Chris Buescher triumphs at Bristol as Playoff field is trimmed to 12: With Chase Elliott pursuing him relentlessly for the final 50 laps, Chris Buescher held on to win Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motors Speedway, becoming the 19th different NASCAR Cup Series winner this season. After the event that set the field for the Round of 12 in the series Playoffs—and eliminated superstars Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick from the postseason—a dozen drivers were breathing sighs of relief and hoping fervently for a return to stock car sanity in the next round. [Read More](9-17-2022)

#17-Chris Buescher won the Bass Pro Shops Night Race NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The win is his 1st win of the year, 1st at Bristol Motor Speedway and 2nd career win. He is the 19th different winner this season.
#9-Elliott finished 2nd followed by #24-Byron, #20-Bell, #5-Larson, #1-Chastain, #16-Allmendinger, #41-Custer, #11-Hamlin, and #4-Harvick.
Pole winner #10-Almirola spun out early and had mechanical troubles late. He finished 28th.
Several playoff drivers had troubles during the race:
Midway through stage 1, #2-Cindric had a flat tire and had to pit under green. He lost 4 laps.  He stayed out of trouble the rest of the time and finished 20th.
On Lap 93 #12-Blaney had a tire go down, got into the outside wall and broke a right-rear toe link. He lost nearly 150 laps while the team repaired the car. He finished 30th.
Just past halfway, #18-Busch lost and engine and could not continue.  He finished 34th and was eliminated from the playoffs.
On lap 277, #99-Suarez was involved in an accident with #47-Stenhouse, Jr. #48-Bowman, #8-Reddick, and #3-Dillon were also involved. Bowman could not continue. He finished 32nd. Dillon’s team could not repair the car either and he finished 31st. Suarez continued and ended the evening in 19th.
#22-Logano had a flat tire with about 100 laps remaining and had to pit under green. He later went behind the wall and finished 27th.
Advancing to the Round of 12 in the playoffs: #1-Chastain, #2-Cindric, #5-Larson, #9-Elliott, #11-Hamlin, #14-Briscoe, #12-Blaney, #20-Bell, #22-Logano, #24-Byron, #48-Bowman, and #99-Suarez.
Drivers who were eliminated from the playoffs: #3-Dillon, #4-Harvick, #8-Reddick and #18-Busch.
Stage 1 was won by #6-Keselowski. Stage 2 was won by #20-Bell.
There were 12 lead changes among 6 drivers and 11 cautions for 80 yellow flag laps.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Infraction Report.

Race Fast Facts – Bristol Motor Speedway:
Chris Buescher won the 62nd Annual Bass Pro Shops Night Race, his second victory in 250 NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and ninth top-10 finish in 2022.
This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in 13 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Chase Elliott (P) (second) posted his sixth top-10 finish in 12 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his 18th top-10 finish in 2022.
William Byron (P) (third) posted his third top-10 finish in eight races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Harrison Burton (16th) was the highest finishing rookie.
The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season becomes the fifth different season to reach 19 different winners (series-most in a single season); joining the 1956, 1958, 1961 and 2001 seasons. Among the five seasons to reach 19 different winners the 2022 season reached the record in the fewest races (29 races); the previous record was 36 races in 2001.(NASCAR)

Where the 2022 Cup Series Playoff drivers finished at Bristol:
#9-Chase Elliott, 2nd
#24-William Byron, 3rd
#20-Christopher Bell, 4th
#5-Kyle Larson, 5th
#1-Ross Chastain, 6th
#11-Denny Hamlin, 9th
#4-Kevin Harvick, 10th
#14-Chase Briscoe, 14th
#99-Daniel Suarez, 19th
#2-Austin Cindric, 20th
#8-Tyler Reddick, 25th
#22-Joey Logano, 27th
#12-Ryan Blaney, 30th
#3-Austin Dillon, 31st
#48-Alex Bowman, 32nd
#18-Kyle Busch, 34th

