By Cole Cusumano

In many ways it can be said that round one of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs has been both eventful and uneventful. With only two physical cautions over the last two weeks, an abundance of green-flag runs and no practice, success had drastically hinged on strategy and what the teams unload with. If the all around execution wasn’t flawless, chances are you’re one of the four competitors who find themselves in danger heading to the highly coveted Bristol Motor Speedway night race.

Following an unrelenting beat-down from Brad Keselowski at Richmond International Raceway, fans were left with lots of uncertainty. A sloppy night all around from many playoff drivers — which ended in six finishing outside of the top-10, and Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin removed from their dominant selves — it pretty much ensured anything is possible in Thunder Valley. Teams will have one more shot at perfection to advance to the Round of 12, but they will have their work cut out for them.

William Byron’s elation after winning his way into the postseason at Daytona International Speedway was backed up masterfully in a top-five outing in the Southern 500, but came to a screeching halt in Virginia. The 22-year-old finished two laps down and now finds himself three points below the cutline as a result of failing to adapt to tire fall-off.

Narrowly staring in the face of elimination, the Liberty University-product has defied the odds on various occasions in his young career, and he’ll have to replicate some of that magic in Tennessee.

“Last year we saved ourselves in this round with the (Charlotte Motor Speedway) Roval,” said Byron, who qualified on the pole and finished sixth. “We don’t really have that to lean on that much this year, so we have to perform at Bristol. It’s definitely our toughest round. I’d say if we can get through this round the rest of the playoffs will be great, but we’re here and this is what we’ve got to do.”

Trailing Byron by only five points is Rookie of the Year, Cole Custer, who by all accounts has exceeded expectations in 2020. Although he hasn’t finished above 12th in the opening round, it’s been enough to keep the driver of the No. 41 in contention. All he may need is a clean night, but that’s easier said than done for the Kentucky Speedway winner, who wrecked out early in the Spring race and had a lackluster showing in the All-Star Race.

“We’re not in a desperate position,” Custer said, referencing his eight-point gap to 12th. “We’re in a position where we can control a lot of what happens. If we have a good day, and run good and get stage points, we can point our way in. It also depends on how the guys around us run a little bit, but I feel like if we have a good day out at Bristol, then we can get ourselves into the next round. I think we’re not in a bad spot — it’s still manageable.”

Sitting 15th in the standings 25 points back is fan favorite Matt DiBenedetto. It’s been a struggle for the driver of the famed No. 21, who’s failed to place on the lead-lap in his postseason debut. Having been “humbled” after pointing his way in with consistent runs, he finds himself in a must-win scenario heading to Bristol — a task he’s confident he can conquer.

“If there is one track to be in a must-win situation that I would choose it would definitely be Bristol,” DiBenedetto said. “I think we definitely have a great shot at it. We won the Open earlier this year and have a lot to build off of. Our teammates were good and I feel good about our chances for sure. And I have some unfinished business I guess after last year as well.” 

Rounding out the final playoff spot is a driver expected to be a contender coming down to the wire, Ryan Blaney. After a scorching hot start to the year and a win at Talladega Superspeedway, not much has gone right for the racing prodigy. Since the 26-year-old tasted the BodyArmor showers in victory lane in June, he’s only finished inside the top-10 four additional times. 

It’s hard to tell exactly what’s ailing the No. 12 team — especially with Championship winning crew chief Todd Gordon at the helm — but a 27-point deficit undoubtedly put them in a win or go home situation in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. The good news for Blaney? He’s been on the cusp of success, having led a combined 439 laps at Bristol and racking up three consecutive top-10s until a crash derailed his day in the Spring. 

But are history and stats enough to provide a momentum shift for the ice cold driver?

“We have to win next weekend,” Blaney said. “It is pretty plain and simple. With the bad couple of races we have had here to start the playoffs off, we probably need to go out there and win Bristol. That is our mindset. That is our goal. It is our goal every week to win the race but now it is our season on the line. We will see if we can get it done. We have been pretty close at Bristol before, it is just a matter of trying to put a whole race together there.”

It’s going to be difficult to predict what we’ll get at Bristol after witnessing the product at Richmond last weekend. The .533-mile track was action-packed in the Spring and the primetime event averages 8.4 cautions over the last five years, but the inaugural All-Star event ran abnormally clean.

Expect all four teams to unload with their best equipment and A-game come Saturday. If there’s one thing to look out for this weekend, given both DiBenedetto and Blaney’s accomplished resumes at Bristol, this could spell trouble for Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch or Aric Almirola who are sitting all but comfortably above the cutline. 

If we’ve learned anything throughout the years it’s that Bristol and the playoffs are unpredictable. Sixteen entered the postseason and only 12 will advance to the next round at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. You won’t want to miss the drama unfold in the Bristol night race at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.