NASCAR

NASCAR at Bristol: Schedule, watch info, picks for Bass Pro Shops Night Race

Four drivers will be eliminated from championship contention on Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.

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It’s elimination time in the NASCAR playoffs.

The Round of 16 will conclude this weekend with the famed Bristol Night Race, where four drivers will be eliminated from championship contention and 12 will keep their title hopes alive.

Bristol Motor Speedway, a high-banked half-mile short track in Tennessee, has played host to a summer night race each year since 1978. It’s a race that every driver wants to win, and the playoff implications have only raised the stakes in recent seasons.

So, who is racing at Bristol? What’s the schedule for TV and streaming? And what drivers could contend for the win? Here’s everything you need to know for the 2024 Bass Pro Shops Night Race:

When is the NASCAR race in Bristol?

The Bass Pro Shops Night Race is set for Saturday, Sept. 21 at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

Before the 500-lap race on Saturday, there will be practice and qualifying sessions. All 37 drivers will partake in a 45-minute practice before being split into two groups (found here) for two-round qualifying. Here’s how it works:

  • Each driver will make two laps in the first round, with the five fastest drivers in each group advancing.
  • In the final round, the remaining drivers each get two laps to set the top 10 starting order. The fastest driver overall will start on the pole, and the fastest driver in the other group will start second.
  • Positions 3 through 10 are set on final round times – Group A filling the even-numbered positions (4th, 6th, 8th, 10th), Group B filling the odd-numbered positions (3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th).
  • Positions 11 through 37 are set based on first round times – Group A filling the even-numbered positions, Group B filling the odd-numbered positions.

What is the NASCAR TV schedule this weekend?

Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Jeff Burton (analyst) and Steve Letarte (analyst) will be on the call for NBC Sports all weekend. Here’s the full TV and streaming schedule:

Friday, Sept. 20 (USA Network and streaming)

Saturday, Sept. 21 (USA Network and streaming)

NASCAR Bristol entry list, drivers

Thirty-seven drivers will race at Bristol – the 34 full-timers, plus three others.

A.J. Allmendinger and Kaz Grala will continue their part-time schedules for Kaulig Racing and Rick Ware Racing, respectively. Elsewhere, Josh Bilicki will make his second start of the season for MBM Motorsports after finishing 28th in the Chicago Street Race.

Here’s the full entry list for Bristol:

Car numberDriverTeamSponsor
1Ross ChastainTrackhouse RacingWorldwide Express
2Austin CindricTeam PenskeMenards
3Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingBass Pro Shops
4Josh BerryStewart-Haas RacingBed Bath & Beyond
5Kyle LarsonHendrick MotorsportsHendrickCars.com
6Brad KeselowskiRFK RacingCastrol
7Corey LaJoieSpire MotorsportsMattress Warehouse
8Kyle BuschRichard Childress RacingCheddar's
9Chase ElliottHendrick MotorsportsLLumar
10Noah GragsonStewart-Haas RacingBass Pro Shops
11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingFedEx
12Ryan BlaneyTeam PenskeWurth
14Chase BriscoeStewart-Haas RacingRush Truck Centers
15Kaz GralaRick Ware RacingMeat N' Bone
16A.J. AllmendingerKaulig RacingBarger Precast
17Chris BuescherRFK RacingFastenal
19Martin Truex Jr.Joe Gibbs RacingBass Pro Shops
20Christopher BellJoe Gibbs RacingDeWalt
21Harrison BurtonWood Brothers RacingMotorcraft
22Joey LoganoTeam PenskeShell/Pennzoil
23Bubba Wallace23XI RacingToyota/Mobil 1
24William ByronHendrick MotorsportsZ by HP
31Daniel HemricKaulig RacingDoritos/Mtn Dew
34Michael McDowellFront Row MotorsportsLove's Travel Stops
38Todd GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFrontline Enterprises
41Ryan PreeceStewart-Haas RacingOld Armor
42John Hunter NemechekLegacy Motor ClubPye-Barker
43Erik JonesLegacy Motor ClubDollar Tree
45Tyler Reddick23XI RacingMcDonald's
47Ricky Stenhouse Jr.JTG Daugherty RacingKroger
48Alex BowmanHendrick MotorsportsAlly
51Justin HaleyRick Ware RacingPinnacle
54Ty GibbsJoe Gibbs RacingHe Gets Us
66Josh BilickiMBM MotorsportsArby's
71Zane SmithSpire MotorsportsAmbetter Health
77Carson HocevarSpire MotorsportsDelaware Life
99Daniel SuarezTrackhouse RacingFreeway Insurance
2024 Bass Pro Shops Night Race entry list

