Kevin Harvick Wins Bristol Night Race

From Road & Track

The first round of NASCAR's 2020 postseason is complete, and Kevin Harvick seems to be in complete control.

Harvick came into the NASCAR playoffs alongside Denny Hamlin as one of two clear championship contenders, but his two wins over three postseason races have cemented his position as a title favorite. Today's win at Bristol was another masterclass, a strong run capped off by holding off a hard charging Kyle Busch over the final ten laps of the 500 lap race. Busch had a run off of turn 4 on the final lap, but lapped traffic got in the way, and Harvick was able to leave Bristol with the victory.

This was an elimination race, of course, and four drivers were eliminated: Matt DiBenedetto, Cole Custer, William Byron, and Ryan Blaney. Blaney and DiBenedetto came into this race needing exceptional finishes they did not find, while Byron failed to finish after making hard contact with the lapped traffic of Joey Gase mid-race and Custer struggled throughout the day, sputtering to a 23rd-place finish. This leaves 12 remaining drivers ahead of the second round, which will cut the field to eight:

The Playoff Point advantage built by Hamlin and Harvick still leave them both relatively safe in this round, though they will begin to face more serious pressure next round. Brad Keselowski has a strong point advantage on fourth and down, but he cannot carry the same confidence Hamlin and Harvick can into the next few races. Everyone from seventh to twelfth, meanwhile, have relatively insignificant Playoff Point advantages heading into the next round.

That round will begin next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but will be highlighted by stops at Talladega and the Charlotte Roval in the following weeks.

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