It’s BRISTOL BABY!!!

After Kyle Larson’s emotional win at World Wide Technology Raceway, the Cup Series travels to Thunder Valley and the Last Great Coliseum of Bristol Motor Speedway for the Night Race!

Thirty-seven teams brought cars for 40 starting spots.

When the green flag drops, Denny Hamlin will be making Cup Series race start number 750!

Still on baby watch, Daniel Suarez noted that he newest member of the Suarez family was officially due September 17; however, he states all is well and Julia is at home resting.  Daniel is hoping baby will wait until Sunday morning but just in case; Justin Allgaier is standby to take over driving a very familiar number in the seven car if needed.

NASCAR has cancelled qualifying and is hoping to get the track dried enough for some practice before the O’Reilly Series takes to the track for the race.  Kyle Larson will sit on the pole with Joey Logano alongside on the front row.

The starting lineup for the Night Race at Bristol:
Kyle Larson
Joey Logano
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Carson Hocevar
Alex Bowman
Ross Chastain
Austin Cindric
Austin Dillon
Bubba Wallace
Brad Keselowski
Christopher Bell
Ty Gibbs
Erik Joness
Connor Zilisch
Ryan Preece
Cole Custer
AJ Allmendinger
John Hunter Nemechek
Tyler Reddick
Michael McDowell
Shane van Gisbergen
Chris Buescher
Todd Gilliland
Austin Hill
Chase Briscoe
Chase Elliott
Daniel Suarez
Ryan Blaney
Cody Ware
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Josh Berry
Ty Dillon
Riley Herbst
Zane Smith
Noah Gragson
Josh Bilicki

Stages one and two are 125 laps each with stage three lasting 250 laps for a total of 500 laps around the half mile track.

There are lots of tributes to Dolly Parton around the track.  Tyler Reddick even wore the Dolly wig for driver introductions.

And speaking of tributes, Joe Gibbs Racing is paying tribute to Kyle Busch with Ty Gibbs driving the M&M’s 54 car.  Kyle Busch is the only driver to sweep a triple header weekend, winning the Truck, O’Reilly, and Cup series race…twice!  Kyle won a total of 23 races at Bristol.  JGR has said that the only way the 18 car comes out of retirement is if a BUSCH drives the car.

The Busch family is at the track and his widow Samantha speaks as Brexton and Lennix look on.

Award winning actor Brad Pitt gives the command to start the engines.  Lee Greenwood is also among the group giving the command.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Joey Logano alongside.  Larson jumps out in front for the lead from the outside lane.

Lap two, Kyle Larson leads the race with William Byron in second; Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.

After starting third, points leader Denny Hamlin drops to seventh.

Lap seven, drivers are getting three wide.

Tyler Reddick is dropping through the field.

Lap 10, Kyle Larson has a near one second lead on William Byron; Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.

The drivers have 13 sets of tires for the race.

The fans were given a yellow M&M’s towel and on lap 18 they wave those towels in honour of Kyle Busch.

Lap 22, leader Kyle Larson has already begun lapping slower traffic.

Lap 23, Kyle Larson’s lead is down to under half a second on William Byron; Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, and Austin Cindric continue to round out the top five.

NASCAR has called for a competition caution after practice and qualifying was cancelled due to weather.

Lap 36, Kyle Larson has led every lap so far and has a near one second lead on William Byron.

NASCAR throws the yellow flag for the competition caution on lap 41.  Josh Berry is the “lucky dog”.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larson winning the race off of pit road but not all of the drivers came down pit road.

Joey Logano is the new leader

Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag restart with Austin Cindric alongside on lap 49.  Logano gets out in front for the lead with Chris Buescher in second; Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

There are 33 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 55, Austin Cindric has passes Chris Buescher for second.

Lap 56, the top five are Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney, and Kyle Larson.

Lap 65, Ty Dillon gets into the wall and brings his car down pit road.

Lap 73, Joey Logano has a half second lead on Austin Cindric; Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Lap 85, Joey Logano has a near one second lead on Austin Cindric; Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Erik Jones spins out with a flat tire to bring out the second caution flag of the race on lap 95.

Austin Hill is the “lucky dog”.

Some of the drivers come down pit road.  Ryan Blaney wins the race off of pit road.  Chris Buescher and AJ Allmendinger make contact on pit road.

Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 102 and holds on to the lead with Kyle Larson on his bumper.

The top five are Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, and Carson Hocevar.

