2026 Bass Pro Shops Night Race
| Race details[1][2][3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 29 of 36 in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | September 19, 2026 | ||
| Location | Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.533 miles (0.858 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (422.29 km) | ||
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | USA | ||
| Announcers | Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | PRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Brad Gillie and Nick Yeoman | ||
| Turn announcers | Pat Patterson (Backstretch) | ||
The 2026 Bass Pro Shops Night Race is an upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 19, 2026, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee on the 0.533-mile (0.858 km) concrete oval, it is the 29th race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, and the third race of the NASCAR Chase.
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.
Besides holding racing events, the track has hosted the Battle at Bristol, a college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Virginia Tech Hokies on September 10, 2016, and the MLB Speedway Classic, an MLB baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds from August 2-3, 2025.
During the offseason, NASCAR announced that Bristol would now get the short track package, as opposed to running the intermediate package from previous years.[4]
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Media
Television
USA Sports will cover the race on the television side. Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte will call the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon, and Marty Snider will handle pit road, while Trevor Bayne provided analysis from the pace car for the television side.
| USA | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | Pace car |
| Lap-by-lap: Leigh Diffey Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte | Dave Burns Kim Coon Marty Snider | Trevor Bayne |
Radio
PRN will have the radio call for the race, which will also be simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Brad Gillie and Nick Yeoman will call the race from the booth when the field races down the frontstretch. Pat Patterson will call the race when the field races down the backstretch. Pit road will be operated by Andrew Kurland, Brett McMillan, Doug Turnbull and Wendy Venturini.
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
|---|---|---|
| Lead announcer: Brad Gillie Announcer: Nick Yeoman | Backstretch: Pat Patterson | Andrew Kurland Brett McMillan Doug Turnbull Wendy Venturini |
References
- ↑ "2026 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ↑ "Bristol Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
- ↑ "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR. August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
- ↑ "NASCAR issues technical updates, specifying rules for 750-horsepower tracks, A-post flaps". NASCAR. November 14, 2025. Retrieved November 14, 2025.