NASCAR Preview: Bristol Night Race
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Bristol for the second time in 2026, this time under the lights, to contest the third event of The Chase.
Track Preview
Bristol Motor Speedway is a 0.533-mile oval located in Bristol, Tennessee. The track features progressive banking of 24 to 28 degrees in the turns and six to 10 degrees on the straightaways. Notably, the circuit is one of four on the Cup schedule with a concrete surface, rather than asphalt.
Bristol opened in 1961 and has gone on to become one of the most legendary tracks in NASCAR. It is almost a given that tempers will flare and aggression will escalate around the tight, high-banked circuit. Races under the lights at Bristol have been a staple since 1978. Darrell Waltrip holds the record for most Cup wins at the venue, with 12.
Weather Forecast
The weather report indicates temperatures around 26 degrees Celsius near the start of the race. Near the race’s conclusion, temperatures are predicted to hover around 23 degrees Celsius. There is a slight chance of rain throughout the evening.
NASCAR announced this week that it is now allowing teams to decide if and when they want to switch from slick tyres to wet-weather tyres, or vice versa, during a race. Previously, NASCAR made the decision for all the teams. This change may come into play this weekend, as Bristol is one of the few tracks in NASCAR where wet-weather tyres are permitted.
The race is scheduled to begin on September 19 at 19:30 EST (16:30 PT, 00:30 BST).
The Storylines
Last week at Gateway, Kyle Larson ended a 51-race winless drought. This weekend, he returns to one of his strongest tracks. He has won three times at Bristol, including in April 2025, when he led 411 of the race’s 500 laps. Larson led 286 laps of this year’s spring edition before finishing third. In the past eight Cup events at Bristol, Larson has finished outside of the top five only once. There is no doubt he will contend for the win again.
Ty Gibbs clinched his first Cup Series victory at Bristol this spring and earned his second at Iowa Speedway - another short track - in August. In the last six races at Bristol, Gibbs has collected five top-10 finishes, making him one of the top drivers at the track. While he has lacked consistency in recent results, Gibbs is still a major threat and seems poised for another good showing this weekend.
Denny Hamlin has won four times at Bristol. While he has finished in the top 10 in seven of the last eight events, it is unclear how far that consistency will take him - since winning at Bristol in the spring of 2024, Hamlin has only led three laps at the track. It is hard to bet against Hamlin, however, as his lead in the points standings demonstrates he can find good results just about anywhere.
Christopher Bell won the Bristol Night Race one year ago. In the last seven Bristol races, he has only finished outside the top 10 once. That one instance was just this past spring, when Bell finished 27th - raising the question of whether the result was a fluke or if he will struggle again this time around.
Brad Keselowski may be a dark horse of sorts heading into the weekend. Keselowski has won at Bristol three times but is still stuck in a winless drought that now spans 87 races. His performance on the track is not as steady as it once was, but on the right day, he can still put himself in a position to win. Last week at Gateway, he led 55 laps before winding up 12th. In the fall Bristol race last year, he finished second and held the lead for 33 laps. Bristol may provide one of his final opportunities to return to victory lane this season.
A Look at The Chase
Currently, Denny Hamlin maintains his lead in the standings. Kyle Larson has moved from seventh to second after his win last weekend and now trails Hamlin by only nine points. Christopher Bell is third, 18 points behind Hamlin. After a crash that subjected him to a 35th-place finish, Ryan Blaney is fourth. Tyler Reddick is fifth, having dominated the first part of the year before struggling in the summer. He remains the winningest Cup driver of 2026 to date.
Schedule
Thursday:
Craftsman Truck Series Practice - 15:00 EST (12:00 PT, 20:00 BST)
Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying - 16:05 EST (13:05 PT, 21:05 BST)
Craftsman Truck Series Race - 20:00 EST (17:00 PT, 1:00 BST)
Friday:
O’Reilly Series Practice - 14:00 EST (11:00 PT, 19:00 BST)
O’Reilly Series Qualifying - 15:05 EST (12:05 PT, 20:05 BST)
Cup Series Practice - 16:30 EST (13:30 PT, 21:30 BST)
Cup Series Qualifying - 17:40 EST (14:40 PT, 22:40 BST)
O’Reilly Series Race - 19:30 EST (16:30 PT, 00:30 BST)
Saturday:
Cup Series Race - 19:30 EST (16:30 PT, 00:30 BST)
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