Category: Cup Series

Bowman leads Hendrick 1-2-3 in Bristol elimination race qualifying

Alex Bowman continued his strong start to the NASCAR Cup Series postseason by winning the pole for Saturday night’s elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bowman, the final driver to take time in the last round of single-car qualifying, went to …

Alex Bowman continued his strong start to the NASCAR Cup Series postseason by winning the pole for Saturday night’s elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Bowman, the final driver to take time in the last round of single-car qualifying, went to the top of the board at 126.720mph (15.142s). It’s Bowman’s first pole this season and the fifth of his career. It’s also his first at Bristol.

“I thought we struggled a little bit in practice, more than I was expecting, and then in qualifying I had a lot of grip,” Bowman said. “I was a little bit too tight and it was one of those situations where you run a lap and it’s like, ‘It’s going to be really good or really slow,’ because when you’re tight, you slow down until you can turn. Obviously, after the first round, I felt pretty good about it and [I’m] thankful to start up front and qualify well.

“Qualifying has [not been] our strongest suit over the years, so being a cutoff race and everything, starting up front is definitely important.”

Bowman goes into the Bristol night race sitting 41 points above the cutline. He leads all playoff drivers in stage points earned in the first two postseason races (28).

Kyle Larson will join his Hendrick Motorsports teammate on the front row, qualifying second at 126.378mph.

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William Byron made it a 1-2-3 sweep for Hendrick Motorsports, running third at 126.695mph.

Martin Truex Jr. qualified fourth at 126.220mph; Chase Briscoe, fifth at 126.486mph and Christopher Bell, sixth at 125.889mph.

Carson Hocevar was the first non-playoff driver inside the top 10, going seventh at 126.096mph.

Denny Hamlin qualified eighth at 125.666mph followed by non-playoff driver Corey LaJoie in ninth at 125.166mph. Chase Elliott rounded out the top 10 at 125.248mph.

Hamlin is the defending winner of the Bristol night race.

Eight playoff drivers qualified outside the top 10: Ty Gibbs, 13th; Tyler Reddick, 15th; Joey Logano, 20th; Ryan Blaney, 22nd and Brad Keselowski, 23rd.

Austin Cindric qualified 27th; Harrison Burton, 34th and Daniel Suarez, 35th.

The four playoff drivers below the cutline going into Saturday night are Hamlin, Keselowski, Truex, and Burton.

There are 37 drivers entered at Bristol.

NEXT: Bass Pro Shops Night Race at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday (USA).

RESULTS

Suarez on brink of advancing after turning around ‘very bad’ season

Daniel Suarez is 36 points to the good on the NASCAR Cup Series playoff grid ahead of Saturday night’s first elimination race, just as many would have predicted, right? Suarez and his No. 99 team have done nearly everything right – aside from …

Daniel Suarez is 36 points to the good on the NASCAR Cup Series playoff grid ahead of Saturday night’s first elimination race, just as many would have predicted, right?

Suarez and his No. 99 team have done nearly everything right – aside from winning — in the first two races of the Round of 16 to put themselves in position to advance. Not only has Suarez earned 73 points between Atlanta Motor Speedway and Watkins Glen, he’s also earned a combined 14 stage points (which is sixth-best among all playoff drivers).

A second-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway kicked things off, then he finished 13th last weekend at Watkins Glen.

“I don’t know if a lot of people [saw it going] that way,” Suarez said.

Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway will eliminate the first four drivers from championship contention. Suarez sits ahead of regular-season champion Tyler Reddick, reigning series champion Ryan Blaney, three Hendrick Motorsports drivers, and three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers.

“[We] started the year very strong with the Atlanta win, but after that, we were bad,” Suarez said. “We were very bad. Since then, there was a month or two that we were very, very bad and we went to work and changed a lot of things internally — the way we were approaching things, the processes… I would say the last two or three months, we’ve been slowly creeping in.”

While some might be surprised that Suarez could be headed to the second round of the postseason, he’s not. He’s also not surprised the No. 99 has been running inside the top 10 and top 15 more often.