Cup Series Playoff Standings after Bristol:
(reseeded, after the Round of 16)
1) #9-Chase Elliott, 3040
2) #22-Joey Logano, 3025
3) #1-Ross Chastain, 3020
4) #5-Kyle Larson, 3019
5) #24-William Byron, 3015
6) #11-Denny Hamlin, 3013
7) #20-Christopher Bell, 3013
8) #12-Ryan Blaney, 3013
Below the Round of 8 cutoff:
9) #14-Chase Briscoe, 3009
10) #48-Alex Bowman, 3007
11) #99-Daniel Suarez, 3007
12) #2-Austin Cindric, 3006
See the Reseeded Driver Points Standings and Reseeded Owner Points Standings.

Cup Series Playoff Standings after Bristol (Before points reset):
(Race 29 of 36 in the season; End of round of 16)
1) #20-Christopher Bell, 2160, +93
2) #24-William Byron, 2138, +71
3) #11-Denny Hamlin, 2125, +58
4) #9-Chase Elliott, 2120, +53
5) #5-Kyle Larson, 2117, +50
6) #1-Ross Chastain, 2116, +49
7) #22-Joey Logano, 2100, +33
8) #48-Alex Bowman, 2095, +26
9) #12-Ryan Blaney, 2093, +23
10) #14-Chase Briscoe, 2081, +14
11) #99-Daniel Suarez, 2074, +7
12) #2-Austin Cindric, 2069, +2 ahead of 13th
Eliminated from the playoffs:
13) #8-Tyler Reddick, 2067, -2 behind 12th
14) #18-Kyle Busch, 2067, -2
15) #3-Austin Dillon, 2058, -11
16) #4-Kevin Harvick, 2045, -24
See the Driver Points Before Reset and Owner Points Before Reset.

Paint Schemes

Cars to the rear: none

Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway have been made.
Pole winner #10-Almirola chose pit stall 1.
Outside pole sitter #14-Briscoe took pit stall 23, the final one on the backstretch.
See all pit choices on the Bristol Motor Speedway Pit Stall page.

#10-Aric Almirola won the Busch pole for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway with speed of 128.382mph for his 1st pole of the year, 1st at Bristol Motor Speedway and 4th of his career.
#14-Briscoe will start second followed by #48-Bowman, #11-Hamlin, #5-Larson, #12-Blaney, #4-Harvick, #20-Bell, #2-Cindric, and #6-Keselowski.
36 teams were entered so everyone made the race.
See the complete qualifying results and the Bass Pro Shops Night Race Starting Lineup.

Bristol Motor Speedway – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Aric Almirola won the Busch Light Pole Award for the 62nd Annual Bass Pro Shops Night Race with a lap of 14.946 seconds, 128.382 mph.
This is his fourth pole in 417 NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and eighth top-10 start in 2022.
This is his first pole in 25 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. Almirola becomes the 52nd different NASCAR Cup Series driver to win a pole at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Chase Briscoe (P) (second) posted his 10th top-10 start of 2022 and his first in two races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Alex Bowman (P) (third) posted his fourth top-10 start at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his 13th in 29 races this season.
Austin Cindric (P) (ninth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR)

Qualifying Order

Practice for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is over. The top-five:
#11-Hamlin 125.847
#2-Cindric 125.027
#22-Logano  124.962
#18-Busch 124.856
#16-Allmendinger 124.783
Slowest: #78-McLeod, 121.289
Most laps run:#9-Elliott and #10-Almirola, 57 laps.
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 35 drivers): #11-Hamlin, 124.978mph
Notes: #18-Busch spun but did not make contact with the wall.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Bass Pro Shops Night Race Practice speeds page.

Crew Rosters

The entry list for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is posted, 36 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Some of the drivers entered include: #15-Yeley, #16-Allmendinger, #23-Gibbs, #77-Bilicki.
See the full entry list on the Bass Pro Shops Night Race Entry List page.

TandemDraft Stats: Cup Series Edition – Bristol

Goodyear Fast Facts — Bristol Motor Speedway