Saturday Setup: Bristol presents challenges in points and behind the wheel

Posted on September 18, 2026September 19, 2026 by Zach Sturniolo

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Tyler Allen celebrated his first NASCAR Cup Series win as a crew chief when he, Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 team won at Bristol Motor Speedway in the spring.

They return to the Tennessee bull ring hoping to sweep the season of Bristol races with the Bass Pro Shops Night Race in the third race of The Chase presented by Mobil 1 on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: Cup Series standings | Bristol schedule

This time, the No. 54 Toyota shows up in a new but familiar style, donning the iconic M&M’s colors return to Joe Gibbs Racing in a gorgeous tribute to the late Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup champion who carried those colors from 2008 through 2022, collecting 56 of his 63 career wins at JGR. To see the distinctive yellow, red, blue and green again was an emotional experience for Allen, who began his Cup career in 2017 working on Busch’s car and stayed through 2020, winning the 2019 title alongside Busch.

“It’s pretty surreal,” Allen told NASCAR.com on Friday. “You know, this weekend’s about KB and their whole family. That was the first Cup car that I got to work on as an engineer and working with KB for all those years. I about got choked up when they were wrapping it on Monday. It was just really incredible all the the memories to have with him, and it’s an honor to have that paint scheme on our car. So really excited.”

To win again, Allen knows he needs to give Gibbs “everything he needs.” Sure. But what does that entail?

“We’ve got to get into the corner well. It’s got to turn the center, and he’s got to have security on exit,” Allen said. “It’s really difficult to do with this package. At some point in the night, he’s not going to have everything he needs, but he’s got to optimize what he’s got and we’ve got to work on it.”

Gibbs and the No. 54 team sit tied for sixth in The Chase entering Saturday’s 500-lap contest, 51 points behind series leader and JGR teammate Denny Hamlin. While the win-and-in system of playoff racing is gone, winners in The Chase so far — Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson — have enjoyed massive points swings that have swung those previously-winless drivers into contention to win the championship. That emphasizes the benefits of a victory this time of year.

“All these races matter, and the points have really compressed with the winners,” Allen said. “So we’re hoping to come out of here with a win.”

Zach Sturniolo | NASCAR Digital Media

Just as eager to win is Chris Buescher and the No. 17 RFK Racing team, but through a bit of a different lens.

Crew chief Scott Graves told NASCAR.com Friday his top priority this weekend is getting his team back on track after a “pretty bad start for the first two races to The Chase.” A 20th-place run in the opening race at Darlington Raceway was followed by a frustrating day at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, where a brake rotor on Buescher’s No. 17 Ford exploded with just two laps to go in regulation. The No. 17 bunch is 13th of 16 Chase drivers in The Chase, 111 points behind Hamlin for the championship lead.

“Obviously we need to get get that corrected,” Graves said.

In years past, Bristol had served as the first elimination race in NASCAR’s postseason, where the bottom four drivers would be ousted from championship contention, meaning Buescher would have entered as the first driver facing elimination Saturday night. That changes with the re-introduction of The Chase, where instead the totality of the 10-week schedule counts toward determining the champion at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.

“The desperation side of it is a little a little lower because you’d be looking at a cutoff in our situation the way with the first two races went,” Graves said. “It probably would have been like a must-win situation. But honestly, if we want to do better in The Chase, if we want to get to the top five — I mean, we were seventh in points for majority of the year. And to be sitting where we’re sitting right now is is kind of tough to swallow. So to get back to that seventh, I mean you’re kind of looking at the same thing. Like you almost have to win at this point as far back as we are. We’ve got to make a big jump.

“So yeah, the level of desperation of, ‘this could be the last race for our Chase’ is not there. But to get where we want to be, where we know we can be performance-wise, we’re kind of in the same spot. We need something big.”

MORE: Miami to host NASCAR Awards | Buescher: ‘Going to be aggressive’

Calling strategy for Saturday’s showdown will depend upon a few factors, particularly the longevity of a tire’s life and how the rubber lays into the concrete surface.

Cool temperatures in past Bristol races dating back to the spring of 2024 have resulted in excessive tire wear that led to extremely frequent pit stops. Warmer weather has typically produced a standard racing event with long-lasting tires.

“I don’t want to eat my words. It looks like it’s going to be a normal Bristol race in terms of tires, and there’s very little fall off, so I would expect some long runs,” Allen said. “With no foam behind the (front) bumpers, the drivers have been a little more hesitant to get aggressive and make contact, and that lends itself to longer green-flag runs. So that’s kind of what I’m expecting.”