With 13 laps remaining in stage one, Joey Logano has a near half second lead on Kyle Larson; Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.  There are 31 cars on the lead lap.

Ty Dillon is off the track.

With a near one second lead, Joey Logano wins stage one.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Joey Logano
Kyle Larson
Denny Hamlin
Ross Chastain
Ty Gibbs
Ryan Blaney
Austin Cindric
Carson Hocevar
Brad Keselowski
Bubba Wallace

Drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larson winning the race off of pit road.

After staying out on the track, Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Bubba Wallace alongside on lap 137.  Blaney takes the lead with Bubba Wallace in second; Chris Buesscher, William Byron, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Alex Bowman got way loose but saved the car and the track stays green.

Drivers are getting three wide across the track.

Lap 147, Ryan Blaney has a half second lead on Bubba Wallace; Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, and William Byron round out the top five.

Ty Dillon returns to the track 87 laps down.

Lap 166, Josh Berry has passed William Byron for fifth.

With 83 laps remaining in stage two, Ryan Blaney has a lead of less than half a second on Bubba Wallace.

Lap 171, Ryan Blaney has increased his lead to nearly a second on Bubba Wallace; Chris Buescher, Josh Berry, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 185, there are now just 25 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 190, Ryan Blaney has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Bubba Wallace; Josh Berry, Christopher Bell, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

Lap 200, Chase Elliott is the last car on the lead lap in 21st place.

Christopher Bell’s car carries Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library for a sponsor this week.  The program isn’t just running in the U.S. but also Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia.

Lap 207, Ryan Blaney has pulled out to a lead of over three seconds on Bubba Wallace; Josh Berry, Christopher Bell, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

With 35 laps remaining in stage two, there are just 18 cars on the lead lap.

Thirty laps remain in stage two, Ryan Blaney has a two second lead on Bubba Wallace; Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Only 16 cars remain in the lead lap on lap 225.

Ty Gibbs passes Josh Berry for third and Bubba Wallace for second.

Fifteen laps remain in stage two, Ryan Blaney has a two and a half second lead on Ty Gibbs; Joey Logano, Josh Berry, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Cody Ware spins out with just five laps remaining in stage two to end the stage.

With just 14 cars on the lead lap, Ryan Blaney wins stage two.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Ryan Blaney
Ty Gibbs
Joey Logano
Josh Berry
Carson Hocevar
Bubba Wallace
Carson Hocevar
William Byron
Kyle Larson
Chris Buescher

Drivers come down pit road for service with Ryan Blaney winning the race off of pit road.

Stage three is 250 laps, the drivers will have to make a pit stop some time during the stage to make it to the end of the race.

Kyle Larson made contact with William Byron on pit road and has some damage to the hood of his car.

Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Ty Gibbs alongside on lap 261.

Blaney holds on to the lead  with Ty Gibbs and Crhistopher Bell in a battle for second; Joey Logano and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.

Carson Hocevar battles with Joey Logano for fourth.

Lap 272, Ryan Blaney has a lead of over half a second on Ty Gibbs; Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.

Josh Berry and Ross Chastain are the only two non-Chase drivers on the lead lap.

Lap 282, Ryan Blaney’s lead is down to under half a second on Ty Gibbs.

Lap 292, leader Ryan Blaney is approaching slower traffic…and Austin Cindric, the last car on the lead lap in 15th.

Lap 295, Ty Gibbs begins a battle with Ryan Blaney for the lead.

Lap 305, Ryan Blaney has increased his lead to over half a second on Ty Gibbs; Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.  There are just 14 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 319, Ty Gibbs has closed the gap on leader Ryan Blaney to a quarter of a second; Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.

Lpa 324, To Gibbs battles with Ryan Blaney for the lead.

In a three wide battle Ty Gibbs passes Ryan Blaney for the lead.

With 169 laps remaining in the race, Ty Gibbs passes Ross Chastain to have just 13 cars on the lead lap.

Gibbs has pulled out to a near half second lead on Ryan Blaney.

Lap 347, ty Gibbs continues to lead the race with a lead of less than half a second on Ryan Blaney; Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five with just 13 cars on the lead lap.  There are only two drivers just one lap down; the remainder of the field is at least two laps down.

Lap 365, Ty Gibbs has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on Ryan Blaney; Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five with 12 cars on the lead lap.

Josh Bilicki is back in the race 42 laps down.

