• Thursday, September 19th, 2024
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

Bristol is last chance to advance for NASCAR Cup Playoff drivers

Denny Hamlin faces the equivalent of a last-chance qualifier in Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The first round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs certainly hasn’t gone according to plan for the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. A conservative strategy and a late wreck led to a 24th-place finish in the Round of 16 opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Last Sunday at the Watkins Glen International road course, the wreck came early. The No. 11 Camry was wounded in a multicar accident on the first lap, and Hamlin had to fight for a 23rd-place finish that left him six points below the current cut line for the Round of 12.

On the positive side, Hamlin can point to his record at Bristol with confidence. He’s the defending winner of the Night Race, and he added a fourth career victory at Thunder Valley in March.

Hamlin leads all active drivers with four pole positions at the track and has started 10th or better in nine straight Bristol races. He has qualified fourth, second and third in the three concrete-surface events featuring the Next Gen car.

“I feel like we can go to Bristol and win,” Hamlin said. “We can control our own destiny there. If we can run in the top two or three all day and score stage points and be there at the end like we are capable of doing, then I feel good about it.”

Hamlin insists he’s not in a must-win situation, but there are few convenient targets available in his quest to advance on points. JGR teammate Ty Gibbs and Stewart-Haas Racing driver Chase Briscoe are 11th and 12th in the Playoff standings, leading Hamlin by six points.

To catch Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron—ninth and 10th in the standings—Hamlin would have to overcome respective deficits of 26 and 25 points.

Clearly, the best-case scenario for Hamlin is a victory and automatic advancement to the Round of 12.

Veterans Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. face even more daunting challenges. Entering Saturday’s elimination race, Keselowski is 12 points below the current cutoff, and Truex—in his last full season of Cup racing—is 14 points in arrears.

Keselowski is a three-time Bristol winner. Truex has never won a Cup race on the high-banked concrete track, but he finished second to Hamlin in March, with Keselowski coming home third.

It may be a good omen that Truex’s No. 19 Toyota is carrying the livery of the race’s entitlement sponsor. It’s a better predictor that the Cup Series drivers will be racing on the same rubber that made the spring race a tire-management challenge.

“I’m certainly looking forward to it more than in past years,” said Truex, who has scored just three top fives in 34 Bristol starts. “Bristol has been in the past, just hammer it as hard as you can all day. Track position was huge.

“Tires didn’t really wear out and it was all about pit stops, restarts and track position. Now, in the spring, it was like old-school racing. I enjoyed that more and had better success at it than I did in previous years at Bristol, so I’m excited for that and I think it’s a good opportunity for us with our Bass Pro Shops Camry.”

Through two Playoff races, Joey Logano is the only driver who has clinched a spot in the Round of 12, thanks to his victory in the Atlanta opener.

But points leader Christopher Bell (+46), Austin Cindric (+43) and Alex Bowman (+41) merely need solid, problem-free runs to advance.

At the World’s Fastest Half-Mile, however, there are no guarantees.

• Bass Pro Shops Night Race
• Busch Pole Award Pole Winner: Alex Bowman
• Age: 31
• Team : No 48 - Ally Chevrolet
• Owner: Rick Hendrick
• Crew Chief: Blake Harris
• Alex Bowman won the Pole Award for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race with a lap of 15142 seconds, 126720 mph
• This is his fifth pole in 318 NASCAR Cup Series races
• This is his first pole and 11th top-10 start in 2024
• This is his first pole in 15 races at Bristol Motor Speedway
• Kyle Larson (second) posted his 18th top-10 start of 2024 and his ninth in 17 races at Bristol Motor Speedway
• William Byron (third) posted his fifth top-10 start at Bristol Motor Speedway It is his 19th in 29 races this season
• Carson Hocevar (seventh) was the fastest qualifying rookie

• Drivers Entered: 37
• Laps Scheduled: 500
• Margin of Victory: 07.088 Seconds
• Time of Race: 2 Hours 37 Minutes 53 Seconds
• Average Speed: 101.277
• Cautions: 5 for 36 laps
• Lead Changes: 8
• Green Flag Passes: 2,287 (4.9 passes per green flag lap)

• Bass Pro Shops Night Race
• Race Winner: Kyle Larson
• Age: 32
• Team : No 5 - HendrickCarscom Chevrolet
• Owner: Rick Hendrick
• Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
• Kyle Larson won the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, his 28th victory in 359 Cup Series races
• This is his fifth victory and 14th top-10 finish in 2024
• This is his second victory and 12th top-10 finish in 17 races at Bristol Motor Speedway
• Chase Elliott (second) posted his ninth top-10 finish in 15 races at Bristol Motor Speedway It is his 14th top-10 finish in 2024
• Bubba Wallace (third) posted his second top-10 finish in 11 races at Bristol Motor Speedway
• Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr, Brad Keselowski and Harrison Burton have been eliminated from championship contention
• Christopher Bell leads the point standings by 6 points over Kyle Larson