NASCAR Round of 16 wraps up at Bristol

Brandon Esek, Multimedia Editor • September 16, 2025

REUTERS/via SNO Sites/Randy Sartin

Sep 13, 2025; Bristol, Tennessee, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell (20) wins the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

The first round of the 2025 NASCAR playoffs concluded on Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. At the Tennessee track, 16 championship hopefuls went into the race looking to advance themselves into the next round, but only 12 drivers emerged able to contend for a championship.

One of those 12 drivers is race winner Christopher Bell. Last week at World Wide Technology Raceway, Bell was complaining to his crew about the team’s strategy for the race and claiming that they had the car to win it. Fast forward a week, and Bell was celebrating in Victory Lane at Bristol with a win that secured him a spot in the Round of 12.

The earlier race at WWT had been won by Bell’s teammate, Denny Hamlin. Hamlin qualified first and led for 75 laps, including the fastest lap of the race, earning him an additional point.

The first race of the Round of 16 at Darlington Raceway was won by another JGR driver in Chase Briscoe. Briscoe dominated the race, leading 309 of the 367 laps and winning both stages.

The win for Bell completed JGR’s sweep of the Round of 16, with all three winners in the round being from that team. This feat establishes these JGR teams as the favorites to win the championship, alongside other teams like Hendrick Motorsports and Penske Racing.

In total, the drivers advancing to the Round of 12 are Bell, Hamlin, Briscoe, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, and Tyler Reddick. The drivers eliminated were Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, Shane van Gisbergen, and Josh Berry.

Of those eliminated, Bowman had a shot to win at Bristol but ultimately fell short. During Stage 3 in the race, he was within one point of the 12th-place playoff driver, but at the end of the day Bowman needed a win and couldn’t get one.

Berry had a rough Round of 16, with each race leading to a DNF for the first-time playoff driver. Series rookie van Gisbergen also struggled, showing his need to improve on oval racetracks. Drivers will say that SVG is the class of the field on road courses, but when the series comes to an oval racetrack, he tends to struggle.

Overall, the Round of 16 was one to remember, with plenty of action and playoff drama. The Round of 12 starts on Sunday, with the Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway starting at 2 p.m.