The NASCAR Cup Series concludes the Round of 16 with the annual night race at Bristol.
Only Christopher Bell is locked into the next round, and that’s only by points. The first two playoff races were won by non-playoff drivers (Erik Jones at Darlington, Bubba Wallace at Kansas).
Kevin Harvick’s two DNFs have left him 35 points behind the cutoff point. Harvick, though, nearly won last year’s race at Bristol in a race that started a fall feud with Chase Elliott. Otherwise, the points are fairly condensed. Six drivers around the bubble are within 15 points of one another. Four drivers will be eliminated from championship contention.
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Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s race:
NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol schedule
Green Flag Time: 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (0.533 mile oval) in Bristol, Tennessee
Length: 500 laps, 266.5 miles
Stages: 125 laps, 125 laps, 250 laps
TV coverage: USA Network
Radio: PRN (102.5-FM in Nashville)
Streaming: NBC Sports app (subscriptions required); GoPRN.com and SiriusXM for audio (subscription required)
Practice and qualifying: 3:30 p.m. CT Friday practice, 4:20 p.m. Friday qualifying on USA Network
Bass Pro Shops Night Race entry list
- Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
- Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
- Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
- Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
- Corey Lajoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
- Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Aric Almirola, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
- Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Garrett Smithley, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet
- AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
- Chris Buescher, No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
- Kyle Busch, No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
- Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
- William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Justin Haley, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
- Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
- Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
- Cole Custer, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Ty Dillon, No. 42 Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet
- Erik Jones, No. 43 Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet
- Ty Gibbs, No. 45 23XI Racing Chevrolet
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet
- Landon Cassill, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
- BJ McLeod, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Ford
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
NASCAR Cup Series playoff points standings before Bristol
Round of 16 ends after Saturday’s race; 12 drives advance to next round
1. Christopher Bell, +58 ahead of 13th place (Bell locked into next round)
2. William Byron, +48
3. Denny Hamlin, +47
4. Joey Logano, +40
5. Ryan Blaney, +36
6. Alex Bowman, +30
7. Chase Elliott, +28
8. Kyle Larson, +27
9. Ross Chastain, +26
10. Daniel Suarez, +6
11. Tyler Reddick, +2
12. Austin Cindric, +2
—————-
13. Kyle Busch, -2 points behind 12th place
14. Austin Dillon, -3
15. Chase Briscoe, -9
16. Kevin Harvick, -35