The first round of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs has several drivers concerned. The postseason starts at the Atlanta Motor Speedway before going to Watkins Glen and Bristol — three different types of tracks, none of which are your regular intermediate Oval track. Atlanta is of a similar distance but it races like a Superspeedway. Earlier, Christopher Bell stated that it was scary going into the round of 16 and his teammate Ty Gibbs is of a similar opinion.
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Gibbs is the final seed of the playoffs and is not considered a championship contender. He won’t have as much pressure on his shoulders as some of the others but that does not mean he won’t try and win one of these races.
The key to finishing well in Atlanta and the Glen, as per Gibbs will be to run close to the front. Bristol is hard to predict given the tire issues drivers faced there earlier this year. However, a lot of things are going to be out of the drivers’ control, especially at the speedway and the short track, which is the concerning part.
“Atlanta is definitely not in our control. There is a lot with missing wrecks, and making it and finishing the race, but Watkins Glen and Bristol – I don’t know too much about the tire. Bristol was pretty treacherous. I think it is going to be an interesting round. I think it is probably the hardest round, honestly,” he said in a recent media interaction.
The 21-year-old is the 16th-seeded driver going into the first round, the lowest spot in the playoff bubble. Running well at each of these tracks will be crucial for the Joe Gibbs Racing youngster if he wants to make it into the round of 12. Gibbs has been consistent this season and has come close to a race win on more than one occasion.
Bell is worried about playoff openers
The #54 driver might not be under a lot of pressure to do well but the #20 driver is. Bell made the championship race in the last two seasons but failed to win the Cup Series. He will hope to go that extra step this year, so the round of 16 will be crucial. The JGR star had expressed earlier that he was concerned about how things might turn out since all three races this round have the potential to be a wildcard race.
“I’ll be honest, the first round is the scariest it’s been in a long time with Atlanta, a superspeedway starting us off,” he said. “And then we go to Watkins Glen, which should be a normal race track.”
“But with the expected tire degradation with the tire change that we’ve had, it could be a Bristol-style race where people are wearing tires out really early and struggling to make laps and having to pit all of the time.”
What’s positive is that he has three race wins in the regular season and a good amount of playoff points. Barring things going wrong, the JGR star should not have an issue making it into the round of 12.
