Man oh man, did we get a good Bristol. Final-lap points elimination racing. Sparks and sheet metal skittering through the air. Two grown men getting into a fight (not very physical, sadly). Good night all around.
The Winner
Oh yeah, someone won. Um, ok, let’s check…yep, alright, yep. Kyle Larson. No wonder we didn’t notice.
The Race
The thing had a big war-of-attrition feel to it, with the focus so much on just avoiding elimination for drivers in the hunt (as opposed to needing a win) that every time something went wrong for someone (and plenty of things went wrong), it was “CAN HE SURVIVE THIS??” And that was a genuine reaction. Which was neat.
Results
Top ten, other playoff drivers:
Kevin Harvick, who now does not like Chase Elliott, finished 2nd.
William Byron overcame a big point gap, finishing 3rd to advance to the next round.
Ryan Blaney was 4th.
Alex Bowman was 5th.
Brad Keselowski was 6th.
Martin Truex Jr. was 7th.
Erik Jones finished 8th.
Denny Hamlin was 9th.
Matt DiBenedetto was 10th.
Joey Logano finished 11th.
Tyler Reddick was 12th, but it wasn’t enough to get through. Two points shy of Byron for a spot in the Round of 12.
Aric Almirola had a line leaking fluid onto the track, and was even black-flagged for it at one point. He hung around but finished 18th and was, like Reddick, two points shy of Byron.
Kurt Busch was 19th and missed the cutoff by six points.
Kyle Busch lost a tire late, but had enough in the bank to hold on and advance. 21st place. Six or seven points of cushion in the end.
Michael McDowell finished 24th and was eliminated.
Chase Elliott lost a tire to Kevin Harvick, coming in 25th but surviving the round.
Christopher Bell finished 29th but is in the Round of 12.
Standings
Playoff standings entering the Round of 12, with where each driver stands relative to the Round of 8 cutoff:
1. Larson: 46 points ahead of first driver out
2. Truex: 16 points ahead of first driver out
3. Hamlin: 11 points ahead of first driver out
4. Blaney: 11 points ahead of first driver out
5. Kyle Busch: 9 points ahead of first driver out
6. Elliott: 8 points ahead of first driver out
7. Bowman: 2 points ahead of first driver out
8. Byron: Last driver in; 1 point ahead of first driver out
9. Logano: First driver out; 1 point behind last driver in
10. Keselowski: 6 points behind last driver in
11. Bell: 9 points behind last driver in
12. Harvick: 12 points behind last driver in
Thoughts, Implications, Up Next
I obviously don’t know as much as a lot of people, but my general feeling on Harvick v. Elliott is that if you’re going to cut someone’s tire, you have to be ok with that someone slapping your car with their car.
Videos
Good shot of how short the “short track” is:
Curious if the new car will look this cool in wrecks without the sheet metal:
Ok, the Harvick/Elliott feud, I believe this is where Elliott’s tire got cut:
Elliott’s response:
And the fallout:
Which continued out of the sight of the media:
Finally, Kyle Busch’s entrance:
What a guy.
