Race report

NASCAR Cup Bristol II

Kyle Larson takes dominant Bristol win; Truex eliminated from playoffs

The Hendrick Motorsports driver was unstoppable in the Round of 16 elimination race as four drivers were dropped from the 2024 NASCAR Cup playoff field.

Nick DeGroot

Edited: Sep 22, 2024, 12:03 PM

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Kyle Larson led 462 of 500 laps in a stunning performance, winning at Bristol for his fifth victory of the 2024 season. It was also the 28th win of his career. He lapped up to 11th place on track and led more laps than any Bristol winner since Cale Yarborough nearly half a century ago in 1977.

"I've had a lot of good cars since I've come to Hendrick Motorsports, so it's tough to say (if that's the best one). But man, that was just great execution all weekend by the team. Practiced good. You've got to qualify good; we did that. Yeah, just had a great car. Thanks to the whole 5 team. They're the best in the business.
We dominate a lot of races but we might not close them all out, so it feels really good to close one out here.

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

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

Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images

Larson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott was second, over seven seconds behind at the finish. Bubba Wallace finished third, Denny Hamlin fourth, and Christopher Bell fifth. Ryan Blaney, Ryan Preece, Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman, and Ross Chastain rounded out the top-ten.

Four drivers were also eliminated from the playoffs. They were the Joe Gibbs Racing duo of Ty Gibbs and Martin Truex Jr., RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski, and Harrison Burton in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford.

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

The fight to make the Round of 12

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. The field filed down pit road for the final fuel stop, and that's where the playoff picture dramatically changed. Chase Briscoe had a slow stop, but it was Truex who saw his entire night go up in smoke. Running second, he got himself a speeding penalty, which put him to the rear of the field. There was never another caution and he remained trapped deep in the back.

The battle for the final transfer spot came down to Suarez and Gibbs. While the Trackhouse Racing team driver 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.

As the points reset for the next round, Larson is back atop of the points standings. The bottom four are now Austin Cindric, Suarez, Bowman, and Briscoe.

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