Chaos reigns in tire management race as Christopher Bell wins Bristol thriller

As the first four drivers were eliminated the 2025 NASCAR Cup playoffs, Christopher Bell made a three-wide pass for the win to continue Joe Gibbs Racing’s dominance in the playoffs.

On the final restart, while Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar slid up the track on older tires, Bell shot the gap and snatched the lead away with just four laps to go. Brad Keselowski ran him down and slammed into the back of him in the final corner, but the bump-and-run did not work — and Bell emerged victorious.

Keselowski was left visibly frustrated with a hard fought second-place finish, followed by Zane Smith in third, Ryan Blaney fourth, and Joey Logano fifth. 

Truck Series title contender and part-time Cup driver Corey Heim scored a career-best finish of sixth, followed by Hocevar, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, and Ty Gibbs.

Bowman was in a must-win situation, and despite being in contention for most of the race, the No. 48 ran out of tires for the final sprint to the checkered flag. He joins Josh Berry, Shane van Gisbergen, and Austin Dillon as the first four drivers eliminated from the playoffs.

Stages 1 and 2

Earning his first pole in over a decade, A.J. Allmendinger led the field to the green flag, but the extreme tire wear quickly took hold of the race, plunging it into chaos. There were several close calls as drivers nursed worn tires while those on fresh rubber ripped through the pack.

However, the first caution was for Berry, whose car went up in flames due to rubber buildup inside the right front fender. That misfortune led to his third straight last-place finish, ending his playoff run.

Bowman also went for a spin, but he escaped without damage. Ryan Blaney, who got back on the lead lap with a wave-around, soared through the field once he got new tires on his No. 12 car. He passed Gibbs on the final lap of the stage, taking the Stage 1 win in a photo finish.

Gibbs controlled the race as teams desperately tried to conserve tires into the start of Stage 2. Goodyear went to work mounting an extra set, preparing them for the teams.

As the stage carried on, William Byron spun SVG around, and because of that, the No. 24 car was denied the free pass.

Gibbs went on to win Stage 2 as he hoped to earn his first career win.

Stage 3

The cautions were plentiful in the final stage, as both SVG and Cole Custer went spinning in separate incidents, as did Noah Gragson.

But the big moment came when Chase Elliott crashed hard, ending his day in putting him in playoff jeopardy. 

Bubba Wallace, who was leading at one point, started to fade as his tires corded. He was trying to get to pit road as he hit Stenhouse, sending the No. 47 around.

Briscoe now led the way as the next incident also involved Stenhouse, but as the instigator. He got into Kyle Larson, who shot up the track and hit Daniel Suarez, causing significant damage to both cars.

Later on, Denny Hamlin appeared to lose a wheel, taking Allmendinger with him as he shot up into the wall

Gibbs and Briscoe were battling for the lead as the race entered the final 100 laps, but when Gibbs blew the pit entry under green, it essentially took him out of contention.

There were several different strategies as everyone from Bowman to Logano, Hocevar and Keselowski took turns out front.

Cindric’s playoff hopes were suddenly in danger as his right front erupted into flames, just like Berry at the start.

With less than 30 laps to go, most of the leaders chose to pit again. As the laps ticked away, Keselowski was in control, but he actually triggered the final caution as he sent Custer into Wallace.

Hocevar, Smith and Bowman were forced to stay out as they were out of tires, setting up a mad four-lap dash to the finish with Bell prevailing over Keselowski.