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.
Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Quin Houff StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing 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 14 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 James Davison Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 38 Anthony Alfredo (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Ross Chastain Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Erik Jones Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 J. J. Yeley (i) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 52 Josh Bilicki Rick Ware Racing Ford 53 Garrett Smithley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 66 David Starr (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 77 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team ChevroletOfficial entry list
Qualifying Martin Truex Jr. was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.
Starting Lineup Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 3 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 4 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 5 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 7 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 8 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 9 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 10 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 11 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 12 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 13 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 14 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 16 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 17 42 Ross Chastain Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 18 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 19 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 20 14 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 21 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 22 43 Erik Jones Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 23 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 24 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 25 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 27 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 28 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 29 77 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 30 38 Anthony Alfredo (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 31 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 32 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 33 52 Josh Bilicki Rick Ware Racing Ford 34 00 Quin Houff StarCom Racing Chevrolet 35 51 J. J. Yeley (i) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 36 53 Garrett Smithley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 37 15 James Davison Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 38 66 David Starr (i) MBM Motorsports ToyotaOfficial 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 [Harvick] does 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
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 84 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 75 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 66 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 57 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 125
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 102 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 84 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 66 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 57 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 48 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 210 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 250
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 5 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 592 8 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 500 453 14 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 424 7 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 500 435 11 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 326 10 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 500 467 1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 328 22 43 Erik Jones Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 500 299 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 4710 19 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 500 2711 3 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 500 2612 13 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 500 2713 20 14 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 500 2414 17 42 Ross Chastain Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 500 2315 18 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 500 2216 28 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 500 2117 27 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 500 2018 12 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 500 1919 15 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 500 1820 23 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 499 1721 9 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 499 2122 21 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 498 1523 25 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 498 1424 16 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 498 1325 4 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 497 2626 31 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 497 1127 35 51 J. J. Yeley (i) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 495 028 26 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 494 929 6 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 493 1430 36 53 Garrett Smithley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 487 031 33 52 Josh Bilicki Rick Ware Racing Ford 482 632 38 66 David Starr (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 482 033 37 15 James Davison Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 474 434 34 00 Quin Houff StarCom Racing Chevrolet 375 335 30 38 Anthony Alfredo (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 313 236 29 77 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 216 037 32 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 215 038 24 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 177 1Official race results
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.
NBCSNBooth announcersPit reportersFeatures reporter Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve LetarteColor-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dave BurnsMarty SniderDillon Welch Rutledge Wood
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.
PRNBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Doug RiceAnnouncer: Mark Garrow Backstretch: Rob Albright Brad GillieBrett McMillanAlan CavannaWendy Venturini
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings