5 NASCAR drivers leading the short track points race before the 2025 Bristol playoff cut

The 2025 NASCAR Cup playoffs are headed for the first elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway this Saturday (September 13) at 7:30 pm ET. The short track in Tennessee hosted the first night race 47 years ago. It also became the first NASCAR race to be broadcast in prime time in 1985. This week, it will offer the last chance for drivers to earn a spot in the Round of 12.

Let's take a look at five NASCAR short-track specialists who have consistently performed on steep banked ovals before the Bass Pro Shops Night Race in Bristol.

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5 NASCAR drivers leading the short track points race before the 2025 Bristol playoff cut

#5 Chase Briscoe

Chase Briscoe has an average finish of 13.2 in six starts at Bristol. His best finish at the track came during the spring race at the short track, where he finished in fourth.

Briscoe already won the first playoff race of the 2025 season and claimed a 1-2 finish for Joe Gibbs Racing after a second-place result last week at Gateway.

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#4 Chase Elliott

Chase Elliott has two top-5 finishes and led 444 laps at Bristol. He has managed only one finish outside the top-10 in the last five Night Races at the short track.

The Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevy driver finished third last weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park and is now ranked ninth in the playoff standings, 28 points above the cutoff line.

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#3 Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin, who leads the playoff standings after the Gateway win last week, is performing at Bristol. He has an average finish of 3.4 across five races.

The 3-time Bristol Night race winner has led the third-most laps (1,199) among active drivers at the oval and has also collected two wins in the past two years there.

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#2 Christopher Bell

Christopher Bell has an average finish of 12 at Bristol. He did win the 2023 Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, but has no wins at the concrete oval.

Bell has only two finishes outside the top-25 in eight starts there, and the 33-year-old has had only top-5s at the Ristol Night Race since 2022. He stands 8th in the points standings with three regular-season wins heading to the first elimination race of the 2025 season.

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#1 Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson is perhaps the ultimate Bristol expert of the current generation. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has an unmatched dominance on the short track with two wins in the last two races at the track. Earlier this season, he led 411 of 500 laps of the Food City 500.

Larson leads all active NASCAR Cup drivers with the best average finish of 10.4 in 18 starts at the 0.533-mile oval. He is ranked third in the points standings ahead of the final race of the Round of 16 this Saturday (September 13) at 7:30 ET.