Who Can Shine Under the Lights in the Bristol Night Race?

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Stratta’s Six: Who Can Reel in a Bristol Night Race Chase Triumph?

It’s Bristol Baby! Those three words perfectly encapsulate one of NASCAR’s marquee events – the Bristol Night Race. Now race three in The Chase for the Cup, championship drama is high coming into Tennessee. Thunder Valley has been a very volatile venue for title contenders in years past. Following a chaotic race two, 2026 may be shaping up to be more of the same. Here are a few gladiators who hope to stand tall as The Last Great Colosseum’s conqueror after 500 laps on Saturday night.

Kyle Larson

Finally breaking his slump and finding victory lane again last week, there may be no better track for Kyle Larson than Bristol. The Hendrick Motorsports star owns three Bristol sword trophies, most recent the spring 2025 victory. Driver No. 5 also has 250+ laps led in three of the last four trips here. To call Larson confident for Bristol would be an understatement. April’s race alone saw the 5 pace 284 laps before losing the lead late. Coming into Tennessee off a clutch St. Louis win, Larson eyes a great chance at going back-to-back in The Chase.

“I think Bristol is one of our better racetracks,” Larson said. “It feel like, as a team, we have a good car for that track. I think I understand the race craft it takes to be fast and efficient through traffic too. But it all takes execution from everybody, so it’s a tough place to pass. Hopefully, it goes like it typically does, where you qualify well, are up front and score good points there.”

Not only has Larson been the dominant man across the last four Bristol races, he also swept all stages three times. Now second in points after Gateway, there’s a serious chance Larson can take the championship lead away in Bristol. The last man out to qualify on Friday, Larson will likely have prime track position in chasing more points. Admittedly taking over late in Gateway, Bristol could be a long Saturday for everyone else chasing Larson’s tail.

Denny Hamlin

Not far off of Larson’s electric Bristol pace is four-time Tennessee winner Denny Hamlin. Toyota No. 11 has been ninth or better in seven of the last eight Bristol races, including two wins. Last fall’s heavy tire wear event saw Hamlin flounder outside the top-30. Other than that one blip, the 11 has been a true titan of the Colosseum.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Hamlin said. “Feel like we were average there in the spring. And I’m confident we can make the proper adjustments to make it good when we come back. I never think that I can’t win. Yeah. So like we’re with the best that race at that racetrack. It’s just those top three, four, five guys are all like really good at that track. Don’t be surprised to see them one through five.”

Over the last three years at Bristol, Denny Hamlin’s 56% of laps ran in the top-five only falls behind Kyle Larson (69%). Expect these two to trade the lead between themselves for much of Saturday’s 500 laps. Year in and year out, these two are in a league of their own on the concrete high banks. Hamlin also doesn’t trail Larson by much in winning odds for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. The points leader has stumbled a bit out of the gates to start this Chase. Now heading to one of his best tracks, Hamlin looks for a banner night ahead at Bristol.

Ryan Blaney

Still winless across 19 career Bristol starts, April was the closest Ryan Blaney’s been to victory lane. His last trip to Bristol saw Blaney get passed with 25 laps left before losing in a photo finish. Sliding sideways across the line, Blaney earned his best Bristol finish yet and fourth-straight top-six result here. After a brake failure and DNF in Gateway, Blaney is eager to be a challenger once again on the concrete.

“I look at the spring race from this year and I thought that was one of the better Bristol races in recent memory with this car,” Blaney said. “You had multiple lanes. The bottom could really work a lot. You had kind of right sides in the grind of the top lane. You had people all the way in the top lane. Tires wore out a pretty good bit. You could really make them mad and you could pay the penalty later. But it’s a lot of temperature dependent. We’ve seen that here with this tire in Bristol, the track temp needs to be above a certain number. Or else you get the kind of powdery tires really cording quickly. Then you get us riding around there for 50 laps at half speed. So you never know what you’re going to get. But I think they’ve gotten their arms wrapped around it. But as a driver, you just try to go into Bristol no matter what it is. Just incredibly open minded because the bottom is going to be dominant for awhile. You’re going to have to be able to run the top lane too when it becomes available. And then you’re going to have to figure out how the heck can I make both lanes work in traffic because everyone’s going to be different. So, the challenge inside of that to me is super unique about Bristol. Where it’s not just like ‘I need to be good in this one lane.’ You have to be be good in both and it just constantly changes and progresses throughout a run. When we pick all the rubber up and a caution it changes. So, that’s the unique thing about Bristol right now. And I think my group does a really good job of of trying to look ahead at where is the track going to be 100 laps from now and trying to prepare for that.”

