Next Race: Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race The Place: Bristol Motor Speedway The Date: Saturday, August 18 The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET TV: NBCSN, 6:30 p.m. ET Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 266.5 miles (500 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 125), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 250), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 500) Putting it Together No doubt Kevin Harvick is hopeful the good vibes he got in winning last weekend at Michigan will make a difference at the always-tough Bristol Motor Speedway half-miler this Saturday night. There are good indicators for the seven-time 2018 winner Harvick entering the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). He has only two wins at the half-mile track, but the last came in the 2016 night race – and he won after qualifying 24th, the farthest back a winner had come since Dale Earnhardt Jr. won after qualifying 30th. Harvick’s seventh season win on Sunday is also a good indicator of his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford team’s preparedness. Twice already in 2018 he’s put together consecutive wins. He won three straight very early in the season (at Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Phoenix) and answered with consecutive trophies at Dover and Kansas. He’s won two of the last four races leading into Bristol – at New Hampshire and Michigan. Bristol Royalty There’s no one more confident when they arrive at the Bristol half-mile bullring than championship points leader and six-time 2018 race winner Kyle Busch. The 2015 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champ has seven wins here – most among active drivers – including the last two races. He won this race last year from the Busch Pole position. In fact, he swept the entire NASCAR trifecta weekend – winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Xfinity Series and Monster Energy Series race. In all, he has seven Cup wins, nine Xfinity Series wins and five Truck Series victories at Bristol, and has really shown a propensity to get on hot streaks. In the Monster Energy Series alone, he won back-to-back races in 2009 (season sweep), 2010-11 and 2017-18. He won three straight races – TWICE – in the Xfinity Series (2010-11 and in 2013-14). Busch has led 529 laps in just the last five Cup races alone. Busch arrives at Bristol with top-five finishes in nine of the last 10 races – including a third-place at Michigan last week in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. His last win was at Pocono three weeks ago. Truex’s Achilles Heel While his fellow competitors among the sport’s “Big 3” may be extremely confident about racing at Bristol, reigning Monster Energy Series champion Martin Truex Jr. may be a little less so. Of all the venues on the Cup schedule, statistically speaking, only the two restrictor plate tracks in Daytona Beach and Talladega, Alabama, have confounded Truex more than the half-mile Bristol “bullring.” His average finish there is 20.7. He is still looking for his first win in 25 starts and he has only one top-10 in the last seven years – an eighth place in last year’s August Playoff race. He was strong in that race – leading 116 laps – more than half his career total laps led (230) at the track. He crashed at Bristol this spring, however, and finished 30th. The good news is that Truex would appear “next up” on the Big 3 circle of winning. Busch and Harvick have won three of the last four races. Truex’ best showing in that span is a runner-up at Watkins Glen. Big Brother Kyle Busch may certainly be setting records at Bristol, but his older brother Kurt has proven to be formidable there as well. In fact, the only active Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver with more wins than Kurt (five) is his brother. He has 10 top-five and 17 top-10s at Bristol – his top-10 total third-best among those racing this weekend. Busch would certainly love to find that groove again. He’s had only five top-10 finishes in the last 15 Bristol races, however, he shows up there this weekend in the midst of positive momentum. Busch has five top-10s in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford in the last five races – and won the pole position at New Hampshire last month. He’s led 150 laps during that five-race span – a third of his season total. Don’t Count Out Stenhouse Ricky Stenhouse Jr. currently sits in 17th place in the driver standings – one position below the 16-driver Playoff cutoff. However, the 30-year-old driver of the No. 17 Roush-Fenway Racing Ford will certainly be looking to “win” his way into the postseason this weekend at Bristol. It is Stenhouse’s best track statistically and at this point with only three regular season races remaining, his brightest hope in advancing to the postseason. Stenhouse has six top-10 finishes in 11 starts at Bristol and his average finish of 10.18 is his best mark at any track on the Monster Energy Series schedule. Twice he has finished runner-up at Bristol – in March, 2014 and most recently, August, 2016. Looking to Get Back to the Lead Ryan Blaney looked well on his way to contending for the Cup Series victory in April at Bristol Motor Speedway, but the popular Team Penske driver was collected in a six-car accident while leading the race and was scored 35th. Blaney, who has won at Bristol in both the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series, led 100 laps in the spring race and his No. 12 Team Penske Ford was out front when he was caught in a multi-car accident as he was approaching cars on the end of the lead lap. “It’s obviously frustrating when lapped cars wreck and take the leader out. That’s unfortunate,” Blaney said after being checked out at the infield care center. “That stinks. I thought we had a good car and nothing to show for it.” Blaney