This weekend’s Bristol race is a highly anticipated event and also serves as the elimination race for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16.
Bristol Motor Speedway is a perfect stage for an elimination race, and yes, a lot is on the line for the postseason contenders. This weekend’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway will bring the first round of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs to a close and four drivers will be eliminated from the postseason bringing the 16-driver field down to 12. Team Penske’s Joey Logano is the only driver locked-in to the next round, which leaves 11 positions still up for grabs this weekend at the ‘World’s Fastest Half-Mile’.
Tensions are high, the point standings are tight, and once the stadium lights illuminate the ‘World’s Fastest Half-Mile’ expect nothing less than a spectacular and the competition to be fierce in this weekend’s elimination race, as back in March, the NASCAR Cup Series Bristol race produced 54 lead changes – the most ever on a short track.
Despite the unpredictable nature of Bristol Motor Speedway, one thing is for sure this weekend, four NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers will be eliminated from the postseason, and only 12 of the 16 will advance to the next round.
Over the last nine races of the NASCAR Cup Series season, since the Chicago Street Race on July 7, there has been nine different winners leading into this weekend’s Playoff elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway – Alex Bowman (Chicago), Ryan Blaney (Pocono), Kyle Larson (Indianapolis), Austin Dillon (Richmond), Tyler Reddick (Michigan), Harrison Burton (Daytona), Chase Briscoe (Darlington), Joey Logano (Atlanta) and Chris Buescher (Watkins Glen).
In total, this season has produced 16 different winners, tied with 2002, 2003 and 2011 for the second-most different winners through the first 28 races of a NASCAR Cup Series season in the Modern Era (1972-2024). The record for different winners through the first 28 Cup races of a season is 18 different winners, set in 2022.
Brad Keselowski will reach a milestone this weekend at Bristol as he makes his 550th NASCAR Cup Series career start at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend becoming the 40th different driver to make 550 or more starts in the series. Keselowski needs a really good performance at Bristol as he is flirting with elimination as the field heads into the Field of 12.
Denny Hamlin currently has 54 NASCAR Cup Series wins; if he were to win another race, he would tie NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for 11th on the all-time wins list with 55 victories each.
Here’s another interesting note; Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing are tied for the series-most Bristol poles at 12 each. If either organization wins the pole this weekend, they will become the sole leader in Cup poles at Bristol.
Joe Gibbs Racing can tie Junior Johnson and Associates for the NASCAR Cup Series most wins at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend if they were to win.
All the NASCAR Cup Series on-track activity at Bristol Motor Speedway begins this weekend with practice and Busch Light Pole Qualifying, and both events can be caught on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio at 4 p.m. ET on Friday.
Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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