2021 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race

The 2021 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 18, 2021 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Contested over 500 laps on the short track, it was the 29th race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, third race of the Playoffs and final race of the Round of 16.

The race was won by Kyle Larson. Tyler Reddick, Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch and Michael McDowell were eliminated from the round of 16.

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

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

Qualifying

Martin Truex Jr. was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.

Starting Lineup

Race

Martin Truex Jr. earned the pole position for the start of the race, where he led the first five laps. Denny Hamlin won stage one after passing Kyle Larson on lap 90. A red flag occurred for nearly eight minutes following a turn 4 incident that involved four vehicles on lap 221. Larson led at the end of stage two. On lap 464, Chase Elliott was forced to pit from the lead when he had a flat tire from damage he received when Kevin Harvick got into his rear quarter panel. When he got back on the track, Elliott attempted to retaliate by getting into the side of then race leader Harvick and then running Harvick's preferred line, thus slowing him down. Larson was able to pass Harvick on lap 497, and secure his 12th overall Cup Series win. Following the race, Harvick and Elliott bumped cars on pit road and confronted each other when they eventually parked. The two had a heated conversation with Elliott pointing at Harvick while Harvick had his helmet still on with both their crew members and NASCAR officials trying to break up the fight. The two got into a bit of a shoving match when Elliott pushed on Harvick's helmet before they were both separated. Frustrated, Harvick took off his helmet and slammed it on the roof of his car just barely missing his glasses. Both drivers got interviewed where the mics were piped into the speakers of the track for the fans to hear. Harvick said, "I just told him it was kind of a chicken shit move that he did there at the end you know. We're racing for the freaking win at Bristol. We're three-wide in the middle and he throws a temper tantrum like I was just trying to get the lead and racing hard, then he pulls up infront of me, and just sits there until I lose the whole lead." He ended by saying "God Damn. I'm about to rip somebody's freaking head off." Elliott said, "It's something arvickdoes all the time. He runs into your left side constantly at other tracks and sometimes it does cut down your left side (tires), other times it doesn't." After their interviews, the two met again near the haulers where they continued to disagree with the situation. The argument continued for several minutes eventually continuing inside Elliott's hauler as the two didn't want cameras around them. Michael McDowell, Kurt Busch, Tyler Reddick, and Aric Almirola were eliminated from the Playoffs.

Stage Results

Stage One
''Laps:'' 125

Stage Two
''Laps:'' 125

Final Stage Results

Stage Three
''Laps:'' 250

Race statistics

* Lead changes: 23 among 7 different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 8 for 71
* Red flags: 1 for 7 minutes and 53 seconds
* Time of race: 3 hours, 2 minutes and 56 seconds
* Average speed:

Media

Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 2008 Food City 500 winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Dillon Welch handled the pit road duties from pit lane. Rutledge Wood handled the features from the track.

Radio

PRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the race from the booth when the field races down the frontstretch. Rob Albright called the race when the field races down the backstretch. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Alan Cavanna, and Wendy Venturini handled the duties on pit lane.

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings

;Manufacturers' Championship standings

*Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.

References

{{Bass Pro Shops Night Race

Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race
Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race
Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race
NASCAR races at Bristol Motor Speedway