Larson to the finish line by 2.462 seconds. Hamlin led the final 135 laps in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, 142 overall, and second only to the 187 circuits led by pole winner and third-place finisher Christopher Bell.

Led by Hamlin, all five playoff Toyota drivers advanced to the next round.

WATCH: Hamlin reacts to Bristol victory

“Can’t thank this whole FedEx team enough,” said Hamlin, who won for the third time this season, the third time at Bristol and the 51st time in his career. “They’ve really kicked ass this whole first round. Really amazing how our team has been. So happy about the way we’re running. Can’t wait to keep going.

“It’s our year. I just feel like we’ve got it all put together. We’ve got the speed (at) every single type of race track. Nothing to stop us at this point.”

Chris Buescher followed Bell to the stripe as the top four finishers all will race in the Round of 12. Brad Keselowski and William Byron (eighth and ninth, respectively) also advanced, as did 23XI Racing teammates Wallace and Tyler Reddick (13th and 14th), Truex (19th), Kyle Busch (20th), Ryan Blaney (22nd) and Ross Chastain (23rd).

Wallace finished 14th, a lap down, but the eight points he gained by running third in Stage 1 proved decisive. Only 10 cars finished on the lead lap, the last of whom was Stenhouse, who ended the Round of 16 in 15th, seven points behind Wallace.

MORE: Playoff Pulse: Round of 12 set | Playoff standings

Wallace was greeted with a chorus of boos when he climbed from his car, as was Hamlin.

“Like Coco Gauff said, all they’re doing is adding fuel to the fire—I love it,” said Wallace, who drives for Hamlin and co-owner Michael Jordan at 23XI. “I love where I’m at with this team. Wish my mom, dad, sister were here to celebrate with me.”

“I’m mentally exhausted. I’m wore out. Gave it our all there. Battled hard and executed. That’s what you got to do. We know next week’s a reset. We just got to go out and have some fun, work our asses off. Thank you to the ones that believe in me. Keep it going. Yeah, on to next week.”

A vicious wreck on the backstretch cost Joey Logano a chance to advance to the Round of 12, the first time under the elimination format that a defending championship has exited the postseason in the opening round.

Logano was a lap down, running toward the back of the pack, when Corey LaJoie went three-wide underneath the Chevrolet of Erik Jones and lost control of his No. 7 Chevrolet. LaJoie’s car swept up the track into the path of Logano, Justin Haley and Ryan Newman, all of whom were knocked out of the race in the accident.

“Yeah, I saw the smoke,” said Logano, who was credited with a 34th-place finish and missed the Round of 12 by four points. “I saw the 7 spinning. (Spotter) Coleman (Pressley) was saying, ‘He’s coming up. He’s coming up as I was on the brakes to try to pull onto the bottom.

“I think it was Newman behind me, but I think someone hit him behind him, and it was just kind of a chain reaction into it. Once I got hit, I was like, ‘Shoot, I’ve got to go up now,’ because I couldn’t make the bottom, so I committed to that, and the hole closed up.

“Obviously, it’s a real bummer. You get out of the race like that, and you’re behind the wall, and you’re in denial for a minute. You don’t want to believe that it happened, and you want to think that it’s fixable, but the car was tore up too bad.”

Harvick fought an ill-handling car from the outset and finished 29th, five laps down. Like Logano, he finished four points behind Wallace in the battle for the final spot in the Round of 12.

“We’ve been like that all year,” Harvick said. “We’ve been hit-or-miss. Tonight, we just missed by a mile. I’ve had some good days and bad days, but that’s definitely the worst one I’ve had with fenders on it.”

SHOP: Purchase playoff gear, more

Ty Gibbs finished fifth after leading 102 laps. McDowell ran sixth, followed by Chase Elliott, Keselowski, Byron and Stenhouse.

