In the history of NASCAR, there are a certain few driving talents that come to define a generation and whose accomplishments can stand the test of time. Years from now, people will still be talking about the way Kyle Larson dominated the 2024 Night Race at Bristol, just as they talked about another legend in the aftermath of Saturday night.
By leading 462 of 500 laps, Larson led the most laps any driver ever has in a single Bristol race since 1977, when Cale Yarborough led 495 of 500 laps on his way to winning the Southeastern 500 in the spring of that year. It was one of nine races that Yarborough won that year en route to the Cup Series championship, something that Larson has come closer to after his fifth win of this season.
Like a blue blur in the Bristol night@KyleLarsonRacin | #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/3FiBckUk9m
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) September 22, 2024
Larson is now the new leader in the CBS Sports NASCAR Power Rankings at the end of the Round of 16 and the start of the Round of 12 this weekend at Kansas Speedway:
| Rank | Driver | Change | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Larson | There's no doubt Kyle Larson has already built a Hall of Fame-worthy resume for himself, but it certainly helps that his 28th career victory has now tied for 30th on NASCAR's all-time wins list with two Hall of Fame drivers. 1960 Cup champ Rex White is already there, and Carl Edwards will be receiving his jacket come January. | ||
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Austin Cindric advanced in the playoffs for the first time in his career, and he did so after a strong Round of 16 that saw him earn two top 10s and three top 15s. And with Talladega and the Charlotte Roval coming up in the Round of 12, don't think that Cindric can't get to the Round of 8 as well. | ||
| 3 | Christopher Bell | While he's yet to finish first there, Christopher Bell has consistently run very well at Kansas. Since the fall of 2021, Bell's last six Kansas starts include two top fives, five top 10s and three poles. | ||
| 4 | Alex Bowman | -- | Not only did Alex Bowman advance to the Round of 12 in the playoffs, but he also clinched a spot on points midway through a Bristol elimination race that he started from the pole. That should put those rumors about Bowman's status at HMS from a few weeks ago to rest. | |
| 5 | Joey Logano | Joey Logano's Atlanta win came in handy, as he limped to a 28th-place finish at Bristol after being involved in a crash. Logano is now back in the Round of 12 for the first time since winning his second Cup title in 2022. | ||
| 6 | Chase Briscoe | Chase Briscoe advancing to the Round of 12 is an incredible season turnaround in just a month's time, and it says as much about Briscoe's Stewart-Haas Racing crew as it says about him. Speaking on pit road after the race, Briscoe attributed his team's rise to good people with an "edge" as their team gets set to close its door at season's end. | ||
| 7 | Ross Chastain | Back in the springtime, Ross Chastain led 43 laps at Kansas, which is the third-most he's led in any race this season. Chastain, who has two wins in each of the last two seasons, has seven chances left to keep from getting shut out of the Winner's Circle in 2024. | ||
| 8 | Ryan Blaney | -- | If you remove the steering column failure he suffered on the opening lap at Watkins Glen, Ryan Blaney leaves the Round of 16 with finishes of third at Atlanta and sixth at Bristol. That helps Blaney entering the Round of 12, which features two different tracks where he's won playoff races in the past. | |
| 9 | Daniel Suarez | Daniel Suarez was making no apologies for using his playoff mulligan at Bristol, as he was able to fight his way into the Round of 12 despite struggling with a car that lacked pace the entire weekend. Suarez has made it to the Round of 12 for the second time and will look to advance out of it for the first time. | ||
| 10 | Chase Elliott | Chase Elliott needed his runner-up finish at Bristol to get something positive going entering the Round of 12, which he will start only six points above the cut line. Elliott's second-place marked his first top five since Iowa and his best overall finish since winning at Texas. | ||
| 11 | Tyler Reddick | Tyler Reddick's results at Kansas are all over the place, as he won there in the playoffs a year ago and has four top 10s there total but also has five finishes there of 20th or worse. Exactly what end of that spectrum Reddick ends up on will be pivotal in determining the course his Round of 12 takes. | ||
| 12 | Chris Buescher | We're going to be seeing the highlight of the photo finish between Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher at Kansas in May -- the closest finish in Cup Series history -- this week. For Buescher's sake, hopefully we get to see the highlight of that amazing five-wide pass he made in that race as well. | ||
| 13 | Denny Hamlin | Thanks to a fourth-place performance at Bristol, Denny Hamlin escapes the Round of 16 and has the slate wiped clean for the Round of 12. If Hamlin can keep his playoff run going, his poor start to the playoffs at Atlanta and Watkins Glen could all end up as a blip on the radar. | ||