The other side of the conversation is where on the race track that rubber creates a groove on the surface. If either the top lane or the bottom lane becomes dominant during the race, teams will need to chase adjustments on their cars to best navigate the changing conditions.

“Some of it depends on how much the top comes in,” Graves said. “If we go off the spring race, the bottom was more dominant. So from a setup standpoint, sometimes we sell out thinking early into the race or halfway through the race, the top’s going to come in and be a big factor in the race, and so you set your setup for that and it’s a little bit of an unknown honestly. But having to be good on the bottom, I think, is going to be really important as long as the the PJ1 (traction compound) stays together.

“And then strategy, there were some guys that were able to stay out and make it work. So having something that works on that long run without the tires going away will be really helpful on the strategy side.”

Zach Sturniolo | NASCAR Digital Media

Posted on September 18, 2026September 18, 2026 by Mike Hembree

BRISTOL, Tenn. — For many years, the idea of NASCAR drivers running a lap faster than 15 seconds on the half-mile surface at Bristol Motor Speedway was considered to be something of a fantasy.

Steadily, tires changed, engines got stronger, drivers got bolder, Bristol’s “best” groove got better. Fifteen seconds eventually became something more than a concept. Carl Edwards ran a lap in 14.989 seconds to win the pole for the Bristol spring race in 2011. He was the only driver in the field under 15 seconds.

RELATED: Cup Series standings | At-track photos

Eventually, another half-second was “found,” and the all-time Cup Series qualifying record at BMS now belongs to Ryan Blaney, who circled the concrete half-mile in 14.528 seconds (132.075 mph) in April 2019.

That record has stood for seven years as NASCAR has made modifications in car design, engine power and tire compounds and the track has toyed with adding various substances to the track surface in attempts to enhance competition. Through all that, Bristol has remained ridiculously fast for a half-mile track — indeed, one of the fastest half-miles in the world. But will drivers in NASCAR’s top three series eventually break the 14-second barrier?

That idea is considered fanciful by most, but a 15-second lap once was thought to be in the same Wonderland.

“I would say that a 14-second lap around here is ripping,” Chris Buescher said. “To go a half-second faster would be significant on a half-mile race track. I don’t believe you’ll see us get there. We’re not using a ton of brake here at Bristol, especially on our fast laps. We’re using a ton of throttle, but I think more horsepower would be the only way to get it up out of the hole faster, but I would say that it’s going to have to come from tire and grip, or simply downforce. With the simpler package that we have, the simpler diffuser package, it’s definitely taken a little bit of speed out of it already.”

The qualifying records in NASCAR’s other national series at Bristol are similar to Blaney’s Cup mark. The late Kyle Busch, known for pushing the edges of the speed envelope at practically every track he visited, has the fastest Craftsman Truck Series lap at 14.827 seconds (129.413 mph). Kyle Larson is fastest here in O’Reilly Auto Parts Series qualifying at 14.992 seconds (127.988 mph). Those records were set in 2017.

Texas driver Sam Hafertepe Jr. ran a lap at 13.326 seconds (142.098 mph) in a World of Outlaws sprint car on Bristol dirt. That speed, registered in a lighter car and on what then was a temporary dirt-on-concrete surface, can’t be easily compared to the heavier vehicles of NASCAR’s top three series.

“Aerodynamics, horsepower and tires play a huge part in how fast do you want them to go or how fast do you not want them to go,” Ryan Preece said. “Tires are certainly a big part of it. We were practicing here in November when we did the tire test, and we were in the 14.70s and 14.80s consistently, not just in one lap.”

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour cars, which no longer race at BMS, ran faster qualifying laps than Cup cars on the Bristol surface.

“That’s the reason why they (Modifieds) don’t come here as much anymore,” Preece said. “When you qualify close to 140, that’s pretty fast. The concern becomes will the car be able to take a hit if you’re going that fast? Safety becomes a problem.”

Limits on body design, engines and tires control speeds, but extra effort occasionally can create surprising results. Joey Logano won the pole last week at Gateway near St. Louis with a speed of 137.124 mph, dramatically faster than second-place Kyle Larson (135.980) on the 1.25-mile track.

