2019 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race

The 2019 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race presented by Wendy's was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on August 17, 2019 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Contested over 500 laps on the .533 mi short track, it was the 24th race of the 2019 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.

Entry list

 * (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
 * (R) denotes rookie driver.

† - Bayley Currey was entered for the No. 52 but was suspended by NASCAR on Thursday before the race due to violating the substance abuse policy. Kyle Weatherman will replace Currey in the No. 52 as a result.

First practice
Denny Hamlin was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 14.920 seconds and a speed of 128.606 mph.

Final practice
Matt DiBenedetto was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 14.892 seconds and a speed of 128.848 mph.

Qualifying
Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 14.848 and a speed of 129.230 mph.

Stage 1
On the drop of the green flag, everyone dropped to the bottom lane to take advantage of the traction compound and cars quickly strung out all the way around the track. It only took Hamlin 13 laps to start passing drivers at the rear of the field.

By Lap 20 cars had moved to the top of the track and side-by-side racing was on. Starting well back in the pack, Kyle Busch had to go three-wide to move past slower traffic as he began his march to the front.

Hamlin and Larson traded the lead as they drove through traffic lapping vehicles. Hamlin finally broke free and opened a half-straightaway lead on Larson who was being hunted down by Martin Truex Jr.(19) in 3rd.

Joey Logano(22) dove into the pits with a flat tire. Service to the #22 car under green put Logano three laps down. On Lap 78 Hamlin lapped Kyle Busch in 19th, putting half of the field at least a lap down. One lap later Austin Dillon(3) blew a tire and the yellow flag came out as Hamlin was lapping Jimmie Johnson who got into Dillon’s car.

Trouble for the Leader
Hamlin’s car picked up some minor damage as he drove past the cluster of cars around Dillon. His crew was able to fix the issues but he lost a lot of track position, restarting in 11th position when the race went back to green.

Jimmie Johnson made two stops under the caution and was late getting back on the track. He went two laps down shortly after the race resumed.

Larson assumed the lead and held on for the stage win, despite a late challenge from Chase Elliott(9). Hamlin remained mired back in 11th, unable to advance during the late segment of Stage 1.

Stage 2
Elliott was first off of pit road after the stage ending caution, with Larson beside him on the front row for the restart. Elliott got a great jump and rocketed off to a three-car length advantage on Larson.

Kevin Harvick found some speed on his pit stop, running down Elliott and taking the lead on Lap 164. Harvick began lapping cars and putting Jimmie Johnson two laps down dealing a serious blow to Johnson’s playoff hopes.

Hamlin, complaining of a loose wheel, took his car to pit road on lap 185. Aric Almirola(10) spun and hit the wall coming out of Turn 2 four laps later after Hamlin lost two laps in the pits getting his wheel repaired.

The leaders pitted on the Almirola caution. Harvick had a small hiccup on pit road, the car fell off the jack. The issue cost him the lead as Truex was first out of the pits and into the lead. Eighteen cars were on the lead lap when the race returned to green.



More Cautions
Almirola spun again on Lap 212, bringing out yet another caution. Kyle Busch was in the Luck Dog spot, the first car a lap down, and was given the free pass back onto the lead lap. The leaders opted to stay out this time as 31 laps remained in the Stage when the race restarted.

With 8 laps to go in the Stage, Clint Bowyer(14) spun out of Turn 2. The caution forced crew chiefs to make a difficult decision. Pit and be ready for the Final Stage or stay on the track and earn Stage points. Kurt Busch stayed out as did Daniel Suarez and Ryan Newman, the latter pair desperately needing every point they can gain.

Kevin Harvick pitted and his crew ended up pushing the #4 car behind the wall. Transmission trouble ended Harvick’s night early, although his crew buzzed around the car attempting to repair the issue.

The Final Stage
After the pit stop scrambles, Kyle Busch remained on the track and inherited the lead. Thirty laps into the Final Stage the Top 5 were Brad Keselowski(2), Kyle Busch, Elliott, Erik Jones(20), and Truex.

In the longest green-flag run of the night, Keselowski led the majority of it. Kyle Busch regained the lead as Keselowski’s car began to go away. The fastest car on the track during the long run was Jones, who worked his way into second.

With everyone needed fresh tires and fuel the caution made a timely appearance as Alex Bowman(88) hit the wall in Turn 2. Logano and William Byron(24) both ran into Bowman as the three cars stacked up at the top of the track.

On the restart, it was Kyle Busch, Jones, Keselowski, Elliott, and Bowyer as the Top 5. Jones drove into the lead just as a melee erupted in Turn 3. Blaney had a tire go down, Michael McDowell(34) ran into him. David Ragan(38), Ricky Stenhouse Jr.(17) and Johnson were also involved.

Restart With 113 Laps to Go
Jones led the field to the green flag with 113 laps to go. Matt DiBenedetto(95) drove past Kyle Busch and Elliott who were battling for 2nd and set his sights on Jones. DiBenedetto got beside Jones and took the lead. Jones overdrove Turns 1 & 2 and made contact with the wall forcing him to make a pit stop for a tire rub. He returned to the track four laps down.

As the race settled in for another long run DiBenedetto, Elliott, Keselowski, Hamlin, and Kyle Busch made up the Top 5. Hamlin moved past Elliott and Keselowski into second. DiBenedetto had built a good-sized lead, but Hamlin began to track him down.



The Finish
With 18 laps to go and DiBenedetto working through lapped traffic, Hamlin drove up to his bumper. With 14 to go, they were side-by-side. Hamlin took the lead with 11 laps to go. Hamlin stretched the lead to 3 car lengths and held on for his 4th victory of the year.

In his flag stand interview with NBC, Hamlin apologized for beating Matt. It had been a difficult week for DiBenedetto, he learned he would not be returning to the Leavine Family Racing #95 in 2020. Had DiBenedetto been able to pull off the victory is would have been the Cinderella moment of the decade for NASCAR. Still, it will likely propel DiBenedetto into a competitive ride for next year.

Playoff Implications
The big winner in the Playoff race was Daniel Suarez, his 8th place finish and 9 bonus points from finishing 2nd in Stage 2 moved him onto the bubble. Ryan Newman finished 11th and gained 2 points on the 16th position.

Clint Bowyer finished 7th but did not gain a Stage point and dropped 2 points below the final playoff spot. Jimmie Johnson fell 26 points behind the bubble and likely will need a win to avoid missing his first NASCAR Playoff ever.

Stage results
Stage One Laps: 125

Stage Two Laps: 125

Final stage results
Stage Three Laps: 250

Race statistics

 * Lead changes: 23 among 10 different drivers
 * Cautions/Laps: 8 for 61
 * Red flags: 0
 * Time of race: 2 hours, 49 minutes and 9 seconds
 * Average speed: 94.531 mph

Television
NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 2008 Spring Bristol winner Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte called the race in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race. Dale Earnhardt Jr. would not end up calling this race due to being involved in a plane crash that he, his wife Amy, and daughter Isla survived on Thursday 14 miles near the speedway.

Radio
The Performance Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the race from the broadcast booth when the field raced down the front straightaway. Rob Albright called the race when the field raced down the backstretch. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Jim Noble and Wendy Venturini handled the action on pit road for PRN.

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.