has one top-10 (summer, 2017) in six Bristol Monster Energy Series races. He’s ranked eighth in the points standings with three top-10s in the last five races including a season-best runner-up at Kentucky Speedway last month. Tale of the Tape The Sunoco Rookie of the Year race remains interesting as it features two talented and highly-regarded young drivers in 24-year old Bubba Wallace and 20-year old William Byron. Both brought impressive resumes into NASCAR’s major leagues and both have fared well making their way through a highly competitive season. Byron, who drives the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, is ranked 21st in the standings – with an 83-point edge over 25th place Wallace. Byron had a pair of consecutive top-10 finishes (at Pocono and Watkins Glen) snapped Sunday in Michigan with a 36th-place finish. His history at Bristol includes a fourth-place finish in the 2016 Camping World Truck Series race. He did not have a top-10 in the Xfinity Series there last year and was 18th in the April Monster Energy Series race. Wallace, driver of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet, finished 16th in the April race at Bristol – leading six laps, the most so far in a single race for him. His history would suggest the track may be one of his better venues. He had a seventh-place in the 2016 Xfinity Series race there and a runner-up finish to Brad Keselowski in the 2014 truck race there. He is looking for his first top-20 finish since a 14th-place finish in the Daytona night race, six weeks ago. Pushing for the Playoffs With just three races remaining in the regular season, and only eight drivers locked in on wins, the pressure is on this weekend in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) to get to Victory Lane for the chance at postseason glory. Here’s a look at active, championship-contending drivers who have wins at upcoming tracks but have yet to visit Victory Lane in 2018: Bristol: Ku. Busch, Hamlin, Johnson, Kahne, Keselowski Darlington: Hamlin, Johnson Indianapolis: Kahne, Johnson, Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard, Newman Next Race: Food City 300 The Place: Bristol Motor Speedway The Date: Friday, August 17 The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET TV: NBCSN, 7 p.m. ET Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 159.9 miles (300 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 85), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 170), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 300) Throw A Blanket Over The Top Five Five races remain in the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season and the top five in the championship standings are all within 20 points of the standings lead (and second through fifth are within three points of each other) with a solid shot to steal the regular season championship and the 15 bonus Playoff points that come with it. Below is a look at the top five in points as they head to Bristol Motor Speedway this week for the Food City 300 on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET (on NBCSN, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Christopher Bell (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) currently holds the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship standings lead by 17 points over Elliott Sadler and Daniel Hemric. In 21 starts this season, Bell has been electric, posting four wins (Richmond, Kentucky, New Hampshire and Iowa-2), 12 top fives and 13 top 10s. His rookie season accolades don’t stop there, he has also posted three poles and an average finish of 9.9. On top of all that, he has accumulated the series-most Playoff points to take into the postseason with 24. The youngster from Oklahoma will be looking to rebound this weekend because his series debut at Bristol did not go as planned earlier this season; the rookie sensation was caught in an incident about halfway through the race that relegated him to a 29th-place finish. Elliott Sadler (No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet) moved up to second in the series points standings following Mid-Ohio. Sadler won last season’s regular season championship and has made it a point of focus to do it again this year. Only 17 points separate Sadler and the standings lead after he has posted 10 top fives, 17 top 10s and an average finish of 8.0 in 21 starts this season. Bristol has been one of Sadler’s best tracks, in 23 series starts he has tallied two wins, nine top fives, 12 top 10s and an average finish of 14.3. Don’t be surprised if he is vying for the lead Friday night because he hasn’t finished worse than fourth in his last three starts at Bristol. Daniel Hemric (No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet) sits in third although he is tied with Elliot Sadler in points, as Sadler holds the tiebreaker. Hemric has positioned himself to make a run at the regular season title with five races to go. Hemric has posted 10 top fives and 14 top 10s in 21 starts this season. His average finish this season has been a career-best 8.9. Bristol is one of his best tracks and Hemric has a strong chance this weekend to drive to Victory Lane and make some moves in the standings. In three starts on the famous half-mile speedway Hemric has posted two top fives, three top 10s and an average finish of 5.0 – including a third-place finish here in the spring. Cole Custer (No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford) resides in fourth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship standings following Mid-Ohio just 19 points behind Christopher Bell in the standings lead. Custer, the California kid, is close to grabbing his first regular season championship. In 21 starts this year, Custer has posted seven top fives, 17 top 10s and an average finish of 9.2. Custer has made three starts at Bristol, recording two top 10s and he started