Also, a points preview
By Roy J. Akers- www.skyviewsports.net
NASCAR concludes its first round of the playoffs, eliminating four drivers in three races and moving on with 12. Schedulers have played havoc with the Playoff field as most drivers secure with points when the first round started and now need a good race to move on.
For instance…
Tyler Reddick, your 2024 regular season is 6th in points. He is safe in round one…
Kyle Larson, second in the regular season is 9th. He is secure in points for round one.
Denny Hamlin is 13th and needs one of his patented top finishes at Bristol.
Joey Logano, barely making the 2024 playoffs, moves on to Round 2 with his Atlanta win.
Six drivers for two spots
While anything can happen, Chase Briscoe and Ty Gibbs have the best chances of the six to move on. With Denny Hamlin a good bet to overtake at least one if not both Briscoe and Gibbs, where does that leave Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr.? Truex Jr. has had a very strange 2024 season. In contention in several races but not winning, his huge points lead evaporated and one shot wonders Briscoe and Harrison Burton leapfrogged him. Now he needs a Bristol win or a lot of help to move to round two.
My thoughts are Gibbs and Hamlin move on to the Round two of the playoffs.
Martin Truex Jr. on Ethics to advance
Are you willing to go out of your comfort zone or your ethical zone to advance out of the round tomorrow night?
“I really don’t know. I think it will just kind of depend on the situation – what we find ourselves in and what is going on, but most likely not. I will most likely I will race the same way I always do and hopefully we are good enough to get the job done in that way.”
Denny Hamlin on the NASCAR Playoff schedule
How would you describe this round of the Playoffs? Is it frustrating? “Yeah, that’s a good word for it, for sure. I think that when we saw how the tracks were placed in the Playoffs and whatnot, and we knew the adding of Atlanta was going to put some variability in the results that you can’t always plan for, but still you have to execute and certainly, you look at the top five and you look at the bottom five – it is not something you would have predicted and not have seen for the first 27 or 28 races in the year
Chase Briscoe knows its a longshot to move on
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It’s a good start to our weekend for sure with our Rush Truck Centers Ford. I feel like our Dark Horse is pretty good. I don’t know what to think if we go to the top. I felt a lot better about my car on the bottom and, honestly, I thought we would qualify a touch better than that as crazy as that seems. Overall, that’s what we needed to do. We had to put ourselves in contention to start up front and have the ability to try and score some stage points. It’s gonna be tough. It’s gonna be an uphill battle because all the guys we’re racing with qualified right around there, too. I think that’s the biggest thing.
Alex Bowman wins Bristol Pole
Talk about your pole winning lap here at Bristol Motor Speedway:
“I thought we struggled a little bit in practice, more than I was expecting. And then really in qualifying, I just had a lot of grip. I was a little bit too tight. It was one of those situations where you run a lap and you’re like – it’s either going to be really good or really slow. When your tight, you just slow down until you can turn it. Yeah, I mean obviously after the first round, I felt pretty good about it. I’m thankful to start up front and qualify well. Obviously qualifying hasn’t been our strongest suit over the years, so with it being a cutoff race and everything, starting up front is definitely important.”
Martin Truex on what fans do not know about being a Cup driver
How isolating can it be to be a full-time NASCAR driver?
“It is just a big commitment – a lot of things that you miss out on. We don’t get sick days. We can’t be late for things. It is none of that. We can’t take a weekend off of work or day off work to do friends and family things, you know? There is a lot of things that you miss out on, but that is part of the job. That is what you commit to. If you are going to do this, you have to be all in. If you are going to be good at it, you have to be 100 percent committed to it. You just get comfortable in that situation and what it is, and I think the people around you do as well. I wouldn’t say you feel isolated. I would say you just feel that you miss out on lots of things.”
Roy J. Akers is a multi-media reporter and covers several sports for www.skyviewsports.net
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