Chris Beucher Wins at Bristol while Some Drivers are Eliminated

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BRISTOL, TN – RIS – All it took for the winner at Bristol Motor Speedway was a late pitstop.  Buescher had ran will all night, frequently in the top 10.  That two tires pitstop put him in the position he wanted.  From then on it was getting to the finish while playoff drivers chased him.   It meant that no playoff driver won in the first round of the playoffs, and Buescher was the 19th winner in 2022.

It also was the first win for and RFR Racing, only a company when Brad Keselowski bought into the team to be an owner with Jack Roush and the Fenway group.  Keselowski, for his own credit, ran well also.

“This is just so special, this team does such a great job,” Buescher told NBC Sports after the race. “…Just so special here at Bristol, I love this racetrack, I love the fans, I love every time we come here, so special to me. Lost one that had really broke our heart back in 2015 on the Xfinity [Series] side with [Scott] Graves on top of the box so this makes up for that. That’s pretty awesome, pretty special.”

Buescher pitted for just two tires on the final pit stop cycle of the night and jumped into the top spot. With tires not showing much speed falloff, Buescher was able to maintain the lead and get his second career Cup Series win. Buescher is the 21st winner through the first 29 races of 2022.

As Buescher won, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon and Kevin Harvick were eliminated from the playoffs, though each had equipment failures, mostly right- side tires, the latest problem that is a mystery.  Buescher led the most laps in the race, 143 and Cristopher Bell was second with 143.  To attest to his good run, Brad Keselowski led third most at 109.  In all, RFK Racing led 218 laps of the 500 that made up the race.

Busch was eliminated from the playoffs after his engine blew up just past the halfway point of the race. Busch ended up finishing 34th after the 23XI Racing car of Bubba Wallace returned to the track with mechanical problems.

Wallace passed Busch in the standings after he came back on track. That could have been vital because Busch ended up just two points back of Austin Cindric for 12th.

Cindric got into that tie with Busch when his teammate Joey Logano hit pit road for an apparent mechanical problem with 58 laps to go. Logano was already clinched into the next round of the playoffs and out contention himself because he was laps down due to a tire problem earlier. Logano’s pit stop as his team looked at the right rear of his car allowed Cindric to pass him in the running order and gain a point he needed to pass Busch at the time.  Finally, Cindric Ibe had to ponder why the disabled car of Bubba Wallace returned to the track to make laps-the reason Cindric was able to get past Busch and into the playoffs.

Chase Elliott placed second, while his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron was third. Christopher Bell was fourth after leading 143 circuits and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five.

Ross Chastain, AJ Allmendinger, Cole Custer, Denny Hamlin and Harvick took positions six through 10, respectively.

The tire problems started with the Fords, as several incurred flat right-front tires in stage one. First Harrison Burton and JJ Yeley had flats, while Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney suffered down right-front tires later on.

Blaney’s issues continued throughout the early portion of the race, which included a tire coming off on pit road, and he eventually went behind the wall for repairs on the rear end of the car. He came back out on the track on lap 266.

A couple of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates also had power steering troubles: Martin Truex Jr and Denny Hamlin. Truex’s, unfortunately, was terminal, as it blew the seals out. Hamlin, meanwhile, had a right-front tire go down around lap 235, which also brought out the caution. He was able to keep going.

It wasn’t Daytona or Talladega, but the Bristol big one occurred when Daniel Suarez got loose and tagged the No. 47 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. As cars stacked up, several got into each other, including Richard Childress Racing’s Reddick and Dillon.

Next, the Cup drivers head for the second round of playoffs.  And the eliminations will come, but for now Chris Buescher is the winner, the second win of his career.