Lap 378, Josh Berry is the first driver to make a green flag pit stop with Kyle Larson close behind to begin the cycle.

Lap 387, leader Ty Gibbs comes down pit road for his pit stop.

Ryan Blaney is the new leader.

Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar are the only drivers who have yet to make their pit stops.

The caution flag comes out on lap 397 for Riely Herbst who spun out and hit the inside wall after contact with Zane Smith.

Ryan Blaney had started coming down pit road when the caution flag came out and will be under penalty but Blaney and Carson Hocevar are the only drivers on the lead lap.

Carson Hocevar wins the race off of pit road and is the leader of the race.  He is the only lead lap driver not under penalty.

Carson Hocevar brings the field down for the green flag restart with 95 laps to go.

The top five are Carson Hocevar, Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, and Josh Berry.  There are only eight cars on the lead lap.

With 90 laps to go, Carson Hocevar has a two second lead on Ty Gibbs.

Josh Bilicki is out of the race.

With 83 laps to go, Carson Hocevar, Ty Gibbs, Joey Logano, Chrisotpher Bell, Josh Berry, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, and Kyle Larson are the only drivers on the lead lap.

Riley Herbst was charged with having too many crew over the wall and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.

With 77 laps to go, Ty Gibbs has closed the gap on leader Carson Hocevar to just over one second.

The caution flag comes out with 69 laps to go when Alex Bowman spins out after a three wide battle including Ty Gibbs and Cole Custer.

Carson Hocevar is the leader of the race.

A few drivers come down pit road for service including leader Carson Hocevar.

Ty Gibbs is the new leader.

Ty Gibbs brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ryan Blaney alongside with 59 laps remaining in the race.  Ty Gibbs takes the lead with Carson Hocevar in second.

The caution flag comes out when William Byron gets turned around and into the inside wall with 57 laps to go.

Ty Gibbs brings the field down for the green flag restart with Kyle Larson alongside with 51 laps remaining in the race.  Ty Gibbs takes the lead with Carson Hocevar in second.

Alex Bowman is out of the race.

With 45 laps to go, Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar battle for second.

the caution flag comes out when Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar make contact in a battle for second.  Blaney tried to block Hocevar; Hocevar has two choices lift or hit him.

A few drivers come down pit road for fresh tires.

Ryan Blaney is out of the race.

Ty Gibbs brings the field down for the green flag restart with Kyle Larson alongside with 35 laps  remaining in the race.  Gibbs takes the lead.

Ty Gibbs leads the race with Carson Hocevar in second; Kyle Larson, Christpher Bell, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

With 26 laps to go, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell battle for third.

The ninth caution flag of the race comes out with 23 laps to go when Chase Elliott spins out.

Ty Gibbs brings the field down for the green flag restart with Kyle Larson alongside with just 17 laps remaining in the race.  Gibbs takes the lead.

The 10th caution flag comes out with 15 laps to go for AJ Allmendinger spinning out.

When the caution flag came out, Ty Gibbs and Carson Hocevar were in a battle for the lead.

Ty Gibbs brings the field down for the green flag restart with Kyle Larson alongside with just nine laps to go.  Gibbs holds on to the lead but Carson Hocevar moves up on the outside to battle for the lead.

Joey Logano comes up on the inside to take the lead.

Ty Gibbs drops to fourth.

Joey Logano leads the race with Carson Hocevar in second; Kyle Larsson, Christopher Bell, and ty Gibbs round out the top five.

Chase Briscoe takes his car behind the wall.

Joey Logano takes the white flag!

Joey Logano wins the race for his third win of the season.

After the race on pit road Ryan Blaney went after Carson Hocevar.

The unofficial results of the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol:
Joey Logano
Kyle Larson
Carson Hocevar
Christopher Bell
Ty Gibbs
Josh Berry
Bubba Wallace
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Ryan Preece
Austin Cindric
Ross Chastain
Chris Buescher
Daniel Suarez
Brad Keselowski
Noah Gragson
Austin Dillon
Tyler Reddick
Todd Gilliland
Shane van Gisbergen
Michael McDowell
AJ Allmendinger
Chase Elliott
Connor Zilisch
John Hunter Nemechek
Cole Custer
Chase Briscoe
Zane Smith
Austin Hill
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Cody Ware
Erik Jones
Ryan Blaney
Riley Herbst
Alex Bowman
Ty Dillon
Josh Bilicki