It’s been awhile since Bristol’s night race delivered an all-time classic. Blame it on the tires, the car, the drivers, but we hadn’t seen a truly iconic Bristol race in years.

That changed last night, Goodyear’s tires delivered creating an environment built on strategy and skill. Plentiful cautions kept things interesting while plenty of drivers came and went all night, meaning there was no favorite for most of the night. The playoff bubble even made an appearance to add that final lemon zest onto an already spectacular dish. 

Here are The Wave Around’s five takeaways from Bristol.

Goodyear got it right

It’s been months with countless tire tests and the garage saying the next race, we just don’t know what the tires are going to do. In that time, we had exactly zero interesting tire wear races, but last night featured some honest to goodness tire wear. There was a stark difference between new and old tires that kept things so interesting during the numerous cautions.

The fact that weaker cars were able to manage their tires better or break off from strategy and see it pay off, is what can make NASCAR so exciting. Watching cars on new tires fly by the field is just as awesome as an old tire battle between the leaders, there was always something happening on track breaking the Next Gen monotony. 

The tires made the difference tonight and I hope that NASCAR will bring this tire to other tracks that desperately need it, I’m looking at you Phoenix. 

No beginners luck

At the end of the race, Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith led the field to green. Two drivers who’ve shown flashes of excellence were getting their chance with six laps to go to take home their first trophy.

However it wasn’t meant to be, as Christopher Bell got a fantastic launch past them and left the two to squabble over scrapes. Smith eventually missed a corner, forcing Hocevar high and ruining both their chances at a win. That sequence shows how difficult it is to win at the current Cup level, it’s not enough to do everything right, you’ve got to do that and more.

Both of these drivers will win eventually, especially Hocevar, but these two will be kicking themselves over this missed opportunity. 

Toyota’s championship to lose

Joe Gibbs Racing swept the first round, winning three straight races and putting out some of the most dominant cars on the track. Either Chase Briscoe and Ty Gibbs should have won this race, courtesy of having the fastest cars on track through the first two stages. However it isn’t just JGR though, all of Toyota is on a heater to begin the playoffs.

Bubba Wallace locked himself into the round of 12 in stage one of this race after a near perfect opening stage and has looked to have maybe the fastest car on track every week. Even 23XI’s guest driver Corey Heim finished sixth in last night’s race.

More impressive than that Legacy Motor Club has come alive, regularly seeing their drivers finishing in the top 15. It’s clear that Toyota, except for Tyler Reddick for some reason, has found something in this Next Gen car and as far as I’m concerned it’s their championship to lose.

The Greatest Showman

I feel for Alex Bowman, a true victim of a very silly and stupid playoff format. However, that doesn’t change the fact that one of Hendrick Motorsport’s flagship cars was out in the first round of the playoffs and didn’t exactly go out with much fight.

Toward the end of this one, Bowman made things interesting after Austin Cindric’s car tried to nuke itself, but even that wasn’t enough. On the last restart with a chance to win and get in, he spun the tires, got a bad jump and never got the chance to race his way for a win. Bowman clearly has talent, but it’s not shining through at the #48’s shop right now. 

Round of 12 preview

Next up for the Cup series is Loudon, followed by Kansas and the Roval. The room for error has shrunk significantly, with only 13 points separating 12th and sixth the playoff standings.Drivers who had terrible round ones, like Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson, better get their act together because there’s no more fodder at the bottom of the field.

It’ll be key for drivers to hone in on Loudon and Kansas because the Roval has already printed Shane Van Gisbergen’s name on the trophy and that race isn’t until Oct. 5. Those standard oval races are more than likely the only two chances to lock yourself into the next round. 

Expect Wallace and Reddick to be a threat at Kansas, while Cindric and Logano, who will start outside the round of 8, should have great days at Loudon. Elliott sits only five points to the good to open, leaving him in maybe the worst spot outside of Ross Chastain.

The Cup Series returns next weekend to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Mobil 1 301. The green flag drops at 11 a.m. PST Sept. 21.