By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service

Austin Dillon stays close as NASCAR Cup Playoffs move to Bristol

It’s not often that a driver leaves a race track proud of an 18th-place finish, but that was clearly the case with Austin Dillon after last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

A general view of racing during the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 21, 2024 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

In fact, finishing 18th was a triumph for the driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, and it left him within striking distance of the Round of 12 entering Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Dillon is the first driver below the current elimination for the Round of 12, with the Playoff field set to be cut from 16 drivers to 12 on Saturday night. Dillon trails 12th-place Austin Cindric by 11 points and 11th-place Ross Chastain by 19 points—and it took a concerted effort by his team at Gateway to stay that close.

“We were terrible (on Sunday),” Dillon said of the performance of his car at the track in Greater St. Louis. “Our whole organization just missed it this weekend, but we executed great. I’m proud of the effort this No. 3 Dow DayGlo Chevrolet team gave for what we had for a race car. The guys did all we could to strategize, and running long worked.

“At the end of the race when we finished 18th, that was the best we were all day. We got stage points in Stage 2 and that was huge. It gives us a shot going into Bristol Motor Speedway. Hopefully, we bring the best car that we can so that we can make a run and advance into the next round of the Playoffs.”

Overtaking one of the drivers ahead of him will be a challenge for the 35-year-old. In 20 starts at the 0.533-mile concrete oval, Dillon has one top five to his credit (fourth in 2016), four top 10s and an average finish of 17.8. He did earn a 10th-place result in the spring race this year.

Cindric’s average finish in five starts at Thunder Valley is 22.6, and his best result is 13th last year. Chastain has posted three top 10s in 10 starts, all coming since he joined Trackhouse Racing in 2022 and all in the Gen 7 race car. Chastain was seventh in the 2025 spring race.

Shane van Gisbergen, four points behind Dillon after two Playoff races, likely will have to depend on calamity to others to advance, and both Alex Bowman and Josh Berry—35 and 45 points below the elimination line, respectively—for practical purposes will be driving in must-win scenarios.

Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin already have claimed two of the berths in the Round of 12 with their respective victories at Darlington and Gateway. At 60 points above the elimination line, Kyle Larson likely will enjoy 500 laps around the high-banked track without worrying about ouster from the postseason.

Bristol is a track where Larson’s high-speed mastery has been in full display. Winner of the last two races at the Last Great Coliseum, the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet led 873 of a possible 1,000 laps in those two events.

Larson comes to the elimination race on a streak of six straight top-five finishes, including three wins. And though Goodyear is providing a softer right-side tire for Saturday’s race, Larson believes his history at the track will weigh more heavily on his performance there.

“I’m not really going into it with any different mind-set than what we typically would go to Bristol,” Larson said Wednesday during a Zoom conference with reporters. “I’ve been to Bristol with many different packages and tire combinations, probably, and Bristol’s still Bristol.

“It races amazing, and I’ve always been competitive there. I just feel like I’ve got a natural feel for the pace and rhythm that it takes to go good there. I hope our car’s close again and we can execute a good weekend like we have the last two times there.”

Connor Zilisch rides a wave as NASCAR Xfinity Playoffs begin

As Justin Allgaier begins the defense of the long-awaited NASCAR Xfinity Series title he won at Phoenix Raceway last year, the focus, appropriately enough, is on his rookie JR Motorsports teammate, Connor Zilisch.

The 19-year-old driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet has won seven of the last eight races, including the last four straight, tying Sam Ard (1983) and Noah Gragson (2022) for the Xfinity Series record for consecutive victories.

Zilisch, the Regular Season Champion, is 59 points above the current elimination line for the Playoffs’ Round of 8 entering Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

He plans to keep his remarkable streak going as the postseason begins.

“This No. 88 team has been on a run this year, and four wins in a row is a rare feat, but we aren’t going to take any of that for granted going into the Playoffs,” Zilisch said. “(Crew chief) Mardy (Lindley), my whole team and my pit crew continue to execute every week, and we don’t plan on turning down the intensity anytime soon.

“It has been awesome to have the success we have had this season, and we plan to unload another fast WeatherTech Chevrolet this Friday.”

At 30 points above the current cut line, Allgaier is the only Playoff driver besides Zilisch with any degree of comfort entering the Playoffs.

The remaining 10 Playoff drivers, from Sam Mayer in third to Austin Hill in 12th, are covered by a spread of 16 points. Mayer is 11 points to the good while Hill, who lost his regular-season Playoff points under penalty for wrecking Aric Almirola at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is five points below the elimination line.

The extraordinary closeness of the Playoff field all but guarantees an intense scramble for position in Friday night’s Playoff opener at Thunder Valley.

Chandler Smith expects to rally from Darlington disappointment

For a driver who finished 30th in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway and currently occupies next-to-last place in the standings, Chandler Smith has a surprisingly sanguine outlook entering Thursday night’s UNOH 250 Presented by Ohio Logistics at Bristol Motor Speedway (8 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“Honestly, I’m not too worried about it,” said Smith, who crashed out of the Darlington race after 14 laps and is two points below the current elimination line for the Round of 8. “…Going back to Bristol, we were really strong there earlier this year,” said Smith. “Then New Hampshire as well, so I’m not really worried about the point situation.”

In fact, Smith won the spring race at Thunder Valley from the third starting position. Both he and Front Row Motorsports teammate Layne Riggs have had consistently fast Fords of late.

“We’ve still got two races left going back to Bristol, where we won earlier this year and then New Hampshire for the last race of this round, where I’ve been really strong in the past as well,” Smith said.

“I’m not really discouraged or anything about that. I think our trucks here recently have been really good. Everybody at Front Row Motorsports has been giving me a truck capable of going out there and winning.”

The Sept. 20 EJP 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will trim the Playoff field from 10 drivers to eight. Smith trails eighth-place Jake Garcia by two points and seventh-place Rajah Caruth by four. Kaden Honeycutt is 10th in the standings, seven points below the elimination line.

Already guaranteed a spot in the Round of 8, eight-race winner Corey Heim goes for his fourth straight Truck Series victory on Friday. Heim has taken the checkered flag in four of the last five races, three times from the pole position.