2018 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race
# 2018 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race

The 2018 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race is 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-mile (0.858 km) short track, it was the 24th race of the 2018 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.

**Entry list**

| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| - | - | - | - |
| 00 | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 7 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 23 | Blake Jones | BK Racing | Toyota |
| 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | Reed Sorenson | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 52 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota |
| 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota |
| 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet |
| 96 | Jesse Little (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota |
| 99 | Gray Gaulding | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| Official entry list ||||

## Practice

### 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 (203.815 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 15.151 | 126.645 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 15.191 | 126.312 |
| 3 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 15.193 | 126.295 |
| Official first practice results |||||||

### 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 (203.951 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 15.141 | 126.729 |
| 2 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 15.191 | 126.312 |
| 3 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 15.194 | 126.287 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Kyle Larson scored the pole for the race with a time of 15.015 and a speed of 127.792 mph (205.661 km/h).

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 14.997 | 15.034 | 15.015 |
| 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 15.097 | 15.135 | 15.030 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 15.259 | 15.112 | 15.033 |
| 4 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 15.281 | 15.094 | 15.037 |
| 5 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 15.252 | 15.225 | 15.043 |
| 6 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 15.261 | 15.146 | 15.104 |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 15.233 | 15.131 | 15.121 |
| 8 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 15.239 | 15.226 | 15.123 |
| 9 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 15.241 | 15.138 | 15.125 |
| 10 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 15.114 | 15.154 | 15.137 |
| 11 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 15.290 | 15.125 | 15.198 |
| 12 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 15.126 | 15.237 | 15.230 |
| 13 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 15.138 | 15.238 | — |
| 14 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 15.170 | 15.246 | — |
| 15 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 15.278 | 15.266 | — |
| 16 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 15.272 | 15.268 | — |
| 17 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 15.279 | 15.271 | — |
| 18 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 15.308 | 15.278 | — |
| 19 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 15.264 | 15.294 | — |
| 20 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 15.205 | 15.301 | — |
| 21 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 15.130 | 15.306 | — |
| 22 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 15.262 | 15.336 | — |
| 23 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 15.238 | 15.342 | — |
| 24 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 15.294 | 15.431 | — |
| 25 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 15.363 | — | — |
| 26 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 15.426 | — | — |
| 27 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 15.435 | — | — |
| 28 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 15.448 | — | — |
| 29 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 15.466 | — | — |
| 30 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 15.482 | — | — |
| 31 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 15.514 | — | — |
| 32 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 15.567 | — | — |
| 33 | 96 | Jesse Little (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 15.688 | — | — |
| 34 | 7 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 15.754 | — | — |
| 35 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 15.758 | — | — |
| 36 | 51 | Reed Sorenson | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 15.822 | — | — |
| 37 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 15.882 | — | — |
| 38 | 99 | Gray Gaulding | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 15.899 | — | — |
| 39 | 00 | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 15.936 | — | — |
| 40 | 23 | Blake Jones | BK Racing | Toyota | 16.101 | — | — |
| Did not qualify ||||||||
| 41 | 52 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 15.909 | — | — |
| Official qualifying results ||||||||

## Race

### Stage Results

Stage 1 Laps: 125

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||

Stage 2 Laps: 125

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final Stage Results

Stage 3 Laps: 250

| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 3 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 500 | 46 |
| 2 | 1 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 500 | 48 |
| 3 | 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 500 | 50 |
| 4 | 19 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 500 | 45 |
| 5 | 14 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 500 | 39 |
| 6 | 16 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 500 | 44 |
| 7 | 10 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 500 | 46 |
| 8 | 22 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 500 | 30 |
| 9 | 13 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 500 | 32 |
| 10 | 6 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 500 | 36 |
| 11 | 23 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 500 | 26 |
| 12 | 24 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 500 | 25 |
| 13 | 18 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 500 | 24 |
| 14 | 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 500 | 23 |
| 15 | 26 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 500 | 22 |
| 16 | 11 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 499 | 21 |
| 17 | 15 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 499 | 20 |
| 18 | 21 | 19 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 499 | 19 |
| 19 | 28 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 499 | 18 |
| 20 | 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 497 | 17 |
| 21 | 32 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 496 | 16 |
| 22 | 29 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 496 | 15 |
| 23 | 5 | 24 | William Byron (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 496 | 14 |
| 24 | 12 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 495 | 13 |
| 25 | 39 | 00 | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 493 | 12 |
| 26 | 35 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 492 | 0 |
| 27 | 40 | 23 | Blake Jones | BK Racing | Toyota | 485 | 10 |
| 28 | 37 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 481 | 0 |
| 29 | 20 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 435 | 8 |
| 30 | 17 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 431 | 7 |
| 31 | 8 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 428 | 19 |
| 32 | 34 | 7 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 423 | 0 |
| 33 | 36 | 51 | Reed Sorenson | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 338 | 4 |
| 34 | 30 | 72 | Corey LaJoie | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 234 | 3 |
| 35 | 33 | 96 | Jesse Little (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 59 | 0 |
| 36 | 4 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 28 | 1 |
| 37 | 31 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 10 | 1 |
| 38 | 27 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 | 1 |
| 39 | 25 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 1 | 1 |
| 40 | 38 | 99 | Gray Gaulding | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 1 | 1 |
| Official race results ||||||||

### 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 miles per hour (144.097 km/h)

## Media

### 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.

NBCSN :

| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| - | - |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dave Burns Parker Kligerman Marty Snider Kelli Stavast |

### Radio

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

PRN :

| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| - | - | - |
| Lead announcer: Doug Rice Announcer: Mark Garrow Announcer: Wendy Venturini | Backstretch: Rob Albright | Brad Gillie Brett McMillan Jim Noble Steve Richards |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - | - |
| | 1 | Kyle Busch | 1,003 |
| | 2 | Kevin Harvick | 960 (–43) |
| | 3 | Martin Truex Jr. | 849 (–154) |
| | 4 | Kurt Busch | 796 (–207) |
| | 5 | Clint Bowyer | 776 (–227) |
| | 6 | Joey Logano | 768 (–235) |
| 1 | 7 | Ryan Blaney | 733 (–270) |
| 1 | 8 | Brad Keselowski | 730 (–273) |
| 1 | 9 | Kyle Larson | 729 (–274) |
| 1 | 10 | Denny Hamlin | 707 (–296) |
| | 11 | Chase Elliott | 697 (–306) |
| | 12 | Aric Almirola | 658 (–345) |
| | 13 | Erik Jones | 635 (–368) |
| | 14 | Jimmie Johnson | 604 (–399) |
| | 15 | Alex Bowman | 572 (–431) |
| | 16 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 493 (–510) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| | Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| | 1 | Toyota | 876 |
| | 2 | Ford | 855 (–21) |
| | 3 | Chevrolet | 783 (–93) |
| Official manufacturers' standings ||||
