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NASCAR's Cup Series Playoff field was reduced from 16 to 12 drivers as four drivers were eliminated following the first round at Bristol.
Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, and Harrison Burton have all been eliminated from the playoffs. Both Gibbs and Truex received costly speeding penalties, which hurt their chances of advancing. Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace, who is not part of the playoffs, finished in third place. Kyle Larson now leads the standings as the series moves to the next round.
The Round of 12 will kick off in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway next Sunday. Here are the top three storylines that emerged from last night's race.
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#3 Truex Jr. out of playoffs due to pit road speeding penalty
Two former NASCAR champions, Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski, were eliminated from the playoffs at Bristol.
Truex, who came into the race needing to gain 14 points to advance, had a strong start as he finished fourth and second in the early stages. However, a small mistake, exceeding the pit road speed limit by a mere 0.09 mph, cost him a potential shot at the 2024 NASCAR Cup title.
Following a speeding penalty on pit road during the final caution, Truex dropped back and ultimately finished 24th, falling 21 points short of advancing. His disappointing finish added to two challenging months, with no finish better than 20th in his last eight races. The 44-year-old plans to retire from full-time racing at the end of this season.
#2 Daniel Suárez sneaks into next NASCAR Playoff round
Daniel Suárez narrowly secured a spot in the next round of the playoffs, despite finishing four laps down in 31st place.
The 32-year-old qualified 35th and quickly fell a lap behind Larson, unable to recover. Despite this, he had strong performances in previous playoff races. The Trackhouse Racing driver's second-place finish at Atlanta provided him with sufficient points to advance to the next round.
Thanks to Gibbs' penalty and his own previous strong finishes, Suarez narrowly qualified for the next round, surpassing the cutline by a mere 11 points. Suárez will now need to step up his game to remain in contention.
#1 Kyle Larson’s dominance
Kyle Larson proved his mettle once again in the playoffs. The Hendrick Motorsports driver earned his spot in the next NASCAR Cup Series playoff round after leading 462 of 500 laps on Saturday night.
Larson set a new record for laps led by a Hendrick Motorsports driver and won the Bass Pro Shops Night Race by 7.088 seconds over Chase Elliott. His win at Bristol was his second at the track, his fifth this season, and the 28th of his career.
