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Everything to Know about NASCAR’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol: Schedule, How to Watch
The night race at Bristol is the final Round of 16 event before four contenders see their playoff hopes comes to a screeching halt.
Before Bristol’s historic and fan favorite NASCAR Cup Series night race kicks off, it’s important to take a look at what ensued last weekend because it was a doozy. Denny Hamlin faltered, Chase Briscoe capitalized and an infuriated Ryan Blaney lambasted the league. If you’re a fan of hard-fought racing, the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Watkins Glen in upstate New York was one not to miss.
The high-octane action of the Go Bowling at the Glen didn’t take long to get under way as everything descended into chaos on literally on Lap 1. Hamlin, Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell were all collected in a massive incident in an area of the track known as the Bus Stop. It’s tight quarters racing at its best, leaving little chance of drivers effectively skirting to safety through a bottleneck that’s three cars wide. Once that happened, a premature track departure for multiple elites was inevitable, resulting in only two from the postseason landing in the top-10.
RELATED: Where to Watch the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs
Clipping several title hopefuls at the knees so early in the event created openings for new drivers to emerge as the race went on to feature a hectic 92-lap overtime contest that saw Chris Buescher beat out Shane van Gisbergen in the final exhilarating moments of OT.
Though a modicum of madness was expected on the seven-turn, 2.45-mile road course, no one foresaw Watkins Glen International’s Cup Series playoff debut primed to detonate this year’s playoff standings to extent that it did, but between the track’s “esses” and the new tires, the New York-based race truly showed that no driver, no matter how successful he’s been this year or in years past, is ever infallible when it comes to the Cup Series Playoffs.
Now, as NASCAR’s top flight action shifts back into gear this Saturday, here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol – a short oval with a penchant for delivering its own brand of fireworks.
Location
The Bass Pro Shops Night Race will be held on Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. The race marks the 127th time that Bristol Motor Speedway’s half-mile oval has hosted a NASCAR Cup Series race.
When is NASCAR's Bass Pro Shops Night Race?
The Bass Pro Shops Night Race takes place Saturday, September 21, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Prior to the Cup Series race on Saturday, the historic Tennessee track will host the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, the Food City 300, on Friday, September 20 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Where to watch the Bass Pro Shops Night Race
Unable to attend the race in person at the iconic Tennessee venue? Don’t sweat it because you can watch the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol live broadcast on USA Network as well as the earlier qualifying heats.
Key Storylines
The shakeup in the NASCAR Cup Series standings after last week’s Go Bowling at The Glen is clear as the elite wheelmen prepare for the third and final leg in the Round of 16.
All Four Hendrick Motorsports Drivers Are Safe
While Hendrick Motorsports didn’t exactly repeat its legacy of success at Watkins Glen, all four drivers on the juggernaut of a team – Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron and Alex Bowman – are positioned well above the cutoff line as they prepare for the Bristol night race. Larson finished second there last year, so expect Yung Money to come out blazing with the pedal to metal.
Ryan Blaney’s Shrinking Chance to Repeat
After Blaney was caught up in the melee on Lap 1 at the Glen, we later learned a broken steering arm crippled his car, but that wasn’t the main part of what angered last year’s Cup Series champion. According to the defending champ, that honor goes to the league for not allowing the Team Penske wheelman a chance to fix the problem.
"They [NASCAR officials] have no idea the damage,” said Blaney, per Newsweek. “They said because I couldn't drive it back to the pit box we're done. But if you have four flats, you get towed back to the pit box, you can't drive it back. So, I don't know what's going on, why they won't even give us a shot to work on it, but I don't agree with it.”
"I don't know if we could have fixed it, but that's the frustrating part – just don't even give us a chance, you just end our day, and you're not letting us get to look at it before it's in the garage? That just stinks."
23XI Racing: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Michael Jordan has a lot to be thankful for when it comes to where his 23XI Cup Series team stands, thanks solely to Tyler Reddick, who continues to elevate himself amongst his peers. Reddick’s 11 top-five finishes and 19 top-10 finishes are the most on the series, per NBC Sports. That said, Bristol’s concrete hasn’t been kind to Reddick, relegating him to a lackluster best finish of 15th in three events. Though he's not competing in the playoffs, MJ’s other driver, Bubba Wallace, has fared even worse, capturing just one top-10 finish through 10 races on Bristol’s concrete.
A Denny Downer
Sitting six points below the cutoff line, Denny Hamlin might not be the only veteran on the verge of being sent home early after the culmination of the Round of 16, but his situation might be the most heartbreaking.
Sure, Martin Truex Jr. is retiring, so we’d like to see him go out on somewhat of a proverbial high note, but he hasn’t had the juice all year long. Hamlin has. Including his three wins, per Driver Averages, he has 10 top-five finishes and very well could have had a handful of other victories as he finished second four times this year (North Wilkesboro, Gateway, Pocono and Richmond). Hamlin faces a near must-win situation as he prepares for the acclaimed night race, but that might not be the end of the world. Having won there last year, he currently has the best odds to win.
Austin Cindric’s Rise
Whether these are the first building blocks of an unlikely hero or just the luck of the draw, few could’ve seen Austin Cindric coming out of Watkins Glen as the big winner… even though he didn’t win.
While he placed sixth, Cindric was the best of all playoff contenders, earning him the biggest gains. The Team Penske driver not named Blaney or Joey Logano catapulted through the standings, coming in at just three points behind Bell in first with +46 points over the cut. Watch out for the dark horse in the Dark Horse (Mustang)!
Brad Keselowski’s Last Chance
Owning the longest losing streak among active NASCAR Cup Series winners at 102 races, it’s make it or break it time for driver-owner Brad Keselowski. He’s currently on the chopping block, sitting six points below Hamlin at -12, but Keselowski can turn it all around with a win on a track he’s found success on in the past. Like Kyle Busch and Hamlin, he’s one of three active drivers who have three wins at Bristol.
Playoff Standings
If you thought that just because Chris Buescher, a non-playoff competing driver, won the Go Bowling at The Glen there wouldn’t be much shakeup in the playoff standings, think again. Joey Logano’s thrilling overtime victory in Atlanta two weeks ago secured his ticket into the Round of 12 but, as we move one step closer to the next round, some unlikely contenders have emerged while multiple elite veterans now find themselves of the precipice of going home early.
After the first two races, here is the current breakdown of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs standings.
- Joey Logano, +0, Advanced
- Christopher Bell, +46
- Austin Cindric, +43
- Alex Bowman, +41
- Daniel Suárez, +36
- Tyler Reddick, +30
- Chase Elliott, +30
- Ryan Blaney, +29
- Kyle Larson, +26
- William Byron, +25
- Chase Briscoe, +6
- Ty Gibbs, +6
ON THE BUBBLE - Denny Hamlin, -6
- Brad Keselowski, -12
- Martin Truex Jr., -14
- Harrison Burton, -20