The Cup Series will open the Round of 12 at Texas Motor Speedway for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 on Sept. 24 (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

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

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano and 2014 title winner Kevin Harvick were eliminated from the NASCAR Playoffs following Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Bristol Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Logano, the two-time series title winner, was ousted from the 500-lap contest just past halfway when Corey LaJoie spun sideways at Lap 262. LaJoie lost control of his No. 7 Chevrolet on corner exit and slid into the inside SAFER barrier. He careened back into traffic, leading him into the path of Logano and others.

Logano went to pit road for further assessment before officially exiting the race. Unable to gain any more points, Logano was forced to watch the race from the sidelines and hope. But with his 34th-place finish, he became the first reigning champion to be eliminated in the postseason’s opening round. Heading into Saturday’s race, Logano was 11th in the playoff standings, 12 points above the elimination line.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Bristol

“I saw the smoke. I saw 7 (LaJoie) spinning,” Logano told reporters at the infield care center. “And Coleman (Pressley, spotter) was saying he’s coming up, he’s coming up. As I was on the brakes to try to pull onto the bottom, I think it was Newman behind me, but I think someone hit him behind him and just kind of chain reaction to it. And so once he got hit, I said oh shoot, I gotta go up now. I couldn’t make the bottom, so I committed to that. And the hole closed up.”

Logano finished 12th in the postseason opener at Darlington Raceway and fifth at Kansas Speedway. A late caution at Kansas allowed crew chief Paul Wolfe to execute a two-tire pit strategy when the No. 22 team was only one point above the provisional elimination line – rocketing Logano to a 12-point cushion instead by the checkered flag in Kansas.

In the end, that margin simply wasn’t enough. Logano, who netted an Atlanta win in addition to nine top fives and 14 top 10s in the opening 29 races, was four points short of advancing to the Round of 12.

“Not as good as we needed to be,” Logano said of his season to date. “Inconsistent. Not fast enough, not scoring stage points. When you don’t score stage points, that just says you’re not fast enough. We’ve been able to manufacture finishes like we did last week and Paul does a great job at giving me a chance to finish good. If this was a few years ago and it wasn’t stage racing, we would be sitting in a lot better shape because we figure out a way to close races. But we don’t score the points during the race because we’re just not fast enough.”

Also ousted by four points was Harvick. While Logano was collected in an on-track incident, Harvick was simply unable to find the balance in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford at Bristol. The sport’s longest-tenured full-time driver is now out of title contention in his final season, a 29th-place finish five laps off the pace; the exclamation point on a difficult round that featured results of 19th at Darlington and 11th at Kansas.

“There wasn’t a flash of brilliance from the time we took it off the truck,” Harvick said.

Harvick’s 23-year Cup Series career comes to a close at the conclusion of November’s championship race. Six top fives and 12 top 10s in 29 races in uncharacteristic of the success he and crew chief Rodney Childers have parsed together in their nine prior seasons – a resume stacked with 37 wins and a memorable title run in addition to the 23 victories Harvick collected at Richard Childress Racing.

He was firmly in contention to win the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington to open the playoffs until an untimely caution – Ryan Newman spun as leader Tyler Reddick attempted to pit in a late reaction to Harvick’s strategy – took Harvick out of contention.

“We could have won Darlington. We were off at Kansas and terrible here,” Harvick said.

“We’ve been hit or miss all year,” he added. “Off and on.”

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continue at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 24 at Texas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) but without the wealth of experience Logano and Harvick bring to the postseason.

