Bass Pro Shops Night Race Preview: World's Fastest Half-Mile

This weekend we return to the famous short track in Bristol, Tennessee for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. The high-contact, short track action under the lights is one of the most popular races in the schedule. It's been a long, hard haul since race number nine of the season, which was the last time NASCAR's top division visited Thunder Valley. Since that time, we've seen William Byron win the regular season championship. We've seen Bubba Wallace rediscover victory lane at Indianapolis after a long dry spell. We've seen Shane van Gisbergen stack up an amazing four victories on various road circuits. We've also seen Austin Dillon's upset victory at Richmond as well as Denny Hamlin's series-leading fifth win of the season this past weekend at Gateway. So, a lot has happened since the NASCAR Cup Series last visited the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway. 

This visit to Bristol Motor Speedway will be different than the recent past. The late-summer Bristol race is no longer a part of the regular season schedule but now makes up the first segment of the Cup Series playoffs. This is the third race of the opening round and the cutoff to advance into the second round of the NASCAR playoffs. To advance, drivers simply have to win or be below the cut line of the Top 12 in the championship points. That added urgency to advance will really crank up the pressure for this 500-lap battle. Tensions will be high and so will be the pressure to advance and stay in the battle for the 2025 championship.    

In preparing our fantasy race teams this week, we'll need to take a close look at the last 20 years at Bristol Motor Speedway in order to collect some recent data on the drivers. The loop stats from these 37 races will be very useful. This span will cover Bristol's recent history and should bear some great data. In forming this week's driver list we'll also pay some attention to current hot streaks. Drivers who raced well recently at Richmond should carry that momentum into the World's Fastest Half Mile this Saturday night. Here are the loop stats for the top-performing Bristol drivers, sorted by driver rating.  

This season's first race at Bristol Motor Speedway in April of this year, it was the Food City 500. There were 39 cars on the track that day, but it would evolve into a one man show very quickly. Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson would set the early pace, but it would be Larson that would eventually dominate and lead 411 of the 500 laps and pound the field into the pavement. However, there were a handful of surprises in the finishing order that day. There was a scarcity of caution flags (three total) due to accidents or stage breaks over the 500 scheduled laps, do the racing would be pretty continuous. The win would be Larson's second in-a-row at Bristol Motor Speedway and his third-career victory on the high banks of BMS. At lot has changed in the manufacturer hierarchy since that race, so it will be interesting to see if Larson and Chevrolet can hold onto their grip of the Bristol oval or if the recently hot Toyota camp of drivers can supplant them at the top.

If we look back at the previous five races at Bristol, we see that each of the three manufacturers have reached victory lane. Toyota and Chevrolet are leading the way with two victories each, followed by Ford with one. With this race serving as the cutoff to the Round of 12 in the playoffs, we're going to see a lot of contact and pushing this week. Manners will go out the window, and it will be a mad scramble to advance in NASCAR's postseason. Let's take a look at the historical loop stats and recent hot streaks and see if we can clear up the picture and give you the drivers you need this weekend to conquer the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway.

The Contenders – Drivers in the hunt for the win

Denny Hamlin – With two short track victories already this season, including the race earlier this year at Martinsville, Hamlin is poised to make a big splash at Bristol Motor Speedway this Saturday night. The driver of the No. 11 Toyota is a four-time Bristol winner and most recently last season. Hamlin cracks the Top 5 at a strong 36-percent rate and he's led close to 1,200 laps for his career at this half-mile oval. He tends to step it up a notch for the events under the lights, so optimism in that trend should be even higher. The Joe Gibbs Racing star qualified on the second row and finished runner-up here in April's Food City 500. With the next round of the playoffs approaching, Hamlin is capable of a statement win this weekend in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race.

Kyle Larson – Larson has won the last two races at Bristol Motor Speedway and in dominating style. He led 462 of 500 laps in this event one year ago and he returned this spring to lead 411 of the 500 laps and march away with his third-career Bristol victory. Larson rides a six-race Bristol Top-5 streak into this weekend's action, including 1,762 career laps led at the World's Fastest Half Mile. The Hendrick Motorsports star has one win, 420 laps led and four Top-5 finishes this season on the circuit's short tracks, so the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet is currently capable of pulling off a big performance. With the playoffs well underway, the importance of a win at Bristol can't be understated. Larson will drive with utmost purpose in this 500-lap battle under the lights.

