Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Since winning the Daytona 500, the 2017 season has been a rollercoaster of a ride for Kurt Busch and his No. 41 team, with the team getting on streaks of top-10 finishes, but following those up with streaks of sub-par finishes. Saturday night at Bristol, it was a rollercoaster of a ride all over again for Busch. Starting the day in 25th, Busch, who won his first career Cup Series race on the Bristol high banks, struggled with handling issues in the early going, butRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor As the regular season continues to wind down, the playoff picture is still very volatile, with three drivers currently in on points, while others on the outside looking in try to win a race and lock themselves in. Heading into Bristol, Matt Kenseth was one of the drivers inside the top-16 as a result of his points position, but the 2003 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion would face his biggest battle in his quest to make the playoffs. The driver that would be hisRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway was a tale of two races for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. All five of the ROTY contenders have experience at ‘The World’s Fastest Half-Mile.’ Erik Jones was the best rookie for the second week in a row, finishing second in the No. 77 5-hour Energy Extra Strength Toyota Camry after running inside the top-five all night long. Jones led a race-high 260-lapsRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer A flat tire, contact with the wall, and lap traffic could not keep Trevor Bayne from reaching a career milestone with a top-10 finish. For the first time in his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career, he earned top-10 finishes in back-to-back races. Bayne bounced up and down through the field in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. Bayne finished in seventh after an eventful second-half of the Bristol-night race. He had a hard-fought battle with Jimmie Johnson as he moved up through theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Week in and week out, Erik Jones has impressed throughout his rookie season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and on Friday evening at Bristol Motor Speedway, Jones took another step forward by scoring his first career pole. With the clock winding down, Jones’ lap of 14.981 seconds, 128.062 mph, propelled him to the top of the board and into position to clinch the pole. Though a few other drivers took a shot at Jones’ fast lap, they weren’t quite quick enough to bestRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a top-five run in the first practice session of the day, Ryan Blaney backed up the speed he had shown earlier on Friday by posting the fastest speed in the final practice session for Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Blaney topped the board with a time of 14.926 seconds, 128.554 mph and was followed by fellow young gun Kyle Larson, who timed in with a lap just .057 seconds slower. In four starts at Bristol, Blaney hasRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Thursday’s news that Brad Keselowski’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team, Brad Keselowski Racing, would be closing their doors at the end of the 2017 season sent shockwaves through the sport, but on Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway, the 2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion noted that he is looking toward the future with the closure of his team. Keselowski had mentioned in the past that he has lost upwards of $1 million a year running the team, but was quick to point outRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor In preparation for tomorrow night’s running of the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers took to the track for their first of two practice sessions on Friday morning, with Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch leading the way. It has been an eventful week for Hamlin thus far as he welcomed his second daughter into the world Tuesday before heading to Bristol for the race weekend, where he was victorious inRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Heading into Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott clings to one of the last three points positions to be able to make it into the playoffs for a second year in a row, but with three races still to go and the unpredictability of racing on the high banked half-mile, the fact that Elliott has yet to win a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race looms large over the 21-year old Hendrick Motorsports driver. As the points sit, Elliott holds a 62Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway will mark the final time that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will participate in one of NASCAR’s crown jewel races as a full-time driver in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Before strapping into the cockpit for both the Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the high banked half-mile, Earnhardt took some time to reflect on Bristol and just what the track has meant to him over the years, from coming toRead More