Posted on by Brandon White

Eddie Partridge 256

Riverhead Raceway

  • Qualifying results
Pos Car No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed
1 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc. 11.561 77.848
2 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine & Future Homes 11.752 76.583
3 64 Austin Beers AP Marquadt & Sons/Lumiere Electrical/Andrew James Interiors 11.817 76.161
4 3 Jake Johnson* Propane Plus/Lin’s Propane Trucks 11.834 76.052
5 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 11.847 75.969
6 32 Tyler Rypkema Northeast Driling/MUSCO Lighting 11.878 75.77
7 66 Timmy Solomito Natural Design/USNEPOWER/Kennedy Realty 11.888 75.707
8 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 11.899 75.637
9 5 John Beatty Jr. MSM Elite Motorsports Inc. 11.956 75.276
10 34 JB Fortin A&R Materials/John’s Fuel Oil 11.984 75.1
11 88 Roger Turbush Rheem 11.988 75.075
12 81 Mark Stewart Cromers Market/Truck & Auto Works 12.002 74.988
13 82 Craig Lutz Horton Avenue Materials 12.025 74.844
14 96 Matthew Brode* Peter Clark Motorsports 12.032 74.801
15 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant 12.034 74.788
16 2 J.R. Bertuccio Gershow Recycling 12.035 74.782
17 01 Melissa Fifield Pine Knoll Auto Sales 12.602 71.417
18 26 Gary McDonald Lakeland Ave Landscape Supply/L.I. Wood Heat 12.628 71.27
Posted on by Staff Report

Trackhouse Racing announced a multiyear driving agreement with 2022 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion Zane Smith that will see the top prospect drive in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2024. The team aims to operate three full-time NASCAR Cup Series entries in 2025 — in the interim, Smith will race full time in the Cup Series in 2024, driving a Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports in an alliance with Trackhouse.

Smith is in his fourth full-time season in the Craftsman Truck Series, spending the first two with Maury Gallagher’s GMS Racing before moving to Front Row Motorsports. The 24-year-old driver has been a part of the Championship 4 field in each of the last three years, converting a victory in the 2022 season finale into his first NASCAR national series title.

The full-time car at Spire will be Trackhouse-backed, and it comes after the Spire organization purchased a Charter from Live Fast Motorsports for a reported $40 million.

RELATED: Follow Silly Season updates | Bristol schedule

“Expansion is not something to be taken lightly, but we feel Trackhouse is commercially and technically positioned for growth,” said Trackhouse founder and owner Justin Marks. “You need good timing, very good partners and great drivers. Adding Zane is like signing the No. 1 draft pick and we are proud that he is now a member of the Trackhouse family.”

Smith qualified for the postseason again this year, on the strength of two wins — in February’s season opener at Daytona International Speedway and one month later at Circuit of The Americas. Those victories brought his career win total up to nine, which includes six in the last two seasons.

Smith has gained a dose of Cup Series experience the last two years, mostly as a part-time entrant with the Front Row team. His best finish in seven starts was a 10th-place result in this year’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The agreement brings Smith back into the Chevrolet camp and marks another stage in Trackhouse’s rapid growth in the Cup Series. The organization first entered NASCAR’s top division as a single-car outfit in 2021, but expanded into a two-car effort the next year, creating a launching pad for the first Cup Series victories for drivers Daniel Suárez and Ross Chastain.

Since then, Trackhouse has added a third part-time car for its Project 91 initiative, an entry intended to showcase international stars from other forms of motorsports. The No. 91 Chevrolet cashed in with the debut of New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen, who surged to victory in the inaugural Chicago Street Race.

It was recently announced that Van Gisbergen will compete for Trackhouse in multiple NASCAR national series in 2024.

“This is an incredible moment for me,” said Smith. “Trackhouse is one of the most progressive organizations in the garage. I told some friends a year ago that I wanted to be a part of what Trackhouse is doing and I just can’t believe this is all coming true. I am very excited and thankful to have a future with the organization.

“The Cup Series is the pinnacle of racing in America, and I cannot wait to compete, learn and hone my skills against the best in the world. I am really looking forward to working with the Spire Motorsports team in 2024 and believe the alliance with Trackhouse will help continue Spire’s ascent up the grid.”

Smith previously signed with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021 to race for the organization in 2022. Marks’ purchase of the organization raised questions for Smith, who texted Marks for more information.