“Obviously, Atlanta was a good race for us,” he said. “Watkins Glen, unfortunately, we had to pick and choose points, but before that we were running in the top seven, I think. I feel like we’re [in a good spot]. We are not exactly where we want to be just yet. We have to continue to push and find a little more speed and hopefully we can be good at the end of tomorrow night and into the next round.”

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The fruits of a lot of labor are showing for Suarez and his team. He sat as low as 19th in the championship standings during the summer — when the Cup Series returned from the Olympic break — and he was very candid in the work that still needed to be done as his contract was extended for at least another year. It’s been a challenging season for Trackhouse Racing, but Suarez was already offering confidence in their direction.

“I feel like, [in] the last month and a half, we’re starting to see the results of all the work that we’ve been doing the last six months,” Suarez said. “You know how it is — you work your [tail] off for six months and then nothing, nothing, nothing, and then eventually you start seeing a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

“Fortunately … I can see it. OK, now we have speed and now I have something to drive. Squid (crew chief Matt Swiderski) has done an amazing job, [as have] my engineers and everyone at Trackhouse. We’ve had more speed lately, and it’s showing.”

Suarez will need speed at Bristol to finish the job in the first round of the postseason. The concrete half-mile hasn’t treated the Trackhouse Racing drivers well over the last few years, with Suarez’s most recent top-10 finish being in the summer of 2019.

“I love Bristol; it’s one of my favorite racetracks, but it’s been difficult for me here in the past,” Suarez said. “I think we’re in a good spot. We just have to continue to be on offense and continue to attack. I don’t think we’re in a position to take major risks, but we cannot be too conservative either.”

RWR and Spire to swap Haley and LaJoie after Bristol

Rick Ware Racing and Spire Motorsports will trade drivers after Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway to get a head start on the 2025 season. Corey LaJoie will drive the No. 51 Ford Mustang for Ware beginning at Kansas …

Rick Ware Racing and Spire Motorsports will trade drivers after Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway to get a head start on the 2025 season. Corey LaJoie will drive the No. 51 Ford Mustang for Ware beginning at Kansas Speedway (Sept. 29). Justin Haley will take over the No. 7 Chevrolet at Spire.

“Corey LaJoie has been a cornerstone of Spire Motorsports and we’re incredibly appreciative of all the time, effort and energy he has invested in our program,” said Spire Motorsports president Jeff Dickerson. “RWR is getting a workhorse in Corey. He’s dedicated to his craft and his tenacity brings out the best in those around him.

“We’ve known Justin Haley for many years and have been bullish on his talent from the beginning of his NASCAR career. Justin, and his win at Daytona, put us both on the map. It was a pivotal moment for his career and our organization. We’ve both grown since that day, as Justin has proven his talent in the Cup garage and he comes back to an organization that is very different from the one he left a few years ago. Getting back together now, rather than waiting until 2025, gives us an excellent opportunity to build a baseline and be a step ahead when we get to Daytona next February.”

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LaJoie moves to Rick Ware’s organization after being informed in July he’d be released from Spire Motorsports after this season. He has driven the No. 7 car since the 2021 season.

Haley’s return to Spire Motorsports reunites him with the team where he won the 2019 weather-shortened summer Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway in a part-time role. He competed with the team through the 2021 season.

In his first season with Ware, Haley was initially signed to a multiyear deal. He joined the organization after two seasons with Kaulig Racing.

“Justin Haley is a very talented driver who has done a lot to help elevate RWR,” said Rick Ware Racing president Robby Benton. “Justin came to us over the Olympic break with a longer-term opportunity that would serve his career well. We were sympathetic to his desires, as Justin committed to RWR early last year and has since played a key role in the growth of our organization. We didn’t want to compromise his growth or our own. In our talks with Justin following the break, we agreed to release him from his contract with RWR.

“Obviously, we needed a new plan to maintain the momentum we’ve gained this year, and Corey LaJoie joining RWR allows us to keep moving forward. These seven races provide a unique and unconventional opportunity to work together now and evaluate what we may be able to accomplish together going forward. Corey wants to continue his path toward winning in the NASCAR Cup Series, and so do we. We’re like-minded in that pursuit.”

