When the NASCAR Cup Series postseason began two weeks after the conclusion of the regular season in Darlington, the sanctioning association was hoping for success in the ten-team playoff run to Phoenix.

Keep everyone interested.

After two events in the round of 16, the obvious question arises: Are you not entertained?

In both the Michigan race two weeks ago and last Sunday’s chaotic mess at the Watkins Glen Road Course, the tension rose exponentially, especially on the switchback shape of the latter.

More than half of the Glen’s 16 playoff contenders were involved in some form of significant involvement, and the few who escaped unscathed suffered near-misses that likely could have significantly changed their fate in the race won by non-championship driver Chris Buescher.

Now we head to Bristol, Tennessee, to the tiny bullring of Bristol Motor Speedway, a treacherous racetrack where unlikely and momentous events lurk on its oval, Colosseum-like terrain.

“The first round is the scariest in a long time,” warned Toyota driver No. 20 Christopher Bell before the start of the playoffs. “And then Bristol, I think everyone expects it to be similar to the spring.”

Spring turned out to be a complete mess.

To make matters worse, the cooler temperatures caused excessive tire wear and the cord to wear out, forcing NASCAR and Goodyear into a state of emergency as the cars wore out the rubber.

During the chaos of St. Patrick’s Day, no driver was green with envy about the current situation of his fellow riders on the track.

With BMS refusing to take rubber and developing marbles, drivers quickly found the twisty track, which almost always made for frustrating work days, even more difficult to handle as lap times slowed dramatically and their jerky cars skidded over the high banks.

In a battle that saw a Bristol record 54 lead changes, three drivers finished as leaders with a podium finish: Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski.

The trio learned how to deal with tire management problems during scorching summer nights racing the latest models east of the Mississippi.

And who are the first three of the four drivers below the cut line who, according to current status, would not advance to next week’s round of 12?

Hamlin, Keselowski and Truex.

Hamlin, the Bristol winner in March, is six points behind Ty Gibbs in 12th place, who is tied with Chase Briscoe at plus-6.

Keselowski (-12), Truex (-14) and Harrison Burton (-20) need a win or a strong dose of Bristol’s bite to catch the three or four drivers from 12th place down to the top 10 in the points standings.

There’s a chance that the two former Cup champions and the best driver yet to win a title below the cut line could all be out of the running for the 2024 championship late Saturday night, especially since anything can – and usually does – happen in the mountains of Tennessee.

In fact, the points race at the bottom of the table is likely to be better than the race for the checkered flag at the top.

NASCAR would agree to that.

–Field level media