“We didn’t know that he was under any kind of contract or anything with Chip,” Marks said. “And so when I got the text, it was like, ‘Oh, (crap), OK. You know, we’re just not in a spot right now to do anything.’ But it was a moment that went on (team president) Ty (Norris)’s world famous whiteboard and it sat there for a long time.”

“I have recovered now,” Smith laughed. “I mean, it’s crazy how this is all gone and full circle. Not many years before that, I was walking through the gift shop getting CGR diecast cars and now it was the gym when I went there a couple of days ago. And I mean, just what attracted me to Trackhouse, obviously I want to be a part of it. I feel like every driver is always wanting to race on Sunday and it’s so dang hard to get there. And I don’t know, I said it over and over again to the people that were around me of, ‘Man, that’s a group I really want to be with. And I don’t know how we’re gonna make it happen. But I want to be there.'”

Being so close to a Cup deal in years past made the opportunity that much sweeter for Smith on Saturday in an emotional press conference.

“It is the world to me. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do,” Smith said. “The sacrifices that have been made are where the emotion comes from and how bad I want it. I will do whatever it takes to win on Sunday and I now have that chance thanks to Justin Marks. Just so, so thankful for the people I’ve have had around me and ready to compete on Sunday. It’s crazy to say.”

Posted on by Brandon White

Eddie Partridge 256

Riverhead Raceway

  • Practice results
Pos Car No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine & Future Homes 11.451 78.596 45 48
2 66 Timmy Solomito Natural Design/USNEPOWER/Kennedy Realty 11.479 78.404 10 40 0.028
3 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc. 11.502 78.247 22 66 0.051
4 64 Austin Beers AP Marquadt & Sons/Lumiere Electrical/Andrew James Interiors 11.508 78.206 25 68 0.057
5 32 Tyler Rypkema Northeast Driling/MUSCO Lighting 11.51 78.193 39 60 0.059
6 3 Jake Johnson* Propane Plus/Lin’s Propane Trucks 11.56 77.855 56 70 0.109
7 34 JB Fortin A&R Materials/John’s Fuel Oil 11.56 77.855 37 48 0.109
8 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 11.59 77.653 46 72 0.139
9 96 Matthew Brode* Peter Clark Motorsports 11.631 77.379 11 53 0.18
10 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 11.631 77.379 62 78 0.18
11 88 Roger Turbush Rheem 11.638 77.333 11 59 0.187
12 2 J.R. Bertuccio Gershow Recycling 11.643 77.3 11 23 0.192
13 5 John  Beatty Jr. MSM Elite Motorsports Inc. 11.683 77.035 50 64 0.232
14 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant 11.686 77.015 36 48 0.235
15 82 Craig Lutz Horton Avenue Materials 11.794 76.31 42 53 0.343
16 81 Mark Stewart Cromers Market/Truck & Auto Works 11.826 76.104 37 40 0.375
17 01 Melissa Fifield Pine Knoll Auto Sales 12.2 73.77 23 24 0.749
18 26 Gary McDonald Lakeland Ave Landscape Supply/L.I. Wood Heat 13.51 66.617 4 4 2.059
Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Martin Truex Jr. and his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team are rarely rattled. Entering the Round of 16 finale below the provisional elimination line this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway is no exception.

Truex, the Regular Season Champion, sits one spot outside the top 12 in the postseason standings, seven points behind Kevin Harvick heading into Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race (6:30 p.m. ET, USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

The deficit is a result of two uncharacteristically poor weeks — first in the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway, where Truex finished 18th; and then at Kansas, where a punctured tire on Lap 4 ended the No. 19 team’s day early and resulted in a last-place finish.

MORE: Playoff standings before Bristol | At-track photos

Nonetheless, the team, led by crew chief James Small, remains unfazed. Statistically, Bristol is not one of Truex’s strong suits: In 32 starts, he has just two top fives and four top-10 finishes. Friday sparked a strong start to their weekend, though, with a fifth-place qualifying effort, his fifth top-five starting position in the past six Bristol races.

