2022 Nascar Cup Series Playoffs: Bass Pro Shops 500 Night Race preview
Introduction
The first round of elimination of the playoffs heads over to Bristol, Tennessee. In the quest to win the 2022 Cup Series Championship, 16 of the very best drivers will be cut to 12 after the end of tonight's race.
Bass Pro Shops 500 circa 2021 (Getty Images)
The Round of 16 review
After two out of three races completed in this round of the playoffs, it's surprising that none of the 16 qualifiers that entered this race won at Darlington or Kansas. Upset winners, such as Erik Jones, took the first win at Darlington, scoring Richard Petty Motorsports their 200th win in the organization's history.
Erik Jones Darlington 2022 Win (Getty Images)
The following week, Bubba Wallace Jr. took an upset win at Kansas Speedway, silencing all the haters that doubted him. These two drivers are not eligible to win the Cup Series Championship this year. Still, they played the role of spoiler in the Round of 16. In other words, the 16 drivers who qualified this round must rely on points, or they must win at Bristol this Saturday.
Bubba Wallace Jr. after a win at Kansas Speedway earlier this year. (Getty Images)
Put up or shut out time
The driver that stepped up to the plate in the Round of 16 is Christopher Bell. Although he did not win a race in this round, Bell has enough points to advance to the Round of 12. After only scoring a stage win at Kansas, he is 58 points above the cutline, securing the first spot in the Round of 12.
Many upset candidates can be eliminated in this round. After the race at Kansas, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Chase Briscoe, and Austin Dillon are in the cutline heading into Saturday's race at Bristol.
Busch has been a wow factor since this playoff format's debut in 2014, as he has yet to be eliminated in the Round of 16. This weekend is one of his best tracks on the schedule. In fact, Busch's only win this season came at Bristol early this spring by a last-lap pass. Briscoe and Reddick wrecked on the final lap in the win, clearing the way for Busch to capture the win. If not for that wreck, Busch wouldn't be in the playoffs.
Kyle Busch 2022 Bristol Dirt Win (Getty Images)
With the announcement that Busch is heading over to Richard Childress Racing on Tuesday, it's curious how Joe Gibbs Racing will treat Busch for the rest of the season. In the last two races in the playoffs, Busch has either been out of the race or was his team's worst driver. So it won't be a surprise if Busch is an early Round of 16 exit.
Harvick is another wow factor that has yet to be eliminated in the Round of 16 since the format's inception back in 2014. However, with Harvick going winless last season and on the verge of elimination in this round, it would be a surprise if he won at Bristol. And, with Harvick failing to finish a race in the Round of 16, he is in a must-win situation at Bristol. He would've won the event last year if it wasn't for Chase Elliott getting in the way. This resulted in Kyle Larson winning at Bristol last year.
Briscoe and Dillon are the two drivers in the playoff field that are inconsistent and nowhere near the front of the field. Since Dillon's only win came from Daytona at the end of the regular season, it's doubtful he will advance into the next round. On the other hand, Briscoe secured his playoff spot at Phoenix, his only win this year. This is Briscoe's first playoff appearance since moving into the Cup Series level in 2021.
Something Briscoe can benefit from is his prior experience in the playoff field in the Cup Series. Who knows, maybe a magical moment can happen at Bristol, such as a surprise win for either Dillon or Briscoe. Briscoe almost won at Bristol in the spring race earlier this year, but the last-lap spin with Reddick on the final lap prevented him from capturing the victory.
Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick battling for the lead last year’s Bass Pro Shops 500 (Getty Images)
Point Standings Before Bristol
Christopher Bell (2108)
William Byron (2098)
Denny Hamlin (2097)
Joey Logano (2090)
Ryan Blaney (2086)
Alex Bowman (2080)
Chase Elliott (2078)
Kyle Larson (2077)
Ross Chastain (2076)
Daniel Suarez (2056)
Tyler Reddick (2052)
Austin Cindric (2052)
————CUTOFF————-
13. Kyle Busch (2050)
14. Austin Dillon (2049)
15. Chase Briscoe (2043)
16. Kevin Harvick (2017)