Unofficial Results: 62nd Annual Bass Pro Shops Night Race, September 17, 2022 - Bristol Motor Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, , Laps , St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led , Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 20, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 500, 7, , 2, 169, 5, 44, Running
2) 23, Chase Elliott (P), No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet, 500, , 4, , , , 42, Running
3) 16, William Byron (P), No. 24 Acronis Chevrolet, 500, 9, 7, , , , 40, Running
4) 8, Christopher Bell (P), No. 20 Yahoo! Toyota, 500, 2, 1, 4, 143, 1, 52, Running
5) 5, Kyle Larson (P), No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 500, 5, 9, 2, 34, , 40, Running
6) 12, Ross Chastain (P), No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 500, , 2, , , , 40, Running
7) 13, AJ Allmendinger(i), No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet, 500, , , , , , 0, Running
8) 11, Cole Custer, No. 41 Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Ford, 500, , , , , , 29, Running
9) 4, Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, 500, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 7, Kevin Harvick (P), No. 4 Busch Light Ford, 500, , 10, , , , 28, Running
11) 18, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 500, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 19, Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 500, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 10, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Kohler Generators Ford, 499, 1, , 2, 109, 1, 34, Running
14) 2, Chase Briscoe (P), No. 14 Magical Vacation Planner Ford, 498, 4, 3, , , , 38, Running
15) 31, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Schluter Systems Chevrolet, 497, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 27, Harrison Burton #, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 497, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 32, Cody Ware, No. 51 Nurtec ODT Ford, 497, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 30, Todd Gilliland #, No. 38 Long John Silver's Ford, 496, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 29, Daniel Suarez (P), No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet, 494, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 9, Austin Cindric # (P), No. 2 Freightliner Ford, 493, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 24, Erik Jones, No. 43 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet, 492, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 35, Landon Cassill(i), No. 77 Zeigler Auto/LoJack Chevrolet, 492, , , , , , 0, Running
23) 36, JJ Yeley(i), No. 15 World Supercross Championship Ford, 491, , , , , , 0, Running
24) 33, BJ McLeod(i), No. 78 Down N Dirty Ford, 491, , , , , , 0, Running
25) 17, Tyler Reddick (P), No. 8 Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet, 469, 8, , , , , 15, Running
26) 34, Ty Dillon, No. 42 EG3 Technologies Chevrolet, 457, , , , , , 11, Steering
27) 15, Joey Logano (P), No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 437, , , , , , 10, Suspension
28) 1, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Ford BlueOval City Ford, 418, , , 2, 36, , 9, Steering
29) 14, Bubba Wallace (P), No. 45 MoneyLion Toyota, 408, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 6, Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford, 338, , , 1, 9, , 7, Running
31) 28, Austin Dillon (P), No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet, 279, , 8, , , , 9, DVP
32) 3, Alex Bowman (P), No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 277, 6, 6, , , , 15, Accident
33) 26, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Thomas' Chevrolet, 276, , , , , , 4, Accident
34) 21, Kyle Busch (P), No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 269, 3, 5, , , , 17, Engine
35) 25, Ty Gibbs(i), No. 23 Monster Energy Toyota, 265, , , , , , 0, Steering
36) 22, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 198, 10, , , , , 2, Steering
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs

Race Length: 500 Laps - 266.5 Miles
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 1 Mins, 7 Secs.
Average Speed: 88.286 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.458 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 6, 20, 18, 14, 5, 48, 17, 8, 24, 19
Stage 2 Top 10: 20, 1, 14, 9, 18, 48, 24, 3, 5, 4

Comments: Chris Buescher has won the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, his second career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Prior to the start, no vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty.

Caution: 11 for 80 laps;
Laps: 43-49 (Debris Backstretch [51]);
93-99 (No. 10 Incident Turn 4 [51]);
127-133 (Stage 1 Conclusion [21]);
140-145 (No. 21 Spin Frontstretch [77]);
197-205 (No. 43 Spin Backstretch [21]);
235-240 (No. 11 Slow On Frontstretch [7]);
252-259 (Stage 2 Conclusion [42]);
271-276 (Possible Fluid On Track [51]);
278-286 (No. 99, 47, 3, 8, 38, 48, 2, 9, 77, 1, 21, 14 Incident Backstretch [43]);
353-360 (Debris Turn 2 [14]);
437-443 (No. 20 Slow On Backstretch [31]).

Lead Changes: 12 among 6 drivers;
A. Almirola 0;
A. Almirola 1-35;
R. Blaney (P) 36-44;
A. Almirola 45;
B. Keselowski 46-128;
C. Bell (P) 129;
C. Buescher 130-237;
C. Bell (P) 238-356;
K. Larson (P) 357-387;
B. Keselowski 388-413;
C. Bell (P) 414-435;
K. Larson (P) 436-438;
C. Bell (P) 439;
C. Buescher 440-500.