Small and Truex have worked together as crew chief and driver since 2020, though their relationship dates back to 2017 when Small began working with Truex and then-crew chief Cole Pearn at Furniture Row Racing.

“I think just working together for a while helps,” Truex said Friday. “Obviously we’re confident in one another in our abilities. I’ve got a great team. I know what they’re capable of and for me, you can’t change what happened last week or the week before. You just learn from it, move on and try not to let it affect this week.

“I know tomorrow night’s a big race. This hasn’t been our best place by any means. But I look forward to the challenge.”

The circumstances may be uncomfortable, but that’s no bother to a No. 19 team that has won three times this season.

“We don’t get rattled. We don’t change our approach,” Small told NASCAR.com Friday. “You know, we believe in our system and everything we do and it’s just the same thing all week. Just trying to make sure we did everything in our power to bring the best car and just prepare as best as possible. Even dragged Martin out to go to the simulator to run some laps so he’s a little more dialed in here.

“Usually for us, the first day at Bristol is usually a big struggle, especially with the new format with such a short practice. And by the end of the practice, we starting getting going a little better, got the car better and obviously he did a good job in qualifying. To qualify fifth — if you would have asked me that this morning, I would said you were stupid.”

Martin Truex Jr. drives his black and orange No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota at Bristol
Meg Oliphant | Getty Images

The Regular Season Champion has never been eliminated from the postseason in the Round of 16, a fact the No. 19 team would love to remain true after Saturday night. A scrub off the wall in Darlington practice bent more suspension than Truex knew or alluded to before taking the green flag for the Southern 500, leading to a subpar performance for a traditionally excellent team. Simple bad luck led to the Kansas tire puncture no one could have seen coming.

“I don’t think any of us would have imagined that that would have been how the first two weeks of our playoffs looked like,” Small said. “But can’t sulk about it. You just gotta get back at it and we’re still in a good position. We still have a shot and go out and race hard. And at the end of the day, hopefully it all works out. And if it doesn’t, we’ve tried our best.”

Small and Truex have faced their fair shares of adversity together, including a winless 2022 season that left them outside the postseason. Their focus doesn’t waver, though, and those difficult times have produced valuable lessons.

“I think since we’ve worked together, we’ve been through a lot of (stuff),” Small said. “A lot of ups and and a lot of races that we could have won and didn’t because of things going wrong. And I think it hardens you, you know? Like, we have the belief in one another and everybody on the team and the engineers and everything that if we just do our jobs right and have clean days, then we can win races.

“I think that’s the beauty of our sport. You don’t get time to dwell on anything. It’s like a washing-machine cycle really — in and out, in and out. I don’t know what other teams are like, but I love that about ours.”

The team’s situation does raise the question of how significantly the championship picture changes if the No. 19 team is unable to advance past Saturday night’s conclusion of the first round.

“I think you could see the 19 as a (Championship) 4 guy, so I think that opens the door for someone to get in there,” said Kyle Busch, a longtime teammate of Truex and two-time Cup Series champion. “I think there were a lot of playoff brackets chosen without the 8 car (Busch) making it out of the (Round of) 16, so probably not very many of them had the 19 out either.”

“Obviously, he’s a championship favorite,” 2021 champion Kyle Larson added. “So if he’s not in it, everyone could live a little easier, but it’s still going to be tough. I mean you still have to go through a lot of other tough competitors. I don’t know, it’s been pretty crazy to see that their bad run at Darlington and misfortune last week can take the championship contender and put him in a situation where he has to have a good night.”

Ross Chastain surged to his first Championship 4 appearance a season ago in his first NASCAR Playoffs. To advance took significant risk in the season’s penultimate race on the final lap at Martinsville Speedway. He understands the outlook of the postseason can change in a single lap.

