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7 hours ago
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A look at the winners and losers from Saturday night’s playoff elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
WINNERS
Christopher Bell — His frustration was high at Gateway after watching teammates win the first two races of the playoffs, but he and his team came back to win at Bristol. “Winning fixes everything, that’s for sure,” Bell said after his fourth points win of the season and first since March. “It’s a huge morale boost for the team and myself as a driver.”
Bell: ‘Any given week, it can be us’
Old tires opened the door for Christopher Bell on the bottom of the track and knows that “any given week, it can be us.” Under the lights at Bristol, it was just that.
Joe Gibbs Racing — The organization swept the first round of the playoffs with three different drivers. Chase Briscoe won the Southern 500. Denny Hamlin won at Gateway. Christopher Bell won at Bristol. JGR playoff drivers scored 18 of a possible 21 playoff points in the round. Hamlin is the points leader (26 points above the cutline) to begin the second round, while Bell is fourth (+20) and Briscoe is sixth (+10). The series heads to New Hampshire where Bell is the defending winner.
Brad Keselowski — It was not the win he hoped for, but he finished second for the fourth time since his last win in May 2024 at Darlington.
Keselowski's Bristol finish emulates Cup season
Brad Keselowski rolled the dice but came up short of the win at Bristol and discusses the joy of the “challenge” of tire management.
Zane Smith — His third-place finish was his first top 10 in the last 11 races and his best result this season.
Ryan Blaney — He scored his second consecutive fourth-place finish to easily advance to the next round of the playoffs.
Corey Heim — Placed a career-best sixth in his seventh career Cup start.
LOSERS
Josh Berry — Finishes last for the third consecutive race and is eliminated from the playoffs. “I don’t think you could ever script three last-place finishes in the ways that we’ve gotten them over the last few weeks,” Berry said after rubber buildup led to a fire in his car and ended his race at Bristol.
Berry's playoff hopes go up in flames in Stage 1
Josh Berry's playoffs comes to a disappointing end at Bristol after the right front of his car catches fire in Stage 1, bringing out the first caution.
Alex Bowman — He fell 10 points short of advancing to the second round. Pit road woes plagued this team in the playoffs. Still, Bowman nearly rallied to win Bristol to advance. Instead, he finished eighth — his best result in the last four races but not good enough to continue his quest for a title this season.
Restarts hurt Bowman's chances to advance
Alex Bowman recaps his struggles on restarts at Bristol after failing to advance into the Round of 12 but knows his team is capable of putting together solid results in the final seven weeks.
Daniel Suarez — He finished 37th, marking his second consecutive race he’s placed 35th or worse.
Shane van Gisbergen — He finished 26th on a night he was involved in three incidents. The result is despite collecting 22 playoff points in the regular season, he failed to advance to the second round.
SVG recaps first stint in NASCAR Cup playoffs
Shane van Gisbergen admits he struggled judging the track at Bristol and knows he will continue to improve in the Cup Series with time after being eliminated from the playoffs.
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