By Aaron Bearden
A look at the Cup Series playoff situation leaving Bristol Motor Speedway.
Race: Food City 500
Race No.: 5/36
Winner: Denny Hamlin
Stage Winner(s): Ty Gibbs
Winners
- Denny Hamlin: Not that there was ever much doubt that Hamlin would be a playoff participant. But Sunday’s win allows the veteran to lock his place in early. Now he can focus on securing more playoff points.
- Brad Keselowski: That elusive first win with RFK Racing was a couple spots away. But Keselowski was the day’s most consistent driver, scoring a race-high 50 points to lift him to 13th in the standings.
- Ty Gibbs: Joe Gibbs Racing’s sophomore continues to impress. He couldn’t manage tires as well as his veteran teammates, but Gibbs scored two stage wins and a top-10 finish to bolster his early playoff position. He’s now up to third, with a couple playoff points.
- John Hunter Nemechek: A quietly good run landed Nemechek sixth at race’s end. He earned 44 points along the way and rose back up to a tie for 14th in the standings as a result.
Losers
- 23XI Racing: Both Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace finished deep in the field Sunday, scoring a combined 17 points. Reddick dropped to ninth in the standings, while Wallace is out of the early playoff field in a tie for 18th.
- William Byron: There are no worries about making the playoffs here. But the Daytona 500 champ dropped to 10th in the standings with a 35th-place finish. That’s not good for a driver after those regular season bonus points in the fall.
- Austin Cindric: There are worries about making the playoffs for the 2022 Daytona 500 winner. Cindric started the year off well, but after his 31st-place run at Bristol, he’s down to 21st in points. The No. 2 team needs to turn things back around quickly.
- Kyle Busch: It was a long day for the No. 8 team, including another backwards drive for Busch and a drop to 16th in the standings. The veteran can still win on his best days, but there haven’t been many good ones early in the year.
- Noah Gragson and Zane Smith: When you’re trapped as deep in the standings as these two are early on, there’s no margin for error. So finishes of 34th (Gragson) and 36th (Smith) hurt. A lot.
Playoff Grid
| Rank | Driver | Wins | Points | Gap |
| 1 (t) | Kyle Larson | 1 | 185 | 75 |
| 5 | Denny Hamlin | 1 | 173 | 63 |
| 8 | Christopher Bell | 1 | 138 | 28 |
| 10 | William Byron | 1 | 136 | 26 |
| 11 | Daniel Suarez | 1 | 133 | 23 |
| 1 (t) | Martin Truex Jr. | 0 | 185 | 75 |
| 3 | Ty Gibbs | 0 | 178 | 68 |
| 4 | Ryan Blaney | 0 | 177 | 67 |
| 6 | Chase Elliott | 0 | 152 | 42 |
| 7 | Ross Chastain | 0 | 151 | 41 |
| 9 | Tyler Reddick | 0 | 137 | 27 |
| 12 | Alex Bowman | 0 | 132 | 22 |
| 13 | Brad Keselowski | 0 | 125 | 15 |
| 14 (t) | Chris Buescher | 0 | 124 | 14 |
| 14 (t) | John Hunter Nemechek | 0 | 124 | 14 |
| 16 | Kyle Busch | 0 | 122 | 12 |
| Playoff Cutoff | ||||
| 17 | Michael McDowell | 0 | 110 | -12 |
| 18 (t) | Bubba Wallace | 0 | 107 | -15 |
| 18 (t) | Chase Briscoe | 0 | 107 | -15 |
| 20 | Erik Jones | 0 | 101 | -21 |
| 21 | Austin Cindric | 0 | 93 | -29 |
| 22 | Corey Lajoie | 0 | 86 | -36 |
| 23 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 0 | 84 | -38 |
| 24 | Carson Hocevar | 0 | 80 | -42 |
| 25 | Daniel Hemric | 0 | 76 | -46 |
| 26 (t) | Joey Logano | 0 | 74 | -48 |
| 26 (t) | Josh Berry | 0 | 74 | -48 |
| 28 | Justin Haley | 0 | 72 | -50 |
| 29 | Todd Gilliland | 0 | 63 | -59 |
| 30 | Austin Dillon | 0 | 59 | -63 |
| 31 | Harrison Burton | 0 | 58 | -64 |
| 32 | Noah Gragson | 0 | 56 | -66 |
| 34 | Ryan Preece | 0 | 54 | -68 |
| 35 | Zane Smith | 0 | 41 | -81 |
Above the Cutline
(All But) Locked In
Winners: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Daniel Suarez