Bristol Night Race predictions, picks, favorites

Busch has the most wins among active drivers, but Hamlin is considered the man to beat heading into Saturday. The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran has won the last two races at Bristol, with over 140 laps led in each event.

Beyond Hamlin, many of the other playoff drivers are set up for success at Bristol. Larson leads all drivers with an 11.6 average finish in 16 Bristol starts, with five straight top-six finishes dating back to 2019. He’s finished in the top 10 in nine of his last 10 Bristol starts.

Elliott, Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, also has an 11.6 average finish in 14 Bristol starts, but he’s yet to win at the track. He was victorious in the exhibition All-Star Race at Bristol in 2020, though, and he has three straight top-10s.

Hamlin’s three teammates also expect to contend for the win on Saturday. Bell has a 13.8 average finish and three straight top-10s at Bristol, Truex was second behind Hamlin in the spring race and Gibbs has led over 100 laps in each of the last two Bristol races.

Aside from the powerhouse Hendrick and Gibbs drivers, last week’s winner Buescher is typically a contender in Tennessee. He has three straight top-10s, including a victory in the 2022 Night Race. Keselowski, his RFK Racing teammate, was third in the spring.

Some longshots to monitor are Jones and Stenhouse, who both have four career top-fives at Bristol.

NASCAR Bristol winners list, race history

Six of the 37 drivers in the field are past winners at Bristol, including four with multiple victories.

Busch is one of the best drivers that Bristol has ever seen, with eight victories in his 35 starts. Then there’s Hamlin with four wins, Keselowski with three wins and Logano with two wins. Larson (2021) and Buescher (2022) have each won once at Bristol.

NASCAR playoff standings, clinching scenarios for Bristol

With just one race left in the Round of 16, the playoff picture is becoming clearer. Joey Logano, by virtue of his win in Atlanta, is the only driver locked into the Round of 12. Many others are in ideal positions based on points, while some are facing an uphill climb.

Here’s the playoff standings entering Bristol, with the bottom four winless drivers set to be eliminated:

RankDriverPoints
1.Christopher Bell2,089
2.Austin Cindric2,086
3.Joey Logano2,084
4.Alex Bowman2,084
5.Daniel Suarez2,079
6.Tyler Reddick2,073
7.Chase Elliott2,073
8.Ryan Blaney2,072
9.Kyle Larson2,069
10.William Byron2,068
11.Chase Briscoe2,049
12.Ty Gibbs2,049
13.Denny Hamlin2,043
14.Brad Keselowski2,037
15.Martin Truex Jr.2,035
16.Harrison Burton2,029

No matter what anyone else does, these drivers can automatically clinch a spot in the Round of 12 with the following finishes or points:

  • Bell: 23rd, or 14 points
  • Cindric: 20th, or 17 points
  • Bowman: 18th, or 19 points
  • Suarez: 14th, or 23 points
  • Reddick: 7th, or 30 points
  • Elliott: 7th, or 30 points
  • Blaney: 6th, or 31 points
  • Larson: 3rd, or 34 points
  • Byron: 2nd, or 35 points
  • Briscoe: 54 points
  • Gibbs: 54 points

You can find a full explanation of NASCAR’s playoff format right here.

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