BRISTOL, Tenn. - Rapidly wearing tires at Bristol Motor Speedway made for chaos but three Hendrick Motorsports drivers did enough during the Round of 16 to advance through the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Kyle Larson, William Byron and Chase Elliott will all live to fight another day despite some tough luck in Thunder Valley on Saturday night. **
Alex Bowman was the best of the Hendrick Motorsports contingent on Saturday and the No. 48 Ally Racing team turned in a heroic performance. Bowman was a fixture near the front throughout much of the event and lined up in the second row for a final restart with under 10 laps to go. However, on old tires and against drivers who'd just pitted, Bowman couldn't quite find the traction he needed in the high lane, finishing eighth.
Byron and Larson will begin the Round of 12 tied for second, 24 points above the cutline. Elliott will also be on the right side of elimination in seventh place, five points to the good.
The NASCAR Cup Series Round of 12 will begin next Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The race will start at 2 p.m. and will air on USA Network.
Here's a look at the Round of 12 standings and the results from Bristol.
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NASCAR standings after today
| Driver | Margin |
|---|---|
| 1. Denny Hamlin | +26 |
| t-2. Kyle Larson | +24 |
| t-2. William Byron | +24 |
| 4. Christopher Bell | +20 |
| 5. Ryan Blaney | +19 |
| 6. Chase Briscoe | +10 |
| 7. Chase Elliott | +5 |
| 8. Bubba Wallace | +1 |
| ------------------------ | |
| 9. Austin Cindric | -1 |
| t-10. Ross Chastain | -2 |
| t-10. Joey Logano | -2 |
| 12. Tyler Reddick | -3 |
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Who won the NASCAR race today?
- Christopher Bell, No. 20
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6
- Zane Smith, No. 38
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12
- Joey Logano, No. 22
- Corey Heim, No. 67
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Open Sweeps Chevrolet
- Chase Briscoe, No. 19
- Ty Gibbs, No. 54
- Chris Buescher, No. 17
- William Byron, No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet
- Justin Haley, No. 7
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45
- Kyle Busch, No. 8
- Michael McDowell, No. 71
- Riley Herbst, No. 35
- Ross Chastain, No. 1
- Erik Jones, No. 43
- Ryan Preece, No. 60
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47
- Noah Gragson, No. 4
- Todd Gilliland, No. 38
- Austin Hill, No. 33
- Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88
- Ty Dillon, No. 10
- Austin Dillon, No. 3
- Cody Ware, No. 51
- Austin Cindric, No. 2
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet
- Cole Custer, No. 41
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23
- Chad Finchum, No. 66
- AJ Allmendinger, No. 16
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet
- Josh Berry, No. 21