from the pole earlier this season. Justin Allgaier (No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet) jumped back into contention for the Xfinity Series regular season championship with his big win last weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – his third of the season (Dover-1, Iowa-1, Mid-Ohio). Allgaier is only 20 points back from the standings lead with five races left in the regular season. In 21 starts this year, he has posted a career-best three wins, 11 top fives, 16 top 10s and an average finish of 10.0. Allgaier is one of six drivers in the NASCAR Xfinity Series to post his first series career win at the famous half-mile when he grabbed the checkered back in 2010. Allgaier has made 15 series starts at Bristol, putting together one win, seven top fives, nine top 10s and an average finish of 11.5. Plus, he finished runner-up earlier this season in the Bristol spring race. Annett On The Outside Looking In JR Motorsport’s driver Michael Annett is currently 13th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship standings, the first spot outside the Playoff cutoff, 49 points behind JD Motorsports’ driver Ross Chastain in 12th. With just five races left in the regular season (Bristol, Road America, Darlington, Indianapolis and Las Vegas) time is of the essence to secure a spot in the postseason. Annett will have to claw for each point as Ross Chastain will most certainly be trying to keep his points cushion intact and hold on to the final Playoff spot. Bristol is one of Chastain’s better tracks, in his past two starts at the half-mile speedway he has finished inside the top-15; including a career track-best of ninth place earlier this season. Annett has made 12 series starts at Bristol, posting four top 10s and an average finish of 14.1. In 21 starts this season he has an average finish of 18.5. Joe Gibbs Racing Brings The Lightning To Thunder Valley Joe Gibbs Racing has dominated Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series over the last eight and a half years, winning 12 of the last 16 series races at the world’s fastest half-mile – that’s a winning percentage of 75%. Last season, Joe Gibbs Racing swept both Xfinity Series Bristol races with Erik Jones taking the checkered in the spring and Kyle Busch hoisting the trophy in the fall, then Ryan Preece kept the streak going earlier this season with a win in the spring race. This weekend, Joe Gibbs Racing unleashes Kyle Busch back on the series. The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ winningest driver will be in the No. 18 Toyota going for his 10th victory at Bristol. If he accomplishes the feat Bristol, will join IMS Raceway (Phoenix) as the second track he has posted double-digit wins at on the schedule. In 25 series starts at Bristol, Busch has recorded nine wins (2006, 2010, 2011 sweep, 2013 sweep, 2014 spring, 2015 fall, 2017 fall) 17 top fives, 20 top 10s and an average finish of 8.0. Busch won this race last season from the pole. Busch’s teammate Brandon Jones is still looking for his first win of the season and Bristol is the perfect stage to accomplish his goal. Jones is sixth in the series standings following Mid-Ohio with two top fives and nine top 10s this season. Jones has made six series starts at Bristol posting two top 10s; including a sixth-place finish earlier this season. JGR’s rookie standout Christopher Bell will be arriving at Bristol this weekend with a mission to hold on to the series standings lead and the best way to do that is to win. Bell struggled in his series debut at Bristol earlier this season, finishing 29th after being caught in an incident. Xfinity Series’ Different Winners List Could Blossom At Bristol Through 21 races this season the NASCAR Xfinity Series has produced 12 different winners. Since the inception of the series in 1982 (36+ seasons) there have been 22 seasons (61%) with 12 or more winners in the first 21 races of the year. This season’s winners include Tyler Reddick (Daytona-1), Kevin Harvick (Atlanta), Kyle Larson (Las Vegas, Chicago, Daytona-2), Brad Keselowski (Phoenix and Charlotte), Joey Logano (California and Watkins Glen), Ryan Blaney (Texas), Ryan Preece (Bristol-1), Christopher Bell (Richmond, Kentucky, New Hampshire and Iowa-2), Spencer Gallagher (Talladega), Kyle Busch (Pocono) and Austin Dillon (Michigan). The record for the highest number of different winners through the first 21 races NASCAR Xfinity Series season was 16 different winners back in 1988. The 1988 and 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series seasons are tied for the series-most different winners for the entire season with 18 each. Milestones Kyle Busch will make his 975th NASCAR national series combined start (MENCS 485, NXS 344, NCWTS 145) this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch is currently 10th on the all-time NASCAR national series combined start list; 10 starts behind ninth-place Ken Schrader with 984. Monsters In Xfinity Several big name stars from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be competing in Friday night’s Food City 300 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Fans should be on the look-out for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch in No. 18 Toyota, Richard Childress Racing’s Ty Dillon in the No. 3 Chevrolet, Team Penske’s Joey Logano in the No. 22 Ford, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson will be back in the No. 42 Chevrolet and last but not least Hendrick Motorsport’s Chase Elliott will be in the No. 23 Chevrolet for GMS Racing. Next Race: UNOH 200 The Place: Bristol Motor Speedway The Date: Thursday, August 16 The Time: 8:30 p.m. ET TV: FOX, 8 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 106.6 miles (200 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 55), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 110), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200) Final