{"id":43205,"date":"2023-09-16T23:00:55","date_gmt":"2023-09-17T04:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=43205"},"modified":"2023-09-17T13:05:28","modified_gmt":"2023-09-17T18:05:28","slug":"denny-hamlin-dominates-bristol-night-race-and-advances-to-the-round-of-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/16\/denny-hamlin-dominates-bristol-night-race-and-advances-to-the-round-of-12\/","title":{"rendered":"Denny Hamlin dominates Bristol Night Race and advances to the Round of 12"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight Direct Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 16, 2023 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Reid Spencer <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

NASCAR Wire Service<\/em> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

BRISTOL, Tenn. \u2013 Denny Hamlin landed a knockout punch in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight Direct Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 16, 2023 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

NASCAR Cup Series regular-season champion Martin Truex Jr. survived to fight another round. <\/span><\/p>\n

Bubba Wallace rescued himself from the brink of elimination from the series Playoffs and advanced to the Round of 12 by four points. <\/span><\/p>\n

Kevin Harvick, winner of the first elimination Playoff in 2014, won\u2019t be around to fight for the title in his final season of Cup racing. He joins defending champion Joey Logano on the outside looking in for the final seven Playoff races. <\/span><\/p>\n

Despite a strong run on Saturday night, Michael McDowell didn\u2019t get the win he needed to advance, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. likewise fell by the wayside in a car that couldn\u2019t compete for a top-five position.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight Direct Toyota, celebrates with a burnout in front of fans after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 16, 2023 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Taking the lead off pit road on Lap 366 of 500, Hamlin beat Kyle Larson to the finish line by 2.462 seconds. Hamlin led the final 135 laps in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, 142 overall, and second only to the 187 circuits led by pole winner and third-place finisher Christopher Bell. <\/span><\/p>\n

Led by Hamlin, all five Toyota drivers in the Playoffs advanced to the next round.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCan’t thank this whole FedEx team enough,\u201d said Hamlin, who won for the third time this season, the third time at Bristol and the 51st<\/sup> time in his career. \u201cThey’ve really kicked ass this whole first round. Really amazing how our team has been. So happy about the way we’re running. Can’t wait to keep going<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight Direct Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 16, 2023 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt’s our year. I just feel like we’ve got it all put together. We’ve got the speed (at) every single type of race track. Nothing to stop us at this point.<\/span>\u201d <\/p>\n

Chris Buescher followed Bell to the stripe, as the top four finishers all will race in the Round of 12. Brad Keselowski and William Byron (eighth and ninth Saturday) also advanced, as did 23XI Racing teammates Wallace and Tyler Reddick (13th<\/sup> and 14th<\/sup>), Truex (19th<\/sup>), Kyle Busch (20th<\/sup>), Ryan Blaney (22nd<\/sup>) and Ross Chastain (23rd<\/sup>). <\/span><\/p>\n

Wallace finished 14th<\/sup>, a lap down, but the eight points he gained by running third in Stage 1 proved decisive. Only 10 cars finished on the lead lap, the last of whom was Stenhouse, who ended the Round of 16 in 15th<\/sup>, seven points behind Wallace.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota, and Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight Direct Toyota, lead the field on a pace lap prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 16, 2023 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Wallace was greeted with a chorus of boos when he climbed from his car, as was Hamlin. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Like Coco Gauff said, all they’re doing is adding fuel to the fire\u2014I love it,\u201d <\/span>said Wallace, who drives for Hamlin and co-owner Michael Jordan at 23XI. \u201c<\/span>I love where I’m at with this team. Wish my mom, dad, sister were here to celebrate with me.\u201d  <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI’m mentally exhausted. I’m wore out. Gave it our all there. Battled hard and executed. That’s what you got to do. We know next week’s a reset. We just got to go out and have some fun, work our asses off. Thank you to the ones that believe in me. Keep it going. Yeah, on to next week.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight Direct Toyota, and Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 Valvoline\/Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet, lead the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 16, 2023 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

A vicious wreck on the backstretch cost Joey Logano a chance to advance to the Round of 12\u2014the first time under the elimination format that a defending championship has exited the Playoffs in the opening round. <\/span><\/p>\n

