Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race Tag

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

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Thunder Valley this weekend for the annual Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, a showdown under the lights on the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” that is sure to leave sheet metal twisted and tempers flaring once these drivers get done battling for 500 laps on the high-banked bullring that is called “The Last Great Colosseum.” Racing at Bristol is always intense, but when the lights go down for the night race each August, theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor As the summer continues to crawl toward an end, the annual Bristol Night Race looms large as an August staple, as drivers throughout the garage area have the race on their bucket list to win. For one driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., he will be strapping into the cockpit on a full-time basis one final time this weekend, driving double duty in both the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the Bristol high banks. With that in mind, let’s takeRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Tony Stewart’s made a lasting memory in Bristol Motor Speedway racing lore in his final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series appearance. The three-time champion was running mid-pack when his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet began to undergo a vibration. Stewart pitted on lap 230 for a new set of tires in hopes it would fix the problem, but the issue never subsided and he was forced to go behind the wall for repairs, falling several laps down. However, the 45-year-old Hoosier returned to finish 30th at theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Kurt Busch saw his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series record-setting run of finishes on the lead lap to start a season end at 22 following a crash on lap 373 in Sunday’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing driver and 2003 Sprint Cup Series champion had taken the lead from Joey Logano when the back of the car stepped out and spun, ending Busch’s day with a 38th-place finish. The wreck caused a gaggle of drivers to beRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – For most of the final 200 laps of Sunday’s rain-interrupted Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kevin Harvick was where he needed to be – out front and in control of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Behind Harvick, who took the checkered flag 1.933 seconds ahead of runner-up Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the race was often out of control, as the essence of traditional Bristol made an emphatic appearance at the .533-mile concrete short track. Harvick’s victoryRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor For even the most seasoned veteran, the treacherous high banks of the Bristol Motor Speedway can be a tough task, so the stellar 2016 rookie class had their work cut out for them in the late summer classic. The race which was postponed due to rain after 48 laps were completed on Saturday night, ran to completion on Sunday afternoon, but Sunday proved to be much tougher than Saturday night under the lights, as Chris Buescher claimed the best finish of the rookies with aRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor When Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway was postponed to Sunday afternoon because of heavy rains, Kyle Busch found himself in the race lead and picked right up where he left off when the race resumed, but unfortunately for Busch, he would not be able to collect his sixth Bristol win after his race ended prematurely. Busch was the dominant car of the race, leading 256 laps, but a mechanical failure sent Busch and his No. 18 car forRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Bristol Motor Speedway teased its race fans with a brief taste of side-by-side action on Saturday night, before persistent storms halted the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race after 48 laps and forced postponement of the finish until Sunday afternoon. The race will resume at 1 p.m. ET Sunday and will be broadcast on CNBC. Carl Edwards led the field to green on Saturday but surrendered the top spot to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin on the opening lap, asRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Denny Hamlin owns a new track record, but Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Carl Edwards won the round that counted in Friday’s knockout qualifying session at Bristol Motor Speedway. Edwards sped around the .533-mile high-banked concrete short track in 14.602 seconds (131.407 mph) to claim the top starting spot for Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops NRA night Race (8 p.m. ET on NBCSN), edging Hamlin (131.200 mph) by .023 seconds. Remarkably, Edwards earned his fifth Coors Light Pole Award of the season, hisRead More