By David Morgan, Associate Editor
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Elimination weekend is upon us.
The NASCAR Cup Series rolls into Bristol Motor Speedway for a Saturday night under the lights in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race which will see the current 16-driver Playoff field cut to 12 when the checkered flag falls on the night.
Racing at Bristol is always intense, but when the lights go down for the night race, the intensity gets cranked to 11.
The aggressiveness that the drivers will show on the high-banked bullring that is called “The Last Great Colosseum” to take home the coveted Bristol trophy and the chance to wield the gladiator sword in Victory Lane illustrates why this race is on every fan’s bucket list, because it is a must-see event from start to finish.
Bristol is a track that makes it easy to get caught up in someone else’s mess and if that were to happen to any of the drivers on the bubble, their chances to continue on in the race for the championship could go right down the drain.
Playoff Picture
Courtesy of their wins at Darlington and Gateway, respectively, Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin have already punched their tickets to the next round of the Playoffs, leaving 10 spots up for grabs among 14 different drivers.
The first two races of the first round of the Playoffs have shaken up the standings, with some drivers that came into the postseason full of hope now in a must win position, including Alex Bowman, who now sit 35 and 45 points back of the cut-off line. For them, it’s win or bust on Saturday night.
On the other end of the spectrum are those that are largely safe this weekend courtesy of their points margins built up in Playoff points during the regular season and solid finishes thus far in the postseason. That list includes Kyle Larson (+60), Bubba Wallace (+50), Ryan Blaney (+42), William Byron (+39), Tyler Reddick (+37), Christopher Bell (+32), and Chase Elliott (+28).
Defending series champion Joey Logano (+21), Ross Chastain (+19), and Austin Cindric (+11) are in the danger zone on Saturday night and within striking distance should they find themselves in trouble during the 500-lap slugfest.
Just under the cut-off line are two drivers who are down, but not out yet, with Austin Dillon (-11) and Shane Van Gisbergen (-15) both needing a strong run and some help from those above the cut-off line to make it in.
In recent memory, some drivers that have been able to race their way into the next round in an elimination race with deficits as big as Dillon and van Gisbergen include Bubba Wallace in 2022 (came in 19 markers back), William Byron in 2021 (made up an 18-point deficit), and Chase Elliott in 2019, where he overcame a 22-point gap.
Talking Tires
In an effort to continuously improve racing at the half-mile bullring, Goodyear has opted to bring a softer right side tire this weekend, which in theory should wear faster on the concrete surface and lead to better racing.
This will be a big unknown coming into Saturday night, with the tire life either throwing this race into chaos or being more of the same as we’ve seen recently at Bristol.
The softer right-side tire will be paired with the same left side tire that was run in the spring race at this track.
“As has been the trend at short tracks this year for the Cup Series, the right-side Goodyear Racing Eagle tire will be slightly softer tread rubber than what was raced in April,” said Justin Fantozzi, Goodyear operations manager for global race tires.
“The high-banked concrete surface is demanding and continually evolves over 500 laps as rubber is laid down. This tire setup is designed to withstand the heavy loads while still optimizing handling for the drivers.”