“I think qualifying last week showed that there is a lot of potential left in this (generation) car,” Ross Chastain said. “We’re several years into the Gen 7, but the lap the 22 (Logano) put down last week was so far ahead of everybody that you could see there are still gaps in this car as far as leaps in speed. So I don’t know what the limit is.”

Chase Briscoe said the weight of the current Cup car always will limit speed gains. “I don’t know how we would ever get under 14 seconds with this car,” he said. “We’re pretty heavy. I would never say never, but I don’t think this car will get there unless Goodyear brought some kind of crazy tire or something.”

Although more speed is a virtually constant goal of every team, Buescher said faster laps at Bristol don’t lead to better racing.

“I don’t see where running a 13.9 around here is going to create anything better than what we have,” he said. “It’s not simply about the raw speed of it. We’re fast now, and a lot can go wrong in a quick hurry. That keeps us on our toes.”

Posted on September 18, 2026September 18, 2026 by Reid Spencer

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Just nine points out of The Chase presented by Mobil 1 lead, Kyle Larson will start from the pole position in Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race, after a lightning delay forced cancelation of Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Having finished fifth in The Chase opener at Darlington Raceway before winning last Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, Larson brings considerable momentum to the third race of the NASCAR Cup Series postseason on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“Always coming into here, I feel confident,” said Larson, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “I do believe we can come here and have a good weekend. At Darlington, I felt like we were back to being ‘5-team-ish’ in a way. It had been so long since we were battling for a win … So that was fun.”

“To go to Gateway and put on a performance like we did, yeah, I felt like we were getting closer to where we want to be, but still have room to go, for sure — a lot of room to go to be dominant. But at least as far as team prep, execution and all the things it takes, I felt like these first two weeks have gone really strong.”

Chase drivers occupy the first five positions on the starting grid for the Night Race, with Joey Logano lining up next to Larson on the first row in a field set by the NASCAR Rule Book (according to metrics) because of the cancelation.

Top seed and Chase leader Denny Hamlin will start third, as he tries to keep Larson at bay. William Byron lines up fourth, followed by Carson Hocevar. Non-Chase drivers Alex Bowman and Ross Chastain will start sixth and seventh, followed by Chase driver Austin Cindric.

Non-Chase driver Austin Dillon starts ninth, with Chase driver Bubba Wallace 10th on the grid.

Other Chase drivers start as follows: Christopher Bell (12th), Ty Gibbs (13th), Ryan Preece (16th), Tyler Reddick (20th), Chris Buescher (23rd), Chase Briscoe (26th), Chase Elliott (27th), Daniel Suárez (28th) and Ryan Blaney (29th).

Bell is third in The Chase standings, 18 points behind Hamlin. Suárez is currently on baby watch for his first child, with O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver Justin Allgaier on standby for possible relief duties.

“Hopefully, the baby doesn’t come till Sunday or Monday,” Suárez said. “I think it’s going to come very soon, though. Hopefully, it’s not tomorrow.”

Posted on September 18, 2026 by Official NASCAR Release

NASCAR’s postseason celebration moves to Miami following Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The NASCAR Channel to livestream awards ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 10.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 18, 2026) — NASCAR announced today that the annual NASCAR Awards will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, bringing the sport’s champions, stars and industry leaders together just two days after the NASCAR Cup Series championship is decided at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The move to Miami marks the first time the NASCAR Awards for all three of the sport’s national series will be held together in the city, adding a new destination and fresh energy to one of the sport’s signature celebrations. Following Championship Weekend, the NASCAR community will come together to celebrate the drivers and teams who conquered the 2026 season and claimed NASCAR’s ultimate prizes.

The evening will honor the newly crowned champions of the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, along with the drivers, teams and personalities who helped define the 2026 season.

“The championship is the culmination of everything our drivers and teams work for all season, and we want the celebration that follows to feel just as big,” said Michael Verlatti, NASCAR vice president of event experience. “Miami is one of the world’s most dynamic cities, and it provides an incredible backdrop to celebrate our champions and bring the energy of Championship Weekend into a new setting. We’re excited to give our fans and industry a NASCAR Awards experience unlike any we’ve had before.”

The celebration begins Sunday, Nov. 8, when the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway crowns the 2026 champion. Two days later, the spotlight shifts from the race track to Miami for an evening celebrating the season’s biggest moments, most memorable performances and newest champions.