NASCAR explains decision to park Blaney at Watkins Glen

NASCAR’s Brad Moran has explained that officials followed its rule when towing Ryan Blaney back to the garage at Watkins Glen and declaring the Team Penske driver out of the race. Blaney was one of the multiple drivers involved in the first-lap …

NASCAR’s Brad Moran has explained that officials followed its rule when towing Ryan Blaney back to the garage at Watkins Glen and declaring the Team Penske driver out of the race.

Blaney was one of the multiple drivers involved in the first-lap crash through the Bus Stop on Sunday. The reigning series champion made contact with Brad Keselowski in the incident, and the mechanical damage left him unable to drive his Ford Mustang. He complained in the garage that NASCAR should let the team diagnose their vehicle and not be the ones to declare the day over.

However, NASCAR introduced the damaged vehicle policy (DVP) in 2017, which dictates that cars taken to the garage from an on-track incident cannot return to the race. In part, NASCAR wanted to avoid damaged vehicles returning to the track and shedding debris. Cup Series teams get seven minutes to attempt to repair their vehicles on the DVP clock.

In the case of Blaney, however, the issue started on the track. Any time a car has to be towed back, it is out of the race.

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“If you’re in an incident and on the DVP and you cannot drive the vehicle back to your pit stall, then you are out of the race at that point,” said Moran, the Cup Series managing director, on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “If you drive it into the garage or behind the wall, at that point, you’re out of the race and have to go to the care center. It’s a variety of reasons; there were efficiencies and safety. But all of the industry and collaboration put this together in 2017.

“It was very unfortunate. I totally get Blaney’s frustration, but he was involved in the incident with [Brad Keselowski], which did end up busting the front suspension or steering, and that would be consistent with what we’ve been doing since 2017.”

Blaney also referred to cars towed back to pit road with flat tires and not taken out of the race. Moran acknowledged that is an issue with the Next Gen car that NASCAR has had to work to address, but it is not the same as a damaged vehicle.

“They could be perfectly fine with flat tires and getting stuck and couldn’t move,” Moran said. “Now that’s not the same thing as bringing a damaged vehicle back to pit road; that’s a vehicle that has steering and suspension and everything working but cannot move due to flat tires. We do bring them in to allow them to change tires and continue.

“The last thing we want to do is put cars out of the car. So, we do everything we can do to not do that but we have rules we have to follow.”

Blaney has since admitted — also on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio — that he didn’t know the rule before giving his television interview. Since then, Blaney has looked over the rule book and said NASCAR did everything by the rule and that he understands the situation.

Wallace extends deal with 23XI Racing

23XI Racing has signed Bubba Wallace to a multi-year renewal. The organization posted a video on social media that featured the No. 23, Wallace’s signature and the words “he’s back” above a photo of Wallace. In its post, the team wrote, “From day …

23XI Racing has signed Bubba Wallace to a multi-year renewal.

The organization posted a video on social media that featured the No. 23, Wallace’s signature and the words “he’s back” above a photo of Wallace. In its post, the team wrote, “From day one Bubba has been an integral part of 23XI. We’re excited to announce that he has signed a multi-year renewal and will continue to play a key role in helping 23XI grow and succeed.”

Wallace was the organization’s cornerstone driver when it debuted in 2021. He won his first career race at Talladega Superspeedway in the fall of ’21 and at Kansas Speedway in the fall of 2022. Although he went winless last season, Wallace made the postseason for the first time and finished a career-best 10th in the championship standings.

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23XI Racing has since expanded to two full-time drivers. Wallace was previously teammates with Kurt Busch and now with Tyler Reddick.

In his seventh full season at the NASCAR Cup Series level, Wallace is 19th in the championship standings. He has 42 career top-10 finishes and 21 top-five finishes.

23XI Racing was founded by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan.

 

Van Gisbergen ‘gutted’ after mistake costs Watkins Glen win

Shane van Gisbergen knew exactly what kept him from the win after losing the lead on the last lap in Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen. “Driver error,” he said. The three-time Supercars champion did well to position himself for a second NASCAR Cup …

Shane van Gisbergen knew exactly what kept him from the win after losing the lead on the last lap in Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen.

“Driver error,” he said.

The three-time Supercars champion did well to position himself for a second NASCAR Cup Series victory. On a weekend when most eyes were on the playoff field, the Kiwi qualified third and ran well enough to find himself second to leader Chris Buescher with the laps winding down.

A trio of late cautions shook up the running order and brought the field together. Van Gisbergen elected to start on the inside of the second row each time. For the first two attempts, the decision didn’t yield fruit, but on a final overtime restart, van Gisbergen was able to give Buescher a small nudge into Turn 1 and make a three-wide move on the bottom.

He cleared Buescher heading into the Esses and emerged with a slim advantage in the Bus Stop, but van Gisbergen also knew he could be due for contact in return from Buescher if the Texan was able to chase him down.

For the next full lap, van Gisbergen was flawless. He made a rare mistake in the final trip through the Bus Stop, though, clipping the inside wall and pushing him off-line. Buescher took advantage, jumped to van Gisbergen’s inside and muscled his way by for the lead.

“I knew Chris was really going to send it and push me if he could get there,” van Gisbergen said. “As I turned in, I got a little bit loose and clipped the inside wall.”

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Van Gisbergen tried to chase Buescher back down but got loose at the exit of Turn 6 and had to chase his tail heading into the final corner. That left him too out of control to give Buescher a final nudge in the last corner, allowing the RFK Racing veteran to ride off to his first road course win.

“I got in there deeper than I had been and I think [van Gisbergen] was still going, so I had a good feeling that it was probably going to bottom out,” Buescher said of van Gisbergen’s mistake. [The re-profiled chicane is] smoother, not smooth. It was a big moment, big opportunity for us and I was able to roll on by.”

The second-place run was van Gisbergen’s best since he shocked the field to win on debut in the 2023 Chicago Street Race. He’d finished no better than 10th in the ensuing eight starts, though six of them have come on ovals where he has much less experience.

It’s a good sign heading into his first full-time Cup season in 2025, but it was little consolation to the 35-year-old after he gave away a potential win.

“I’m gutted,” van Gisbergen said. “The WeatherTech Camaro was really good. The race was awesome with Ross (Chastain), Chris and the others at the end. I’m gutted that we couldn’t get it. I had a lot of fun, but I’m pretty angry with myself.”

Truex has had it with restart crashes after another crushing blow at Watkins Glen

Martin Truex Jr. has had enough. The 2017 Cup champion was seemingly poised to make the most of a chaotic playoff race at Watkins Glen International. He’d won Stage 1, avoided the many accidents that befell his playoff rivals and was in the running …

Martin Truex Jr. has had enough.

The 2017 Cup champion was seemingly poised to make the most of a chaotic playoff race at Watkins Glen International. He’d won Stage 1, avoided the many accidents that befell his playoff rivals and was in the running for a top-15 finish in the final laps of Sunday’s race, and then everything went awry.

On a restart with three laps remaining, Todd Gilliland was forced to lift out of a potential overtake of Kyle Larson after a block entering the Esses. The field stacked up behind Gilliland and three sets of drivers crashed.

Included in the chaos was Truex, who washed up into the outside wall with Justin Haley. The damage hampered the handling of the No. 19 Toyota and relegated the New Jersey native to 20th at race’s end.

“We were in the wrong lane, on the short end of the stick as usual,” Truex said of the crash. “We were in a decent spot there. You go into the Esses and they just plow through you, put you in the marbles. This racing is just ridiculous. It’s a joke.”

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After the checkered flag flew, the retiring veteran had some frustrations to get off his chest.

“It’s just crazy that all these races always come down to this,” Truex said. “I just don’t understand how guys can call themselves the best in the world when they just drive through everyone on restarts at the end of these races.”

Amid his final full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Truex has endured a difficult stretch in recent weeks. Once a contender for the regular season title, he faded to the final playoff spot on points after an awful summer and an embarrassing early crash at Darlington Raceway.

He hoped to turn things around in the postseason, but left Atlanta Motor Speedway below the Round of 12 cutline after getting caught up in a Stage 2 crash. Having races at Watkins Glen and Bristol Motor Speedway, both tracks where Truex has run well in the past, opened the door for the veteran to make up ground.

The odds aren’t looking good after his Watkins Glen setback. He finds himself 15th in the standings heading to Bristol, 14 points below the cutline. It’s going to take another run like his runner-up result in Bristol to turn things around now.