By the Numbers
What: Bass Pro Shops Night Race, NASCAR Cup Series race No. 29 of 36
Where: Bristol Motor Speedway – Bristol, Tennessee (Opened: 1960)
When: Saturday, September 13
TV/Radio: USA Network, 7:30 pm ET/ PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Channel 90
Track Size: 0.533-mile concrete oval
Banking: Turns: 30 to 34 degrees; Straights: 4 to 9 degrees
Race Length: 500 laps, 266.5 miles
Stage Lengths: First two stages – 125 laps each, Final stage – 250 laps
April 2025 Race Winner: Kyle Larson – No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (Started third, 411 laps led)
September 2024 Race Winner: Kyle Larson – No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (Started second, 462 laps led)
Track Qualifying Record: Chase Elliott – No. 9 Chevrolet (14.568 seconds, 131.713 mph – 4/5/2019)
Top-10 Highest Driver Ratings at Bristol Motor Speedway:
- Kyle Larson – No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 109.0
- Christopher Bell – No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – 102.9
- Kyle Busch – No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet – 96.7
- Denny Hamlin – No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – 96.3
- Chase Elliott – No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 96.2
- Ty Gibbs – No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – 92.0
- Brad Keselowski – No. 6 RFK Racing Ford – 89.3
- Ryan Blaney – No. 12 Team Penske Ford – 89.2
- Joey Logano – No. 22 Team Penske Ford – 85.3
- Chase Briscoe – No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – 82.9
NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings (One Race Remaining in First Round):
- Denny Hamlin (Advanced to next round – Gateway win)
- Chase Briscoe Advanced to next round – Darlington win)
- Kyle Larson (+60)
- Bubba Wallace (+50)
- Ryan Blaney (+42)
- William Byron (+39)
- Tyler Reddick (+37)
- Christopher Bell (+32)
- Chase Elliott (+28)
- Joey Logano (+21)
- Ross Chastain (+19)
- Austin Cindric (+11)
- Austin Dillon (-11)
- Shane van Gisbergen (-15)
- Alex Bowman (-35)
- Josh Berry (-45)
From the Driver’s Seat
“Bristol’s one of my favorite tracks, if not my favorite. I love going there, it’s obviously a great place,” said Kyle Busch.
“It reminds me of the local short track atmosphere that you get on Saturday nights, growing up racing late models and things like that. It’s a lot of fun, I love the banking, I love the concrete and just the nature of that place. It’s gotten a little bit tougher over the years to be as good as I once was there. Everybody’s kind of picked up on it.
“It’s definitely one of the coolest tracks that we get a chance to go run on. And obviously, the speed that you carry there and the close nature to action, whether you run the bottom or whether you run the top, there’s just a lot of options.”
Last Time at Bristol
It’s Kyle Larson’s world at Bristol and we’re just living in it.
For the second straight race in the East Tennessee hills, the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has been unstoppable. After leading 462 of 500 laps last fall to score his second win in the Bristol Night Race, Larson came into the spring race, looking to repeat the feat and had an even better reason to go out and try and pull it off.
After the untimely passing of his longtime PR rep Jon Edwards ahead of the Bristol race, Larson kicked off the weekend by winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series race and rolled right into Sunday, carrying that momentum back to Victory Lane for the second day in a row to sweep the weekend.
Larson would sweep both stages, ultimately leading 411 laps on the day to earn himself another Bristol gladiator sword trophy, to which he dedicated to Edwards.
“This one is definitely for Jon. He is just a great guy here, so we’re going to miss him, but successful weekend here. Wish he was going to be here with us to celebrate, but I know he’s celebrating with us in spirit,” said Larson.
“Yeah, just a flawless race once again here at Bristol for the 5 team. Really, really good car. That was a lot of fun. You know, however many laps of green we ran, there was a lot of fun. I was pretty comfortable with things. Then Denny came on really strong there before the pit cycle, and then, yeah, just kind of kept the pressure on from there.
“I knew I had to make some good moves in traffic. Felt like I did a pretty good job there in traffic. Split the middle sometimes when I needed to. So, yeah, just a lot of fun. A little bit out of breath. Just so high-paced here, and heart rate is up.
“So really cool. Thanks to Hendrickcars.com, Chevy, Prime, Valvoline, this whole team. You know, the pit crew, this is their first win with the 5 team. It’s going to be fun celebrating with them.
Yeah, good to be back at victory lane.”
Denny Hamlin would finish the day in second place, followed by Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, A.J. Allmendinger, and Austin Dillon.
Weekend Schedule (All Times Eastern)
Friday, September 12
- NASCAR Cup Series Practice (4:30 pm – Tru TV)
- NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying (5:40 pm – Tru TV)
Saturday, September 13
- Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol (7:30 pm – 500 laps, 266.5 miles – USA Network)
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