The NASCAR Awards ceremony will be livestreamed beginning at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 10 exclusively on the NASCAR Channel, giving fans around the world a front-row seat to the postseason celebration. The NASCAR Channel is a free, ad-supported streaming channel available on Xumo Play, Tubi, The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus and Prime Video.

The NASCAR Awards were most recently held in Scottsdale, Arizona, last season. The move to Miami underscores NASCAR’s continued commitment to bringing its biggest events and experiences to dynamic markets and creating meaningful opportunities to connect the sport with fans beyond the race track.

NASCAR will host a celebration for the NASCAR Regional Series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series) and the NASCAR International Series (NASCAR Brasil Series, NASCAR Canada Series, NASCAR Mexico Series and NASCAR Whelen Euro Series), on Friday, Nov. 20 in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the Charlotte Convention Center.

Posted on September 18, 2026September 18, 2026 by Zach Sturniolo

BRISTOL, Tenn. — NASCAR officials will visit World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in the next week to begin exploring possible changes to its pit-road configuration, a NASCAR competition executive confirmed to two reporters Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The planned trip follows an incident on Gateway’s pit road during the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race on Sept. 12 in which crewmen were struck in a chain-reaction, multicar crash.

MORE: Crewman reacts to Gateway crash

According to Racing Insights, pit road at Gateway ranks as the second-narrowest pit lane on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule at just 25 feet wide from the outer wall to the inner wall, only behind Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s width of 24 feet.

Pit entry became blocked at Lap 50 of the O’Reilly Auto Parts race after a stack-up turned Rajah Caruth’s No. 88 Chevrolet perpendicular in pit lane. The left-rear corner of his car slammed a tire out of the hands of the No. 19 team’s tire carrier. Simultaneously, Nick Sanchez slid and crashed into the right-rear quarter panel of the No. 19 Toyota driven by Brent Crews, contacting rear changer Bryan Backus. No injuries were reported.

In reflecting on the incident, Backus did not immediately feel change at Gateway’s pit road was necessary but expressed he’s open to anything to make pit road safer.

“I think NASCAR is doing the best they can with what they have and everything,” Backus told NASCAR.com Thursday. “It is a little tight at certain places. I mean, it’d be great if they could widen it out, but I don’t know if that’s even a possibility. Like, obviously, Gateway’s really tight and Indy’s really tight, but I think they’re doing probably the best they can with what they’ve got.”

No plans for changes have been determined at this time. However, the visit to study possible changes indicates a look to potentially widen pit lane to afford competitors — both behind the wheel and on pit road — more room to safely operate.

Posted on September 18, 2026September 18, 2026 by Zach Sturniolo

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Bryan Backus had no reason to suspect this pit stop was going to be any different than usual.

That was until he was struck by a crashing stock car while trying to service the No. 19 car during last weekend’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

Backus was completing routine duties as rear changer on Brent Crews’ No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota when the field came to pit road for the first time on Lap 49. Just as he arrived at the right-rear wheel of Crews’ car, so, too, did the careening No. 87 Chevrolet of Nick Sanchez, one of numerous cars involved in a chain-reaction crash at the front end of pit road on Sept. 12.

“Get one lug nut in, and next thing you know, I’m laying over top of the jack,” Backus told NASCAR.com Thursday evening at Bristol Motor Speedway. “Didn’t really know what happened at first, but luckily, nobody on the team was hurt, and our race car got the worst of it.”

MORE: See narrow Gateway escape | Bristol schedule

Rajah Caruth’s No. 88 Chevrolet spun sideways, the left-rear of his race car striking the incoming left-rear tire that carrier Brad Donaghy was holding. That bumped the tire free from Donaghy’s hands.

“If that was even a foot closer to Brad, he’d have been 40 yards down pit road,” Backus said.

Backus simultaneously found Sanchez sliding into his path — first into the right-rear corner of Crews’ car and then directly into Backus’ left side.

“I’ve been hit before, and it’s hurt a lot worse, but this was the closest it’s come to being extremely serious,” Backus said.

The impact knocked the No. 19 Toyota off the jack and flung Backus toward the front of the vehicle, laying him over the jack.

“Once Matt picked me up off his jack, I was kind of assessing, like, am I really hurt? Does it just hurt a little bit? What’s going on?” Backus said. “And I looked over and, like, the whole quarter panel was crushed in. So like, if I was a foot to my left, or if our car parked a foot back, it was like, wow. And then obviously watching the overhead afterwards, it looks a lot closer than it needed to be.”

