Wow. Just wow. There was a lot that happened in Saturday Night’s Bass Pro Shop Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. But hey, it’s Bristol baby! In an attempt to keep this article from becoming a novel, I’m going to be very brief in my summary.
Aric Almirola led the field to green, but it wasn’t long before the fans knew just what kind of race this was going to be. About 40 laps in, Harrison Burton and JJ Yeley both had right-side tire issues. This was concerning right away as they were both Fords. About 40 laps later another Ford driver had a right-side tire issue, this time it was playoff contender Austin Cindric. About ten laps after that, another playoff driver had a tire failure, this time Ryan Blaney, who also drives a Ford. Aric Almirola spun out behind him trying to avoid getting collected.
It was clear car reliability would have a major role in who wins this race. Stage one went to Brad Keselowski, driver and part owner of RFK Racing. Stage two was a bit calmer until around the halfway point. Bubba Wallace, Ty Gibbs, and Martin Tuex Jr. all had power steering failures around the same time. All three of these drivers were in Toyotas. Were all these incidents just pure coincidence, or was there some manufacturer gamesmanship going on?
The next notable incident was when Denny Hamlin had a right-side tire issue. Yes, this happened a LOT in this race. He was able to continue, but his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch wasn’t as lucky when his engine expired. This was almost certain to end Kyle Busch’s last chance to win a championship for JGR.
But then on the next restart, chaos ensued. Daniel Suarez lost it, collecting Daniel Suarez, Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon, and more. Suddenly, Kyle Busch still had a shot, but it was completely out of his hands. This accident also eliminated Austin Dillon as he was unable to continue.
The race tamed out a bit for a while after this, but tires and power steering were on every driver’s mind as the laps clicked by. Joey Logano had a tire issue. Then Brad Keselowski lost a right side tire while leading. This didn’t trigger a caution, dashing any hopes for Keselowski to earn a surprise victory. But a few laps later, Christopher Bell lost a right side tire while leading as well. This time, NASCAR threw a caution. Christopher Bell was the only guy who entered Bristol knowing he was locked into the next round.
But it was time for the money stop. Kevin Harvick was running in the third position in a must-win scenario. But despite his crew being top three all year, they had a loose wheel, taking Harvick out of contention for the win. Harvick would be eliminated from the playoffs as well. This meant Suarez, Reddick, Cindric, and Busch would all be fighting around the cutoff spot. The irony was that none of these guys were on the lead lap, and one of them wasn’t even running.
Chris Buescher restarted up front and stayed there to the end of the race that ended up running green. This meant 2022 has seen 19 winners in one season so far and all three drivers who won in the Round of 16 were not in the playoffs. And as for the battle for the last two spots, it got pretty complicated. Would there be enough laps to gain positions for the guys who needed them? In the end, Daniel Suarez and Austin Cindric would move on, eliminating Kyle Busch and Tyler Reddick from the 2022 playoffs.
With the points reset for the Round of 12, the playoff field looks like this:
- Chase Elliott 3,040 Points
- Joey Logano 3,025 Points
- Ross Chastain 3,020 Points
- Kyle Larson 3.019 Points
- William Byron 3,015 Points
- Denny Hamlin 3,013 Points
- Christopher Bell 3,013 Points
- Ryan Blaney 3,013 Points
- Chase Briscoe 3,009 Points
- Alex Bowman 3,007 Points
- Daniel Suarez 3,007 Points
- Austin Cindric 3,006 Points
Tune in next Sunday for the Auto Trader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway and the kickoff of the Round of 12!