“Big picture, whoever the four are (who get eliminated), it changes,” Chastain said. “It’s a new puzzle. You’re racing 12 guys, so if those 12 change, it’s going to be different. But I don’t think anybody’s safe.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Joey Logano are the names that rise to the top when looking at short-track stats in the Next Gen car. With Larson already qualified for the Round of 12 by virtue of his victory at Darlington Raceway and Denny Hamlin sitting comfortably at 49 points above the elimination line, let’s focus on Buescher (+13), Bell (+13) and Logano (+12) before Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway (6:30 p.m. ET, USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

PLAYOFFS: Playoffs hub page | Playoffs Grid Challenge game

Logano is perhaps the most difficult of the three to figure out, but he is also coming off the best finish at Kansas Speedway, a fifth-place showing helped by crew chief Paul Wolfe’s late two-tire call. Logano trails only Larson in average finish on short tracks in the Next Gen car at 8.88, but Logano finished 27th last year in the Bristol playoff race. Logano’s only finish worse than that on a short track recently was a 37th place in the Bristol Dirt Race earlier this season. The defending Cup champion will need to somehow translate the short-track success from other tracks over to Bristol in order to advance.

For Buescher, everything was rolling along quite nicely until last week’s 27th-place finish at Kansas. Before that, the breakout driver for RFK Racing had won three of the previous six races, including a short-track victory at Richmond Raceway. Buescher won this race last season as a non-playoff driver, and he and Larson have combined to win four of the last five short-track races. Buescher will need to rebound quickly from Kansas in order to keep the dream of chasing a championship alive.

Bell sits third behind Larson and Denny Hamlin in points scored on short tracks in the Next Gen car. He is also third in average finish behind Larson and Logano. Bell is coming off an eighth-place finish at Kansas where he had to overcome multiple incidents, including a slow pit stop when the car fell off the jack. With all the trouble he went through at Kansas, the resiliency that Bell and his team showed is encouraging. Bell also came through with wins in elimination races last year at Charlotte and Martinsville. But Bell and his crew need to clean things up if they want to advance because the No. 20 team has had just one incident-free race in the last 11 races.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

KYLE LARSON: Even though Larson’s advancement to the Round of 12 is secure, it’s still hard to bet against him at Bristol. In his last eight trips to Thunder Valley, Larson has averaged nearly 100 laps led and has finished in the top 10 seven times.

MARTIN TRUEX JR.: Truex Jr. has six short-track wins in his career, but none of them have come at Bristol. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has only four top-10 finishes in 32 career Bristol starts, which is not a good sign considering he sits seven points beneath the elimination line.

KYLE BUSCH: Busch is the active leader with eight victories at Bristol, but he has finished 21st or worst in the last two Bristol races (both in the Next Gen car). The Richard Childress Racing driver has finished outside the top 10 in four of the last five short-track races, so even though he’s 24 points above the elimination line, he doesn’t seem completely safe.

KEVIN HARVICK: Like Truex and Logano, Harvick is another former champion who resides near the elimination line as he holds a slim seven-point margin to the plus side. The good news is that among drivers who have not yet locked into the Round of 12, Harvick leads with an average of 43.3 points in Bristol playoff races.

Projections as of Saturday, Sept. 16:

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
111Denny Hamlin
25Kyle Larson
36Brad Keselowski
44Kevin Harvick
520Christopher Bell
624William Byron
79Chase Elliott
817Chris Buescher
919Martin Truex Jr.
1045Tyler Reddick
1123Bubba Wallace
1212Ryan Blaney
131Ross Chastain
1422Joey Logano
158Kyle Busch
1614Chase Briscoe
1754Ty Gibbs
1816AJ Allmendinger
1948Alex Bowman
2043Erik Jones
2110Aric Almirola
2241Ryan Preece
2334Michael McDowell
2499Daniel Suárez
257Corey LaJoie
263Austin Dillon
2731Justin Haley
2847Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
292Austin Cindric
3038Todd Gilliland
3121Harrison Burton
3277Ty Dillon
3342Carson Hocevar
3451Ryan Newman
3515J.J. Yeley
3678BJ McLeod
Posted on by Dustin Albino

