Hamlin Wins Playoff Elimination Race at Bristol

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BRISTOL, TN – RIS – Denny Hamlin took his time and came on strong at the end of the Food City 500 NASCAR Cup race to win the Bristol night elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Saturday night in a race that eliminated Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick, two of the sport’s stars.  Logano is the defending Cup Champion.

“Can’t thank this whole FedEx team enough,” said Hamlin, who won for the third time this season, the third time at Bristol and the 51st time in his career. “They’ve really kicked ass this whole first round. Really amazing how our team has been. So happy about the way we’re running. Can’t wait to keep going.

“It’s our year. I just feel like we’ve got it all put together. We’ve got the speed (at) every single type of racetrack. Nothing to stop us at this point.”

A tremendous wreck on the backstretch cost Joey Logano a chance to advance to the Round of 12, the first time under the elimination format that a defending championship has exited the postseason in the opening round.

Logano was a lap down, running toward the back of the pack, when Corey LaJoie went three-wide underneath the Chevrolet of Erik Jones and lost control of his No. 7 Chevrolet. LaJoie’s car swept up the track into the path of Logano, Justin Haley and Ryan Newman, all of whom were knocked out of the race in the accident.

“Yeah, I saw the smoke,” said Logano, who was credited with a 34th-place finish and missed the Round of 12 by four points. “I saw the 7 spinning. (Spotter) Coleman (Pressley) was saying, ‘He’s coming up. He’s coming up as I was on the brakes to try to pull onto the bottom.

 Harvick fought an ill-handling car from the outset and finished 29th, five laps down. Like Logano, he finished four points behind Wallace in the battle for the final spot in the Round of 12.

“We’ve been like that all year,” Harvick said. “We’ve been hit-or-miss. Tonight, we just missed by a mile. I’ve had some good days and bad days, but that’s definitely the worst one I’ve had with fenders on it.”

Hamlin didn’t have a mark on his car.  The only damage to be found only happened with the burnout after his win.  It was his night and he celebrated.

When he crawled out of his car at the start-finish line, the boos’ were more prevalent I the cheers.  Hamlin took it all in stride and said, “I beat your favorite driver.”  When asked who that was, Hamlin replied, “all of them.”  The sea of boos rang out again.

The Cup Series will open the Round of 12 at Texas Motor Speedway for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 on Sept. 24.

Unofficial Results: Bass Pro Shops Night Race, September 16, 2023 - Bristol Motor Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 2, Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 FedEx Freight Direct Toyota, 500, , 4, 3, 142, 5, 47, Running
2) 36, Kyle Larson (P), No. 5 Valvoline/Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet, 500, 8, 3, 1, 20, , 46, Running
3) 1, Christopher Bell (P), No. 20 Reser's Fine Foods Toyota, 500, 1, 1, 3, 187, 2, 54, Running
4) 20, Chris Buescher (P), No. 17 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, 500, , 7, 1, 1, , 37, Running
5) 8, Ty Gibbs #, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, 500, 10, 2, 2, 102, , 42, Running
6) 4, Michael McDowell (P), No. 34 Love's/Delo Ford, 500, , 6, , , , 36, Running
7) 7, Chase Elliott (P), No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters Chevrolet, 500, , 10, , , , 31, Running
8) 6, Brad Keselowski (P), No. 6 Castrol Edge Ford, 500, 7, , , , , 33, Running
9) 3, William Byron (P), No. 24 Relay Payments Chevrolet, 500, 4, 8, , , , 38, Running
10) 25, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (P), No. 47 Scott Brand Chevrolet, 500, , , , , , 27, Running
11) 16, Carson Hocevar(i), No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet, 499, , 5, , , , 0, Running
12) 17, Ryan Preece, No. 41 Operating Engineers Ford, 499, , 9, , , , 27, Running
13) 13, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 499, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 9, Bubba Wallace (P), No. 23 Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota, 499, 3, , , , , 31, Running
15) 12, Tyler Reddick (P), No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota, 499, 5, , , , , 28, Running
16) 30, Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Speedy Cash Ford, 499, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 18, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, 499, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 26, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield/IHOP Ford, 499, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 5, Martin Truex Jr. (P), No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 498, 9, , , , , 20, Running
20) 15, Kyle Busch (P), No. 8 Cheddar's/ALSCO Uniforms Chevrolet, 498, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 24, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Aerial Recovery Chevrolet, 498, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 11, Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford, 498, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 23, Ross Chastain (P), No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 498, 6, , , , , 19, Running
24) 31, Erik Jones, No. 43 U.S. AIR FORCE Chevrolet, 497, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 10, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 NEGU Chevrolet, 497, 2, , 1, 48, , 21, Running
26) 35, JJ Yeley(i), No. 15 Steakhouse Elite Burgers Ford, 495, , , , , , 0, Running
27) 14, Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford, 495, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 32, Harrison Burton, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 495, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 21, Kevin Harvick (P), No. 4 GEARWRENCH Ford, 495, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 22, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Barger Precast Chevrolet, 491, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 34, BJ McLeod(i), No. 78 FreedomWorksHere.com Chevrolet, 490, , , , , , 0, Running
32) 29, Austin Cindric, No. 2 Menards/Monster Ford, 488, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 33, Ty Dillon, No. 77 Gainbridge Chevrolet, 263, , , , , , 4, Accident
34) 28, Joey Logano (P), No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 262, , , , , , 3, Accident
35) 19, Justin Haley, No. 31 Mountain Dew Chevrolet, 261, , , , , , 2, Accident
36) 27, Ryan Newman, No. 51 Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford, 260, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs

Total Race Length: 500 Laps, 266.5 Miles
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 48 Mins, 20 Secs.
Average Speed: 94.99 MPH
Margin of Victory: 2.437 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 20, 7, 23, 24, 45, 1, 6, 5, 19, 54
Stage 2 Top 10: 20, 54, 5, 11, 42, 34, 17, 24, 41,

Comments: Denny Hamlin has won the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, his 51st career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Cautions: 6 for 53 laps;
Laps: 70-76 (Nos. 2 & 16 Incident Frontstretch [51]);
107-113 (Precipitation [21]);
127-140 (Stage 1 Conclusion/Red Flag - Weather [16]);
252-260 (Stage 2 Conclusion [99]);
263-271 (Nos. 7, 43, 22, 51, 31 & 77 Incident Turn 3 [21]);
363-369 (No. 19 Incident Frontstretch [None]).

Lead Changes: 10 among 6 drivers;
C. Bell (P) 1-71;
C. LaJoie 72-119;
C. Bell (P) 120-178;
K. Larson (P) 179-198;
C. Bell (P) 199-255;
T. Gibbs # 256-353;
D. Hamlin (P) 354;
T. Gibbs # 355-358;
D. Hamlin (P) 359-364;
C. Buescher (P) 365;
D. Hamlin (P) 366-500.