Ryan Blaney – Bristol Motor Speedway has been an oval of gradual improvement for the Penske Racing star. Blaney has never won here but his sixth- and fifth-place finishes in his last two BMS starts have elevated his Top-10 percentage to 41-percent at the track. In April's Food City 500, the driver of the No. 12 Ford led 48 laps and battled to a strong fifth-place finish. That puts this driver and team directly on our contender radar screen for Saturday night's Bass Pro Shops Night Race. Blaney has been steadily improving on short tracks over the course of this season and has three Top-5 and four Top-10 finishes in his last four short track starts. He's also been heating up heading into the playoffs with three Top-5 finishes in his last four events including his big win at Daytona. Blaney is a driver not to be overlooked at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Chase Briscoe – The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has yet to make his mark on Bristol Motor Speedway, but Briscoe does have eighth- and fourth-place finishes in his last two starts here. That could foreshadow a big performance this Saturday night under the lights for the No. 19 Toyota team. Briscoe has three Top-5 finishes, including two runner-up finishes (Dover and Iowa) in his last four short track starts. With a win at Darlington two weeks ago and a runner-up finish at Gateway this past Sunday, you won't find a hotter driver coming to Bristol this weekend. Everything this driver and team have touched in recent weeks seems to turn into gold. We would not rule out a first-career Bristol win for Briscoe this Saturday night.   

Solid Plays – Near locks for a Top 10 with an outside shot to win

Christopher Bell – Bell is coming off a strong seventh-place showing at Gateway and looking to punch his ticket into the Round of 12 in the NASCAR playoffs. He's battled through some inconsistency of late but that appears to be behind him after last Sunday at Gateway. Bell will now sharpen his focus on a Bristol short track that has given him some good performances in his brief NASCAR career. The driver of the No. 20 Toyota rides a five-race Bristol Top-10 streak into this Saturday night and he owns one win and one runner-up finish in four-career Xfinity Series starts at the famous half-mile oval. Bell is having a very good season on the short tracks, and he should crack the Top 10 in Saturday night's playoff race under the lights at Bristol.     

Chase Elliott – The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet has Top 10's in four of his last five Bristol starts coming into East Tennessee this weekend. Elliott has 16-career starts at Bristol Motor Speedway and they've yielded nine Top-10 finishes or a 56-percent Top-10 rate. Our major reason for optimism this weekend for the Hendrick Motorsports driver is twofold. Elliott has been a steady performer on short tracks this season with a respectable 14.5 average finish and 50-percent Top-10 rate. The secondary reason is that he's been a very consistent and strong performer over his career at Bristol Motor Speedway. There is great potential for Elliott this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.     

Ty Gibbs – The young Joe Gibbs Racing driver has been a pedestrian short track performer this season (33-percent Top-10 rate), however, Bristol Motor Speedway is a bit of a different animal. Gibbs has loved this place ever since promoting to NASCAR's top division. He has three Top-10 finishes in his five-career starts at the Tennessee short track. Gibbs has led a whopping 239 combined laps during that time. He started sixth on the gird in April's Food City 500 and finished Bristol career-best third-place earlier this season. Gibbs does not factor in the playoff discussion, but he could be one of a handful of non-playoff drivers that has a dramatic impact on the outcome of this race Saturday night at the half-mile oval.     

William Byron – Byron has been a bit inconsistent on the short tracks in 2025, so we've slotted him in the solid plays list this week. A win recently at Iowa Speedway and sixth-place earlier this season at Bristol are the biggest highlights. Bristol Motor Speedway has held marginal success for the young driver, but the good news is that it's all come in his last six starts at the half-mile oval. Byron has two Top-5 and four Top-10 finishes in those efforts. The Hendrick Motorsports star's sixth-place finish in April's Food City 500 is a good benchmark for expectations this weekend. With the playoff cut line looming this weekend the No. 24 Chevrolet team should be on their "A" game for this 500-lap battle.

Sleepers – Drivers with good history at Bristol & solid upside

Joey Logano – The season started pretty shaky for Logano on the short tracks as he only nabbed one Top 10 in the first four events but he's since gathered things up and started to perform better. The Penske Racing star has grabbed ninth- and fourth-place finishes in his last two short track outings (Iowa and Richmond) and now he sets his sights on Bristol. Logano is coming off a strong fifth-place at Gateway as "Mr. Playoff" again understands what time of year we have entered. The driver of the No. 22 Ford has been shaky in his last five Bristol outings but we believe he can turn the corner here. Logano is a two-time Bristol winner and has 10-career Top 10's at the World's Fastest Half Mile.           

Alex Bowman – Bowman will scramble to advance into the Round of 12 of the playoffs with a steady performance Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway and some help needed with luck. The Hendrick Motorsports veteran has been an inconsistent performer at BMS over the years, however, he's captured the last two pole positions at the Tennessee short track and led 73-combined laps in those two events. Bowman has grabbed Top 10's in two of his last three Bristol appearances, so he's improving his career record here. Short tracks have been kind to the No. 48 team this season with a 67-percent Top-10 rate and recent finishes of third-, seventh- and second-place at Dover, Iowa and Richmond.

