Kyle Larson will be defending a two-race winning streak at Bristol Motor Speedway, but the Hendrick Motorsports star hardly needs a win in Saturday’s 500-lap race on the 0.533-mile oval to advance in the playoffs.
Larson has a 60-point edge on the cutline entering the first-round finale and likely will clinch a second-round berth after the first stage barring any trouble with his No. 5 Chevrolet, which has led 873 of the past 1,000 laps at Bristol. Bubba Wallace (plus-50) and Ryan Blaney (plus-42) also are in good position to join race winners Chase Briscoe (Darlington) and Denny Hamlin (Gateway) among the 12 drivers who advance to the second round.
The other seven drivers above the cutline entering Bristol: William Byron (plus-39), Tyler Reddick (plus-37), Christopher Bell (plus-32), Chase Elliott (plus-28), Joey Logano (plus-21), Ross Chastain (plus-19) and Austin Cindric (plus-11).
Austin Dillon (minus-11), Shane van Gisbergen (minus-15), Alex Bowman (minus-35) and Josh Berry (minus-45) are all below the cutline and in danger of being among the four playoff drivers eliminated after Bristol.
Larson and Hamlin have combined to win six of the past nine race at Bristol, including four consecutive.
Watkins Glen winner Chris Buescher and Spire Motorsports showed that those outside the playoffs still have much to race for in these final weeks of the season.
Details for Saturday’s Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway
(All times Eastern)
START: The green flag is scheduled to wave at 7:35 p.m.
PRERACE: The Cup garage will open at 3:30 p.m.. … The drivers meeting will be at 6:20 p.m. .. Driver introductions will be at 6:45 p.m. … The national anthem will be performed by the children of Motor Racing Outreach at 7:19 p.m. by … The command to start engines will be given at 7:26 p.m.
DISTANCE: The race is 500 laps (266.5 miles) on the 0.533-mile oval in Bristol, Tennessee.
STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 125. Stage 2 ends at Lap 250.
PURSE: $10,447,135
ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 39 cars entered at Bristol Motor Speedway
TV/RADIO: USA Network will broadcast the race, starting with Countdown to Green at 7 p.m. … Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have radio coverage.
FORECAST: WeatherUnderground —Sunny with a high of 81 degrees, light and variable winds and a 7% chance of rain. It’s expected to be 70 degrees with a 1% chance of rain at the start of the Cup race.
LAST TIME: Kyle Larson led 411 of 500 laps and cruised to a 2.250-second victory over Denny Hamlin.
LAST YEAR: Kyle Larson led 462 of 500 laps and romped to a 7.088-second victory over Chase Elliott.
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