NASCAR: Previewing the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race
Everything you need to know about Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, in three minutes:
Three things to watch
1. There are just four races left before the Chase grid is set. With several drivers vying for the last couple of playoff spots, will that make the action at Bristol more or less aggressive?
2. Heavy rain Thursday night washed away the rubber laid down on the track surface. No one could say with confidence Friday morning if the upper groove will be very drivable for Saturday night’s race.
3. The gigantic television screen in Bristol is quite the novelty and should come in handy when Virginia Tech and Tennessee play a football game at the track in September. Virginia Tech is sponsoring Ryan Blaney’s Ford this weekend.
Observations
▪ Trevor Bayne didn’t exactly flop down on the couch during Sprint Cup’s off weekend; he went to Ireland to compete in an Iron Man competition. Between riding his bike in the rain and the threat of jelly fish stings during his swim it was a bit trying, but he enjoyed himself: “When we got to the run, by Mile 7 I was thinking, ‘How in the world can this be fun at all? But two days later I was already thinking about my next one.”
▪ Xfinity driver Matt Tifft was in the infield media center Friday to discuss his recovery from brain surgery in June to remove what proved to be a benign tumor. He’s now well enough that he’ll be testing a late model car in Hickory Sunday.
▪ Jimmie Johnson is thrilled that Hendrick Motorsports will put Charlottean William Byron, 18, in an Xfinity car next season: “We live in the same neighborhood and I recall him trick-or-treating at my house. I think he’s an amazing talent with a great head on his shoulders. So I’m glad he’s under the Hendrick umbrella right now.”
Best bets
Three picks for your fantasy team:
Kyle Larson: Time is running out for him to win a race before the Chase. Larson practiced well here Friday. He lost a couple of dozen points in his last-lap hiccup at Watkins Glen.
Carl Edwards: He has two wins and four top-10 finishes in his last five races here. And having already qualified for the Chase, he can afford risk.
Kyle Busch: He has five career victories at Bristol (although he finished outside the top 10 in four of the past five).
He said it
“There is nothing like walking into this place. You get jacked up coming in here. Obviously the history has a lot to do with that.” – Sprint Cup driver Austin Dillon on Bristol Motor Speedway.
N@SCAR
<blockquoteclass=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>That's all for this practice! <br><br>Here's your fastest : <a href=”https://t.co/r06yGwwgLi”>pic.twitter.com/r06yGwwgLi</a></p>— NASCAR (@NASCAR) <a href=”https://twitter.com/NASCAR/status/766658619425390593”>August 19, 2016</a></blockquote> <script asyncsrc=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8”></script>
<blockquoteclass=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Done and done.<br><br>Speed chart: <a href=”https://t.co/LwFBUydr0g”>https://t.co/LwFBUydr0g</a> <a href=”https://t.co/5fMgyA5PMr”>pic.twitter.com/5fMgyA5PMr</a></p>— NASCAR (@NASCAR) <a href=”https://twitter.com/NASCAR/status/766696755136172032”>August 19, 2016</a></blockquote> <script asyncsrc=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8”></script>
Getting there
Race facts
Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race
Where: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
Track type: .533-mile oval.
Race distance: 500 laps, or 267 miles.
Green flag: 8 p.m.
Weather: A 60 percent chance of rain Saturday night with temperatures likely in the 70s at the race’s start.
TV: NBC Sports Network.
Radio: Performance Racing Network.
This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 6:16 PM with the headline "NASCAR: Previewing the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race."