While Kyle Larson Runs Away With Bass Pro Shops Bristol Night Race On Saturday evening, fascinating battles took place further back in the peloton.
Bristol served as first playoff race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffswhere 12 drivers would advance to the second round and four would be eliminated from the championship race. While no driver could match Larson, who led an incredible 462 of the 500 laps en route to his fifth win of the season and 28th of his career, drama was brewing all over the Tennessee short track as the 16 playoff drivers battled for track position and points in the standings.
The cut-off line was where the real action was concentrated, with teams calculating points as the race progressed to keep their drivers in 12th place or better in the playoff standingsThe biggest example: a rider who was running in second position in the middle of stage 3 had to worry about a rider who was running in 30th position and several laps behind.
That was the case for Martin Truex Jr., the 2017 Cup Series champion, who announced that this would be his last season of full-time racing.
Truex came into Bristol ranked 15th in the playoff standings, but he qualified fourth on Saturday and ran in the top five most of the night. He did exactly what he needed to do to sneak into the round of 12. At the other end of the spectrum was Daniel Suarez, who was ranked fifth in the standings after two playoff races but had a painfully slow car all weekend.
And then it all came down to a penalty on Lap 332 of the 500. Truex came into pit lane second and held his position after refueling and changing tires — until NASCAR informed the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team that Truex was penalized for speeding, sending him to the back of the field for the restart. With a second-place finish and a playoff berth seemingly within reach just moments before, Truex now had to figure out how to get through the field and, at the same time, worry about a driver running a few laps behind him. Ultimately, Truex could never regain that ground. He finished 24th at Bristol and was one of four drivers eliminated from the playoffs along with teammate Ty Gibbs, 2012 series champion Brad Keselowski and Harrison Burton.
“It’s really tough – when you’re .09 miles an hour, it ruins your chances of having a good season. It’s my fault, obviously, it’s my fault,” a visibly disappointed Truex said after the race.
“They told us we had to finish second or third to have a chance, and I don’t know if we could have done it, but it would have been nice to see. We had a really strong car tonight, and we got a lot of stage points, we did what we had to do there, I’m just sorry I messed it up.
“But from here we’re just going to keep racing hard and hopefully get back to winning ways before it’s all said and done.”
Suarez was never in contention for the win or even a top-10 finish. He qualified 35th of 38 drivers and never recovered. Larson put him a lap down, then another, then another, and it seemed like the Trackhouse Racing driver’s chances of reaching the Round of 16 were quickly disintegrating. But Suarez had one ace up his sleeve that Truex didn’t: strong performances in the first two playoff races, including a runner-up finish in the first race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which gave him a big point haul (he had 44 more than Truex) heading into this elimination race. And Suarez needed every one of them after finishing 31st on Saturday night.
“It was difficult,” Suarez admitted after the race. “Since yesterday, when we unloaded the car for the first practice session, we just didn’t have the speed. If you don’t have the speed coming off the trailer, it’s very, very difficult to get it back up to speed.”
“Luckily we had a great Atlanta, a decent Watkins Glen after a broken wheel, and we were able to build up some breathing room. And we really used every bit of that breathing room.”
But Truex wasn’t the only driver Suarez had to worry about as he rode at the back of the field. He also had to contend with Gibbs, who started the night 12th in the playoff standings. Interestingly, a pit lane speeding penalty may have ruined Gibbs’ night as well, although his penalty came much earlier in the race. And while the 21-year-old grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs was able to rally and return to the top 10 in the third stage, he was never able to advance past eighth. He ultimately finished 15th in the race and behind Suarez in the standings.
In the end, Bristol delivered a big celebration for Larson and Hendrick Motorsports, a huge sigh of relief for Suarez and Trackhouse Racing and mixed emotions for Joe Gibbs Racing, with two drivers eliminated but two others – Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin – advancing to the Round of 16.
The Cup Series playoffs now move to Kansas Speedway, the first of three races in the second round, before the chaos of Talladega Superspeedway and another playoff race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the Roval, a half-road course, half-oval. The playoff drama will surely continue, but it will do so without Truex and the possibility of a glorious end to a Hall of Fame career.
NASCAR Playoff Standings Heading into Round 2
Standings, driver, team, points, gap to leader. After three races; points are reset after the first lap.
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Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports…3,047
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Christophe Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing … 3,032 … -15
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Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing…3,028…-19
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William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports…3,022…-25
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Ryan Blaney, Team Penske … 3,019 … -28
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Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing…3,015…-32
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Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports…3,014…-33
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Joey Logano, Team Penske … 3,012 … -35
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Austin Cindric, Team Penske … 3,008 … -39
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Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse Racing … 3,006 … -41
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Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports…3,005…-42
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Chase Briscoe, Stewart-Haas Racing … 3,005 … -42
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: NASCAR Playoffs: Martin Truex Jr. Eliminated, Daniel Suarez Advances
