2018 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race

The 2018 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on August 18, 2018 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Contested over 500 laps on the .533 mi short track, it was the 24th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Background
The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.

First practice
Chase Elliott was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 15.151 seconds and a speed of 126.645 mph.

Final practice
Kyle Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 15.141 seconds and a speed of 126.729 mph.

Qualifying
Kyle Larson scored the pole for the race with a time of 15.015 and a speed of 127.792 mph.

Stage 1
It did not take long for the action to heat up after the drop of the green flag. Kyle Busch(18) spun coming out of Turn 4 on the 2nd lap. A total of 15 of the 40 cars on the track encounter some type of damage in the melee. Gary Gaulding(99), AJ Allmendinger(47), and Bubba Wallace(43) sustained enough to be eliminated from the race.

Kyle Busch’s crew repaired his car but lost 2 laps in the process. He lost the entire rear bumper cover, enough of the frame remained undamaged for NASCAR to allow Busch to continue.

Paul Menard(21) started 4th. He developed a problem early after contact with the wall. Something in the front suspension gave-way and Menard was forced to park the car after only 28 laps.

With the rain washing the track clean, NASCAR scheduled a competition caution 60 laps into the event. The yellow flag allowed Kyle Busch another opportunity to work on their damaged car.

During the caution, 2 drivers needing a win to make the playoffs, Stenhouse Jr. and Daniel Suarez(19), were caught speeding on pit road. Going to the rear of the field on the half-mile track is a huge penalty. Laps are run in the 15-16 second range and the leader catches the back of the pack quickly.

Ryan Blaney(12) took the lead and held it for 108 laps to the end of Stage 1. Kevin Harvick(4) closed to give Blaney all he could handle, finishing 3/1,000’s of a second behind.

Just 4 laps from the end of the Stage, Stenhouse Jr. suffered a flat tire and lost 3 laps changing 4 tires under green. Blaney passed Martin Truex Jr.(78) to put the series defending champion a lap down. Truex Jr. got the lap back courtesy of the free pass when the yellow waved.

Six Ford Fusions in Stage 1 point positions bodes well for the Blue Oval contingent.

Stage 2
The beginning of Stage 2 saw Harvick jumped to the lead on the restart. He did not hold the top spot long. Chase Elliott(9) drove around Harvick and built a quick 10-car length. Harvick cut a tire 185 laps in and lost 2 laps making a green flag pit stop.

On Lap 192 Blaney took the lead back from Elliott and Almirola followed him into 2nd. The two battled for the lead, going 3 wide with lapped traffic. Almirola tapped David Ragan(38) trying to pass and spun him at the end of the backstretch. Bringing out the yellow flag on Lap 197. The caution allowed Kyle Busch and Harvick to take a wave around and go from 2 laps down to just 1 lap behind.

As Blaney and Almirola were involved with each other, Joey Logano(22) snuck up and took the lead on Lap 201.

Battles exist all around the track. Kyle Busch and Harvick are the only 2 cars a lap down. They fight it out for the free pass with Busch holding on by a car length.

Logano won Stage 2 but had to keep Elliott from making a pass over the last 5 laps before the green and white checkered flag waved.

The Final Stage
Logano resumed the lead on the restart from the Stage ending caution. Elliott hung around within striking distance and took the lead on Lap 297. Elliott’s car seems to come in on the long green-flag runs.

With 160 laps to go, Aric Almirola(10), one of the contenders for the win, developed a problem. NASCAR black-flagged Almirola for excessive smoke from the rear of the car and they had to pit. If that was not bad enough, during the pit stop his team had too many men over the pit wall. The resulting return to the pits for a drive-through penalty effectively eliminated Almirola from contention.

Reed Sorenson(51) hit the wall entering Turn 3 bringing out the caution with 149 laps to go. The front of the field jumbled as everyone pitted for tires and fuel. Clint Bowyer, first out, took the lead on the restart. As the cars settled into position some new names sat in the top 5. Truex Jr. moved up to 2nd, Elliott ran 3rd, Logano dropped to 4th, and Kurt Busch sat 5th.

Byron, Michigan’s Erik Jones(20) sat 6th as the streak of strong runs since his Daytona win continues. With 100 laps to go, Kyle Busch moved into the top 5. Kyle passed his brother 4 laps later to move into 4th. He passed Elliott with 86 laps to go and trailed the leader by only 1.5 seconds.

Kyle Busch moved to the rear bumper of Truex Jr. and with 69 laps to go tried to make the pass. He clipped Truex going into turn one and took the 78 out of the race after a hard impact with the wall.

During the caution, Kyle Busch’s crew informed him they have been unable to fully fuel the car since the Lap 2 accident. He came to the pits and the crew drained enough from the gas can to get him to the end of the race. Unfortunately, Busch returned to the track in 11th position.

After the restart, the battle for positions turned intense. Bowyer led, but Kurt Busch was on his bumper. Third place Jones fought with Elliott and Jimmie Johnson(48). Then with 29 laps to go Brad Keselowski(2) spun on the backstretch and the caution came out again.

On the restart, Kurt Busch(41) drove to the lead. Elliott, Denny Hamlin(11), and Johnson rounded out the top 5. Kyle Busch went 3-wide with Chris Buescher(37) and Johnson. Three-wide is very dangerous at Bristol and karma bit Busch. As the cars banged several times during their circuit around the track, Busch cut a tire and saw his chance at victory go away.

The Finish
On the next restart, with 12 to go, Kurt Busch jumped out to a nice lead. Larson moved to second but could not close the gap. Busch captured the win, his first of the year. The victory was Ford’s 100th for the Fusion in NASCAR’s Cup Series. It was the 10th win for Stewart-Haas racing in 2018.

Playoff Status
Busch was well locked into the playoffs on points, so his victory did not impact the Playoff standing. Alex Bowman(88) entered the race on the bubble and improved his point lead on 17th position from 62 to 79 points. With 2 races left it will take a win to get in by anyone out of the top 16.

Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 125

Stage 2 Laps: 125

Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 250

Race statistics

 * Lead changes: 9 among different drivers
 * Cautions/Laps: 9 for 70
 * Red flags: 0
 * Time of race: 2 hours, 58 minutes and 35 seconds
 * Average speed: 89.538 mph

Television
NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 2008 Bristol winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and 2004 Bristol winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.

Radio
The Performance Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Standings after the race

 * Drivers' Championship standings


 * Manufacturers' Championship standings


 * Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
 * . – Driver has clinched a position in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.