With all three NASCAR national series now officially in playoff competition, the sport will head to “The Last Great Colosseum”, Bristol Motor Speedway, for the traditional tripleheader under the lights.
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The weekend will open on Thursday evening with the Craftsman Truck Series’ UNOH 250 presented by Ohio Logistics, the second race of the Round of 10, with all four Team Chevy playoff contenders sitting above the cutline. Friday evening will see seven Team Chevy drivers begin their championship title run in the Food City 300, with the Cup Series facing its first postseason elimination race in Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race.
Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol:
Kyle Larson’s victory in the NASCAR Cup Series’ most recent visit to Bristol Motor Speedway (Apr. 2025) extended the Bowtie brand’s already record-setting win count at the track to 48 all-time triumphs. Among those wins includes Chevrolet’s milestone 600th all-time triumph in NASCAR’s top division – delivered by Kyle Busch behind the wheel of a Hendrick Motorsports-prepared Chevrolet. The 40-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada, native is the track’s winningest driver in the division with eight victories – a record that’s double the next leading competitor, Denny Hamlin, with four wins. Larson’s trip to victory lane in the series’ spring race marked his third Cup Series win at Bristol – moving the 33-year-old Elk Grove, California, native to third on track’s all-time wins list for active drivers.
LARSON LEADS INTO FIRST ELIMINATION RACE
The NASCAR Cup Series is on the brink of its first elimination race of the 2025 playoffs, with Saturday’s 500-lap event determining the 12 drivers that will continue on in their championship title chase. Among those looking for a guaranteed ticket into the Round of 12 includes the track’s defending winner, Kyle Larson, who will head into the weekend with the biggest points cushion of 60-points over the cutline. Larson is among the four Team Chevy playoff contenders that will enter the elimination race ranked in the top-12 of the standings – all of which hold a double-digit points advantage over the bubble (William Byron +39; Chase Elliott +28; and Ross Chastain +19). The series’ last appearance at the high-banked half-mile saw four Team Chevy playoff contenders collect top-10 finishes with Larson’s win accompanied by a sixth-place finish by William Byron; a seventh-place finish by Ross Chastain; and a 10th-place finish by Austin Dillon.
Larson Looking for a Three-Peat:
Among the NASCAR Cup Series’ active past winners at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson ranks third with his three wins tying Brad Keselowski. Larson first conquered the concrete half-mile in the 2021 night race – a triumph that ultimately led to his championship title. The 33-year-old Elk Grove, California, native returns to Bristol as the winner in the series’ past two events at the track – both masterful performances that saw the Team Chevy driver tally the most laps led (Sept. 2024 – 462 laps led; Apr. 2025 – 411 laps led) and a sweep of the stage wins en route to the victory. A win in Saturday’s event would make Larson just the fifth driver in series’ history to earn three-straight victories at Bristol.
Dillon Remains in Striking Distance:
Despite a dismal day at World Wide Technology Raceway, Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team capitalized on strategy to score crucial stage points and salvage an 18th-place finish to keep the team in striking distance to advance to the Round of 12. The Richard Boswell-led team will enter the weekend in the first position below the cutline with just an 11-point deficit. Short-tracks have been Dillon’s strong suit this season, with the 35-year-old Welcome, North Carolina, native earning top-10 results in three of the four events held at tracks measuring less than one-mile. Among those includes a 10th-place finish in the Bristol spring event, as well as his win at Richmond Raceway just one month ago.
SEVEN TEAM CHEVY DRIVERS SET TO COMPETE FOR NXS CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE
Chevrolet’s momentum heading into the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs is unmatched, with the manufacturer sitting at a record-setting 23 wins in 26 races heading into the final stretch towards the championship. With a second-consecutive driver championship in focus, Team Chevy will see a series-leading seven drivers representing three different Chevrolet organizations compete in the title chase including JR Motorsports’ Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Carson Kvapil; Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love and Austin Hill; and Big Machine Racing’s Nick Sanchez.
