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Race report
NASCAR Cup Bristol II

NASCAR Cup Bristol: Larson takes dominant win as playoff drivers eliminated

The Hendrick Motorsports driver was unstoppable as four drivers were dropped from the 2024 NASCAR Cup playoff field

Kyle Larson led 462 of 500 laps at Bristol to take a stunning fifth victory of the 2024 NASCAR Cup season in Saturday night's Round of 16 playoff elimination race.

Only the top 10 drivers finished on the lead lap, as Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver Larson led more laps than any Bristol winner since Cale Yarborough nearly half a century ago in 1977.

While Hendrick team-mate Alex Bowman led the race from pole position, Larson quickly moved into the lead and never looked back. He swept the stages and went unchallenged as he set a blistering pace.

"We dominate a lot of races but we might not close them all out, so it feels really good to close one out here," said the 2021 Cup champion after taking his 28th career win.

"Just a phenomenal car, could kind of manage my stuff and then really pass some cars there at the end."

Chase Elliott was second, over seven seconds behind team-mate Larson at the finish.

Bubba Wallace (23XI Toyota) finished third, ahead of the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas of Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell.

Ryan Blaney (Penske Ford) recovered from an early exit at Watkins Glen to finish sixth ahead of Stewart-Haas Ford duo Ryan Preece and Chase Briscoe, while Bowman ended up ninth as Ross Chastain (Trackhouse Chevrolet) rounded out the top 10.

Race winner Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro

Race winner Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro

Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images

JGR duo Ty Gibbs and Martin Truex Jr., RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski, and Harrison Burton in the Wood Brothers Ford were all eliminated from the playoffs.

The Round of 12 field will comprise Larson, Bell, Tyler Reddick (23XI), William Byron (Hendrick), Blaney, Hamlin, Elliott, Joey Logano (Penske), Austin Cindric (Penske), Daniel Suarez (Trackhouse), Bowman and Briscoe.

In the battle to advance, Suarez and Keselowski both fell off the lead lap early while Burton went behind the wall with power steering issues. 

The decisive moment of the race came when Corey LaJoie crashed with about 170 laps to go, making his final start with Spire Motorsports before his unusual seat swap arrangement with Rick Ware Racing's Justin Haley.

The field filed down pit road for the final fuel stop, where the playoff picture dramatically changed. Briscoe had a slow stop, but Truex's night went up in smoke as a speeding penalty demoted the 2017 Cup champion from second to the rear of the field.

There was never another caution and he remained trapped deep in the back, eventually finishing 24th.

The battle for the final transfer spot came down to Suarez and Gibbs. While the Atlanta runner-up suffered through a dismal night, falling multiple laps down and rarely running inside the top-30, Gibbs was charging into the top-ten.

With 100 laps to go, only four points separated them. However, Gibbs faded as Suarez picked up a couple more spots, giving him enough breathing room to clinch a spot in the Round of 12.

NASCAR Cup Bristol Race Results

Cla Driver # Manufacturer Laps Time Interval Pits Points
1 K. LarsonHendrick Motorsports 5 Chevrolet 500

2:37'53.042

  7  
2 C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports 9 Chevrolet 500

+7.088

2:38'00.130

7.088 6  
3 B. Wallace23XI Racing 23 Toyota 500

+9.729

2:38'02.771

2.641 6  
4 D. HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing 11 Toyota 500

+10.088

2:38'03.130

0.359 6  
5 C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing 20 Toyota 500

+10.349

2:38'03.391

0.261 6  
6 R. BlaneyTeam Penske 12 Ford 500

+11.946

2:38'04.988

1.597 6  
7 R. PreeceStewart-Haas Racing 41 Ford 500

+13.299

2:38'06.341

1.353 7  
8 C. BriscoeStewart-Haas Racing 14 Ford 500

+13.791

2:38'06.833

0.492 6  
9 A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports 48 Chevrolet 500

+14.077

2:38'07.119

0.286 6  
10 R. ChastainTrackHouse Racing 1 Chevrolet 500

+14.735

2:38'07.777

0.658 6  
11 M. McDowellFront Row Motorsports 34 Ford 499

+1 Lap

2:37'54.129

1 Lap 7  
12 N. GragsonStewart-Haas Racing 10 Ford 499

+1 Lap

2:37'54.279

0.150 6  
13 A. CindricTeam Penske 2 Ford 499

+1 Lap

2:37'57.245

2.966 6  
14 C. BuescherRFK Racing 17 Ford 499

+1 Lap

2:37'58.553

1.308 6  
15
T. GibbsJoe Gibbs Racing
54 Toyota 499

+1 Lap

2:37'58.789

0.236 6  
16
Z. SmithSpire Motorsports
71 Chevrolet 499

+1 Lap

2:37'59.047

0.258 6  
17 W. ByronHendrick Motorsports 24 Chevrolet 499

+1 Lap

2:37'59.378

0.331 6  
18
C. HocevarSpire Motorsports
77 Chevrolet 499

+1 Lap

2:37'59.572

0.194 6  
19 D. HemricKaulig Racing 31 Chevrolet 499

+1 Lap

2:38'00.415

0.843 6  
20 T. Reddick23XI Racing 45 Toyota 499

+1 Lap

2:38'00.499

0.084 6  
21 A. DillonRichard Childress Racing 3 Chevrolet 499

+1 Lap

2:38'01.321

0.822 6  
22 J. HaleyRick Ware Racing 51 Ford 499

+1 Lap

2:38'02.140

0.819 7  
23 A. AllmendingerKaulig Racing 16 Chevrolet 499

+1 Lap

2:38'02.719

0.579 6  
24 M. Truex JrJoe Gibbs Racing 19 Toyota 499

+1 Lap

2:38'03.623

0.904 6  
25 K. BuschRichard Childress Racing 8 Chevrolet 498

+2 Laps

2:38'04.396

1 Lap 6  
26 B. KeselowskiRFK Racing 6 Ford 497

+3 Laps

2:37'55.775

1 Lap 6  
27 R. Stenhouse JrJTG Daugherty Racing 47 Chevrolet 497

+3 Laps

2:38'04.080

8.305 6  
28 J. LoganoTeam Penske 22 Ford 496

+4 Laps

2:37'55.621

1 Lap 7  
29 J. BerryStewart-Haas Racing 4 Ford 496

+4 Laps

2:37'56.448

0.827 6  
30 E. JonesLegacy Motor Club 43 Toyota 496

+4 Laps

2:37'58.263

1.815 7  
31 D. SuarezTrackHouse Racing 99 Chevrolet 496

+4 Laps

2:37'59.399

1.136 6  
32 T. GillilandFront Row Motorsports 38 Ford 496

+4 Laps

2:38'03.904

4.505 6  
33 J. NemechekLegacy Motor Club 42 Toyota 491

+9 Laps

2:38'07.931

5 Laps 7  
34 J. BilickiMBM 66 Ford 467

+33 Laps

2:37'57.000

24 Laps 10  
35 H. BurtonWood Brothers Racing 21 Ford 422

+78 Laps

2:38'05.392

45 Laps 6  
36 C. LajoieSpire Motorsports 7 Chevrolet 330

+170 Laps

1:52'54.365

92 Laps 6  
37 K. GralaRick Ware Racing 15 Ford 296

+204 Laps

1:44'30.692

34 Laps

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