Race Before the Playoffs The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is heading to Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend for the UNOH 200 on Thursday, August 16 (8:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the final race before the Playoffs begin. Last weekend’s race at Michigan International Speedway where Brett Moffitt edged past Johnny Sauter right before the finish line to win the race by .025 seconds put a lot of things in perspective for the series. Thursday’s race will be the final opportunity for drivers to secure their postseason spot with a win and if a driver outside of the top eight in Playoffs standings does not take home the victory, the Playoffs will look pretty much the same as the current standings. Moffitt’s victory made sure that at least two drivers will qualify for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs on points, which is good news for Grant Enfinger and Stewart Friesen, who are sitting solidly in sixth and seventh places, respectively, in the Playoff standings. Matt Crafton, who is eighth, will clinch his Playoff spot if there is not a new winner (other than Enfinger or Friesen) at Bristol. With his 53-point lead over Crafton, Enfinger will secure his Playoff spot by simply starting the race on Thursday. Johnny Sauter, Moffitt, Noah Gragson, Justin Haley and Ben Rhodes all solidified their Playoff berth with a win earlier this season. Sauter and Moffitt both have four wins each. Sauter will also clinch the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season championship just by starting the UNOH 200. Right underneath the Playoff cut line are two rookies. If Myatt Snider or Dalton Sargeant can pull off a win this weekend, they will be the only rookie in the Playoff picture. Norm Benning and Jennifer Jo Cobb are also still eligible for the postseason but will need a win to clinch, and also still need to clinch a top 20 spot. Truck Series Primetime Debut The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will make their primetime broadcast television debut on Thursday night live from Bristol Motor Speedway on FOX for the UNOH 200 (8:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Pre-race coverage will begin at 8 p.m. ET on FOX with NASCAR RaceDay and then there will be full-race coverage beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET for the 200 laps under the lights. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick is joining the FOX booth as a driver analyst. Fellow Cup driver Kurt Busch will serve as a guest driver analyst for FOX’s NASCAR RaceDay pre-race coverage with John Roberts and two-time Truck Series champion Todd Bodine. You won’t want to miss this primetime event as drivers go head-to-head for their last chance at a Playoff run. Crafton Still Winless, Wants His Playoff Spot NASCAR Camping World Truck Series veteran Matt Crafton is still in the midst of a winless season. Crafton, who has been the recipient of some unlucky situations this season, has been successful at Bristol in the past. He has 15 starts at the track, the most of any driver in the series, with four top fives and nine top-10 finishes. Last year, he finished in second-place behind Kyle Busch, his best finish at Bristol. Crafton’s season has gotten better in the last four races, as he hasn’t finished outside of the top 10 in any of them. Crafton has not had a winless season since 2012. Last season, he had one win at Eldora and in 2016 he won back-to-back races at Dover International Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. Crafton’s teammate Ben Rhodes is in the Playoffs because of his win at Iowa Speedway. But his other teammate, rookie of the year contender Myatt Snider, is sitting right below him in the Playoff standings. Snider has one top five and five top 10s and the only way he could get into the Playoffs would be with a victory. First-Timers At Bristol Motor Speedway Eleven of the 39 drivers entered to race in Thursday night’s UNOH 200 (8:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) have never visited the track before. Camden Murphy, Cory Roper, Codie Rohrbaugh, Myatt Snider, Stefan Parsons, Tanner Thorson, Scott Lagasse Jr., Chad Finley, Justin Fontaine, Riley Herbst and Bayley Currey will run at the track for the first time of their NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career. Rohrbaugh will be making his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend. He has experience racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, ARCA and X-1R Pro Cup Series. Lagasse Jr. is entered to race for only the second time of the 2018 season this weekend at Bristol. He started in 18th at Daytona International Speedway and finished fifth. Finley and Herbst will also race in the Truck Series for the second time this season. Finely finished sixth at Gateway and Herbst finished eighth. Stefan Parsons To Make Truck Debut At Bristol Premium Motorsports is welcoming Stefan Parsons, a NASCAR Whelen All American Series and CARS Late Model Stock Tour driver, to the team. Parsons will make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway. He will pilot the No. 15 Chevrolet Silverado with Phoenix Construction Services, Inc. as his primary sponsor. Parsons is very familiar with the sport as he is the son of former NASCAR Cup Series driver and owner and the current Fox Sports 1 race commentator Phil Parsons. He is also the nephew of NASCAR Hall of Famer Ben Parsons. Stefan is very excited for his Truck Series debut and hopes to continue the family history of winning at Bristol. OEM Battle The manufacturer standings are getting closer and closer each week as the battles on the track continue. With six wins, Chevrolet still leads by three points over Toyota. Toyota follows in second place with seven wins and Ford is now 45 points behind the leader with two wins. source – NASCAR communications
