It was a battle all the way down to the last lap of the first elimination race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) playoffs at Bristol Motor Speedway, with six Chevrolet drivers prevailing to advance to the Round of 12 and continue in the championship title hunt. The 500-lap annual night race at “The Last Great Colosseum” provided drama throughout, but the bowtie brigade proved its strength, continuing to occupy 50 percent of the playoff field for the second consecutive round. Chevrolet drivers continuing on include all four Hendrick Motorsports teammates (Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, William Byron and Alex Bowman); as well as Trackhouse Racing teammates and first-time playoff drivers Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez.

           It was a playoff opening round for the record books. Three non-playoff drivers took the victories in each of the three races in the Round of 16; a first-time occurrence in series’ history since the NASCAR playoff era began in 2004. Consistency was key for playoff drivers to solidify their spot into the next round. William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 team proved to be a contender right out of the gate, with an eighth-place finish at Darlington Raceway that took the 24-year-old North Carolina native to the second spot in the playoff standings. Byron was able to maintain that position on the playoff grid throughout the opening round, scoring top-10 finishes in all three races.

           With the playoff grid reseeded in advance of the Round of 12, a familiar face is back in the top position in the standings: 2022 NCS regular-season champion Chase Elliott. The 26-year-old Georgia native now sits 31-points above the cutline, while continuing to lead the series in wins (4), top-fives (11), top-10s (18), laps led (719) and accumulated playoff points (40). Joining Elliott in the top-five of the playoff standings includes Ross Chastain (third; 11-points above the cutline), Kyle Larson (fourth; 10-points above the cutline), and William Byron (fifth; 6-points above the cutline), giving Chevrolet four of the top-five playoff spots heading into race one of the Round of 12 at Texas Motor Speedway. Alex Bowman and Daniel Suarez sit in the 10th and 11th spots in the standings, respectively, but both only six-points below the cutline.

      The Round of 12 will be contested on three completely different racetrack configurations, including an intermediate track (1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway); the unpredictability of a superspeedway (Talladega Superspeedway); and a left- and right-hand turns of a road course circuit (Charlotte ROVAL). Two of the three tracks in the round saw a Chevrolet-powered machine in victory lane in 2021, with Kyle Larson taking the wins in both the Texas Motor Speedway playoff and All-Star race, as well as the Charlotte ROVAL.  

CHEVROLET RACING: NCS PLAYOFFS ROUND OF 12 FAST FACTS

·       In the 29 NASCAR Cup Series points-paying races; Chevrolet continues to lead all manufacturers in race wins (16), top-fives (69), top-10s (127), laps led (3,329) and stage wins (23).

·    For the second consecutive round, Chevrolet continues to occupy 50 percent of the playoff field with six Chevrolet drivers advancing to the Round of 12.

·    Heading into race one of the Round of 12, Chevrolet drivers take four of the top-five positions in the playoff standings, led by regular-season champion Chase Elliott (1st). 

Chevrolet All-Time NASCAR Cup Series

Championships:

Manufacturer Championships:

1st Chevy Title: 1958

Most Recent Title: 2021

Highest Number of Consecutive Titles: 13 (2003-2015)

Driver Championships:

1st Chevy title: Buck Baker (1957)

Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021)

Highest Number of Consecutive Titles: 7 (2005-2011)

Chevrolet’s 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12 Drivers: 

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – 1st in Playoff Standings (+31 points above cutline)

2022 NASCAR Cup Series Regular-Season Champion

Victories: 4 (series-leading)

Top-Fives: 11 (tied for series-leading);

Top-10s: 18 (series-leading);

Laps Led: 719 (series-leading);

Average Finish: 11.1 (series-leading);

Stage Wins: 5

Of Note:

- The 2022 season marks Elliott’s seventh consecutive appearance in the NCS playoffs.

- Elliott has advanced to the Championship 4 the past two seasons, winning his first career NCS Driver Championship in 2020.

- Six of his 17 career NCS wins have come in the playoffs.

- Elliott has won at two of the three tracks in the Round of 12, including Talladega Superspeedway (2019); and a two-time winner at the Charlotte ROVAL (2019 and 2020). 

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Camaro ZL1 – 3rd in Playoff Standings (+11 points above cutline)

Victories: 2

Top-Fives: 10

Top-10s: 16

Laps Led: 584

Average Finish: 14.2

Stage Wins: 5

Of Note:

- The 2022 season marks Chastain’s first career appearance in the NCS playoffs.

- Chastain has already scored a win at one of the Round of 12 tracks in 2022, with his second-career NCS win coming at Talladega Superspeedway in April. 

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – 4th in Playoff Standings (+10 points above cutline)

2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion

Victories: 2

Top-Fives: 11 (tied for series-leading)

Top-10s: 15

Laps Led: 341

Average Finish: 13.7 (third-best)

Stage Wins: 3

Of Note:

- The 2022 season marks Larson’s sixth appearance in the NCS playoffs, with 2021 bringing Larson his first trip to the Championship 4.

- During the playoff era (2004-present); Larson leads the series in ‘multiple playoff race wins in a single season’ with five in 2021 (Bristol, Charlotte ROVAL, Texas, Kansas, Phoenix).

- In 2021, Larson took the wins at two of the three tracks that are in the Round of 12, including both the playoff and All-Star races at Texas Motor Speedway; and the annual race at the Charlotte ROVAL. 

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – 5th in Playoff Standings (+6 points above the cutline)

Victories: 2

Top-Fives: 5

Top-10s: 8

Laps Led: 671

Average Finish: 16.8

Stage Wins: 4

Of Note:

- The 2022 season marks Byron’s fourth consecutive appearance in the NCS playoffs.

- Bryon’s career-best finish in the NCS playoffs came in 2021, finishing the season 10th in the final standings.

- Byron scored top-10 finishes in all three races of the Round of 16 including an eighth-place at Darlington Raceway; sixth-place at Kansas Speedway; and third-place at Bristol Motor Speedway. 

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 – 10th in Playoff Standings (-6 points below the cutline)

Victories: 1

Top-Fives: 4

Top-10s: 12

Laps Led: 136

Average Finish: 15.7

Stage Wins: 2

Of Note:

- The 2022 season marks Bowman’s fifth consecutive appearance in the NCS playoffs.

- Bowman has raced his way into the Round of 12 in each of his NCS playoff appearances; making it to the Round of 8 in the 2020 season to score a career-best sixth in the final standings.

- Two of Bowman’s 12 top-10 finishes of 2022 came in the Round of 16, recording a 10th-place finish at Darlington Raceway and a fourth-place finish at Kansas Speedway. 

Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Camaro ZL1 – 11th in Playoff Standings (-6 points below the cutline)

Victories: 1

Top-Fives: 6

Top-10s: 11

Laps Led: 246

Average Finish: 16.4

Stage Wins: 2

Of Note:

- The 2022 season marks Suarez’s first career appearance in the NCS playoffs.

- Suarez has three top-five finishes on road course circuits in 2022 including his first-career NCS win at Sonoma Raceway; and fifth-place finishes at Road America and Watkins Glen.