It’s the simple mistakes that will haunt you.
In the final race of the ‘Round of 16’, drivers were desperate to keep their championship hopes alive. While an intense battle brewed around the playoff bubble, Kyle Larson drove away from the pack. Lapping all but 10 cars, The 31-year-old crossed the finish line in convincing fashion, dominating the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. The Elk Grove, California native led a staggering 462 laps, setting the record as the first driver in the Gen 7 era to lead more than 300 laps in a single event.
While the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet had a flawless showing at Bristol Motor Speedway, the same can’t be said for the other playoff contenders.
Unfortunately, the championship hopes of Harrison Burton and Brad Keselowski were dashed when issues plagued them early in the race. For the second youngest driver in the playoff field, it was the lack of power steering that put his No. 21 Dex Imaging Ford 78 laps down. For Keselowski, it was an overall lack of speed from the RFK Racing Ford that did them in.
As for the remaining playoff drivers around the cutoff line, it was a dogfight to stay in the game.
Ultimately, it was driver error that cost half of Joe Gibbs Racing their championship hopes. For Ty Gibbs, it was a speeding penalty early in the race that put the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota in a points hole. Though they had enough speed to move back through the pack, the car’s performance plateaued as the laps winded down. Similarly for Martin Truex Jr., a pit road speeding violation did them in. With the penalty coming too late in the race, the veteran driver could not recover.
Beyond the playoff storylines, another point of focus was the tire. With these teams using the same tire compound as the spring, the expectations for chaos were high. However, this race was completely devoid of action. How can this be?
Join Taylor Kitchen in the latest episode of Above The Yellow Line to analyze the Bass Pro Shops Night Race and to preview the ‘Round of 12’.