Amy Kontras | Getty Images

Many factors played into the fact that Backus, Donaghy, jackman Matt Wilps, front changer Dustin Necaise and fueler Luke Deal all walked away relatively unscathed. One was luck. Another key, though, was preparation, thanks in part to pit coach Terry Spalding.

Because O’Reilly pit stalls are picked mid-week based on the prior race’s qualifying results, the No. 19 team knew Crews would likely be entering his stall by driving around the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and pitting at angle. Backus knew the challenge that would come with that, so he opted to seek extra practice before flying to Gateway.

“We knew we were coming around all day, so I went in on Thursday, and Terry was there, so it was just me and Terry,” Backus said. “We were just doing approaches all day — short, angled in, coming around. So in that aspect, it got me extremely prepared for coming around. I mean, obviously, if that doesn’t happen (and) I don’t do that preparation, possibly, I’m not as good at getting to the car that day, so I would have met the 87 in that back bumper and just not even got to the tire.”

MORE: O’Reilly Series standings | Full 2026 schedule

After the incident, there was no hesitation to continue pitting the rest of the night. While their adrenaline and shock were sky high, another pit stop meant another opportunity to put that incident behind them.

“That’s our job. That’s kind of what we have to do,” Backus said. “I thought about it a little bit. There was a time the caution came out, and we were on the wall, and I was ready to do another stop. I just wanted to get it out of the way, and then obviously we ended up not coming down because everybody stayed out. I was a little upset — I guess not mad upset, but I was anxious to get the next stop out of the way. And then when we did get the next stop, obviously we’re still coming around the 17, so running out there again, same spot, and then in my head I’m like, ‘Wow, I’m actually out past the orange box. I’m three, four feet in pit road to come around.’ But no, I didn’t think about it a lot because if you do, you’re not going to be thinking about doing your job.”

Going through such a close encounter with danger also builds unity among teammates. From Spalding to Backus to Wilps and Donaghy, a band of crewmen instantly became that much closer.

“It definitely brings us together more because I mean we’re already a really close-knit group as it is,” Backus said. “I love the team I’m on that we have on and off the pit pad. It’s a great team, but just being in that moment and everything happening, and then obviously Matt’s picking me up and then Brad rolls over the front of the car. The first thing he said to me is like, ‘When I got up, the first thing I had to go in my head was, I got to go check on Backs.’ It just shows you how much each one of your team has actually cared about you, not just the performance aspect but in life.”

The No. 19 team is the same unit that pitted the No. 1 Tricon Garage Toyota for Nick Leitz in Thursday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Bristol. The group will get back to action in Friday’s Food City 300, the second race of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, ESPN Unlimited, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on September 18, 2026September 18, 2026 by Dustin Albino

At a historic venue that would be an ideal setting for a future WrestleMania, Bristol Motor Speedway has a knack for putting on a spectacle. The sport’s cream of the crop tends to shine at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile,” though some of NASCAR’s elite have struggled to find consistent success in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The most recent visit produced Ty Gibbs’ first Cup Series victory, a finish that unfolded almost too perfectly to be scripted, even by WWE standards.

Returning to Fastlane this year is my weekly NASCAR 36 for 36 pick, where you can come play along. It’s a season-long points battle introduced in 2024 where strategy is the primary emphasis. With 36 chartered cars and 36 races on the 2026 schedule, players can choose each car once for the duration of the season.

MUST START
Driver: Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 5 Chevrolet
Selections remaining: 4
Comment: The two-time Cup champion is getting hot at the right time. With a monstrous points day at World Wide Technology Raceway, Larson enters his best track nine points behind Denny Hamlin for the championship lead. The No. 5 team has won three of the last eight visits to Bristol, cracking the top five on seven occasions during that span.

Driver: Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 Toyota
Selections remaining: 4
Comment: Hamlin is every bit as strong as Larson at Bristol, winning three of his last 11 starts, including two of the last six. He has seven top 10s in the last eight races and ranks among the top five in points scored in five of the last six.

Driver: Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 54 Toyota
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: An emotional scene awaits Saturday night as M&M’s returns to JGR to honor the late Kyle Busch, a Bristol legend. Gibbs is building his own Bristol legacy, leading 465 laps in seven starts while posting a 5.0 average finish at short tracks in 2026, second only to Hamlin.