Rookie Records:
Connor Zilisch has put together a rookie campaign for the record books. The 19-year-old Mooresville, North Carolina, native capped off the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ regular season with his ninth victory of the season at World Wide Technology Raceway – extending his streak to four-straight to tie the series’ record for consecutive wins by a single driver. The race-high 59-point day was enough for the rookie to take the regular season title from his JR Motorsports teammate and the series’ defending champion, Justin Allgaier. The victory also marked JR Motorsports’ 16th win of the season – breaking the organization’s record for the most wins in a single season in the division.
HEMRIC WITH STRONG PLAYOFFS START
All four Team Chevy playoff contenders will head into the second race of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Round of 10 above the cutline – led by Daniel Hemric and the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet team, who currently sits in the third position with a 33-point advantage over the cutline. The 34-year-old Kannapolis, North Carolina, native started his second career campaign in the series’ playoffs with a strong performance in the opening race at Darlington Raceway – turning in a 49-point day (third-best of the race) to move the Team Chevy driver up one position in the standings. Hemric heads into Bristol with nine top-fives and 14 top-10s, which puts him second in the series behind the current points leader, Corey Heim.
BUILDING ONTO A TRIUMPHANT SEASON STREAK
As the manufacturer championship battle continues to heat up, Chevrolet will have the opportunity to make history this season. If the Bowtie brand is able to sweep the manufacturer championship title in all three NASCAR national series once again, the feat will mark the longest streak of manufacturer championship title sweeps by a single manufacturer in NASCAR history. With all three divisions officially in playoff mode, Chevrolet will enter the weekend atop the manufacturer standings in NASCAR’s top-two divisions with a 26-point lead in the Cup Series and a 179-point lead in the Xfinity Series, with the Bowtie brand sitting at just a seven-point deficit in the Truck Series standings. Chevrolet has earned at least one victory in the NASCAR national ranks in the past 11 consecutive race weekends – dating back to the manufacturer’s doubleheader sweep in Mexico City.
Chevrolet’s season statistics with 28 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:
Wins: 12
Poles: 10
Laps Led: 3,188
Top-Fives: 54
Top-10s: 115
Stage Wins: 22
Chevrolet’s season statistics with 26 NASCAR Xfinity Series races complete:
Wins: 23
Poles: 16
Laps Led: 3,099
Top-Fives: 88
Top-10s: 170
Stage Wins: 39
Chevrolet’s season statistics with 19 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races complete:
Wins: 6
Poles: 2
Laps Led: 888
Top-Fives: 43
Top-10s: 88
Stage Wins: 7
BOWTIE BULLETS:
· Chevrolet will serve as the official pace vehicle for the Bristol Motor Speedway tripleheader weekend with the Corvette Stingray pacing the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series in their respective events and the Silverado RST pacing the Craftsman Truck Series race.
· Active Chevrolet drivers with a NASCAR Cup Series win at Bristol Motor Speedway:
Kyle Busch: Eight wins (2019, ’18, ’17, ’11, ’10, ’09 sweep, ’07)
Kyle Larson: Three wins (2025, 2024, ’21)
· Chevrolet is the winningest manufacturer in both of NASCAR’s top two divisions at Bristol Motor Speedway, heading into the weekend with 48 Cup Series wins and 38 Xfinity Series.
· Chevrolet paces its manufacturer competitors in both driver and organization representation in both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series Playoffs with seven drivers from three different Chevrolet organizations set to compete for the driver championship title in each division.
· Chevrolet has earned at least one victory in the NASCAR national ranks for the past 11 consecutive race weekends – dating back to the manufacturer’s doubleheader sweep in Mexico City (June 2025).
· Chevrolet has earned at least half of the top-10 finishing results in 12 of the 28 points-paying races thus far this season, including a season-high seven top-10 finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.
· In 136 points-paying races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 64 victories – a winning percentage of 47.1%.
· With its 43 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 878 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.
FOR THE FANS:
· Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at Bristol Motor Speedway.
· Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: Equinox EV RS, Equinox ICE ACTIV, Silverado 2500 High Country, 1500 Silverado Trail Boss, Traverse, Trax ACTIV, Corvette.
