Saturday night, NASCAR made its first cuts for the 2025 Cup Series Playoffs, putting a wrap on the Round of 16. But, it’s still not time to shut the book on NASCAR’s trip to Tennessee. So, who were the biggest losers from NASCAR’s weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway?
The Texas Rangers, Golden State Warriors, the Atlanta Falcons, and Shan van Gisbergen.
What do they all have in common? Generational blown leads. So, SVG was not going to win the title, but with his (checks notes) four wins, he started the playoffs with, let’s say, a slight advantage to play the upset. With his 22 playoff points, fans wondered who he would force out of the Round of 12. Elliott? Bell? Hamlin? Bowman? (lol)
How about none of these names? SVG, despite the odds, is out of the playoffs, and did not play spoiler. The entire time, the conversation surrounded him doing the bare minimum. Nevertheless, he had the second-worst start to the playoffs, except for Josh Berry, who literally finished last in all three races. But hey, that was one good-looking car on Saturday.
Brad, RFK, it is painful to find your names on this list almost weekly. It seemed as if Brad Keselowski was headed for a 2026 Victory Tour, Last Call, Fan Appreciation Tour, Last Ride, and insert other NASCAR marketing retirement season names at the start of this season. But boy howdy has the No. 6 turned it around.
Through the first 10 races of the season, Brad had an average finish of 26.1, but improved to 22.2 by the midpoint of the season. He now has an average finish of 14.4 through the first 11 races of the second half. But, as we sit here, one year to the day since Chris Buescher ‘yeeted’ SVG for the win at the Glen, RFK, and their boss, have little to show for their efforts. 2026 will be interesting for this team, but recent trends suggest they are headed upward.
Since 2014, we have seen legitimate title contenders have bad starts to the playoffs, but Chandler Smith’s start is actually concerning, because the championship is at Phoenix, a track where the 23-year-old has yet to finish outside the top ten in eight starts in the Truck and Xfinity Series. In fact, Smith has two wins, seven top fives, a 3.6 average finish, and has yet to finish outside the top five in a truck in those eight starts at Phoenix.
In all honesty, Smith was my pick to win the title for those stats and those stats alone. Nonetheless, Smith sits 24 points below the cut while the other three drivers who dominated this season, Heim, Hemric, and Riggs, all sit 1, 2, and 3 in playoff standings. Next week is make-or-break for Smith at a track he has never raced at. The No. 38 is a real title threat, but only if he can pull it off by winning or narrowly pointing his way in at Loudon.
So, Goodyear really bailed out NASCAR. After back-to-back flops, a promising practice and qualifying in the spring, and a not-so-promising practice and qualifying on Friday, it all worked out. Goodyear let the rubber-flavored Parmesan cheese fly at Bristol. While everyone is happy, the amount of pressure NASCAR inadvertently placed on Goodyear should not be celebrated. As long as they want the gig, Goodyear should be the only tire even near NASCAR.
While the on-track product was fun and reminiscent of some of the more memorable local short track races as of late, this weekend left me with more questions than answers. What will happen in the spring if it is not cold, or will this type of racing be subject to the law of diminishing returns, as it is no secret that NASCAR fans get tired of chaos real quick? Who knows, we will just have to see, but for now, let’s enjoy the hard work the team at Goodyear did to make Saturday feel special.
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