Ross Chastain – Bristol Motor Speedway was a track of struggles for Chastain for a good part of his early Cup Series career. However, the veteran driver seems to have figured the place out since 2022. The driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet has three Top-10 and four Top-15 finishes in his last five Bristol starts and that has improved his Top-10 rate here to 30-percent. He didn't qualify well in April's Food City 500 but was undaunted in driving to a strong seventh-place finish in his last Bristol appearance. With playoff advancement hanging in the balance, the added urgency will do Chastain good. As we saw at Bristol a few years ago with the Hail Melon tactic, he's willing to pull out all the stops to advance in the playoffs.   

Brad Keselowski – The owner/driver of the No. 6 Ford has a long history at Bristol Motor Speedway. Keselowski has three wins, the most recent in 2020, in 28-career starts at the Tennessee short track. Recent outings have yielded a pair of Top-10 finishes in his last four efforts. Keselowski has been pretty dialed-in at BMS in this most recent span of races. Those finishes have elevated his Top-10 rate at Bristol to 36-percent. Short tracks have been a good set of ovals for the No. 6 Ford team in the second half of this season. Keselowski has a string of three consecutive Top-10 finishes on ovals one-mile in size and less and a strong 7.3 average finish over that span. The veteran driver is looking to finish the 2025 season strong.

Bubba Wallace – The playoff stakes have never been higher for Wallace and the No. 23 Toyota team. He should advance into the Round of 12 if he just stays out of trouble and grabs a good finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. The good news is that he finished a brilliant third-place in this event one year ago for his best ever Bristol performance and he's cracked the Top 15 twice in his last four Bristol starts. The 23XI Racing veteran has been a steady play on the short tracks this season with a solid 50-percent Top-10 rate and reasonable 15.3 average finish on those small ovals. Wallace was a 19th-place finisher last time out at BMS in April, but we believe he'll be much better in Saturday night's Bass Pro Shops Night Race.

Austin Dillon – Dillon has really come on this season on the short tracks. He has one win and three Top-10 finishes (50-percent) for a strong 11.0 average finish on the bull ring tracks. The win came most recently at Richmond where the driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet had a strong car, led 107 laps and took the win in the Cook Out 400. Bristol Motor Speedway has only yielded marginal success to the Richard Childress Racing veteran. Dillon's four Top 10's here only work out to a modest 20-percent rate. However, one of those Top-10 performances came in April's Food City 500. That was Dillon's last look at the half-mile Tennessee oval. A good precursor heading into Saturday night.      

Slow Down – Drivers to avoid this week

Tyler Reddick – Reddick has been a shaky performer on the short tracks this season, and his Bristol resume is not reassuring heading into this playoff race. He has eight-career starts on the Tennessee short track and just one Top-10 finish to his credit (13-percent). In April of this year Reddick labored to a 18th-place finish in the Food City 500. That pulled his career average finish at this track down to 20.0. That 18th-place finish is actually one of Reddick's better Bristol efforts in recent seasons. That says a lot about this driver and team's chances this weekend. Keep Reddick and the No. 45 Toyota team in mind for Kansas Speedway in two weeks but keep him benched at Bristol. 

Kyle Busch – The eight-time Bristol winner has had his struggles at one of his better short tracks in recent outings. Busch has cracked the Top 15 only once in his last six Bristol Motor Speedway starts. He hasn't finished on the lead lap in a single one of those events. The Richard Childress Racing star has had a really rough season on the bull ring circuit. Busch has just one Top 10 in six starts on tracks one-mile in size and less (17-percent) and he's failed to lead a single lap on these tracks in 2025. This level of performance is a stark contrast against one of the best short track resumes in modern NASCAR history. We don't expect this trendline to change for the No. 8 Chevrolet team this Saturday night in Bristol.  

Todd Gilliland – Gilliland now has five-career Cup Series starts in Thunder Valley and he's yet to visit the Top 10 at Bristol Motor Speedway. His 35th-place finish in April's Food City 500 is a dark precursor shadowing any fantasy racing expectations for the No. 34 Ford team this weekend. Gilliland owns a 25.4 average finish at Bristol and that's among one of the worst averages among full time drivers at the track. Short tracks have been brutal for the Front Row Motorsports youngster in 2025 with only one Top 10 in six starts (17-percent) and an inflated average finish of 24.3 on ovals one-mile in size or less. Dismiss any thoughts of utilizing Gilliland and the No. 34 Ford team at Bristol Motor Speedway.   

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Aside from a 2014 to 2018 hot streak at Bristol Motor Speedway, Stenhouse has struggled for much of his career at the Tennessee short track. With seven Top 10's in 22-career starts, his Top-10 rate stands at 32-percent. He's cracked the Top 10 just once in his last 11 Bristol starts, which is a rate well below his career average. Stenhouse is much more well know for his superspeedway success and some success on intermediate ovals. This season's short track statistics bear this fact out. In six starts on the NASCAR bull rings, Stenhouse has managed just one Top-20 finish and an inflated 23.7 average finish. His start earlier this season at Bristol was a subpar 22nd-place finish.