The Round of 16 in the NASCAR Playoffs wrapped up on Saturday night, with the Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. On a night when four drivers were knocked out of the playoffs and the Round of 12 was determined, there are plenty of winners and losers to examine from the NASCAR race today.
Following tonight’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol, here are the winners and losers from the NASCAR race tonight in the Cup Series.
Winner: Christopher Bell Gets Crucial Bristol Win
Christopher Bell’s win at the Bass Pro Shops Night Race accomplishes two things. First, it snaps a winless drought that stretches all the way back to the third week of March. So, the No. 20 team can head into the Round of 12 with renewed confidence about their ability to win multiple playoff races, especially since the tracks in the next round favor them. Second, it gave Bell 5 playoff points. Why does that matter? He jumps over Ryan Blaney for fourth place, and he’s now just 4 points behind Kyle Larson and William Byron for second.
Related: NASCAR Results Today from Bristol, Full Bass Pro Shops Night Race Results
Loser: Josh Berry’s Playoff Run Goes Up in Flames
Everyone across NASCAR has to feel for Josh Berry right now. The playoffs started with the No. 21 car seemingly snapping seconds into the first race, crashing into the wall and ending his night. The following race at Gateway, contact from Chase Elliott sent the No. 21 into the wall with race-ending damage. It put Berry in a must-win scenario tonight. He started racing well, then his car caught fire, with smoke filling the inside. All Berry could do was rush to pit road and frantically get pulled out of the car to safety. It’s difficult to imagine how the NASCAR playoffs could’ve unfolded any more disastrously for Berry.
Related: NASCAR Playoff Standings after Bristol, Round of 12 Playoff Picture
Winner: Ryan Blaney Strengthens Positioning for Round of 12
While driver points reset heading into the Round of 12, Ryan Blaney still helped himself on Saturday night at Bristol. By securing a Stage 1 victory, Blaney picked up an additional playoff point in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. That added point carries over into the Round of 12 and given that the cutline could be decided by a single point, winning Stage 1 could be what helps eventually get Blaney that push into the Round of 8.
Related: NASCAR Xfinity Results from Bristol, Food City 300 Points, Xfinity Playoff Standings
Loser: Shane van Gisbergen is a Non-Factor in the Playoffs
It’s safe to guarantee that Shane van Gisbergen will win multiple road course races in 2026. Unless NASCAR puts the Charlotte Roval in the first round, the NASCAR playoffs next season will look a lot like what happened this year. After winning four races this season, SVG entered the playoffs 16 points above the cutline. That slipped to +3 after Darlington and -15 after Gateway. On Saturday night at Bristol, SVG fell 2 laps down early and was a non-factor for the rest of the night, finishing well below the cutline.
Winner: Extreme Tire Wear at Bristol
Threading the needle to create perfect tire wear is practically impossible. When Justin Haley drove 75 laps in practice on the same tire with no issues on Friday afternoon, it highlighted how little wear the tires seemed to have, frustrating fans. That’s because, as we’ve seen throughout the season on short tracks, low-wear tires mean little passing and minimal strategy.
On Saturday night, as Bubba Wallace’s tire showed early in Stage 1 (pictured above), the tires were getting shredded into pieces early at Bristol. This brought strategy into play, with drivers and teams having to decide when to ramp up speed, when to dial it back, and how to conserve tires. It made the NASCAR race a lot more exciting than it could have been. Furthermore, teams learned from the unexpected chaos in Stage 1, then adjusted and NASCAR provided each driver with one additional set of tires.
Related: NASCAR Truck Results from Bristol, Truck Series Playoff Standings
Loser: Chase Elliott Advances, but Strategy is Proving Risky
For the No. 9 team, it has to start with the limited number of stage points. Chase Elliott fans might hate that stage points are a thing, but they are crucial if you’re only winning a single race each season and not getting stage wins. That played a role in Elliott needing a solid night to avoid falling below the cutline tonight. Fittingly, Elliott finished 22nd in Stage 1 and 18th in Stage 2. That sets the stage for Elliott trying to get down to the bottom right as Denny Hamlin ran into John Hunter Nemechek, with JHN then ramming into Elliott and sending him into the wall with race-ending damage. Fortunately for Elliott, Austin Cindric’s car caught fire and that cost him enough spots for Elliott to move up a spot in the playoff order.
Winner: Ty Gibbs Stands Out at Bristol
Ty Gibbs was the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver who didn’t make the playoffs, which took the spotlight and pressure off him at Bristol Motor Speedway. While most of JGR’s resources and preparation were focused on Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell, it was the No. 54 who stood out early on Saturday night. Gibbs lost by a nose to Ryan Blaney in Stage 1 and then got his revenge with a Stage 2 victory. The No. 54 truly had a shot at a win, but too much speed going into his final pit stop proved costly. The little things remain an issue for Gibbs, but at least he raced very well for most of the night.
Loser: Kyle Larson and Hendrick Motorsports Left with Questions
It’s certainly fair to say that Kyle Larson and Hendrick Motorsports didn’t have to do much in the NASCAR race tonight since they were mathematically locked into the playoffs. However, it’s fair to wonder if what the No. 5 team has shown in the NASCAR playoffs gives any reason to believe this will be a Championship 4 team. Saturday night was brutal for the No. 5 car, and he has historically owned Bristol Motor Speedway. Larson will advance to the Round of 12 having finished outside the top 10 in all three of the initial playoff races.
Winner: Toyota’s Excellence in the Round of 16
Toyota is enjoying every second of the 2025 NASCAR Playoffs. At Darlington, Toyota drivers finished first, second, third, fourth, sixth, and seventh. The dominance continued at Gateway, with Toyota drivers placing first, second, sixth, seventh, eighth, and 10th. On Saturday night, Toyota cleared 750 laps led in the three playoff races to this point, including a Stage 2 victory (Ty Gibbs). Moving forward, Toyota looks like the manufacturer to beat. Most importantly, thanks to JGR, they won all three races this round.
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Loser: Alex Bowman’s First 2 Races Prove Costly
The No. 48 team can look back on its pit-road issues at Darlington and Gateway as the reason it’s not advancing to the next round of the playoffs. Those problems resulted in Alex Bowman placing 31st (six points) and 26th (11 points), which proved to be the reason he fell just a few points behind Austin Cindric on Saturday night. Many fans will speculate if the No. 48 team needs to replace Bowman, but the No. 48 pit crew seems to be the far bigger problem.
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