Team Chevy Driver Appearances at the Display:
Thursday, Sept. 11
Rajah Caruth: 12:45 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Daniel Hemric: 1:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Connor Mosack & Jack Wood: 1:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Grant Enfinger: 1:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Conner Jones, Matt Mills, Andres Perez de Lara, Bayley Currey: 1:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 12
Carson Kvapil: 12:00 p.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Sammy Smith: 12:45 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Daniel Suarez: 3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Justin Allgaier: 4:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Nick Sanchez: 4:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Jesse Love: 5:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Connor Zilisch: 5:15 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 13
Shane van Gisbergen: 3:20 p.m. – 3:35 p.m.
Ross Chastain: 3:35 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.
Justin Haley: 3:50 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Chase Elliott: 4:00 p.m. – 4:15 pm.
Alex Bowman: 4:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation:
Thursday, Sept. 11: 11 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 12: 12 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 13: 12 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
TUNE-IN:
NASCAR Cup Series
Playoffs Round of 16: Elimination Race
Bass Pro Shops Night Race
Saturday, September 13, at 7:30 p.m. ET
(USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Playoffs Round of 12: Race One
Food City 300
Friday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET
(CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Playoffs Round of 10: Race Two
UNOH 250 presented by Ohio Logistics
Thursday, September 11, at 8:00 p.m. ET
(FS1, NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Talk about the news this week regarding the Moose?
“The Moose Fraternity has been a great partner to me dating back before my Trackhouse Racing days. It’s not often in racing that you can have a relationship with a partner for as many years as I have had with the Moose. They obviously see value in the motorsports program and it gives me the opportunity to meet their guests each weekend, visit their lodges, visit Mooseheart and Moosehaven and seeing the impact they have in the community. I’m thankful they’ve decided to continue to support me and the No. 1 team at Trackhouse for years to come.”
After St. Louis how is your playoff outlook going into Bristol?
“Obviously, we aren’t heading into Bristol with as much of a points cushion as we hoped for. Being 19 points above the cutline is better than being no points or below the line. I’m going into Bristol preparing just like I prepare every week, just as if I’ve won the last two races. I can’t try any harder. We are going to put our best foot forward and hope for the best result at Bristol and that its good enough to get us to the next round.”
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
What’s night racing at Bristol Motor Speedway like?
“Night racing at Bristol Motor Speedway is special. No other crowd like that. The energy is electric going into the Last Great Coliseum. I can’t wait to get there and run all over that track. It’s a fun one. I think every time you walk inside that place you get goose bumps. You get excited. The adrenaline is always pumping. I love going to Bristol.”
Is there extra motivation to perform at Bristol Motor Speedway knowing it is the Bass Pro Shops Night Race and it means so much to Johnny Morris and all of the Bass Pro Shops Outfitters?
“I think going to the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway and looking at what it means to Bass Pro Shops and Johnny Morris, to win their race is always something that you’re trying to do. It would mean a lot to come back to Welcome, North Carolina with their trophy.”
Does anything transfer over from the Spring race to the Fall race at Bristol Motor Speedway? Or are they two different beasts?
“I think some things do transfer over. Similar temperatures, although I think this race may be a little bit cooler than the first race, but what we learned in the first race should apply.”
Busy weekend for you with both the Bristol night race and the Carolina Cowboys homestand taking place…
“We’ll be racing for our spot to transfer into the next round in the NASCAR Playoffs in Bristol, along with the Carolina Cowboys having their home event at the Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina, so it should be an exciting weekend for Welcome, North Carolina.”
Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Back in the spring race at Bristol, you qualified 10th and came home 13th. What positives can you take from that top-15 run, and how can you build on it this weekend?
“Bristol is always a great atmosphere for the drivers and the fans. We had a super strong run in the spring in the No. 7 NationsGuard Chevrolet and we fully expect to be just as good Saturday night. We won’t have the best metric for qualifying but if we execute well and get good track position we will set ourselves up for a great weekend.”
What’s the biggest challenge you expect this weekend — tire wear, track position, or avoiding trouble in traffic?