It’s all because he fell victim to the aggression of another late-race restart — something Truex won’t miss when he’s out of the cockpit.

“It’s very frustrating, but it is what it is these days,” Truex said. “I’m outta here.”

Buescher pounces on SVG’s error to win at Watkins Glen

In a largely chaotic race – action-packed literally from the drop of the green flag, it was Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher who prevailed in overtime in Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen – passing road course ace Shane van Gisbergen in …

In a largely chaotic race – action-packed literally from the drop of the green flag, it was Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher who prevailed in overtime in Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen – passing road course ace Shane van Gisbergen in a bumper-to-bumper last lap duel to claim his first career road course victory at the famed Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.

Van Gisbergen took the lead from the second row in a daring three-wide move on an overtime restart, but Buescher chased him down. Buescher’s No. 17 RFK Racing Ford and van Gisbergen’s No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet made contact in the course’s famous Bus Stop, then Buescher slid his Mustang inside van Gisbergen’s Camaro in the Esses and motored off to a 0.979s win over the Kiwi superstar in the second Playoff race of the season.

 

Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar, Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain and Spire’s Zane Smith rounded out the top five. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe finished sixth, followed by Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell, Spire’s Corey LaJoie, SHR’s Ryan Preece and Team Penske’s Austin Cindric.

Briscoe and Cindric were the only two Playoff drivers to finish among the top 10 in what was a perpetually dramatic day for the 16 Playoff drivers racing for the NASCAR Cup Series championship.

“Oh man, it was such a good Ford Mustang. Speed was so great and long run speed phenomenal,” said the 31-year-old Texan Buescher, who just missed qualifying for the Playoffs when Briscoe won the regular season finale at Darlington three weeks ago.

“I thought we lost it there on the last one but, man, to stay right there with him… It was a spot he was better than us, but he just missed it so I tried to cross over and just … hard racing. What an awesome finish. To be that good for so much at the end of the race – all race – to get a win is good.

“We came here to be spoilers and we’re going to do that.”

Van Gisbergen, who won the Chicago Street Race last season in his first ever NASCAR Cup Series start, was a factor all day as expected for the former Australian Supercars champion, who will compete full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series next year in the No. 88 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing.

“Driver error, yeah,” van Gisbergen said of his slip in the Bus Stop. “I knew Chris was really going to send it and push me if he could get there and as I turned back I was a bit loose and clipped the inside wall. Just driver error and I’m gutted.

“The race was really awesome there with Ross [Chastain] and Chris and the others at the end, I’m gutted we couldn’t get it. We had a lot of fun, but I’m pretty angry at myself.”

It was a fitting dramatic ending to a day that shook up the Playoff standings from the opening lap to the final lap (92). Twelve of the 16 Playoff drivers suffered some sort of “challenge” on the day.

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney – who led the points standings entering the race — was eliminated from the race on lap one after being innocently caught up in collision that included half a dozen cars, including fellow Playoff competitors Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Christopher Bell.

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It was just the beginning of a long, challenging day for Hamlin who was involved in another accident mid-race. He was part of a three-wide line of Playoff drivers – also including Kyle Larson and Keselowski – trying to make it through the track’s famous Esses. Unfortunately for Hamlin, there wasn’t enough room for three-wide challenges and his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota again suffered damage.

Larson and fellow Playoff drivers, regular season champion Tyler Reddick, Bell, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and William Byron were involved in multiple incidents throughout the day.

The high-speed, high-action day ended a streak of five consecutive Hendrick Motorsports wins at the historic 2.45-mile Watkins Glen track. Among the Playoff drivers, Larson finished 12th, followed by Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez, Bell and Logano rounding out the top 15.

Hendrick’s Alex Bowman was 18th, followed – in order — by teammate Elliott and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr.

JGR’s Ty Gibbs was 22nd, followed immediately by his teammate Hamlin and Wood Brothers’ Harrison Burton. Keselowski was 26th and Reddick 27th. Byron ended up 34th and Blaney was 38th, the first car out.

Those results mean that with one race left in this opening three-race Playoff round, Bell holds a three-point edge on Cindric atop the standings with Bowman five points back. Logano’s win at Atlanta two weeks ago scored him an automatic bid into the next round.