By using the trio of Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell in each of the opening two playoff races, it’s put me in a little bit of a bind this weekend at Bristol. All three were lightning quick with the Joe Gibbs Racing teammates sweeping the front row. Larson was quickest in practice, but he got loose in qualifying and will start from the rear. My suggestion is, if you’ve used any of these drivers twice, steer clear of them for Bristol even while knowing they could have a great performance. Just trying to think ahead with limited uses remaining for all three.

RELATED: Sunday’s starting lineup | Playoff hub page

Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:

Starter 1: Brad Keselowski
Starter 2: William Byron
Starter 3: Chase Elliott
Starter 4: Kyle Busch
Starter 5: Chris Buescher
Garage pick: Martin Truex Jr.

NEXT IN LINE: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs. 

RISING: For all the talk of how much Martin Truex Jr. has struggled over the last decade at Bristol, he wheeled his No. 19 Toyota on Friday. There was nothing flashy about the 2017 champion in practice, but the James Small-led team found pace in qualifying and will start fifth. Knowing Truex has to show up and perform, I’ve moved him into my garage. 

It feels like it has been abruptly overlooked at how solid Byron has been over the last two Bristol races. He’s scored stage points in all four stages and has consecutive third-place finishes. After his – you guessed it – third-place qualifying run, Byron said he felt great about the race pace in his car and had a boatload of confidence.  

FALLING: This is going to sound contradictory, but bear with me. Larson might have the quickest car in northeastern Tennessee this weekend (he paced the field on single-lap speed in practice). Unfortunately for the No. 5 team, he got loose on both of his qualifying laps and was the slowest car in qualifying. Clean air is important at Bristol, so it might be challenging to pass during the race and could cause him to miss out on stage points. If that happens, it might be a wasted use.

Might as well throw Joey Logano into the same category. The two-time Cup champion typically runs well at Bristol, but like the rest of the 2023 season, the No. 22 team was just middle of the road in practice. Qualifying was worse, as he ranked 28th. It’s going to be an uphill fight for Logano, and he’s dropped from my lineup this weekend.  

FEATURED MATCHUPS:  

Martin Truex Jr. vs. Kevin Harvick

This is been the biggest flip from earlier in the week. Harvick was in my lineup; now Truex is. It’s hard to imagine the regular season champion missing the Round of 12 entirely, but we are 500 laps away from that possibility. Advantage goes to Truex on Friday, as he outran all bubble drivers besides Bell. Harvick was 27th on the long run. Granted, who am I to go against the No. 4 team. 

Bubba Wallace vs. Joey Logano

Bristol has often served as a true wild card where anything can happen. That might need to be the case if Logano is to outrun Wallace this weekend. On paper, Logano has every statistical advantage. But the Toyotas showed up in qualifying, putting five of its six entries into the final round. Wallace shattered his best qualifying effort at Bristol and will start ninth (his previous best was 14th).  

Chris Buescher vs. Christopher Bell

At this point, does Bell even want to start from the pole position? It didn’t bode well for him at either Darlington or Kansas to start the Round of 16 with multiple miscues on pit road. Buescher messed up in qualifying and turned just the 20th-best speed. Bell might be the hedge here, but I’m sticking with Buescher, despite Toyota lighting up the leaderboard in qualifying.  

Ryan Blaney vs. Kyle Busch

Blaney is the only Team Penske car to crack the top 25 in qualifying. He even outqualified Busch, who arguably fills a spot on the Mount Rushmore of drivers at Bristol. Still, Busch is the choice here, as the No. 8 Chevrolet was better than Blaney on long-run averages.