Bristol Motor Speedway added another chapter and another first-time winner to its history books Sunday, with Ty Gibbs making a long-awaited NASCAR Cup Series breakthrough into the track’s Victory Lane. The 23-year-old driver held off a pair of Cup Series champs — runner-up Ryan Blaney and third-place Kyle Larson — to scratch the win column in his 131st career start.
Behind that lead trio, several other performances stand out — for reasons good and not-so-good. With the Food City 500 in the rearview mirror, here are three drivers with momentum on their side, plus three more in need of a rebound Sunday at Kansas Speedway (2 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
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RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Bristol
THREE UP ⬆️
1. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Started: 35th
Finished: 6th
What happened: Sunday marked a remarkable comeback for Gilliland, who slotted his No. 34 Mustang in the field’s last full row in qualifying. His odds of a strong finish were further complicated by his involvement in a four-car crash on Lap 160. Gilliland continued on and said later that his car came alive once the top groove was rubbered in. The result was Gilliland’s first top-10 finish of the season.
What’s next: Gilliland enjoyed a two-spot jump up in the Cup Series standings. He enters Kansas seeking his first top-10 finish there, although his recent results in the Sunflower State have shown improvement. Gilliland was 12th in both Kansas events last season.
Todd Gilliland
2. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Started: 3rd
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Finished: 5th
What happened: Briscoe didn’t lead a lap Sunday — something Blaney and Larson saw to, combining to lead 474 of the 505 circuits — but his consistency near the front was measurable. Briscoe ranked third in average running position at 5.68, just behind the similarly stellar numbers posted by Larson (1.72) and Blaney (2.55). That netted out to his second top-five outcome of the year, his first since a runner-up day at EchoPark Speedway.
What’s next: Briscoe’s ragged start to the season has leveled off a bit, and Sunday’s effort bumped him up four positions to 17th in the Cup Series standings — just outside The Chase’s provisional field. Kansas bodes well for Briscoe, who has won there in NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competition and captured one of his Cup Series-best seven pole positions last year at the 1.5-mile track.
Chase Briscoe
3. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
Started: 20th
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Finished: 7th
What happened: Logano made steady gains from a near-midpack starting spot, jumping up to grab three stage points with an eighth-place result at the halfway point that ended Stage 2. He was lined up 11th on the next-to-last restart and picked up three more spots before another late caution forced overtime. Once there, Logano was in the middle of a three-wide sandwich for most of the two-lap dash, but fended off Carson Hocevar for one more spot to take seventh.
What’s next: The season has been an up-and-down one for Logano, but the last two races — third at Martinsville Speedway, seventh at Bristol — have provided a boost. Logano stayed put at 12th in the Cup standings heading to Kansas, where he’s a three-time winner.
Joey Logano signals from his No. 22 Ford during practice at Bristol Motor Speedway
THREE DOWN ⬇️
1. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Started: 14th
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Finished: 27th
What happened: Last fall at Bristol, Bell left with the gladiator sword reserved for race winners. He was expected to be among the contenders again Sunday, and a second-place finish in Stage 1 bolstered his case, but a speeding penalty during the intermission knocked him to 27th in the order. Things turned worse for Bell after a wall scrape and spin prompted a Lap 144 caution period. He ended up four laps off the pace at the checkered flag.
What’s next: Bell dipped two spots to ninth in the Cup Series points, but Kansas looms as a possible rebound track. The JGR star was on the podium in both races there last year, and he’s a four-time pole winner at the 1.5-mile venue.
Christopher Bell
2. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Started: 34th
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Finished: 30th
What happened: Byron last scored a top-five finish at Bristol in 2022, and getting there again was a distant hope from the start. After an uncharacteristic subpar qualifying effort, Bryon dropped to the rear of the field after adjustments to the steering system. By Lap 37, he went a lap down. By the finish, he was five laps back and saddled with his worst result of the season so far.
What’s next: A two-position drop nudged Byron to seventh in the Cup Series standings. He’s winless in 16 career Cup starts at Kansas, which was the site of his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory way back in 2016.
William Byron suits up for practice and qualifying in the No. 24 Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway
3. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Started: 33rd
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Finished: 34th
What happened: SVG had drummed up some short-track goodwill after an 11th-place finish at Martinsville just before the Easter weekend break. A Lap 160 spin at Bristol, however, gathered up three more cars in its wake and damaged his No. 97 Chevy. Van Gisbergen was running at the finish, but 170 laps down after his crew’s repairs.
What’s next: Van Gisbergen’s development on oval tracks has been a much-ballyhooed topic as he transitions from road racing to NASCAR’s bread and butter. Kansas last fall marked a breakthrough with a 10th-place finish — his first top 10 on an oval. Another strong finish would provide a lift after a two-place drop to 16th in the Cup Series points.
The cars of Shane van Gisbergen (97), John Hunter Nemechek (42), Alex Bowman (48) and Todd Gilliland (34) crash through the banking at Bristol Motor Speedway
