While the No. 5 Chevy Camaro ZL1 of Kyle Larson dominated the Bristol night race on September 21st, 2024, the best NASCAR Ford driver finished sixth, and two were eliminated from the Playoffs, meaning they won’t get to compete for a championship in November.
Ryan Blaney wheeled the No. 12 Ford Mustang Dark Horse to a finish just outside the top five. Considering that he started 22nd, and that the tire compound made it extremely difficult to pass, his performance is rather impressive despite not being a victory. As such, he’s safe for at least another round, and will continue to defend his championship in the Round of 12.
“It was a good effort from not qualifying well,” Blaney said after the race. “The speed in our car was pretty decent. It’s something to learn from and nice to go to the next round.”
Ryan Preece finished seventh in the No. 41 Mustang, followed by Chase Briscoe in the No. 41 Mustang bringing it home in seventh.
Meanwhile, Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 6 Mustang, battled an ill-handling race car all night. He finished 26th, but did not have enough points to survive elimination. Harrison Burton, driver of the No. 21 Mustang, suffered a similar fate when his race car presented with a power steering issue, forcing him to retire early and relegating him to a 35th-place finish.
“Yeah, it was just a long night,” Keselowski said. “We ran the best we could, we just didn’t have any pace. We lost a lap early and that’s kind of what we had. There was no attrition to the race and tires didn’t fall off and we didn’t have the pace.”
Burton also lamented his poor finish, saying, “It’s a really sad way to end it, but really proud of our guys. They changed the rack really fast and got a new pump in it. We gained a couple spots just from guys wiping themselves out. We didn’t quit, but obviously a frustrating way to go. I’m happy to have been a part of it.”
Blaney, Joey Logano, Briscoe, and Austin Cindric will continue to carry The Blue Oval in the Round of 12 as Playoff contenders.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 500 | 462 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 2 | 10 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | LLumar Chevrolet | 500 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 3 | 11 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Toyota Genuine Parts/Mobil 1 Toyota | 500 | 1 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 4 | 8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | FedEx Toyota | 500 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 5 | 6 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | DEWALT Toyota | 500 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 6 | 22 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Wurth Ford | 500 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 7 | 14 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Old Armor Ford | 500 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 8 | 5 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (P) | Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford | 500 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 9 | 1 | 48 | Alex Bowman (P) | Ally Chevrolet | 500 | 34 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 10 | 12 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 500 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 11 | 18 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 499 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 12 | 16 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Bass Pro Shops Winchester Ford | 499 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 13 | 27 | 2 | Austin Cindric (P) | Menards/Monster Ford | 499 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 14 | 17 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | 499 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 15 | 13 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (P) | He Gets Us Toyota | 499 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 16 | 33 | 71 | Zane Smith # | Ambetter Health Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 17 | 3 | 24 | William Byron (P) | Z HP Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 7 | 77 | Carson Hocevar # | Delaware Life Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 21 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | Doritos/Mtn Dew by Food City Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 20 | 15 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (P) | McDonald's Toyota | 499 | 3 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 21 | 30 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 22 | 26 | 51 | Justin Haley | Pinnacle Home Improvement Ford | 499 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 23 | 19 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger(i) | Barger Precast Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 24 | 4 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. (P) | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 499 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 25 | 29 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet | 498 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 26 | 23 | 6 | Brad Keselowski (P) | Castrol Edge Ford | 497 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 27 | 31 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger/Dasani Chevrolet | 497 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 20 | 22 | Joey Logano (P) | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 496 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 29 | 25 | 4 | Josh Berry # | Bed Bath & Beyond Ford | 496 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 30 | 32 | 43 | Erik Jones | Dollar Tree Toyota | 496 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 31 | 35 | 99 | Daniel Suarez (P) | Freeway Insurance Chevrolet | 496 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 32 | 24 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Frontline Enterprises Inc Ford | 496 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 33 | 28 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota | 491 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 34 | 37 | 66 | * Josh Bilicki(i) | Arby's Ford | 467 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 35 | 34 | 21 | Harrison Burton (P) | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 422 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 36 | 9 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Mattress Warehouse Chevrolet | 330 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 37 | 36 | 15 | Kaz Grala # | Meat N' Bone Ford | 296 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible
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