2019 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race presented by Wendy's

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Race 24 of 36 in the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
The 2019 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race program cover, featuring the finish of the 1999 Goody's Headache Powder 500 between Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte.
Date	August 17, 2019 (2019-08-17)
Location	Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee
Course	Permanent racing facility .533 mi (.858 km)
Distance	500 laps, 266.5 mi (429 km)
Average speed	94.531 miles per hour (152.133 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing
Time	14.848
Most laps led
Driver	Matt DiBenedetto	Leavine Family Racing
Laps	93
Winner
No. 11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network	NBCSN
Announcers	Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte
Nielsen Ratings	2.503 million[9]
Radio in the United States
Radio	PRN
Booth Announcers	Doug Rice and Mark Garrow
Turn Announcers	Rob Albright (Backstretch)

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-mile (0.858 km) short track, it was the 24th race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Report

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.

During driver introductions, a unique tradition is held where drivers are allowed to introduce themselves with a song of their choosing.

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.^[10] Kyle Weatherman will replace Currey in the No. 52 as a result.

Practice

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 (206.971 km/h).^[11]

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 (207.361 km/h).^[12]

Qualifying

Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 14.848 and a speed of 129.230 mph (207.976 km/h). It was the first pole for Toyota in the Cup Series in 2019.^[13]

Qualifying results

Race

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 miles per hour (152.133 km/h)

Media

Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 2008 Food City 500 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.

NBC Sports relieved Dale Earnhardt Jr. of duties for this race after an incident at Elizabethton Municipal Airport where a bounced landing led to the Earnhardts' private plane crashing. He, his wife Amy, daughter Isla, and dog Gus were not severely injured, but he was kept out as a precaution.

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 Pos Driver Points 1 Kyle Busch 932 2 Joey Logano 893 (–39) 1 3 Denny Hamlin 855 (–77) 1 4 Martin Truex Jr. 838 (–94) 2 5 Kevin Harvick 830 (–102) 6 Brad Keselowski 794 (–138) 7 Chase Elliott 757 (–175) 8 Kurt Busch 741 (–191) 9 Ryan Blaney 686 (–246) 10 Alex Bowman 675 (–257) 2 11 Kyle Larson 665 (–267) 12 William Byron 664 (–268) 2 13 Aric Almirola 654 (–278) 14 Erik Jones 646 (–286) 15 Ryan Newman 603 (–329) 1 16 Daniel Suárez 591 (–341) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Toyota 877 2 Ford 850 (–27) 3 Chevrolet 814 (–63) 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.