BRISTOL RACE REVIEW

Date: 9-17-2022.
Name of the race: Bass Pro Shops Night Race.
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway.
Laps: 500.
Pole winner: Aric Almirola.
Outside pole: Chase Briscoe.
Stage 1 winner: Brad Keselowski. 
Stage 2 winner: Christopher Bell.
Stage 3 winner (won the race): Chris Buescher.
Top 5: Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Kyle Larson. 
FYI: It's Bristol Baby! Known as the World's Fastest 0.5 mile, it is sure to put on a good show for not only the drivers but also the fans in the stands. Bristol being an elimination race put pressure on all sixteen drivers in the playoffs since the first two races in this round were one by drivers who were not part of it, and with it being a night race is sure to excite anyone. The green flag flew and each driver knew what they had to do, which was either win the race or gain as many points as possible with the stages. Stage one was pretty uneventful for the playoff drivers, and it looked like Brad Keselowski could possibly earn his first win of the season and his first win with RFK after winning the first stage, but a flat tire while leading on lap 414 would keep him out of victory lane. The second stage was also the same with not much happening except for Christopher Bell claiming the second stage victory. Stage three, on the other hand, had plenty of action that kept fans on the edge of their seats, for example on lap 270 playoff favorite Kyle Busch had an issue that would essentially take him out of the race, yes I am talking about his engine expiring. That did not keep him out of the fight in the playoffs since he accumulated fourteen points in the first stages. On lap 277 both RCR drivers Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon were involved in a twelve-car pileup where both sustained damage and essentially ended their playoff hopes. Kevin Harvick had one mission during the race which was to win since he was below the cutline and needed a victory to advance to the next round. It looked like another walk-off win could be in his sighs until the final pit stop of the night aka the one where his crew needed to be mistake-free ruined his chances of this happening. On lap 438 Harvick's pit crew failed to secure his left rear causing it to pop off and roll away. He drove out of his pit stall like this and of course, would be forced to come back down pit road and be penalized. Thus having to start in the rear and claw his way back up to the front for the restart on lap 444, but not having enough time to get back to the lead plagued him being eliminated from championship contention. RFK driver Chris Buescher held off playoff driver Chase Elliott for fifty laps after gaining the lead on the final restart where he led the final sixty-one laps of the race and led 129 prior which has the most laps the organization has led in one race the entire 2022 season. This marked Chris' second win of his career after winning a rain-shortened race at Pocono back in 2016 and the first win of the season for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. This win also meant that this was the third race in a row where a nonplayoff driver stole a victory away from the playoff drivers which is an occurrence that is rare. In the end, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Tyler Reddick, and Austin are eliminated from pursuing a championship and twelve drivers move onto the first race of the second round in the playoffs in the Lone Star State. Saddle up cowboys and cowgirls because we are going to see a showdown at Texas Motor Speedway!
Next race: Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon (9-25-2022) for the first race of the second round of the playoffs.