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Kyle Larson wins, 2 NASCAR champions eliminated from the playoffs

Idris Bevan September 22, 2024

September 21, 2024, 10:52 p.m. ET

NASCAR champions Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. were among the first four drivers eliminated from the playoffs Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, where Kyle Larson took an easy win.

The first of three elimination races in the 10-race playoffs began with Denny Hamlin, Truex, Keselowski and Harrison Burton all below the cutline and facing elimination from the 16-driver field.

Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner and four-time winner at the Bristol, Tennessee, race track, was never really worried and finished fourth.

But Burton, who qualified for the playoffs with a surprise win at Daytona last month before losing his seat at Wood Brothers Racing, was questionable as to whether he would recover enough to advance. Keselowski, the 2012 Cup champion, and Truex, the 2017 champion, had better chances to salvage their playoffs, but both came away empty-handed.

And then there were 12. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/w3k4bibZGo

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) 22 September 2024

Truex was penalized for speeding on pit road, which put him out of contention, and Keselowski simply didn’t have the pace. Joe Gibbs Racing also saw two of its four cars eliminated from the playoffs, as Ty Gibbs was also penalized for speeding.

Truex will retire from full-time racing at the end of the season.

Larson, meanwhile, led 462 of 500 laps, the most since Cale Yarborough led 495 laps in 1977. Larson’s lead laps are the most ever led by a Hendrick Motorsports driver and marked the fifth win of the season for the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet.

Daniel Suarez, who finished 31st, four laps behind, fought his way to the last spot for the second round of the playoffs, 11 points ahead of Gibbs.

Also advancing were Chase Elliott, who finished second, Christopher Bell, who finished fifth, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe, William Byron, Austin Cindric and Alex Bowman.

Hendricks’ entire four-car Chevrolet lineup advanced, as did all three Ford drivers from Team Penske. But Toyota lost two JGR entries and Ford lost two cars in Keselowski and Burton.