Christopher Bell prevails in Bristol Night Race tire battle, advances in NASCAR Playoffs

In a battle of tires, Christopher Bell prevailed over the NASCAR Cup Series field. It is Bell’s fourth win of the season. Last week, the driver from Oklahoma called his team out. This week, he follows his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates and finds Victory Lane.

JGR has swept the Round of 16 in the NASCAR Playoffs. Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, and now Christopher Bell. The Toyotas are on fire and look like they are prepared to march to Phoenix this year.

Bell hadn’t won a race since March. Now, he’s a Bristol Night Race winner and advancing to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Playoffs. He didn’t need to win the race, but this is much sweeter than advancing on points.

Christopher Bell holds off a hard-charging Brad Keselowski to WIN at Bristol! pic.twitter.com/BXPbFNWroq

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) September 14, 2025

When it comes to Bristol in the Next Gen era, this may have been the best race. When you consider the history of Bristol the last decade, could it be one of the best races in that time as well?

Drivers were trying to get to the bottom lane. The bump and run was the best tool for passing. That is, if you didn’t want to go to the second lane and burn up tires making the pass. Drivers had the option to do that all night, but there were consequences for overdoing it.

Christopher Bell was great tonight. He was not the best all night. But it was clear that a Toyota, and likely a JGR car, was winning this race. Ty Gibbs led 201 laps, Chase Briscoe led 127. Then there was Bell with only 12 laps led.

There were many cautions in the race. Of course, tires were problematic. We saw fires return to the rocker panels in a few cars, namely the Fords. It was like 2022 all over again. But drivers were getting into each other. They were rubbing and racing and sometimes, it went too far.

Christopher Bell was in the right place at the right time

When it comes to racing, dominating is not necessary to win. You just have to put yourself in the right place at the right time. This race was Ty Gibbs’ to lose, and he lost it. Coming to pit road, Gibbs came in too quickly and missed the entry. It cost him too much time, and he took a hit from Austin Hill in the process.

Christopher Bell has been fast all season long. Things haven’t worked out for him in so many races since those three in a row earlier in the year. Maybe he used up all of his luck getting those wins and had to wait for the meter to reset.

Despite a strong effort, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, Shane van Gisbergen, and Josh Berry were all eliminated from the NASCAR Playoffs. The same four who entered below the cutline were unable to overcome the points deficit to transfer into the Round of 12.

Twelve drivers are left in the NASCAR Playoffs. The points are going to reset, and it’s a new ballgame when New Hampshire rolls around next week.