Drivers 60+ points up on the cutline:Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney
Safe (For Now)
Drivers 40-59 points above the cutline: Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain
In the Danger Zone
Drivers within 40 points of the cutline: Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, John Hunter Nemechek
Below the Cutline
Within Reach
Drivers within 50 points of the bubble: Michael McDowell, Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, Erik Jones, Austin Cindric, Corey LaJoie, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Carson Hocevar, Daniel Hemric, Joey Logano, Josh Berry, Justin Haley
Looking For A Win
Drivers 51+ points below the cutline: Todd Gilliland, Austin Dillon, Harrison Burton, Noah Gragson, Ryan Preece, Zane Smith
Race Results
- Denny Hamlin
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Brad Keselowski
- Alex Bowman
- Kyle Larson
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Chris Buescher
- Chase Elliott
- Ty Gibbs
- Christopher Bell
- Michael McDowell
- Josh Berry
- Chase Briscoe
- Ryan Preece
- Ross Chastain
- Ryan Blaney
- Justin Haley
- Daniel Suarez
- Kaz Grala
- Erik Jones
- Corey LaJoie
- Joey Logano
- AJ Allmendinger
- Austin Dillon
- Kyle Busch
- Todd Gilliland
- Carson Hocevar
- Daniel Hemric
- Bubba Wallace
- Tyler Reddick
- Austin Cindric
- Harrison Burton
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Noah Gragson
- William Byron
- Zane Smith
Stage 1
- Ty Gibbs
- Kyle Larson
- Chris Buescher
- Brad Keselowski
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Ryan Blaney
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Christopher Bell
- Ryan Preece
- Josh Berry
Stage 2
- Ty Gibbs
- Brad Keselowski
- Joey Logano
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Christopher Bell
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Denny Hamlin
- Kyle Larson
- Bubba Wallace
- Ryan Preece
Stage Points
Results from Bristol
| Stage 1 | Stage 2 | ||||
| Pos. | Driver | Points | Pos. | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Ty Gibbs | 10 (+ 1 Playoff Point) | 1 | Ty Gibbs | 10 (+ 1 Playoff Point) |
| 2 | Kyle Larson | 9 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | 9 |
| 3 | Chris Buescher | 8 | 3 | Joey Logano | 8 |
| 4 | Brad Keselowski | 7 | 4 | John H. Nemechek | 7 |
| 5 | John H. Nemechek | 6 | 5 | Christopher Bell | 6 |
| 6 | Martin Truex Jr. | 5 | 6 | Martin Truex Jr. | 5 |
| 7 | Ryan Blaney | 4 | 7 | Denny Hamlin | 4 |
| 8 | Ryan Preece | 3 | 8 | Kyle Larson | 3 |
| 9 | Josh Berry | 2 | 9 | Bubba Wallace | 2 |
| 10 | Christopher Bell | 1 | 10 | Ryan Preece | 1 |
Total Stage Points
| Rank | Driver | Points | Wins |
| 1 | Kyle Larson | 57 | 2 |
| 2 | Ryan Blaney | 47 | 1 |
| 3 | Martin Truex Jr. | 44 | 0 |
| 4 | Tyler Reddick | 43 | 1 |
| 5 | Denny Hamlin | 38 | 0 |
| 6 | Ty Gibbs | 34 | 2 |
| 7 | Chase Elliott | 26 | 1 |
| 8 (t) | Kyle Busch | 25 | 0 |
| 8 (t) | William Byron | 25 | 0 |
| 10 | Brad Keselowski | 22 | 0 |
| 11 | Austin Cindric | 21 | 1 |
| 12 | Ross Chastain | 19 | 0 |
| 13 | Christopher Bell | 18 | 1 |
| 14 | Daniel Suarez | 16 | 0 |
| 15 (t) | John H. Nemechek | 13 | 0 |
| 15 (t) | Michael McDowell | 13 | 1 |
| 17 | Bubba Wallace | 12 | 0 |
| 18 (t) | Alex Bowman | 10 | 0 |
| 18 (t) | Chris Buescher | 10 | 0 |
| 18 (t) | Joey Logano | 10 | 0 |
| 21 | Erik Jones | 8 | 0 |
| 22 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 7 | 0 |
| 23 | Todd Gilliland | 6 | 0 |
| 24 (t) | Austin Dillon | 4 | 0 |
| 24 (t) | Chase Briscoe | 4 | 0 |
| 24 (t) | Corey LaJoie | 4 | 0 |
| 24 (t) | Ryan Preece | 4 | 0 |
| 28 (t) | Harrison Burton | 3 | 0 |
| 28 (t) | Noah Gragson | 3 | 0 |
| 30 | Josh Berry | 2 | 0 |
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(Top photo credit: Nigel Kinrade Photography)