Logano was a lap down, running toward the back of the pack, when Corey LaJoie went three-wide underneath the Chevrolet of Erik Jones and lost control of his No. 7 Chevrolet. LaJoie\u2019s car swept up the track into the path of Logano, Justin Haley and Ryan Newman, all of whom were knocked out of the race in the accident. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I saw the smoke,\u201d said Logano, who was credited with a 34th<\/sup>-place finish and missed the Round of 12 by four points. \u201cI saw the 7 spinning. (Spotter) Coleman (Pressley) was saying, \u2018He\u2019s coming up.  He\u2019s coming up\u2019 as I was on the brakes to try to pull onto the bottom.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A general view of racing during the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 16, 2023 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was Newman behind me, but I think someone hit him behind him, and it was just kind of a chain reaction into it. Once I got hit, I was like, \u2018Shoot, I\u2019ve got to go up now,\u2019 because I couldn\u2019t make the bottom, so I committed to that and the hole closed up.<\/span> <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, it\u2019s a real bummer. You get out of the race like that and you\u2019re behind the wall and you\u2019re in denial for a minute. You don\u2019t want to believe that it happened, and you want to think that it\u2019s fixable, but the car was tore up too bad.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota, and Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight Direct Toyota, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 16, 2023 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Harvick fought an ill-handling car from the outset and finished 29th<\/sup>, five laps down. Like Logano, he finished four points behind Wallace in the battle for the final spot in the Round of 12. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/b><\/span>We’ve been like that all year,\u201d Harvick said. \u201cWe’ve been hit-or-miss. Tonight, we just missed by a mile. I’ve had some good days and bad days, but that’s definitely the worst one I’ve had with fenders on it.<\/span>\u201d <\/p>\n

Ty Gibbs finished fifth after leading 102 laps. McDowell ran sixth, followed by Chase Elliott, Keselowski, Byron and Stenhouse. <\/span><\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BristolAudio.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Bass Pro Shops Night Race<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bristol Motor Speedway<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bristol, Tennessee<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saturday, September 16, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    1. (2)  Denny Hamlin (P), Toyota, 500.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    2. (36)  Kyle Larson (P), Chevrolet, 500.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    3. (1)  Christopher Bell (P), Toyota, 500.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    4. (20)  Chris Buescher (P), Ford, 500.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    5. (8)  Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 500.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    6. (4)  Michael McDowell (P), Ford, 500.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    7. (7)  Chase Elliott (P), Chevrolet, 500.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    8. (6)  Brad Keselowski (P), Ford, 500.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    9. (3)  William Byron (P), Chevrolet, 500.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    10. (25)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (P), Chevrolet, 500.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    11. (16)  Carson Hocevar(i), Chevrolet, 499.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    12. (17)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 499.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    13. (13)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 499.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    14. (9)  Bubba Wallace (P), Toyota, 499.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    15. (12)  Tyler Reddick (P), Toyota, 499.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    16. (30)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 499.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    17. (18)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 499.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    18. (26)  Aric Almirola, Ford, 499.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    19. (5)  Martin Truex Jr. (P), Toyota, 498.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    20. (15)  Kyle Busch (P), Chevrolet, 498.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    21. (24)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 498.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    22. (11)  Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, 498.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    23. (23)  Ross Chastain (P), Chevrolet, 498.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    24. (31)  Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 497.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    25. (10)  Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 497.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    26. (35)  JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 495.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    27. (14)  Chase Briscoe, Ford, 495.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    28. (32)  Harrison Burton, Ford, 495.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    29. (21)  Kevin Harvick (P), Ford, 495.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    30. (22)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 491.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    31. (34)  BJ McLeod(i), Chevrolet, 490.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    32. (29)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 488.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    33. (33)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 263.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    34. (28)  Joey Logano (P), Ford, Accident, 262.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    35. (19)  Justin Haley, Chevrolet, Accident, 261.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    36. (27)  Ryan Newman, Ford, Accident, 260.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  94.99 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 48 Mins, 20 Secs. Margin of Victory:  2.437 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  6 for 53 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  10 among 6 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   C. Bell (P) 1-71;C. LaJoie 72-119;C. Bell (P) 120-178;K. Larson (P) 179-198;C. Bell (P) 199-255;T. Gibbs # 256-353;D. Hamlin (P) 354;T. Gibbs # 355-358;D. Hamlin (P) 359-364;C. Buescher (P) 365;D. Hamlin (P) 366-500.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Christopher Bell (P) 3 times for 187 laps; Denny Hamlin (P) 3 times for 142 laps; Ty Gibbs # 2 times for 102 laps; Corey LaJoie 1 time for 48 laps; Kyle Larson (P) 1 time for 20 laps; Chris Buescher (P) 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 20,7,23,24,45,1,6,5,19,54<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 20,54,5,11,42,34,17,24,41,9<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Reid Spencer  NASCAR Wire Service   BRISTOL, Tenn. \u2013 Denny Hamlin landed a knockout punch in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. NASCAR Cup Series regular-season champion Martin Truex Jr. survived to fight another round.  Bubba Wallace rescued himself from the brink of elimination from the series Playoffs and advanced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":43216,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[177,41,16],"class_list":["post-43205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-bristol-motor-speedway","tag-denny-hamlin","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1685702065-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-beR","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43205"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43222,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43205\/revisions\/43222"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}