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Unofficial Reseeded Points 62nd Annual Bass Pro Shops Night Race
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1), Chase Elliott (P), 9, 29, 6, 3040, 0, 0, 4, 5, 40
2), Joey Logano (P), 22, 29, 2, 3025, -15, 15, 2, 5, 25
3), Ross Chastain (P), 1, 29, 6, 3020, -20, 5, 2, 5, 20
4), Kyle Larson (P), 5, 29, 4, 3019, -21, 1, 2, 3, 19
5), William Byron (P), 24, 29, -3, 3015, -25, 4, 2, 4, 15
6), Denny Hamlin (P), 11, 29, -3, 3013, -27, 2, 2, 3, 13
7), Christopher Bell (P), 20, 29, -6, 3013, -27, 0, 1, 4, 13
8), Ryan Blaney (P), 12, 29, -3, 3013, -27, 0, 0, 5, 13
9), Chase Briscoe (P), 14, 29, 6, 3009, -31, 4, 1, 4, 9
10), Alex Bowman (P), 48, 29, -4, 3007, -33, 2, 1, 2, 7
11), Daniel Suarez (P), 99, 29, -1, 3007, -33, 0, 1, 2, 7
12), Austin Cindric # (P), 2, 29, 0, 3006, -34, 1, 1, 1, 6
13), Tyler Reddick (P), 8, 29, -2, 2067, -973, 939, 2, 2, 12
14), Kyle Busch (P), 18, 29, -1, 2067, -973, 0, 1, 3, 10
15), Austin Dillon (P), 3, 29, -1, 2058, -982, 9, 1, 0, 5
16), Kevin Harvick (P), 4, 29, 0, 2045, -995, 13, 2, 0, 12
17), Martin Truex Jr, 19, 29, 0, 861, -2179, 1184, 0, 7, 0
18), Erik Jones, 43, 29, 0, 658, -2382, 203, 1, 0, 5
19), Bubba Wallace (P), 45, 29, 0, 645, -2395, 13, 1, 1, 5
20), Aric Almirola, 10, 29, 0, 627, -2413, 18, 0, 0, 0
21), Chris Buescher, 17, 28, 0, 599, -2441, 28, 1, 0, 5
22), Justin Haley, 31, 29, 0, 550, -2490, 49, 0, 0, 0
23), Michael McDowell, 34, 29, 0, 520, -2520, 30, 0, 0, 0
24), Cole Custer, 41, 29, 0, 519, -2521, 1, 0, 0, 0
25), Brad Keselowski, 6, 29, 2, 489, -2551, 30, 0, 1, 1
26), Kurt Busch, , 20, -1, 485, -2555, 4, 1, 2, 0
27), Ricky Stenhouse Jr, 47, 29, -1, 472, -2568, 13, 0, 0, 0
28), Harrison Burton #, 21, 29, 0, 463, -2577, 9, 0, 0, 0
29), Ty Dillon, 42, 29, 0, 439, -2601, 24, 0, 0, 0
30), Todd Gilliland #, 38, 29, 0, 435, -2605, 4, 0, 0, 0
31), Corey LaJoie, 7, 29, 0, 354, -2686, 81, 0, 0, 0
32), Cody Ware, 51, 29, 0, 267, -2773, 87, 0, 0, 0
33), David Ragan, , 4, 0, 89, -2951, 178, 0, 0, 0
34), Joey Hand, , 5, 0, 63, -2977, 26, 0, 0, 0
35), Greg Biffle, , 5, 0, 24, -3016, 39, 0, 0, 0
36), Jacques Villeneuve, , 1, 0, 15, -3025, 9, 0, 0, 0
37), Boris Said, , 1, 0, 11, -3029, 4, 0, 0, 0
38), Kyle Tilley, , 2, 0, 8, -3032, 3, 0, 0, 0
39), Mike Rockenfeller, , 1, 0, 7, -3033, 1, 0, 0, 0
40), Daniil Kvyat, , 2, 0, 2, -3038, 5, 0, 0, 0
41), Kimi Raikkonen, , 1, 0, 1, -3039, 1, 0, 0, 0
42), AJ Allmendinger(i), 16, 13, 0, 0, -3040, 1, 0, 0, 0
43), Landon Cassill(i), 77, 11, 0, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
44), Noah Gragson(i), , 12, 0, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
45), BJ McLeod(i), 78, 23, 0, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
46), Daniel Hemric(i), , 7, 0, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
47), Ty Gibbs(i), 23, 9, 0, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
48), Josh Bilicki(i), , 16, 0, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
49), Zane Smith(i), , 1, 0, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
50), Austin Hill(i), , 1, 0, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
51), Garrett Smithley(i), , 4, 0, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
52), JJ Yeley(i), 15, 14, 1, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
53), Kaz Grala(i), , 3, -1, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
54), Josh Williams(i), , 2, 0, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
55), Ryan Preece(i), , 2, 0, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
56), Parker Kligerman(i), , 1, 0, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
57), Loris Hezemans(i), , 4, 0, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
58), Scott Heckert(i), , 1, 0, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
59), Justin Allgaier(i), , 1, 0, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
60), Andy Lally(i), , 1, 0, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
61), Timmy Hill(i), , 0, 0, 0, -3040, 0, 0, 0, 0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

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Ron Fleshman with John Davison

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Volume 2022, Issue 9, Posted 11:52 PM, 09.17.2022