| 14 | Bubba Wallace | Bubba Wallace's third-place finish at Bristol marked his best of the entire 2024 season and his best overall since he ran third at Texas last year. Wallace now has six top fives and 11 top 10s this season, the best marks of his career in both categories. | ||
| 15 | Ty Gibbs | All that's left for Ty Gibbs to accomplish in 2024 after his elimination from the playoffs is to try and get that first career win he's still seeking. There's never been a first-time winner at Kansas in Cup, but Gibbs does have an Xfinity Series win there from 2021. | ||
| 16 | Ryan Preece | Ryan Preece picked a good time in the season to start running well as he auditions for a new ride in 2025. Preece now has four top 10s this year to match his all-time high in a season, which came in 2021 -- which was also the last time he had back-to-back top 10s. | ||
| 17 | Carson Hocevar | Even if his second crack at the Bristol Night Race wasn't overtly spectacular, Carson Hocevar continues to inch closer and closer to Rookie of the Year honors. With an 18th-place finish, Hocevar now has top-20 finishes in all three playoff races so far. | ||
| 18 | William Byron | A ninth-place finish at Atlanta is the only finish better than 17th that William Byron has had in his last five races. If he's going to make it out of the Round of 12, running like that won't cut it. | ||
| 19 | Michael McDowell | Michael McDowell finally earned a top-10 finish back in the springtime when he parlayed an eighth-place qualifying effort into a 10th-place finish. McDowell just barely missed out on another top 10 this past weekend at Bristol, where he finished 11th. | ||
| 20 | Kyle Busch | Prior to Kyle Larson's romp on Saturday night, the last time any driver had led over 400 laps in the Bristol Night Race when Kyle Busch led 415 in 2008. However, Busch did not win that night, as Carl Edwards was able to get the better of him and get the win. | ||
| 21 | Martin Truex Jr. | Like Kevin Harvick last year, Martin Truex Jr. saw his final playoff appearance in his final full-time season come to a close in the Round of 16. Unlike Harvick last year, he hopes he doesn't go winless and that he can get back to Victory Lane one more time before he goes off to go fishing. | ||
| 22 | Brad Keselowski | Being eliminated after just one round of the playoffs is a tough way for Brad Keselowski's championship hopes to end, but all is far from lost for him and his team. One year ago, Keselowski finished eighth in the final championship standings despite being eliminated in the Round of 12. | ||
| 23 | Noah Gragson | It's going to be interesting to see the sort of leadership role Noah Gragson takes at Front Row Motorsports next year, because he's very good about lifting his teammates up and celebrating their accomplishments. Walking down pit road Saturday night at Bristol, Gragson was there to congratulate Chase Briscoe on advancing to the Round of 12 just as he was getting done with his media obligations. | ||
| 24 | Corey LaJoie | There's room to wonder what may have been for Corey LaJoie at Spire Motorsports had he started capitalizing on faster cars with better results sooner. LaJoie qualified in the top 10 and was running just outside of it in his final start for Spire at Bristol before being taken out in a crash. | ||
| 25 | Zane Smith | Justin Haley will move from Rick Ware's No. 51 to Spire Motorsports' No. 7 this week, marking a rare "ride swap" between himself and Corey LaJoie. Some past examples of ride swaps include when Steve Park and Jeff Green switched cars midway through the 2003 season and when Kurt Busch and Regan Smith went to each other's teams late in the 2012 season. | ||
| 26 | Daniel Hemric | Daniel Hemric had another top-20 finish at Bristol, finishing 19th in a Mountain Dew & Doritos paint scheme that followed up on a Mountain Dew & Cheetos paint scheme Kaulig Racing had in Bristol's spring race. Credit to them for keeping the spirit of the Dew Crew alive (with a hint of cheese dust). | ||
| 27 | Harrison Burton | Harrison Burton can bow out of the playoffs with his head held high, as just making it to The Dance was a huge accomplishment. With the Wood Brothers' 100th win in hand, Burton will step back down to the Xfinity Series next year to drive for AM Racing. | ||
| 28 | Todd Gilliland | Despite a poor run at Bristol, keep an eye out for Todd Gilliland this coming weekend at Kansas. Gilliland finished 14th there in May, following just behind Michael McDowell as Front Row put both of their cars in the top 15. | ||
| 29 | Justin Haley | However he performs the rest of 2024 with Spire Motorsports, Justin Haley is going to be a firm candidate to be a breakout star in 2025. Next year, Haley will be paired with 2014 Cup champion crew chief Rodney Childers, which could help him take the next step to being a weekly contender. | ||
| 30 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has long loved Bristol Motor Speedway, but it didn't love him back on Saturday night. A 27th-place finish was Stenhouse's worst in any race where he's been running at the finish since he ran 24th at Sonoma in June. |