“I think my biggest challenge is managing tires while navigating traffic. Tire wear might be a concern this weekend. I think it really depends on the weather and how it shows during practice and how the track takes rubber.”
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
What is it like to race at Bristol?
“Bristol’s one of my favorite tracks, if not my favorite. I love going there, it’s obviously a great place. It reminds me of the local short track atmosphere that you get on Saturday nights, growing up racing late models and things like that. It’s a lot of fun, I love the banking, I love the concrete and just the nature of that place. It’s gotten a little bit tougher over the years to be as good as I once was there. Everybody’s kind of picked up on it. It’s definitely one of the coolest tracks that we get a chance to go run on. And obviously, the speed that you carry there and the close nature to action, whether you run the bottom or whether you run the top, there’s just a lot of options.”
What is it like having to navigate the top and the bottom? Selecting a line multiple times, you may run the top, you may run the bottom, each lap. What’s it like to just navigate through all of that, every lap at that track?
“Yeah, every scenario is different at Bristol. The biggest thing is restarts. You’ve got to be ready to get down to the bottom. It seems like the bottom really fires off and takes off early. And then as the pace progresses and falls off, then you’ve got to get to the top. You want to be one of the first ones up to the top so that people don’t get up in front of you and block you and not allow you through traffic. It’s just really a challenging race. It’s more of a chess game a lot of times, too, rather than just trying to figure out all raw speeds.”
What are the differences for a day race there versus a night race? Are there any differences with the concrete?
“I really don’t notice much difference with day race or night race at Bristol. Honestly, it’s just whether you’re wearing a tinted visor or a clear visor, the racetrack being concrete surface and the temperature of the surface doesn’t really change as much as asphalt does. So, it lends itself to being more similar.”
Pit road there can be tricky. Green flag stops only going down once or yellow flag stops you’re going through the whole pit road. What is it like managing your lights there with the multi-speed zones in that pit road?
“Yeah, Bristol’s really tough with pit road speeds. You’re up and down on your speeds and managing your lights and things like that as you go through the turns and on the straights. We’ve kind of found over the years the hot sections of the sections that read a little bit faster than you think you’re going. You try to pick in those to eliminate those and knock them out. But also for me, the multiple pit lane thing, getting confused on which one to come in. I always like picking on the back stretch so that it’s just always enter off of turn two. And whether you have to run the full pit road under yellow or you just can exit into turn three on green flag scenario, it just makes it so much simpler.”
A lot of strategy goes into selection of pit stalls there. Is pitting on the back stretch versus the front stretch, is there an advantage to one or the other? You just mentioned you like to pit on the back stretch. What do you see in that that really helps you there?
“Obviously, the four corner spots are probably the most advantageous spots. Whether it’s spot number one, I think it’s 15, 16, and then 43. Those are the ones that you want. Everything in between, there’s no openings there. It’s really tough to have any sort of advantage besides those four. It really doesn’t make a whole lot of difference at Bristol on pit road. It’s just how you navigate your sections.”
And sometimes people say the first time you go there, you kind of forget to breathe for a couple of laps. What are the G-loads and the forces like going into those corners with such steep banking?
“Bristol is tough when you get there for practice. First time you get there and you’re in practice, it’s kind of like a cardio session. You’re trying to breathe and you’re trying to work through your breathing and everything, but you kind of hold your breath a little so you become out of breath. But it’s just a cool place. Being able to go somewhere like that that gives you those G-loads and that feeling is cool.”
Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
“I’m very excited. Bristol is probably the greatest track on our schedule. I always tell people who ask what race they should attend; I always say Bristol. It is the most properly named racetrack, ‘The Last Great Colosseum.’ We’re racing around a half-mile track with three stories of banking in under 14 seconds a lap for 500 laps and it is super intense, but it is one of my favorite racetracks. I love going there. We have a really cool Grizzly Nicotine Puches Camaro. The paint scheme looks awesome. It’s super cool so I’m ready to roll that thing out there. I’m ready to turn the page. We’ve had some rough luck ever since the last race of the In-Season Challenge, it’s like we cannot get the bad luck bug out of our system. We’re looking to turn it around at Bristol and hopefully end the season strong.”