Heading into Saturday night’s first round elimination race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Hamlin is now ranked 13th, six points below his JGR teammate Gibbs on the cutoff line. Keselowski is 12 points back, Truex is now 14 points back and Burton is 20 points off the transfer position.

“I thought our Camry was solid, needed to be better on long runs for sure, but worked hard and persevered and had a decent day, but as always you get the cautions at the end and guys just run through you,” said a frustrated but determined Truex, who ran up front early and was – at one point – more than a dozen points above the cutoff line.

“It’s just crazy all these races always come down to this, and I don’t really understand how guys can call themselves the best in the world when they just drive through everyone on restarts at the end of these races,” Truex added. “It’s very frustrating, but it is what it is these days.”

The NASCAR Cup Series will conclude a triple-header race weekend at the famed Bristol high-banks with Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race (7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Denny Hamlin is the defending winner.

RESULTS

Chaotic trip to Watkins Glen shakes up Cup playoffs

It was a bad day to be a playoff driver at Watkins Glen International. On a day when 15 of the 16 title contenders were hoping to avoid trouble and secure their place in the Round of 12, most of the field was caught up in crashes and drama that left …

It was a bad day to be a playoff driver at Watkins Glen International.

On a day when 15 of the 16 title contenders were hoping to avoid trouble and secure their place in the Round of 12, most of the field was caught up in crashes and drama that left their playoff fates uncertain heading to the Round of 16 finale.

A classic battle for the win was settled by drivers outside of the playoff field. No playoff drivers finished in the top five and only two playoff drivers ended the day inside of the top 10. Chase Briscoe led all contenders with a sixth-place run, while Austin Cindric came home 10th.

Ryan Blaney was taken out in a lap 1 crash that also included Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Christopher Bell. Blaney was knocked out in 38th, but that was only the beginning of long days for the other three. Bell was later spun by Austin Dillon while trying to get to pit road.

Keselowski was hit with penalties for speeding and an uncontrolled tire that mired him in traffic and forced him into an alternate strategy. Hamlin had to rally from two laps down to salvage a point with a 10th-place finish in Stage 2.

The pair came together in Stage 3 when a three-wide battle with Kyle Larson went awry in the esses, sending Hamlin slamming into the wall a second time and causing further damage.

Hamlin wound up salvaging a 23rd-place finish from a brutal day that left him below the playoff cutline.

“It’s just a couple races where things out of your control didn’t go well,” Hamlin said of his Round of 16 run thus far. “(It started on) the first lap. I’ve got to take responsibility for what I did on Saturday, which is not qualify well. That’s on me. Certainly, that put us right in the middle of where wrecks usually happen and we got shoved into it.”

Keselowski soldiered on but was caught up in a third crash when Joey Logano lost control of his No. 22 Ford and turned him up into the wall in the esses again.

That last incident sent Keselowski into the path of William Byron, who climbed up the guardrail and put his right-front tire on top of Keselowski’s left-rear window. Thankfully neither driver was hurt, Byron didn’t get into the catch fence and they were each able to continue on after coming unlatched.

Keselowski’s Mustang had a lot of wear and tear. Motorsport Images

Keselowski limped home in 26th. Byron got the worst of the damage and finished two laps down in 34th.

“It’s really a shame,” Keselowski said of the final crash that ruined his comeback. “We had brand-new tires on. … I feel like we were going to salvage a really good day with everybody having old tires. Drive up to a top 10. Who knows? Maybe have a shot at a top five after everything we’ve been through. Didn’t make it through the first lap. Just a tough way to go.”

While those drivers got the worst of the damage, they were far from the only playoff drivers to endure difficult days. Larson, Daniel Suarez and Tyler Reddick were caught up in an accident that send Reddick spinning. Suarez later spun by himself and got trapped in the gravel with two laps left in Stage 2, throwing off the planned strategy for leading Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain and future teammate Shane van Gisbergen.

Larson and Suarez emerged relatively unscathed from the mayhem, coming home 12th and 13th at race’s end. Bell and Logano followed in 14th and 15th.

Reddick was less fortunate. Todd Gilliland was forced to lift after contact with Larson heading into the esses on a late restart and the field stacked up behind him. Two pairs of drivers made contact and washed up into the wall, including playoff contenders Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. Reddick was behind them and spun off the nose of Kyle Busch.

