The regular season champion wasn't a factor during the opening rounds of the playoffs heading into the Round of 12.

Tyler Reddick came home from the NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen on Sunday and was generally dismayed at what he saw from his fellow drivers at the end of the race. It was chaos, replete with deep dive bombs, aggressive blocks and a lot of crashing the closing stages of the race.

Tyler Reddick is facing backlash after his radio comments suggested he may have helped Denny Hamlin during the race at Bristol Motor Speedway

Denny Hamlin, who has won the past two Bristol Cup races, enters Saturday night's race six points below the cutline.

The future of little Lulu, the stray puppy Denny Hamlin's daughters found under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis in June, has been in doubt ever since Hamlin decided the addition to his household had derailed his season.