Five to Watch: Bristol Night Race

SHORT-TRACK ATTACK: Brad Keselowski, who will start from the pole, has an impressive 1.7 average finish, which includes two wins, in the three races at tracks less than a mile in length this season. Keselowski is looking to sweep the season in points-paying races at Bristol and also lower his series-leading 4.9 average finish in seven races with the 750-horsepower package at tracks 1.058-mile or less in 2020. Martin Truex Jr., (7.7), Joey Logano (9.3), Clint Bowyer (9.7), Kurt Busch (9.7) and Kyle Busch (9.7) are the other drivers with an average finish under 10 at Bristol, Martinsville and Richmond this season.
 
"The 750 short tracks have been very strong," said Keselowski, who advanced to the next round with his win at Richmond last weekend. "I'm proud of that, proud of the effort that's been put into running so well on those tracks. It's a good time to be running well on the 750s because with the new playoff format there's a lot of those types of races."

DRIVER CODE: Joey Logano and Chase Elliott were battling for the lead in the spring race at Bristol when Elliott got loose and made contact with Logano with three laps to go, relegating them to finishes of 21st and 22nd, respectively. Heading into the race weekend, Logano was asked if he will race Elliott any differently this time around with more on the line in the playoffs.
 
"Race people the way they race you," Logano said. "That’s kind of the expectations that I’ve always had. If you race someone the way they race you, they’re gonna race you the way you race them. That, to me, is the driver code. As this sport has been brought up so many times and talked about what is code, what is code, to me, that’s what it is. You treat people how they treat you and that’s just the way I kind of move through on the racing side of things."

TRUEX SEEKS BRISTOL TURNAROUND: Martin Truex Jr. has been one of the best drivers on short tracks over the past few years, capturing four wins in the last seven races, however Bristol Motor Speedway has been a different story. Truex has finished eighth or better in his last eight combined starts at Martinsville and Richmond, but has not recorded a top five at Bristol since the 2012 spring race. Truex will start third on Saturday and the last two times he's started from the spot he led laps, including 116 en route to an eighth-place finish in the 2017 spring race -- his only top 10 in the last 16 Bristol races. Last year in this event, Truex was forced to pit on Lap 361 while running sixth after leading 52 laps.

"Bristol hasn’t been the best place for us – whether that be because of a loose wheel or getting caught up in someone else’s mess," Truex said. "But if you look back at the past three or four races there, we’ve been running in the top five or top 10 when that stuff happens, so we’re capable of running up front. We just have to avoid the mistakes and we’ll be fine. We have a good starting spot and good pit selection, so hopefully we can use that to our advantage throughout the night and see what happens."

TAKING CENTER STAGE: The difference between a driver making the next round of the playoffs could come down to how many stage points are earned in the race. So far in the playoffs, Martin Truex Jr. has earned the most stage points in the two races with 32. Denny Hamlin (26), Austin Dillon (21), Joey Logano (19) rank next with three drivers -- Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski -- tied with 17. Elliott swept both stages at Bristol in May. Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto did record stage points in the spring race, but have yet to in the playoffs.

"Our goal as a team is to be consistent and to try and score stage points early," said Dillon, who joins Logano as the only drivers with top fives in the first two races of this year's playoffs. "I think stage points will play a big part of advancing out of each round in the NASCAR Playoffs, and with Bristol being the cutoff race there's a lot on the line."

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN: William Byron (-3), Cole Custer (-8), Matt DiBenedetto (-25) and Ryan Blaney (-27) are the four drivers below the cutline heading to Bristol. The points gap around the bubble is tight as only 12 points separate positions 10th through 14th in the standings. Among the drivers currently out, Byron was the only one to record a top 10 in May. Blaney has three top 10s and 439 laps led in his last five Bristol starts and DiBenedetto finished second last year in this event.

"You are always dedicated and motivated but in our position, we are going to be pretty aggressive," Blaney said. "That is what we have to be. Everyone else has to realize that. There are a couple of guys that are a few points above or below the cutline that might try to be a little bit safer than what me or Matty D. has to be because we have to get a bunch of points and finish good and win the race. I wouldn’t say I am more determined because the dedication has always been there."

Bristol Motor Speedway is set to host a race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs for the first time along with the first elimination race in the 2020 postseason. Championship hopes for four drivers will come to an end in Saturday's Bass Pro Shops Night Race (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) that will set the field for the Round of 12.

"It’s going be insane," said Clint Bowyer, who is currently on the bubble in 12th and has finished in in the top 10 in the last five Bristol races. "It’s like they were just wanting to make the end of the regular season and these playoffs as nerve-wracking as possible. I mean, we’re talking, like, ulcer-level, nerve-wracking situations and they found it. The Roval, Bristol, Daytona – I mean, it can’t get any more nerve-wracking than that."

Kyle Busch, who has yet to visit Victory Lane this year in the Cup Series, leads all drivers with eight wins at Bristol. Busch is one of six playoff drivers with a win at the .533-mile track with his brother, Kurt, ranked second, with six, followed by Brad Keselowski (3), Denny Hamlin (2), Kevin Harvick (2) and Joey Logano (2). Jimmie Johnson (2) and Matt Kenseth (4) are the two non-playoff drivers with Bristol wins.