“Oh, [Bristol is] definitely a different mindset for sure with this format. I’ve talked about it weeks prior here of you’re not racing in three-week stints and you don’t have a reset. It’s not a ‘hey, let’s get through the first round. Let’s get through the Round of 16 and reset and see where we’re at. And then go from there for the Round of 12 and then try to do the same thing for the Round of 8.’ Now, it’s you can’t afford to just see where you’re at. You have to go perform every single weekend and every point matters. So I feel like it’s made everybody perform at their highest level every single week. Whereas before, I feel like you would have some teams that were really in a good spot on points that would kind of be able to run 90%. Now you can’t afford to do that. You can’t afford to give up anything. Because you’re going to look back in two or three weeks and you’re like, ‘well gosh, I’m out of it. I’m out of touch and there’s no reset for me to bail me out.’ So, I think it’s been a great Chase so far. We’ve seen a lot of fluctuations. It’s been compelling to see what teams can really rise to the occasion every single week and not make mistakes. I think it’s been a really fun one as you see. I think also with the Gateway aggressiveness, it goes back to that. It’s only second race. Whereas if we were in the playoff format, I don’t think you get that many guys that are as aggressive because you got pretty much 10 guys that are like, ‘Okay, I feel pretty good about getting into the next round. We just got to make sure we finish here.’ But now you got to stay in touch. So everyone’s pushing for every little bit, taking every run and filling every hole that’s available on the racetrack. So I think that’s what it should be. And hopefully it’s been exciting for the fans to watch. It’s definitely been, I think, better to be a part of.”

“Everyone likes hard racing, right? I mean, this is why we do it and race for every spot you get. It’s different if you’re getting run over or something like that. It’s like, ‘okay, well, that was a little over the line.’ But it’s all situational. But that’s why people come to the races and that’s why people watch it on TV. They want to see drivers going 100% all the time for everything that they have. And that’s what racing is all about. When you’re trying to win a championship is what people tune in for and it’s what teams prepare for and they like it.”

Sixth or better in four-straight Bristol showings heading into Saturday is a streak matched by nobody else. Blaney’s breakthrough Bristol triumph appears to be coming sooner rather than later. The 12 has recorded nine top-10s and almost 800 laps led here. Nearly 200 of those circuits paced were from April alone. It would be of little surprise to see the 12 team check this track off their winless list. A potential Bristol win would further assert Blaney and Team Penske into serious championship discussions.

Christopher Bell

Last year’s Bristol Night Race winner, Christopher Bell looks to tame the Tennessee foothills once again. Only earning his first win since Bristol 2025 two weeks ago at Darlington, CBell seems to be hitting his stride in perfect time. The triumph here only saw Bell’s No. 20 Toyota lead 12 laps, a total he could easily surpass on Saturday. Damage from an early spin set Bell back here in the spring, ending a streak of six consecutive Bristol top-10s.

Bell was another crash casualty a week ago in Gateway, being taken out by three-wide restart contact. Prior to that incident, Bell was tracking to take over top spot in the championship. Bell heads into Chase race three only 18 points off the lead. Bell guns for a ninth top-10 in the last 12 races. Should the regular 20 team speed return at Bristol, he could be atop the standings again.

Ty Gibbs

April’s Bristol winner, Ty Gibbs finally earned his maiden Cup triumph in his 131st start. The day saw the No. 54 outlast his competition on older tires, just edging ahead of Ryan Blaney in overtime. Bristol has quickly become the most consistent track anywhere for young Gibbs. The No. 54 boasts five Bristol top-10s in seven starts, 465 laps led, and an average finish of 11th.

Gibbs will have a lot more reasons for fans to root him on this weekend. Toyota No. 54 will carry Kyle Busch’s iconic M&M’s colors. This scheme tributing the late Joe Gibbs Racing icon has seen its fair share of Bristol success. Thunder Valley was Rowdy’s house for many years in the No. 18. Gibbs will try to bring the colorful car another win amid this year’ Chase. Sixth in points following Gateway, the 54 team will try to stay in this title fight from their best track.

Joey Logano

Leading the most laps at Gateway only to come up short, Joey Logano now shifts his focus to Bristol. The three-time Cup champion is also a three-time Bristol winner (two on concrete, one dirt race). However, Logano hasn’t tamed The Night Race in over a decade. Logano’s last two Bristol results were fifth and seventh, though, showing team 22 has found recent speed here.

Ninth in Darlington and third in Gateway have Logano up to seventh in the standings for Chase race three. 51 points off of the lead, Bristol is a prime opportunity for the Ford crew to regain lost ground and make championship inroads. Logano is no stranger to short track success this season. The 22 could still surprise a few with a breakout Bristol run.

April’s Bristol race marked the first time the new 750-horsepower short track package took on The Last Great Colosseum. Five months removed from that back and forth affair, another stellar race could lie ahead in The Chase. The Bass Pro Shops Night Race will go green Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Bristol is the last short track before a three-race intermediate stretch. This may be the last chance a few title hopefuls have of making noise in The Chase fight.

Written by Peter Stratta

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Photo Credit to Chris Graythen/Getty Images