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NASCAR Monday Mash-Up: Drivers eliminated after Bristol

JHby: Jonathan Howard10 hours agoJondean25
Christopher Bell NASCAR Bristol
Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

The NASCAR weekend at Bristol gave us four races and eliminated four drivers in the Cup Series Playoffs. Let’s get into what happened between Thursday and Saturday this week, off and on the track.

ARCA, Truck Series, Xfinity Series, and Cup Series action at Bristol. It’s an amazing weekend of stock car racing at one of the most iconic venues in the sport.

We had a different, but familiar, race in the NASCAR Cup Series. That’s only part of the weekend at Bristol.

Brent Crews leads every lap of ARCA Bristol race

It is obvious that Brent Crews and Brenden “Butterbean” Queen are the best two drivers in ARCA. They have shown that they are incredibly talented, and the way they have won races this season proves that.

Crews led every single lap of the ARCA race this weekend. Even in overtime. This was a race that Crews wasn’t going to let slip through his fingers.

Layne Riggs wins NASCAR Truck race, challenging Heim

While Corey Heim has been having a historic season, don’t forget about Layne Riggs. The Front Row driver might possibly be the only one who can put a stop to Heim’s march to the championship.

Riggs has shown that he is a good foil to Heim. He showed that in the win at Bristol. It is no secret that the two have had negative run-ins on the track. Heim may never let up the grudge if Riggs steals that title in Phoenix.

Connor Zilisch makes incredible move to win Stage 2

In the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, Connor Zilisch was great once again. He made a move on Sam Mayer at the end of Stage 2 that will go into his highlight package for a while.

He kept looking for a space, looking for a space. Then, he found it on the outside lane going down the frontstretch. A veteran move from the 19-year-old.

AJ Allmendinger wins first NASCAR Cup pole since 2015

Usually, qualifying is no big deal. That was not the case on Friday. AJ Allmendinger won his first Cup Series pole award since 2015.

Allmendinger last had the pole award at Watkins Glen in 2015. Now, he can add a Bristol Night Race pole to his name. That’s pretty cool for Kaulig and the Dinger.

Aric Almirola wins NASCAR Xfinity race

When it was all said and done, staying out on tires was the move. Aric Almirola made his tires work for 80+ laps, and it got him the win.

This is the second win this season for Almirola. He is hoping to win JGR the owner’s championship at Phoenix later this season.

More moves in NASCAR lawsuit

In other news, the NASCAR lawsuit had another update. 23XI, Front Row, and Curtis Polk filed a motion for summary judgment to more or less dismiss NASCAR’s counterclaims against them.

The move will be reviewed by the court, and an update should be around the corner. This will, ideally, free up both legal teams to focus on the trial in December over the main issue.

Severe tire wear shocks Cup teams once again

Surprise, surprise. Severe tire wear has shown up once again at Bristol and teams were not ready for it. Who could have guessed?

No one was ready for it, and eventually, NASCAR gave teams another set of tires to make it to the end of the race. Well, they let Goodyear sell another set of tires to the teams.

Josh Berry yanked from car while it burns on pit road

Three races in the NASCAR Playoffs, three last-place finishes. Josh Berry was bitten by the bad luck bug. This time, it was a bit more serious than his previous wrecks.

Berry’s car was on fire as rubber ignited in the rocker panels. Berry tried to stay in the race, and his car, but was soon yanked out by a crew member.

Chase Elliott wrecked, put in NASCAR Playoffs jeopardy

With way too much race left to go, Chase Elliott wrecked at Bristol. He came down to get in front of John Hunter Nemechek in the bottom groove. He wasn’t clear.

Elliott ended up wrecked and out of the race. Then, he had to watch helplessly as others tried to make up the points to knock him out of the NASCAR Playoffs.

Christopher Bell wins NASCAR Cup race, drivers eliminated

While he wasn’t the most dominant all race, Christopher Bell was where he needed to be when the final restart happened. He took off and never looked back as he raced the last few laps to the finish.

Bell joined his teammates, Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin, as Round of 16 race winners. Is this the start of another win streak for Bell?