Unofficial Points Report: Bass Pro Shops Night Race - Bristol Motor Speedway
Pos, Driver, Car #, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1), William Byron (P), 24, 29, 3, 3036, 0, 0, 5, 8, 36
2), Martin Truex Jr. (P), 19, 29, 11, 3036, 0, 0, 3, 6, 36
3), Denny Hamlin (P), 11, 29, 0, 3032, -4, 4, 3, 7, 32
4), Kyle Larson (P), 5, 29, -3, 3023, -13, 9, 3, 4, 23
5), Chris Buescher (P), 17, 29, 4, 3021, -15, 2, 3, 1, 21
6), Kyle Busch (P), 8, 29, 1, 3019, -17, 2, 3, 2, 19
7), Christopher Bell (P), 20, 29, 3, 3016, -20, 3, 1, 4, 16
8), Tyler Reddick (P), 45, 29, -6, 3014, -22, 2, 2, 4, 14
9), Ross Chastain (P), 1, 29, -1, 3011, -25, 3, 1, 5, 11
10), Brad Keselowski (P), 6, 29, -5, 3011, -25, 0, 0, 5, 11
11), Ryan Blaney (P), 12, 29, -5, 3008, -28, 3, 1, 3, 8
12), Bubba Wallace (P), 23, 29, 2, 3000, -36, 8, 0, 0, 0
13), Joey Logano (P), 22, 29, -2, 2071, -965, 929, 1, 3, 8
14), Kevin Harvick (P), 4, 29, -2, 2071, -965, 0, 0, 1, 4
15), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (P), 47, 29, 0, 2068, -968, 3, 1, 0, 5
16), Michael McDowell (P), 34, 29, 0, 2059, -977, 9, 1, 2, 7
17), Ty Gibbs #, 54, 29, 0, 648, -2388, 1411, 0, 0, 0
18), Chase Elliott (P), 9, 22, 0, 631, -2405, 17, 0, 1, 0
19), Daniel Suarez, 99, 29, 0, 613, -2423, 18, 0, 0, 0
20), Alex Bowman, 48, 26, 0, 587, -2449, 26, 0, 0, 0
21), AJ Allmendinger, 16, 29, 0, 564, -2472, 23, 0, 0, 0
22), Aric Almirola, 10, 29, 1, 510, -2526, 54, 0, 1, 0
23), Austin Cindric, 2, 29, -1, 498, -2538, 12, 0, 1, 0
24), Ryan Preece, 41, 29, 3, 484, -2552, 14, 0, 1, 0
25), Corey LaJoie, 7, 29, 1, 482, -2554, 2, 0, 0, 0
26), Erik Jones, 43, 29, -1, 481, -2555, 1, 0, 0, 0
27), Justin Haley, 31, 29, -3, 475, -2561, 6, 0, 0, 0
28), Todd Gilliland, 38, 29, 0, 454, -2582, 21, 0, 0, 0
29), Austin Dillon, 3, 29, 0, 420, -2616, 34, 0, 0, 0
30), Chase Briscoe, 14, 29, 0, 383, -2653, 37, 0, 0, 0
31), Harrison Burton, 21, 29, 0, 365, -2671, 18, 0, 0, 0
32), Ty Dillon, 77, 29, 0, 280, -2756, 85, 0, 0, 0
33), Noah Gragson, -, 21, 0, 199, -2837, 81, 0, 0, 0
34), Cody Ware, -, 7, 1, 65, -2971, 134, 0, 0, 0
35), Jenson Button, -, 3, 1, 45, -2991, 20, 0, 0, 0
36), Ryan Newman, 51, 5, 1, 35, -3001, 10, 0, 0, 0
37), Andy Lally, -, 4, 1, 32, -3004, 3, 0, 0, 0
38), Mike Rockenfeller, -, 2, 1, 31, -3005, 1, 0, 0, 0
39), Travis Pastrana, -, 1, 1, 26, -3010, 5, 0, 0, 0
40), Jordan Taylor, -, 1, 1, 16, -3020, 10, 0, 0, 0
41), Brodie Kostecki, -, 1, 1, 15, -3021, 1, 0, 0, 0
42), Jimmie Johnson, -, 3, 1, 12, -3024, 3, 0, 0, 0
43), Kimi Raikkonen, -, 1, 1, 8, -3028, 4, 0, 0, 0
44), Jonathan Davenport, -, 1, 1, 1, -3035, 7, 0, 0, 0
45), Shane Van Gisbergen(i), -, 2, 1, 0, -3036, 1, 1, 0, 0
46), Josh Berry(i), -, 10, 1, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
47), JJ Yeley(i), 15, 20, 1, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
48), Zane Smith(i), -, 6, 1, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
49), Riley Herbst(i), -, 3, 1, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
50), Carson Hocevar(i), 42, 4, 3, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
51), Austin Hill(i), -, 4, 0, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
52), Chandler Smith(i), -, 2, 0, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
53), BJ McLeod(i), 78, 18, -19, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
54), Josh Bilicki(i), -, 8, 0, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
55), Cole Custer(i), -, 6, 0, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
56), Grant Enfinger(i), -, 1, 0, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
57), Brennan Poole(i), -, 5, 0, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
58), Conor Daly(i), -, 2, 0, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
59), Gray Gaulding(i), -, 1, 0, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
60), Sheldon Creed(i), -, 1, 0, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
61), Anthony Alfredo(i), -, 2, 0, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
62), Kamui Kobayashi(i), -, 1, 0, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
63), Matt Crafton(i), -, 1, 0, 0, -3036, 0, 0, 0, 0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series