Sean Gardner | Getty Images

DRIVERS TO AVOID
Driver: Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, No. 45 Toyota
Selections remaining: 4
Comment: Given the aggression required at “The Last Great Colosseum,” Bristol would seem to fit Reddick’s wheelhouse. Yet consistency has eluded him at the Tennessee short track. He has just two top 10s in 10 starts and has led a grand total of seven laps. His fourth-place finish in the spring marked his first lead-lap finish here since 2021.

Driver: Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing, No. 23 Toyota
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: It could be a challenging weekend for 23XI. Wallace has a single top-10 finish in eight Bristol starts with the organization, coming in the fall of 2024. His 19.6 average finish across 14 career starts is the third-worst among Chase drivers, ahead of only Daniel Suárez (19.7) and Austin Cindric (22.7).

Chris Graythen | Getty Images

SLEEPERS OF THE WEEK
Driver: Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports, No. 77 Chevrolet
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: Ever since Hocevar jumped to the Cup level at the conclusion of the 2023 season, he’s ripped around Bristol, finishing 11th. Four of his six starts in Thunder Valley have been 11th or better, including two top 10s. Of course, this is a place where one of his enemies — got a lot of enemies — could trigger payback.

Driver: Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 9 Chevrolet
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: It feels odd calling Elliott, the 2020 Cup champion driving for powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports, a sleeper. But with the No. 9 team managing just one top-10 finish in its last 14 races, Bristol could be just what the doctor ordered. Elliott has never hoisted the victory sword in a points-paying Bristol race, but he has four finishes of eighth or better in his last seven starts.

Amy Kontras | Getty Images

FEATURED MATCHUPS
Chris Buescher vs. Ryan Preece
Pick: Preece
Comment: Via Buescher’s 2022 triumph, it would seem as though he’s the easy pick. Bristol is also his favorite venue on the NASCAR schedule. However, the No. 17 team has tumbled of late, with a best finish of 10th in the last 11 races in 2026. Meanwhile, Preece has top 10s in two of the last four Bristol starts.

Denny Hamlin vs. Joey Logano
Pick: Hamlin
Comment: In seven Next Gen races at the bullring, Logano has an average finish of 21.0. Hamlin has won two of those seven races, and you can almost guarantee he will be a threat again.

Ty Gibbs vs. Ryan Blaney
Pick: Gibbs
Comment: It was Gibbs who got the better of Blaney in April by .055 seconds to win his first Cup race. However, Blaney led 190 of 505 laps and was in position for the victory late until a caution in the final laps. Blaney has led 775 laps at Bristol, but this is Gibbs’ best venue statistically.

Kyle Larson vs. Christopher Bell
Pick: Larson
Comment: Bell, the defending winner of this race, tends to fly under the radar at Bristol. He has six top-10 finishes in the last seven Bristol races. But Larson is the best in the field at Bristol, placing sixth or better in 10 of his 12 last starts at the Tennessee short track.

MY LINEUP
Starting five: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell.
Garage: Chase Elliott.

36 FOR 36
Pick: Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 5 Chevrolet
Comment: Larson has been the thunder in Thunder Valley recently, and it’s a scary sight for the field to see the No. 5 team starting to regain its early-season consistency. Since taking over the No. 5 ride in 2021, Larson leads the series in several categories at Bristol, including: wins (three), top fives (seven), laps led (1,405), average finish (6.25), stage wins (seven), laps inside the top five (2,860) and top 10 (3,232).

Posted on September 17, 2026September 18, 2026 by Reid Spencer

BRISTOL, Tenn. — For Jake Garcia, it was a case of stealing thunder.

For the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Chase drivers, it was blunder after blunder.

Driving the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford, Garcia took control in the third stage of Thursday night’s UNOH 250 Presented by Ohio Logistics at Bristol Motor Speedway and went on to win for the first time in his 94th start.

In the Chase opener for the series, Garcia led three times for 104 laps. On Lap 230 of 250, he wrested the lead from Stewart Friesen with an inside pass and held it the rest of the way. Garcia took the checkered flag 1.305 seconds ahead of Bayley Currey, who passed Friesen for the runner-up spot on Lap 247.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Bristol

“I’m really proud of all my guys,” said Garcia, who started 12th on metrics per the NASCAR Rule Book. “They brought an amazing truck tonight. It was good today (in practice), but qualifying got rained out, so we got a good strategy that helped us come from the back, get some track position… and just kind of took off from there.”

