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In The Know – Bristol

NASCAR CUP SERIES OVERVIEW:

●  Event:  Bass Pro Shops Night Race (Round 29 of 36)

●  Time/Date:  7:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Sept. 16

●  Location:  Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway

●  Layout:  .533-mile, concrete oval

●  Laps/Miles:  500 laps/266.5 miles

●  Stage Lengths:  Stage 1: 125 laps / Stage 2: 125 laps / Final Stage: 250 laps

●  TV/Radio:  USA / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

SHR FAST FACTS:

Kevin Harvick:

 Harvick is a three-time winner at Bristol, and his last two victories at the high-banked half-mile have come in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. Harvick’s first NASCAR Cup Series win at Bristol was in April 2005. It was his ninth start at the concrete-clad track, and Harvick beat Elliott Sadler by an impressive 4.652 seconds for his fifth career Cup Series victory. It would be another 23 races before Harvick scored his second Bristol win. In the 2016 Bass Pro Shops Night Race, Harvick beat Ricky Stenhouse Jr., by 1.933 seconds to take his 33rd career Cup Series victory. Harvick only had to wait four years to collect his third Bristol Cup win. He won the 2020 Bass Pro Shops Night Race in dominating fashion by leading four times for a race-high 226 laps, including the final 32 tours where Harvick beat Kyle Busch by .310 of a second to take his 58th career Cup Series victory, his third at Bristol and his 35th since joining SHR in 2014.

Aric Almirola:

In 25 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol, Almirola has two top-five finishes, four top-10s, one pole, and has led 39 laps. Almirola earned his pole at Bristol last September. He led 36 laps until a steering issue relegated him to a 28th-place finish.

Chase Briscoe:

Last year at Bristol, Briscoe qualified second to start on the front row alongside his SHR teammate Aric Almirola. He entered the race, the third and final event of the opening Round of 16 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, as a playoff contender but sitting below the top-12 cutline. He overcame the points deficit with finishes of fourth and third in the opening two stages, respectively. And after several other playoff contenders saw their nights end early, the No. 14 team elected to push for a strong finish rather than a win, ultimately advancing to the Round of 12 with a 14th-place result. Briscoe would go on to advance to the Round of 8 and nearly made his way into the Championship 4 after leading laps in the season’s penultimate race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

Ryan Preece:

Saturday evening’s race will mark Preece’s sixth Cup Series start at the track. He has a best finish of ninth in the 2020 race after starting 22nd for JTG-Daugherty Racing. This weekend will also be Preece’s first with SHR at Bristol. In three Xfinity Series starts at Bristol, Preece has one win, one top five finish and two top-15s. His win came in 2018 for Joe Gibbs Racing after he started seventh and led 39 laps along the way. Preece, who favors short tracks due to his grassroots background in the Whelen Modified Tour, is looking forward to racing on the concrete at Bristol this weekend. He started eighth and finished 24th in April’s Food City Dirt Race.

OUR WEEKLY WRAPS:

WHAT OUR DRIVERS ARE SAYING:

 

Kevin Harvick Driver of the No. 4 GEARWRENCH Ford Mustang:

With this being your final season, do you view the playoffs as more work or is it actually fun?

“It’s always work, and I’m fortunate to have this ability to kind of separate the two, because when you plug yourself into that car and turn the rest of it off, it’s just work. That’s my job, that’s what I do, that’s what we do together as a team. This year is a little bit different because of all the things that are happening around the last season that you can enjoy, but I’ve never really had a problem turning it on or off.”

Aric Almirola Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield/IHOP Ford Mustang:

You won the pole last year and led the first 36 laps. What are your projections for this weekend?

“We always come to Bristol with the expectation to run well. Drew (Blickensderfer, crew chief) and the guys brought an awesome car last year. We weren’t in the playoffs then, either, and had likely the fastest car in the field. We took off in the opening laps until a steering issue ruined the day. Another non-playoff driver went on to win that race I believe, too, so I think the sky is the limit this weekend at Bristol again. We know we can bring fast cars so I don’t see why we can’t put ourselves in position for another win.”

Chase Briscoe Driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang:

Bristol is one of the races you have been looking forward to. What are your expectations for the No. 14 team, and how are you going to meet those with that added intensity with this being a cutoff race?

“Bristol is a great chance for us to get back on the right side of things. We’ve been strong on short tracks this year and we know that we had a really good car at Bristol last year. This is one of those times where not being in the playoffs might work to our advantage. Those guys are going to be doing everything they can to make it to the next round at the end of the night, to where we can just focus on staying out of the mess and being there with a shot at a win in the end.”

Ryan Preece Driver of the No. 41 Operating Engineers Ford Mustang:

Is Bristol Motor Speedway a track that you have circled on your calendar with your background on short tracks?

“I’m really looking forward to getting to Bristol this weekend. I’ve won at Bristol in the Xfinity Series and a Modified. It’s a track on the circuit that we expect to be strong at. We were strong earlier this season at Bristol and that was on the dirt, which I didn’t have much experience on at all. I’m a short-track guy, so Bristol is one I always have circled on my calendar. We’ve been really good at short tracks this season and I think we’re going to have a really good car. I think Saturday’s race will be an opportunity for our team to have a really good day and execute so that we can keep that momentum going in the last handful of races.”