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
“At Bristol in the spring, we had a really good car and earned a solid top-10 finish. I’m looking forward to going back there and working to build off that. The night race is always different; it has a lot more hype and is always a fun atmosphere. As we keep saying, our team is focused on getting better. Our goal this weekend is to take what we’ve had in the past and make it a little bit better so we can have another solid run.”
Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
What are you expecting from the new tire compound and making your first Cup Series short track start?
“To run under the lights in a Cup car at Bristol (Motor Speedway) is something I’ve been excited about. I have never run a Cup car on any short track, but the goal is to complete 500 laps and learn as much as possible. I hope the new right-side tire still has falloff and that we are slipping and sliding around while having to manage your stuff. I could see us being able to move around the track – run on bottom or the top. The racing should be good, but until we get on the track in practice and see how the tire reacts, time will tell. Overall, I’m looking forward to the race in our United Rentals Chevrolet and ready for a double duty weekend.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
“Bristol has always been one of my favorite tracks, I love coming here to race. My guys have been working hard this week to get the No. 47 NOS Energy Drink Chevrolet ready and I’m excited for the race under the lights Saturday night.”
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
What makes the Bristol night race so special?
“The Bristol Night Race is all about the intensity. It just pumps it up. Obviously, with it being a cutoff round of the playoffs and it being a night race, it is just an electric environment and such a fun atmosphere. It is always a cool and fun night. I’ve had good success there, a bunch of near top-10 finishes over the last few years. We had a few issues there in the spring, but we know what we needed to work on and know what we had to fix. It was a very evident issue for us, so I feel good about going back there. Justin (Haley) and Carson (Hocevar) had a ton of speed at that first Bristol race, so we have a good notebook. We feel like we will be contenders there.”
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
In the most recent race at Bristol, Spire Motorsports showed a lot of strength. The No. 77 team in particular looked on track for a top-five finish before the final pit stop. How do you use that race to prepare for Saturday night?
“It’s tough because Bristol can be so unpredictable. If anything, the spring race shows that we are capable of running up front. We have that information to use to our advantage and try to find something that will be just as good for us under the lights. It adds a lot of confidence. We know we can do it, it’s just putting every piece together, which is what we’ve been working on all year. I think we’ll be good. With it being a cutoff race for the playoff guys it’ll be interesting to see how things play out, but we have our own race to run and know what we need to do over these last eight races.”
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Thoughts on going to Bristol this weekend, knowing you are below the playoff cut line?
“Well, it’s a cool track. I really struggled there in the spring, it’s a tough track for someone like me. It will be important to have a clean, well-executed race, try and get stage points and be up there all night. It’s going to be a battle.”
What has the playoff experience been like for you so far?
“It’s been good. I just wish, obviously, that we could’ve gotten better results the last two weekends. It’s going to be tough this weekend to get through, but the reality is we aren’t there yet on ovals. It’s coming, but we are just forcing it too quickly at the moment.”
Connor Zilisch, No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
How confident are you that you can continue this run as the Playoffs start at Bristol?
“Honestly, this is going to be tough to keep up. It’s rare that you can go on a run like this. Four wins in a row is awesome for sure and that’s wins in seven of the last eight races for our WeatherTech Chevrolet team. Every week I think this is the week where it’s going to end but every race Mardy Lindley and the guys bring a winning race car. My pit crew and team execute. Everyone does their job, and we end up doing burnouts on the frontstretch at the end of the race. It’s awesome to be able to do this and win this many races. This is the most wins by JR Motorsports as a team in a year and that’s really cool.”
Have you been able to take time and enjoy your success this season?
“I’m enjoying each moment. I’m enjoying each moment. Each Sunday I go home and make sure that I enjoy it with my family, my friends, and celebrate these wins. In the back of my mind I definitely think about what I can do to be better and what I can learn in these races this year that will help me next year. I try to not look too far ahead.”
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