Bell leads Gibbs sweep in NASCAR playoffs: Epic triumph!

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Joe Gibbs Racing dominated the first round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, with Christopher Bell securing the victory at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Bell Wins in Bristol

Bell, after a comeback from fourth position, led the last four laps of the 0.533-mile oval, breaking a streak of 24 races without a win and adding his fourth win of the season.

“It wasn’t easy in the end, but we did it,” commented Bell, who led only 12 laps in his thirteenth career victory. “We know any week could be ours, and it hasn’t been for a long time. But Bristol, tonight is ours!”

Christopher Bell

He joined his JGR teammates, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe, as playoff winners in the first round, which concluded in Bristol. Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, Shane van Gisbergen, and Josh Berry were eliminated from championship contention.

“Very excited for the start of the playoffs,” declared team owner Joe Gibbs.

Joe GibbsBell finished 0.343 seconds ahead of Brad Keselowski, who was looking to end a 51-race winless streak.

“It’s the story of our season,” Keselowski said. “A 50-50 opportunity on the restart, and I got the lane that couldn’t get going. It’s frustrating. We had a great car, great strategy and on the last restart, we rolled the dice and nothing good came out.”

Brad Keselowski

Zane Smith finished third, followed by Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano.There was a record 14 yellow flags for 137 laps, as drivers and teams struggled to control a new tire on the right side with excessive wear, which required more pit stops.The playoff drama intensified with 40 laps to go when a fire broke out on Austin Cindric’s No. 2 Ford. His team managed to extinguish the flames, but Cindric lost several laps in the pits and reappeared outside the top 30.His thirtieth position was still enough for the twelfth and last transfer spot to the second round.“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 right now in the Cup Series.”Bowman got to second after recovering from a spin on lap 100. He would have overtaken Cindric with a win, but finished eighth and was 10 points short of advancing.

“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 last two races. “Our backs were against the wall coming here. We knew it was going to be a difficult thing to do.”

Looking for his first Cup victory, Ty Gibbs led 201 of 500 laps, but made a mistake trying to pit for his final green-flag stop, losing a lot of time in his No. 54 Toyota.

Shocking Exit

With smoke coming from the cockpit and flames coming from his right front tire, Berry made a striking exit as the first driver eliminated. The Wood Brothers Racing driver qualified tenth and got up to third before a fire broke out on his No. 21 Ford.

“Man, very disappointing,” said Berry. “That was going to be a lot of fun. We were moving forward. It’s been a couple of tough weeks, but it hasn’t been for performance. We executed well and ran well, we just haven’t had the results.”

Josh Berry

Berry, whose playoff debut began with a crash in the first round of the Southern 500, finished last in all three races of the first round. “I don’t think you can script three last-place finishes the way we’ve gotten them,” he said.

An Unusual Vent

Bell, known for his calmness, lashed out at his team and strategy with a diatribe full of vulgarities after finishing seventh in the previous race at Gateway. Bell, who hasn’t won in 24 races and hasn’t been in the top five since July, said he was frustrated after seeing his teammates Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe win the first two playoff races.

“If I were constantly leading laps and in a position to win, then I would never be frustrated,” Bell said. “But the fact is, I haven’t been in a position to win races, I haven’t led laps. My teammates are leading almost every lap, and they’re getting the results. It’s less about winning races and more about being in a position to do well, and we haven’t had that.”

Christopher Bell

Next stop

The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs will open the second round on Sunday, September 21st at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It’s 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.