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It’s that time of the year again! Consistently one of the greatest tracks on the NASCAR schedule is the Last Great Coliseum, Bristol Motor Speedway! And I’m not just saying that because it’s in my neck of the woods. The World’s Fastest Half-Mile always provides tightly packed, thrilling racing, especially in the fall under the lights. But riding on this race isn’t just a really cool old-school trophy. This year, BMS serves as the cutoff race for the Round of 16 in the NASCAR Playoffs. So, with that in mind, who was fast tonight and who was limping around? Who made the cut for the Round of 12 and who watched their championship hopes wither up and die? Let’s talk about it. Here’s everything that happened in the night race at Bristol!
As reported by Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports, the format for tonight’s 500-lapper was as follows:
Teams were given 11 sets of tires (the same tires used in the spring race) and the fuel window was predicted to be between 165 and 180 laps. Fortunately, there were no issues in tech and no drivers were forced to go to the rear.
One of the big stories heading into tonight’s race was just how strong Hendrick Motorsports looked. Three of their 4 drivers qualified inside the top-5 with Alex Bowman claiming the pole. Bowman led the opening laps of the race before being overtaken by teammate Kyle Larson. The stage went on relatively without a hitch. There was a short hiccup on Lap 6 after Playoff driver Chase Briscoe spun with a flat tire. He received no damage, however, and was able to continue following a lightning-fast pit stop.
The rest of the stage went on without incident. Kyle Larson scored the stage win with his teammates Alex Bowman and William Byron not far behind.
With a 3rd-place finish in the stage, Christopher Bell clinched a spot in the Round of 12.
Playoff drivers Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez, and Harrison Burton all went a lap down. Meanwhile, Ty Gibbs was caught speeding on pit road. This meant that he would be starting the second stage in a slight hole.
The trouble for the Playoff Drivers started deep into Stage 2. Leading up to the caution that came out on Lap 243, it was reported that Harrison Burton was having issues with his power steering. He ended up going behind the wall and subsequently retired from the race. This meant that he would not advance to the Round of 12.
The caution came out with only a handful of laps left in Stage 2. Prompting this caution was Playoff driver Joey Logano who had a tire go down. His number 22 Shell Ford spun around and he limped it down pit road. Luckily for him, he was locked into the Round of 12 due to his win at Atlanta to kick off the Round of 16.
The second stage was the same song and dance as the first: it was the Kyle Larson show. Larson led all 125 laps of the stage to win. Following the caution for Logano’s spin, Tyler Reddick stayed out in an attempt to earn a few extra stage points. But the 45 was no match for Larson as he rocketed out front to sweep the stages. The stage win wasn’t quite enough to clinch his playoff but it did put Larson in a much better spot, so long as disaster didn’t strike. He was 37 points over the cutline at the conclusion of Stage 2. This meant that he would need to finish 38th or better to advance.
With his 7th-place finish in Stage 2, Alex Bowman became the third driver to clinch a spot in the Round of 12. This left 9 spots mathematically up for grabs.
2024 has been a season that I’m sure Corey Lajoie would like to forget. Though he entered the year with sky-high expectations for himself and his team, it was announced earlier this summer that he would not return to Spire Motorsports for the 2025 NASCAR season. To make matters worse, he’s been on the raw end of several on-track incidents recently. To pile on, it was announced yesterday that Lajoie and Justin Haley would swap rides for the remaining 7 races of the season. This meant that his final start for the team was tonight’s Bristol race.
Lajoie found himself in trouble after getting loose on Lap-329. Josh Berry, who was running behind him, was not able to check up in time. The number 4 car tagged Lajoie from behind who then went spinning, making light contact with the inside wall. This definitely was not the way Lajoie wanted to end his tenure at Spire Motorsports. You can check out the incident in the clip below.
Kyle Larson put on a show tonight. Of the scheduled 500 laps, Larson led 462 of them, sweeping the stages and capturing his 5th win on the year. This came weeks after Larson just barely missed out on the regular season championship. Larson actually clinched a spot in the Round of 12 when Kaz Grala retired from the race, guaranteeing him at least a 35th-place finish. But this win certainly meant a lot to Larson as it signified that momentum was on their side. Also having a stellar albeit quiet night was Larson’s teammate, Chase Elliott, who came home in 2nd.
With this performance, Kyle Larson set a new record: most laps ever led by a Hendrick Motorsports driver in a single race. To start the Round of 12, Larson will be the #1 seed. He won at Kansas earlier this year. I’m sure that number 5 team is looking to ride this momentum and go for the season sweep.
It’s time to celebrate for Kyle Larson!
It wasn’t quite the Round of 16 we expected it to be, which is a good thing. The problem with the Round of 16 is that it is often predictable as to who get eliminated. For most of us, there were some drivers we initially thought were safe, and we counted out others early. With the end of this round, the points reset. So, drivers like Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin are back in good graces, as far as the Playoff grid goes.
At the end of the race, the real battle was between Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez, and Ty Gibbs. A pit road speeding penalty took Truex out of contention while Brad Keselowski was out to lunch pretty much the entire race. In the end, with Gibbs slipping back, Suarez was able to race his way into the next round. Heading into Kansas, the revamped Playoff bracket is as follows:
The Round of 12 was set following tonight’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway. That means that for 4 drivers, their season is over. The drivers eliminated from the NASCAR Playoffs tonight are as follows:
Of these four, the only two drivers who were in the battle for the cutline were Ty Gibbs and MTJ. But a mistake on pit road put Truex behind and mired a lap down. Ty Gibbs also sped on pit road, although he remained in contention. However, after battling Suarez hard for the final transfer spot, Gibbs reported that his right rear tire was “shot”. He sank like a stone through the field and ultimately missed out on advancing.
That does it for our coverage of the Bristol Night Race, NASCAR Fans. What did you all think of tonight’s race? What did you think of the Round of 16 in general? Did your favorite driver squeak through or were they among the ones left on the outside looking in? Let us know! And be sure to continue turning back in here at DailyDownforce.com throughout the week. We have great content about the latest NASCAR news, silly season rumors, driver swaps, and fan discussions.
The Round of 12 commences next weekend at Kansas Speedway!