The accidents significantly hampered the runs of all three drivers. Elliott and Truex had to settle for 19th and 20th. Reddick faded to 27th.

None of the other playoff contenders fared much better. Harrison Burton avoided crashes, but blew a tire with 11th to go and came home 24th. Alex Bowman ended up 18th, with Ty Gibbs four spots back in 22nd.

Sunday’s chaos sets up a dramatic ending to the Round of 16 at Bristol, with many expected title contenders at risk of elimination.

Logano is locked into the Round of 12 with a win. Bell is in the best position of all other drivers, up 46 points on the cutline. Cindric (+43), Bowman (+41) and Suarez (+36) are also in good position to advance heading to the “Last Great Coliseum.”

Just behind them are many of the championship favorites. Reddick (+30), Elliott (+30), Blaney (+29), Larson (+26) and Byron (+25) can advance without any further issues, but run the risk of a shocking elimination with any issues.

Briscoe’s solid day turned his playoff hopes around, lifting him from last among contenders to six points above the cutline. Gibbs is tied with Briscoe in the final provisional Round of 12 spot.

The most shocking of the drivers below the cutline is Hamlin, who sits six points back heading to Bristol courtesy to his misfortune and lost playoff points from the penalties tied to his win at Bristol in the spring. The Virginian was a regular season title contender a month ago, but now sits at risk of an early postseason exit.

Despite the risk, Hamlin isn’t worried. “We’ll be fine,” he said. “I have no doubts that we’re going to be good, up front and control our own destiny.”

Keselowski sits 12 points out after his crash-filled day in New York. The retiring Truex (-14) will need a strong Bristol run to keep his final playoff run alive, while longshot Burton (-20) heads to Bristol in need of a win or some chaos to shock the field and advance to the Round of 12.

Blaney out on lap one at the Glen in crushing playoff blow

Watkins Glen didn’t even need a full lap to shake up the NASCAR Cup Series standings in its playoff debut, not least for Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney. Drivers were working their way through the new-look bus stop chicane on the opening lap of Sunday’s …

Watkins Glen didn’t even need a full lap to shake up the NASCAR Cup Series standings in its playoff debut, not least for Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney.

Drivers were working their way through the new-look bus stop chicane on the opening lap of Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen when contact between Corey LaJoie and Kyle Busch sent Busch’s No. 8 Chevrolet spinning around. The field behind them scattered every which way to avoid the accident, but not everyone was able to.

 

Christopher Bell was spun around after Busch backed into the side of his No. 20 Toyota and received minimal damage and continued. Denny Hamlin was less fortunate, slamming into the left-rear corner of Busch’s car with the right-front of his own No. 11 Toyota and sliding into the outside wall, getting heavy damage in the process. Hamlin continued in the race, but he and Busch fell two laps down while making repairs.

Blaney got the worst of it after running into the back of fellow Ford playoff contender Brad Keselowski as the field stacked up. The incident looked minor but caused significant damage. He brought his No. 12 Ford to a stop and was towed to garage.

Per the rule book, that meant his day was over. Blaney was relegated to a 38th-place finish that gave him just a single point in the standings.

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The third-generation racer entered Sunday atop the playoff standings with a 45-point edge on the cutline that should cushion the blow, but he’ll go to Bristol Motor Speedway at risk of elimination.

Afterward Blaney was seen arguing with NASCAR officials. He later vented his frustrations over not having a chance to get his No. 12 Ford on track.

“Give us a chance to fix it,” Blaney told NBC Sports’ broadcast. “How are they going to dictate if we’re done or not? They have no idea of the damage. They said because I couldn’t drive it back to the pit box, we’re done. But if you have four flats, you get towed back to the pit box. You can’t drive it back.

“I don’t know what’s going on, why they wouldn’t even give us a shot to work on it, but I don’t agree with it. I don’t even know what happened, honestly. … That’s the frustrating part. [They] just don’t even give us a chance.”

Blaney admitted that he might not have made it back to the race even if given the chance. The contact with Keselowski broke his car’s steering.

“You just end our day without even letting us get to look at it before it’s in the garage,” he said. “That stinks.”