Blaney Leads Ford Entering Kansas Speedway

BRISTOL, Tenn. - The first elimination race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs took place on Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway with the annual Bass Pro Shops Night Race and when it was all over there were four Ford drivers who advanced to the Round of 12.

Team Penske drivers Joey Logano, who won the postseason opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway three weeks ago and automatically qualified, defending series champion Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric all advanced while Chase Briscoe’s eighth-place race run was good enough to claim one of the final spots.

RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski struggled all night and was eliminated after finishing 26th while Harrison Burton of Wood Brothers Racing had to pull behind the wall when his power steering went out midway through the 500-lap race and even though he returned, his 35th-place result also ended his championship run.

Blaney led Ford in the race as he finished sixth while Ryan Preece of Stewart-Haas Racing took advantage of a long run down the stretch to finish seventh.