The NASCAR Cup Series continues the playoffs with the Round of 16 cutoff race on Saturday, the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Four drivers will be cut from the playoff field following the race, with the bottom four in the points standings having their championship hopes end.
Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Harrison Burton start the day below the cutline, but all are within range of pushing into the top 12 on points. And a win sends a playoff driver through to the next round too.
Alex Bowman is on the pole and in a good spot regarding the playoff cutline (41 points ahead of 13th). We'll keep tabs on the playoff battle all evening long.
Follow along with our live race updates, with green flag set for after 6:30 p.m. CT at Bristol.
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NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol: Live updates, highlights, live leaderboard for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race
LIVE LEADERBOARD:Full field leaderboard of NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol
Kyle Larson dominates at Bristol
Kyle Larson leads 462 of 500 laps to win the night race at Bristol over Chase Elliott.
Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Harrison Burton are eliminated from the playoffs.
Lap 483: Ty Gibbs is a lap down
Ty Gibbs goes a lap down in 13th, and he's in a tough spot re: the playoff points standings.
Daniel Suarez is 17 laps away from advancing to the Round of 12 despite sitting in 30th.
Lap 450: Kyle Larson up past 400 laps led today
Kyle Larson has led 411 of 450 laps with 50 to go. Larson leads Chase Elliott by 1.5 seconds. It appears to be Ty Gibbs vs. Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe and Daniel Suarez for the final three spots. Gibbs will need to improve from 8th depending on if there's a caution or not. Suarez remains outside the top 30.
Tyler Reddick goes a lap down.
Lap 420: Martin Truex Jr. goes a lap down
Kyle Larson finally completes the pass on Martin Truex Jr. to put the No. 19 Toyota a lap down, with help from a slow lapped car. This is a stunning stretch of bad luck and poor performance for Truex.
Lap 410: Martin Truex Jr. trying to stay on lead lap
Kyle Larson is working hard to try and put Martin Truex Jr. a lap down, but Truex is doing well to hold him off on the high lane.
Lap 392: Martin Truex Jr. still stuck in 24th
Martin Truex Jr. is now the final car on the lead lap and is still 24th. He'll need some fortune to have a chance to move up.
Lap 340: No one can test Kyle Larson yet
Kyle Larson continues to lead off the restarts, with teammate Chase Elliott in second after a good pit stop. Chase Briscoe had a slow stop but has moved up to 7th, with Ty Gibbs in 8th. Martin Truex Jr. is 24th.
Lap 333: Martin Truex Jr. penalized for speeding on pit road
Martin Truex Jr. will start at the rear of the field after going too fast on pit road. Wow. It's been a tough two months for Truex.
It's been so difficult to race through the pack, but Truex will need to do so to make the next round.
Corey Lajoie is done for the day.
Lap 330: Corey Lajoie spins down the backstretch
Caution is out for Corey Lajoie, who spins off the front bumper of Josh Berry. Not sure what that was about, whether it be racing incident or not.
Lajoie has front-end damage. The leaders will pit.
Denny Hamlin reports that he didn't have the grip he wanted through the corners during that run, and that he was loose throughout.
Lap 322: Chase Elliott drives into the top five
Chase Elliott is in the top five for the first time today, and it appears his car is best on the long run. In front of him, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. are three-wide for second place.
Lap 305: Ty Gibbs still hasn't moved up after penalty
Ty Gibbs runs in 16th, still mired midpack after the post-Stage 1 speeding penalty. Tyler Reddick, who had to pit after Stage 2, is 21st out of 24 lead-lap cars.
Could make for a nervy final two pit stops. Playoff teams near the cutline cannot afford a pit road penalty.
Lap 265: Kyle Larson continues to lead
Kyle Larson continues to hold the lead after the restart, with Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe in the top five.
Bristol stage points by driver
The combined stage points tonight:
- Kyle Larson (20 points, 2 playoff points)
- Martin Truex Jr. (16 points)
- Christopher Bell (14 points)
- Denny Hamlin (13 points)
- Alex Bowman (13 points)
- Chase Briscoe (7 points)
- Tyler Reddick (7 points)
- Bubba Wallace (6 points)
- William Byron (6 points)
- Chase Elliott (3 points)
- Ty Gibbs (3 points)
- Ryan Blaney (2 points)
Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell will advance to Round of 12
Alex Bowman and Christopher Bell have clinched spots in the Round of 12. Bowman earned it after the Stage 2 points, while Bell clinched with points in Stage 1.
They join Joey Logano as the drivers secured into the Round of 12.
Kyle Larson wins Stage 2
Kyle Larson passes Tyler Reddick on the two-lap dash to the end of the stage and wins Stage 2.
The top 10:
- Kyle Larson (10 points, 1 playoff point)
- Martin Truex Jr. (9 points)
- Denny Hamlin (8 points)
- Tyler Reddick (7 points)
- Christopher Bell (6 points)
- Bubba Wallace (5 points)
- Alex Bowman (4 points)
- Chase Briscoe (3 points)
- Ryan Blaney (2 points)
- Chase Elliott (1 point)
Reddick and Truex Jr. benefitted the most by that end-of-stage shakeup.