Garcia ended a drought for ThorSport dating to Ty Majeski’s victory in the 2024 Championship 4 event at Phoenix Raceway, but it was hardly clear sailing to the finish. Garcia lost the lead to Friesen on a Lap 220 restart and spent the next 10 laps trying to regain it.

“Had some adversity on that last restart, but fortunately the truck was fast enough to overcome that,” Garcia said. “ThorSport Racing’s a really strong team, especially historically, so just proud of all my guys on the 98 team to be able to end that winless streak.”

Currey finished second in his first Truck Series start of the season. With Friesen third, Justin Haley fourth and Tristan McKee fifth — at age 16, the youngest driver in series history to score a top-five finish — no Chase driver finished better than sixth (Gio Ruggiero).

“I’ve still got it, I guess,” said Currey, who was driving the No. 5 Tricon Garage Toyota. “Just huge, huge thank you to everyone at Tricon, Toyota — just a great opportunity and glad we were able to make the most of it.

“I thought I was going to fumble it there at the end, but we were able to fight there and bring it home P2. Obviously wanted to win, but coming off the couch, I’m all right with it.”

In fact, the top four seeds in the Chase all experienced uncharacteristic difficulty. Top-seeded Layne Riggs started from the pole and won the first two stages wire-to-wire, leading the first 135 laps.

But Riggs was sixth out of the pits for the start of the final stage, and on Lap 156, he radioed to his crew that his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford had a loose right rear wheel. Riggs pitted for four tires on Lap 161 but lost two laps to the leaders and never recovered.

After contact with the damaged No. 1 Toyota of Nick Leitz late in the race, Riggs was forced to pit road again and finished 32nd, 16 laps down.

The two stage wins proved to be a godsend for Riggs, who retained the Chase lead by three points over Kaden Honeycutt. The driver of the No. 11 Toyota finished eighth despite an unscheduled pit stop with a loose wheel under caution late in the race.

“There was a lot of fighting tonight,” Riggs said. “I’m just thankful that we had a fast-enough truck that we won the first two stages and got some points, but we just came down pit road and had an absolute catastrophe of a stop.

“I don’t understand how we were that slow on the stop, and we didn’t get the wheels tight… I’m very frustrated. I feel like we had the truck to beat again.”

Third-seeded Chandler Smith suffered a speeding penalty at the Stage 2 break before losing air in a tire late in the final run. Smith finished 24th and leaves Bristol third in the standings, 30 points behind Riggs.

WATCH: Smith pits late with right-front vibration

The Chevrolet of fourth-seeded Christian Eckes suffered early front-end damage and finished 30th. Eckes dropped four spots to eighth in the Chase standings, 58 points out of the lead.

Behind Ruggiero, William Sawalich, Honeycutt, Majeski and Grant Enfinger completed the top 10.

The Chase resumes for the Truck Series on Sept. 26 in the Race to Stop Suicide 200 at Kansas Speedway (1 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed without issue in the Craftsman Truck Series garage, confirming Jake Garcia as the winner. The Nos. 5 and 38 trucks each had one lug nut not safe and secure and will lose pit-stall selection next Saturday at Kansas Speedway.

Posted on September 17, 2026September 17, 2026 by Mike Hembree

BRISTOL, Tenn. – From top seed, to polesitter, to double-stage winner, to a 32nd-place finish.

That was Craftsman Truck Series top gun Layne Riggs’ Thursday night at Bristol Motor Speedway in the UNOH 250 Chase presented by Mobil 1 opener, and the result left him teetering on the edge of losing the point lead.

In winning the race’s first two stages with relative ease, Riggs led the race’s first 135 laps. Then he saw everything dissolve into disarray almost immediately. The team had a slow pit stop at the end of the second stage, dropping Riggs to sixth.

He gained three positions but then returned to pit road with a loose wheel, with the stop leaving him two laps down. Later, an on-track encounter with Nick Leitz left Riggs’ truck crippled, and a night that could have been golden instead ended with Riggs kicking the side of his truck several times after the race.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Bristol

“We lost that one,” Riggs said. “We lost that one on pit road tonight. I don’t know what happened there. I mean, we had a really slow stop, first of all. And then we didn’t even get the wheel tight, either. I feel like we had the truck to beat. This stings really, really bad.”

Riggs kept the point lead thanks to his blistering runs through the first two stages, but his margin was cut from 25 points to three over second-place Kaden Honeycutt, changing the flavor of the race for the Chase lead.

