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Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race: Power Rankings

Clint Bowyer is a can’t miss at Bristol

By Mark Abell
NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Open Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Race Information

Race: Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race
Laps: 500
Date: September 19th
Venue: Bristol Motor Speedway
2019 Winner: Denny Hamlin (2:49:09)
Network: NBCS

Track

Bristol Motor Speedway constructed in 1960, the Last Great Colosseum has its roots in authentic racing. This all concrete surfaced oval track features turns at 26-30 degrees with straightaways at 6-10 degrees. It’s short at just over half a mile (0.533) and be prepared for some bumping to occur here. This makes it both amazing to watch and tough to predict as many racers get knocked out mid-race. The sound that emits from this course is amazing.

NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Favorites

Chase Elliot (seventh selections this year) — Elliot has top 10 finishes in two of the last three years at Bristol. He also has top five finishes in two of the last three races. I think Elliot is a favorite to be in contention down the final stretch this weekend.

Kurt Busch (eighth selections this year) — Busch finished sixth here last year which was an improvement from 12th two years ago and 25th three years ago. He finished seventh here earlier this year and 10th last week at Richmond which is the closest track similar to Bristol.

High Risk/High Reward

Clint Bowyer (third selections this year) — Bowyer has not had a top 10 finish in the last four races. Conversely, he has not scored outside the top 10 here in the last four seasons.

Jimmie Johnson (fourth selections this year) — Johnson has been in the top seven here two of the last three years. In addition, take out the 31st place last week at Richmond and Jimmie has top 20 finishes in the previous six consecutive races (top 15 in four of those six races).

The Dark Horse

Christopher Bell (second selection this year) — To be honest, I’m a little nervous about this pick but Bell finished ninth at Bristol earlier this season and 15th last week at Richmond. He was faring well at Darlington until struggles at lap 303 and he was 13th at Daytona right before the start of the playoffs.

Fun Fact: Bristol had two pits roads, in 2002, it was adjusted to form one long entrance to a pit road.

2020 Results

Favorite: Avg Finish 11th (27th Percent)
High Risk/High Reward: Avg Finish 16th (41st Percent)
Dark Horse: Avg Finish 19th (47th Percent)