Christopher Bell Conquers Bristol and Joe Gibbs Racing Dominates the First Round of Playoffs
In a display of dominant force, Joe Gibbs Racing completed a perfect sweep in the first round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Christopher Bell emerged victorious at Bristol Motor Speedway, securing the win on Saturday. Bell, starting from fourth position, staged an impressive comeback, leading the last four laps of the 0.533-mile oval. This victory breaks a 24-race winless streak and represents his fourth win of the season.Bell joins his JGR teammates, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe, as playoff winners in the first round at Bristol. Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, Shane van Gisbergen, and Josh Berry were eliminated from championship contention.“It wasn’t easy in the end, but we did it,” declared Bell, who led only 12 laps in his 13th career victory. “We know any week can be ours, and it’s been a long time. But Bristol, it’s ours!”
Christopher Bell
Brad Keselowski, who was looking to break a 51-race winless streak, finished in second place, 0.343 seconds behind Bell.“I am very excited about the start of the playoffs,” commented team owner Joe Gibbs.
Joe Gibbs
Zane Smith secured third place, followed by Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano. The race was characterized by a record 14 yellow flags and 137 laps under caution. Drivers and teams struggled to adapt to a new right-side tire, which caused excessive wear and more pit stops. The playoff drama intensified with 40 laps to go, when a fire broke out on Austin Cindric’s number 2 Ford. Although his team managed to extinguish the flames, Cindric lost several laps in the pits and reappeared outside the top 30. His thirtieth position was enough to secure the last qualifying spot for the second round.“The story of our season,” Keselowski said. “A 50-50 launch on the restart, and I got the lane that couldn’t get going. It’s frustrating. We had a great car, a great strategy, and on the last restart, we rolled the dice and didn’t get anything good.”
Brad Keselowski
Bowman, after recovering from a spin on lap 100, managed to get to second place. A victory would have allowed him to surpass Cindric, but he finished eighth, remaining 10 points away from advancing.“Moving forward,” Cindric said after finishing 30th. “I believe in this team. I believe in myself. I haven’t been driving as well as I am now in the Cup Series.”
Austin Cindric
Ty Gibbs, seeking his first Cup victory, led the race for 201 of the 500 laps, but made a mistake trying to pit for his final green-flag stop, losing valuable time. Josh Berry was the first driver eliminated, after a striking exit with smoke coming from the cockpit and flames from his front right tire. Berry, who was making his playoff debut, finished last in all three races of the first round.“I don’t think you can point to anything that cost us,” said Bowman, who benefited from a pit crew overhaul after suffering disastrous stops in the previous two races. “Our backs were against the wall coming here. We knew it was going to be difficult.”
Alex Bowman
Bell, known for his usual calm demeanor, had an unusual outburst, criticizing his team and their strategy after finishing seventh in the previous race at Gateway. Bell, who hadn’t won in 24 races and hadn’t been in the top five since July, expressed his frustration at seeing his teammates Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe win the first two playoff races. The second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs will begin on Sunday, September 21st at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It will be the first Cup race on the 1.058-mile oval since June 2024 and the first playoff race in Loudon, New Hampshire, since September 2017.“Man, very disappointing,” Berry said. “That was going to be a lot of fun. We were making progress. It’s been a couple of tough weeks, but it hasn’t been because of performance. We executed well and ran well, we just didn’t get the results.”
Josh Berry