For Riggs, who won six races during the regular season with a total of 598 laps in front of the field, it was a tough comedown – his worst finish of the year.

“Once you’re mired in the back and you’re two laps down, you’re just riding around with the guys in the back,” Riggs said. “I guess the No. 1 (Leitz) just lost talent and wrecked. I don’t really know what happened there.

“I had probably one of the top three hardest hits in my life. I can’t believe the truck was still rolling after that. Everything was just broke, destroyed. We should have just parked it, but I was trying to get as many laps in as possible. You have to beat the guys that are on your lap. Not doing much racing right there.”

Riggs seemed surprised when told he still had the point lead. Front Row mate Chandler Smith and Honeycutt had separate issues in the race’s late going.

“It could have been a lot worse of a day,” he said. “We’ve got to clean that up to win a championship.”

Posted on September 17, 2026September 17, 2026 by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 17, 2026) — NASCAR® today announced a landmark long-term partnership with FedEx Freight® that will make the newly independent freight transportation leader the entitlement partner of the NASCAR Truck Series beginning in 2027.

The NASCAR FedEx Freight Truck Series brings together two brands deeply connected to the trucking industry and the people who keep America moving — pairing North America’s largest less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier with a NASCAR series defined by toughness, relentless competition and some of the hardest racing in motorsports.

The agreement also represents a significant milestone for FedEx Freight as a newly independent, publicly traded company. The NASCAR sponsorship marks the first time FedEx Freight has placed its brand behind a sponsorship platform of this scale, using one of the most prominent entitlement positions in American motorsports to build awareness of the standalone FedEx Freight brand and deepen relationships with customers, employees and business leaders across the country.

“FedEx Freight choosing NASCAR for a brand investment of this magnitude says a lot about where our sport is today and the value our platform can deliver to businesses looking to grow,” said Craig Stimmel, SVP and chief commercial officer, NASCAR. “And there may not be a more natural pairing than FedEx Freight and the NASCAR Truck Series. This is a series built on trucks, toughness and people who compete incredibly hard to deliver every single week. That same grit, reliability and get-it-done mentality is embedded in FedEx Freight. As they continue to establish their identity as an independent company, we have an incredible opportunity to put that brand in front of millions of fans while creating real business value throughout the NASCAR industry.”

As part of the agreement, FedEx Freight will also become an Official Partner of NASCAR and NASCAR’s exclusive freight shipping partner in the United States, Canada and Mexico beginning Jan. 1, 2027.

The sponsorship gives FedEx Freight a year-round national platform reaching well beyond race-day visibility. Through the NASCAR ecosystem, FedEx Freight will connect with customers, employees and communities while leveraging NASCAR’s national reach, highly engaged fanbase and extensive business network to drive brand awareness, customer engagement, B2B lead generation, employee recognition and community impact.

“Some partnerships just make sense. As FedEx Freight moves forward in its next chapter as an independent company, we are focused on opportunities that strengthen our brand and support our long-term growth strategy and we are confident the NASCAR FedEx Freight Truck Series will deliver,” said John Smith, president and CEO, FedEx Freight.

“NASCAR and its loyal fanbase represent the same commitment to safety, hard work, reliability and teamwork that has defined our company for decades,” Smith said. “NASCAR provides a powerful platform to connect with customers, engage our dedicated team members and introduce the FedEx Freight brand to millions of passionate fans nationwide. This is a series built on trucks and being number one. It is a relationship that reflects our confidence in the future and our commitment to building a strong company positioned for continued success.”

At the center of the sponsorship will be the NASCAR FedEx Freight Truck Series entitlement and targeted activation in key markets surrounding FedEx Freight distribution locations.

For NASCAR, the partnership continues a period of significant commercial momentum as major brands increasingly view the sport as a platform capable of delivering not only consumer engagement and national visibility, but also meaningful business-to-business relationships, employee engagement and long-term brand growth.

The alignment extends beyond their shared connection to trucks. FedEx Freight operates a network of more than 365 locations supported by 40,000 team members and nearly 30,000 vehicles, providing another natural bridge to NASCAR’s national footprint and the communities in which the sport races.

Over the coming years, NASCAR and FedEx Freight will work to develop additional opportunities to engage fans, employees, customers and the broader business community. Together, the organizations will build a platform around shared commitments to performance, safety, reliability and delivering when it matters most.