Fortune favors experience in wild Bristol race
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Two of the longest-tenured drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series finished top-two in a wild race of tire survival Sunday at Bristol.
Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., members of the 2006 Cup Series rookie class turned Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, finished 1-2 for Coach Gibbs in the Food City 500.
Hamlin retook the lead with 48 laps to go after an inadvertent cycle of green-flag pit stops. Truex held serve at 1.5 seconds back of Hamlin until lap traffic hit with around 20 laps to go.
Truex passed Hamlin with 18 to go but Hamlin relented and took the lead back a lap later. Hamlin knifed his way through lap traffic and staved off looming tire issues to earn his 52nd Cup Series win.
The winning pass was the 54th lead change of the race, an all-time record for a NASCAR short-track race. It is also the most in a Cup Series race (excluding Daytona and Talladega) since Michigan in August 1981.
High tire wear bumped up the number of lead changes.
The race started off normally with Josh Berry leading 18 laps after Ryan Blaney led the first three. Then, Berry began backing up, allowing Hamlin to take the lead on lap 21.
Wrecks on laps 24 and 33 took William Byron and Tyler Reddick out of contention.
On lap 38, Bubba Wallace restarted in the lead on two tires and led for three laps. Then, Josh Berry led for seven laps before Wallace took it back for five laps.
It was then that the tire wear became apparent.
Wallace and Berry plunged through the field on two tires. That paved the way for Denny Hamlin to lead for eight laps on four new tires.
Then, Chase Elliott (four laps), Ryan Blaney (four laps) and Kyle Busch (five laps) challenged before a caution on lap 71.
Editor’s Note: (If you were wondering, Kyle Busch, the 2005 Cup Series rookie, is the longest-tenured full-time Cup Series driver, ahead of Hamlin and Truex)
They were all no match for Ty Gibbs. As tire wear claimed Elliott, Hamlin and Busch, the latter whose spin ended the stage, Gibbs powered ahead to win stage one.
STAGE ONE TOP-10: Gibbs, Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, Brad Keselowski, John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Preece, Josh Berry, Christopher Bell
Gibbs led nine times for 137 of the next 305 laps. On a pit stop during his fifth time out in front (laps 171-181), he had an uncontrolled tire penalty. Gibbs’ team called an audible and put him on scuff tires for the final 65 laps.
By this point in the race and every restart after the caution on lap 71, the field had slowed down. From running laps in the 15.6-15.8-second range, they now ran in the 16.8-17.1-second range.
Gibbs seized this opportunity and tore through the field. He drove from the back of the field to the top-5 during the 40-lap green flag run. That set him up for another stage win in stage two.
STAGE TWO TOP-10: Gibbs, Keselowski, Joey Logano, J.H. Nemechek, Bell, Truex, Denny Hamlin, Larson, Bubba Wallace, Preece
On what ended up being the final restart with 121 to go, the top-10 shuffled to:
Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Justin Haley, Michael McDowell, Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe
As the laps clicked down to 75 to go, Gibbs still held the lead. He was in front of a 1-2-3-4 Joe Gibbs Racing stranglehold on the field.
That was 46 laps into a green-flag run, marking the “danger zone” where the tires seriously fell off.
Gibbs was the first driver in the danger zone. His right-rear tire came apart, forcing him to pit road after losing the lead to Hamlin.
Hamlin held steady while driver after driver pitted for tires. Eventually, so many drivers pitted that they pulled everyone to pit road.
After this, the top-10 became: Hamlin, Truex, Josh Berry, Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, Brad Keselowski, Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Haley, Alex Bowman.
Gibbs found himself in 15th. He worked his way to ninth at the end just ahead of teammate Christopher Bell at the finish.
“I felt like we were great all day. Just that last run, the right rear just came apart. We were just two laps late of coming in. When we had that tire come apart, I think I was like four laps down at one point. Just frustrating but you have to work for it here,” Gibbs said.
TOP-10 FINISHERS: Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, John Hunter Nemechek, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell
Larson finished fifth after falling to the rear of the field with an equipment interference penalty during the final caution.
“I thought eventually some rubber would lay down. But after the second stop, we realized we were gonna have to manage. I was waiting for a long run. Then we got the penalty and got the long run. Then we somehow shuffled around to fifth,” Larson said. “I hope I never have to run another race like that again but it was fun to run one time.”
Josh Berry finished 12th after cycling to third. Berry was one of the first drivers to pit during the cycle so his tires fell off much quicker.
Justin Haley was in the same situation. He finished 17th, two laps down, after running on the lead lap inside the top-10 before then.
After running inside the top-10 on the final restart, Michael McDowell finished 11th, Chase Briscoe finished 13th and Ryan Blaney finished 16th.
Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace finished 29th, four laps down, just one spot and one lap ahead of 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick. Wallace pitted with a flat tire and had a longer stop, as a result.
Just ahead of him, in 22nd, was Joey Logano. Logano sunk in the final stage after his team put on scuff tires.
Ryan Preece was one of seven drivers who earned points in each stage. He placed eighth and tenth in the stages and finished 14th.
Circuit of the Americas is the next track the Cup Series will face. The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix goes green just after 3:30 p.m. ET next Sunday on FOX, PRN affiliates and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
NASCAR Cup Series Points Standings after Bristol
- Kyle Larson: 185 points (+75 to playoff cutline)
- Martin Truex Jr: 185 (+75)
- Ty Gibbs (-7 to lead, +68)
- Ryan Blaney (-8, +67)
- Denny Hamlin (-12, 1 win)
- Chase Elliott (-33, +42)
- Ross Chastain (-34, +41)
- Christopher Bell (-47; 1 win)
- Tyler Reddick (-48; +27)
- William Byron (-49; 1 win)
- Daniel Suarez (-52; 1 win)
- Alex Bowman (-53; +22)
- Brad Keselowski (-60; +15)
- Chris Buescher (-61; +14)
- John Hunter Nemechek (-61; +14)
- Kyle Busch (-64; +12)
- Michael McDowell (-12 to playoff cutline)
- Bubba Wallace (-15)
- Chase Briscoe (-15)
- Erik Jones (-21)
- Austin Cindric (-29)
- Corey LaJoie (-36)
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-38)
- Carson Hocevar (-42)
- Daniel Hemric (-46)
- Joey Logano (-48)
- Josh Berry (-48)
- Justin Haley (-50)
- Todd Gilliland (-59)
- Austin Dillon (-63)
- Harrison Burton (-64)
- Noah Gragson (-66)
- Kaz Grala (-67)
- Ryan Preece (-68)
- Zane Smith (-81)
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com