Making his 131st career start in the NASCAR Cup Series, Ty Gibbs earned his first career win in a wild overtime finish.
Kyle Larson won both stages and Ryan Blaney had the fastest car in the end, but they had to settle for second and third, respectively. Both chose to pit for fresh tires in the closing laps, while Gibbs rolled the dice and stayed out.
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Blaney ran side-by-side with Gibbs, sliding sideways as they drag-raced to the finish line. At the checkered flag, there was just 0.055s between the two drivers. It was the closest Cup finish at Bristol since 1991, and the first win for the No. 54 since 1978.
“It’s awesome,” said Gibbs, who was joined by his mother and grandfather in some emotional post-race celebrations. “It’s awesome what you can do with great people. To be in this position is great. I would have loved for my father to see this, but he knew it was going to happen and expected it as well. It was a great day for us. My No. 54 boys didn’t give up. Pit crew is just amazing. This is our family, and it’s been great. Very honored to be in this situation.”
Tyler Reddick and Chase rounded out the top five, while the remainder of the top ten was as follows: Todd Gilliland, Joey Logano, Ryan Preece, Denny Hamlin, and Carson Hocevar.
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Stage 1
With temperatures much higher than Saturday, several cars struggled with the handling at the start of the race. NASCAR re-applied the PJ1 traction compound overnight, making the bottom line dominant for the early running.
Blaney led the way from pole, and Chastain rocketed up from sixth to second at the very start. At the other end of the spectrum, Gibbs, who started fifth, had to force his way back in line around 14th after getting shuffled out.
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Larson moved up to second as the leaders navigated traffic. It didn’t take him long to dispatch Blaney as well, taking the lead 45 laps into the race.
Passing was extremely difficult, but that didn’t stop Bell from jumping eleven spots in the first run.
The caution flew for the very time halfway through Stage 1, with Brad Keselowski spinning off the nose of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Most of the field came down pit road, but Elliott and Berry chose to stay out. Reddick was sent to the rear of the field as he was caught speeding, forfeiting a position inside the top ten.
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On the restart, Larson quickly moved into the lead with a three-wide pass on those who stayed out. While Elliott faded outside the top ten as the run progressed, Berry managed to hang on inside the top five.
Larson won the stage over Bell, Blaney, Briscoe, Berry, Hamlin, Hocevar, Herbst, Wallace, and Cindric.
Stage 2
On pit road, Bell was caught speeding, costing him second as the No. 20 was sent to the rear of the field. Nemechek and McDowell were caught speeding as well, while Smith was penalized for equipment interference.
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Trying to make up lost ground, Bell got into the wall and spun, breaking a rear toe-link as his day spiraled.
Larson continued to lead as a multi-car wreck broke out at the back of the pack. Shane van Gisbergen spun around, and Alex Bowman, John Hunter Nemechek, and Todd Gilliland piled in.
As the stage drew to a close, the track was changing rapidly as the top lane started to come in. Larson had to fend off Blaney, but managed to sweep the stages with Blaney second, Hamlin third, Hocevar fourth, Briscoe fifth, Berry sixth, Gibbs seventh, Logano eighth, Wallace ninth, and Cindric tenth.
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Stage 3
Blaney lost several spots on pit road due to a slow stop, while Larson narrowly beat Hamlin to the beat exit line, retaining the race lead.
Blaney expressed frustration with the team on the radio as Penske’s pit road issues continue this year. He quickly drove back through the field, and was second by the time the next yellow flew.
Busch went around after a bump from Herbst. Jones and McDowell had nowhere to go, making contact with the sideways RCR car.
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Blaney fell back to fourth on pit road with both Hamlin and Gibbs jumping him in the order. However, it didn’t last long as Blaney quickly reclaimed the runner-up spot.
With 163 laps to go, Blaney put the bumper to Larson and took the lead by force. About 45 laps later, the seventh caution of the race flew for Zilisch hitting the wall and spinning. The Trackhouse driver won Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly race at Bristol.
Blaney held the lead on pit road while Keselowski was caught speeding, putting him to the rear of the field. Gilliland took two tires, jumping up to sixth, while the rest of the field opted for four fresh ones.
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Berry got up into the wall with help from Gragson and fell to the very back of the field, derailing his day. Gibbs passed Larson for second, and began his pursuit of Blaney, who nearly crashed after getting loose in the middle of the run.
With 23 laps to to go, Elliott spun on his own, triggering a caution. Keselowski, running 14th, was granted the free pass.
Blaney and Larson came down pit road but five cars did not. Gibbs inherited the race lead. Hocevar, Briscoe, Hamlin, and Reddick stayed out as well.
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Reddick rocketed up to second on the restart and briefly challenged Gibbs before fading. Gibbs then had to fend off both Larson and Blaney. With four laps to go, Kyle Busch spun Riley Herbst in what may have been payback for their earlier run-in.
That pushed the race into overtime, and it was Gibbs vs. Blaney for the final two laps.
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