Lap 244: Joey Logano crashes
Joey Logano is advancing to the Round of 12 via the win at Atlanta, but he likely won't win at Bristol. He spins off of Turn 4 and hits the inside wall. He has damage all around his Ford along with a tire down.
The leaders will pit. Very interesting decision given the stage end coming in six laps. Tyler Reddick appears to be the only lead lap car not to pit.
Harrison Burton drove his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford to the garage with the steering issues. He will not advance.
Lap 225: Harrison Burton says he's losing power steering
Harrison Burton needed a very good day at Bristol, but that is not happening. He is two laps down in 34th and is reporting that his power steering is failing. It appears Burton's playoff run will end tonight.
25 laps to go in Stage 2 with Kyle Larson leading Christopher Bell.
Lap 200: Daniel Suarez now two laps down
Daniel Suarez goes two laps down and is 32nd. Going to be a nervous final 300 laps for Trackhouse.
Chase Briscoe has had quite the day inside his Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. After reporting to his team that his digital mirror isn't working, he now reports smoke inside the car. That being said, he's running 4th.
Lap 130: Kyle Larson continues to lead
An odd restart ends up benefitting Kyle Larson after Christopher Bell hesitates at the green flag.
Martin Truex Jr. takes control of third.
Ty Gibbs penalized for speeding
Ty Gibbs is too fast on pit road and will have to start at the back of the pack on the restart. That is a critical error for Gibbs, who entered the race right on the cutline. It won't be easy to get back into the top 10 in Stage 2 for him.
Kyle Larson wins Stage 1
Kyle Larson wins Stage 1 by 1.5 seconds over Alex Bowman. Nine of the top 10 in the stage are playoff drivers.
The top 10:
- Kyle Larson (10 points, 1 playoff point)
- Alex Bowman (9 points)
- Christopher Bell (8 points)
- Martin Truex Jr. (7 points)
- William Byron (6 points)
- Denny Hamlin (5 points)
- Chase Briscoe (4 points)
- Ty Gibbs (3 points)
- Chase Elliott (2 points)
- Bubba Wallace (1 point)
Lap 105: Brad Keselowski goes a lap down
Kyle Larson puts playoff driver Brad Keselowski a lap down with 20 laps to go before the end of Stage 1. Keselowski is running in 27th.
Lap 75: Leader Kyle Larson stalled out in lap traffic
Kyle Larson has been stymied by 30th-place Erik Jones and 29th-place Kyle Busch as he tries to work through lap traffic. Alex Bowman is still a second behind, with Martin Truex Jr., William Byron and Christopher Bell in the top five.
Playoff driver Daniel Suarez was not so lucky, running in 31st place and now a lap down. He came into Bristol with a 36-point advantage over the cutline.
Lap 35: Kyle Larson to the lead
Kyle Larson is up on the high side and passes Alex Bowman for the lead. Lap traffic will play a role imminently.
Lap 25: Martin Truex Jr. up to third
Good start to the race for Martin Truex Jr., who needs a good day to advance to the Round of 12. He's up to third behind Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson.
Bowman will catch the back of the pack soon.
Lap 5: Caution for John Hunter Nemechek
John Hunter Nemechek spins off of turn 2 after getting up against the wall. He's got damage to the right side of the race car.
This is one of these races where it can feel very slow with a lot of cautions. And there have been many races here with 10+ cautions over a 500-lapper.
Lap 1: Alex Bowman rockets to the lead
Good start for Alex Bowman, who surges to the lead at the green flag.
About ready to go green for 500 laps
After the National Anthem sung by the children of the drivers and crew members, the drivers have fired the engines.
Here we go at Bristol under the lights.
Alex Bowman on the pole; full NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race in Bristol starting lineup
Alex Bowman led a Hendrick Motorsports sweep of the top three spots for Saturday's race by earning his first pole of the season.
The top 10:
- Alex Bowman, No. 48Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Chase Briscoe, No. 14Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Christopher Bell, No. 20Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Corey Lajoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
- Chase Elliott, No. 9Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Find thefull starting lineuphere.
NASCAR race radio coverage: How to listen to NASCAR Cup race at Bristol
The Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol will be aired on the radio by the Performance Racing Network. PRN has affiliates all across the country, and their feed can also be streamed onNASCAR.comas well as the NASCAR app. The race can also be heard on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
NASCAR Cup Series Bristol race TV schedule, start time
- Green Flag Time:Approx. 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, September 21
- TV coverage:USA Network (Watch FREE on Fubo)
- Radio: Performance Racing Network (102.5 FM in Nashville)
- Streaming:FUBO(free trial available); NBC Sports app (subscription required); NASCAR.com and SiriusXM for audio (subscription required).
The Bass Pro Shops Night Race will be broadcast nationally on USA Network. Streaming options for the race include the NBC Sports app andFUBO, which offers afree trialto potential subscribers.
Recent NASCAR Cup Series winners at Bristol
- 2024 spring: Denny Hamlin
- 2023 summer:Denny Hamlin
- 2022 summer: Chris Buescher
- 2021 summer: Kyle Larson
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