The eighth race of the season turned into a miraculous race for Ty Gibbs, who broke through for his first Cup win after three full-time seasons and 131 starts. While one driver cashed in, several others came away empty-handed. For some, it was a weekend to forget. For Kyle Larson, it could not have gone much worse.
Larson endured a run that slipped through his fingers at every turn. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, he started the race from third, swept the first two stages, and led a race-high 230 of 300 laps. Then, a late tire call flipped the order, and he had to settle for second behind Connor Zilisch, after crew chief Rodney Childers decided to keep his JRM driver out on the final restart.
Sunday did not offer him a reset either. Five cars failed pre-race inspection more than once, drawing penalties. Larson’s entry was among them, along with Ross Chastain. The No. 5 team lost pit selection for the 500-lap event, and car chief Jesse Saunders was sent packing.
On track, Larson started eighth and took control on Lap 44 when Ryan Blaney lost grip in Turn 1 while lapping Shane van Gisbergen. The No. 5 driver swept Stage 1 and Stage 2 and looked set to see it through. Then the pendulum swung again. On Lap 338, Blaney nudged the No. 5 in Turn 1, drew alongside, and cleared him off Turn 4 for the lead. On Lap 445, Gibbs went by Larson for second. From there, Larson never made it back to the front. When it came down to Gibbs and Blaney, Gibbs held firm and, after leading 25 laps, sealed the win.
Blaney lands on this list for a race that slipped away at the line. Pit road issues have dogged his team of late, and when those ease, pace has not always followed. This time, he had both speed and track position. He started from the pole, led 190 laps, and still had to settle for second. Blaney got past Larson, stayed in the hunt despite getting loose twice, and closed to within 0.055 seconds of Gibbs. He made one last charge off Turn 4 on the final lap, but Gibbs beat him to the stripe.
Chastain’s weekend mirrored Larson’s at the start, with a failed pre-race inspection. He took the green from sixth and came away with 17 points. Early on, he moved up four spots to run second and held third by Lap 45. But by the end of Stage 1, he had dropped to 11th, and by the end of Stage 2, he was down to 18th. In the final stage, the Trackhouse Racing driver held the line as best he could and crossed in 20th, two spots below his Stage 2 position.
His Truck Series outing on Friday, however, turned out to be much better. Starting 11th, he reached the top 10 by the end of Stage 1 and climbed to finish fourth in his second Truck start of the season.
Alex Bowman came into Sunday 36th in the standings after missing four races with vertigo. He started on the 27th and said pre-race work felt routine, despite not racing since March 1. His return ran into trouble early. A four-car crash left him at the bottom of the order at Bristol. Bowman ran 31st in a 37-car field when SVG spun on Lap 160. The car slid up and collected Bowman along with John Hunter Nemechek and Todd Gilliland, as all four were pinned near the outside wall.
Bowman’s car spent laps behind the wall for repairs before the team ruled the damage beyond repair. He was 30th at the end of Stage 1 on Lap 125, ran 38 more laps, and became the first retiree. The one upside came on the health front. He said he felt “totally fine” after his first race back, though the result caught him off guard at a track where he has form, with top-10 runs in three of his last four starts there, including two poles. He will now turn to Kansas Speedway, where he has 11 top-10 finishes in 20 starts.
Christopher Bell showed his hand early. The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing entry ran second behind Larson and ended Stage 1 in the same spot. Then the wheels came off. A speeding penalty on pit road during a caution sent him to the rear. Trying to claw back track position, he spun off Turn 2 and hit the outside wall, damaging the rear toe link and forcing repairs that cost him laps.
Later, on Lap 312, Bell was swept up in a multi-car crash when Riley Herbst turned Kyle Busch, with Erik Jones and Michael McDowell also caught in the wreck.
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