Weekend Primer: Bass Pro Shops Night Race

It’s Bristol, baby.

Less than one week removed from the Watkins Glen International thriller between Chris Buescher and Shane van Gisbergen, the Cup Series field is heading to Bristol Motor Speedway for a Saturday night showdown under the lights.

There are 500 laps and 2,000 turns to decide which drivers make the Round of 12, which drivers get eliminated and which lucky driver gets to raise the winning sword.

Weekend Primer has everything you need to know heading into this “weekend’s” Cup, Xfinity and Craftsman Truck series races at the Last Great Colosseum, with entry lists, TV schedules, up-to-date points standings and individual driver statistics in past Bristol races.

Round of 16 Standings (2 Races Until Elimination)

Rank	Driver	Points	Cut line
1	Joey Logano	2084	WIN
2	Christopher Bell	2089	+46
3	Austin Cindric	2086	+43
4	Alex Bowman	2084	+41
5	Daniel Suarez	2079	+36
6	Tyler Reddick	2073	+30
7	Chase Elliott	2073	+30
8	Ryan Blaney	2072	+29
9	Kyle Larson	2069	+26
10	William Byron	2068	+25
11	Chase Briscoe	2049	+6
12	Ty Gibbs	2049	+6
13	Denny Hamlin	2043	-6
14	Brad Keselowski	2037	-12
15	Martin Truex Jr.	2035	-14
16	Harrison Burton	2029	-20

Best of the Rest

Rank	Driver	Points	Difference
17	Ross Chastain	739
18	Chris Buescher	731	-8
19	Bubba Wallace	697	-42
20	Kyle Busch	624	-115

Quick Track Facts: Bristol

Built: 1961

First Cup race: 1961

Last Reconfigured: 2007 (progressive banking removed in 2012, traction compounds in use since 2016)

Length: 0.533 miles

Banking: 24-28 degrees (turns), 5-9 degrees (frontstretch), 4-8 degrees (backstretch)

Pit road speed limit: 30 mph

Bristol By the Numbers

Defending Winner: Denny Hamlin

Defending Spring Winner: Denny Hamlin

Most Wins (active drivers): Kyle Busch (8)

Most Top Fives: Kyle Busch (14)

Most Top 10s: Kyle Busch (19)

Most Poles: Denny Hamlin (4)

Most Laps Led: Kyle Busch (2,598)

Most Laps Led, Non-Winner: Ryan Blaney (507)

Best Average Finish (min. 5 starts): Chase Elliott (14 starts, 11.6) & Kyle Larson (16 starts, 11.6)

Bristol (pavement) winners in the field: Kyle Busch (8), Denny Hamlin (4), Brad Keselowski (3), Joey Logano (2), Kyle Larson (1), Chris Buescher (1)

Playoff Driver Statistics at Bristol

Xfinity Series

Defending Race Winner: Justin Allgaier

Regular Season Standings (1 Race to Go):

• Justin Allgaier
• Cole Custer (-43)

Playoff Cut Line (1 Race to Go):

• Parker Kligerman (+85)
• Sammy Smith (+43)
• Ryan Sieg (-43)

Notable News: 

• At Watkins Glen, Connor Zilisch became just the seventh driver to win his Xfinity debut and the second to ever do so with no prior Cup experience. He also won the pole and led 45 of the race’s 90 laps, and at the age of 18 years, 1 month and 23 days, Zilisch became the second-youngest winner in series history behind Joey Logano.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. will make his highly-anticipated return to the Xfinity Series at Bristol, attempting to make his first start of the season in JR Motorsports’ No. 88 Chevy. Earnhardt ran two Xfinity races last season, with a best finish of fifth at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He also raced, led 47 laps and was in contention to win at Bristol a year ago until an in-car fire ended his night.
• Bristol will mark the first Xfinity race televised by the CW.

Truck Series

Defending Race Winner: Corey Heim

Defending Spring Winner: Christian Eckes

Playoff Standings (2 Races Before Elimination)

• Christian Eckes (+60)
• Ty Majeski (+44)
• Corey Heim (+41)
• Nick Sanchez (+34)
• Taylor Gray (+13)
• Tyler Ankrum (+13)
• Daniel Dye (+9)
• Grant Enfinger (+2)
• Ben Rhodes (-2)
• Rajah Caruth (-4)

Notable News: 

• Corey Day, an 18-year-old sprint car racing phenom, will have four Truck starts with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing this season starting at Bristol. Day will drive the No. 81 truck at Bristol and Martinsville Speedway and the No. 91 truck at Kansas Speedway and Homestead. This weekend’s race at Bristol will also mark the first time that MHR has fielded five trucks in a single race.

Entry Lists

Cup: 37 entries, 40 spots

Notables: Kaz Grala (RWR No. 15), AJ Allmendinger (Kaulig No. 16), Josh Bilicki (MBM No. 66)*

* Unchartered car

Xfinity: 39 entries, 38 spots

Cup Drivers: None

Other Notables: Logan Bearden (AMR No. 15), Joe Graf Jr. (JGR No. 19), Ryan Truex (JGR No. 20), Jeffrey Earnhardt (SHR No. 26), Austin Green (JAR No. 32), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (JRM No. 88)

Truck: 38 entries, 36 spots

Cup Drivers: None (Playoff Race)

Other Notables: Marco Andretti (Roper No. 04), Connor Zilisch (Spire No. 7), Connor Mosack (Niece No. 41), Bayley Currey (Niece No. 44), Kayden Honeycutt (Niece No. 45), Conner Jones (ThorSport No. 66), Corey Day (MHR No. 81)

Where to Watch

Thursday, Sept. 19

3 p.m. ET — Truck Practice (FS2)

3:35 p.m. ET — Truck Qualifying (FS2)

8 p.m. ET – Truck Series UNOH 200 (200 laps, 106.6 miles) (FS1)

Friday, Sept. 20

2 p.m. ET — Xfinity Practice (USA Network)

2:40 p.m. ET — Xfinity Qualifying (USA Network)

4 p.m. ET — Cup Practice (USA Network)

5:05 p.m. ET — Cup Qualifying (USA Network)

7:30 p.m. ET — Xfinity Series Food City 300 (300 laps, 159.9 miles) (the CW)

Saturday, Sept. 21

7:30 p.m. ET — Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race (500 laps, 266.5 miles) (USA Network)

Looking Ahead to Next Season

• On Wednesday, Sept. 18, it was announced that Bubba Wallace had signed a multi-year extension with 23XI Racing, which will keep him with the team through at least 2026. Wallace has two wins with the team, most recently at Kansas Speedway in 2022, and he qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 2023. The deal comes in the midst of uncertainty, as 23XI is one of two teams that have yet to sign NASCAR’s charter deal that would last until the expiration of the next TV deal in 2031.
• It was also announced on Sept. 18 that Nick Sanchez will be promoted to Xfinity for 2025 and replace the departing Parker Kligerman in Big Machine Racing’s No. 48 car. Sanchez has two wins with Rev Racing in the Truck Series this season, and he previously made part-time Xfinity starts with BMR in 2022, with a best finish of seventh at Martinsville.