Martin Truex Jr. won the regular-season points race but finds himself in a precarious position entering Saturday’s Bass Pro Shop’s Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Truex has stumbled to 18th- and 36-place finishes through the first two races, leaving him seven points below the cut line for the Round of 12. Meanwhile, he’s entering a track that Truex admits “hasn’t been my favorite place.”

In 32 starts at Bristol, Truex has posted two top-fives and four top 10s for an average finish of 20.8.

“The points situation is the same as every other race,” Truex said. “This weekend, we just need to qualify the best we can, run up front and hope for good things to happen, but we really just have to control what we can control.

“Bristol hasn’t been my favorite place, but we’ve had some good runs there, too. I think we’ve been competitive there over the years. … Hoping we can have a strong run there and get to the next round of the playoffs. We’ll see how it plays out.”

Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick have secured their spots in the Round of 12 with victories the past two weeks.

Kevin Harvick currently occupies the 12th spot, ahead of Truex. He’s 19 points clear of Bubba Wallace, 22 ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and 40 above Michael McDowell, who almost certainly needs at win at Bristol to advance in the playoff race.

BASS PRO SHOPS NIGHT RACE
Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway
The Date: Saturday, Sept. 16, 6:30 p.m. ET
The Distance:500 laps on 0.533-mile track
Defending Champion: Chris Buescher
Cup Series Leader: Kyle Larson
TV: USA Network
Radio: SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

5 BEST BETS
Kyle Larson (+425 at BetMGM)
Larson won the first playoff race and has been a very popular choice this week after backing it up with a fourth at Kansas. After opening at +600, Larson’s odds have continued to shorten while being backed by the most total bets (9.7 percent) and money (14.6 percent) to win Saturday night.

Denny Hamlin (+475)
Hamlin was edged out for the pole by a miniscule 0.008 seconds after finishing second at Kansas. He is second at the book with 13.3 percent of the money backing him to win.

Christopher Bell (+625)
Bell enters Bristol 10th in the standings, 13 points above the cut line. He also sits on the pole for an unprecedented third consecutive week to open the playoffs, although the first two resulted in 23rd- and eighth-place finishes.

Brad Keselowski (+800)
Keselowski is the top Ford in the current playoff standings courtesy of a pair of top-10s the past two weeks. He’ll start in solid position after qualifying sixth.

Kevin Harvick (+1500)
Harvick owns three career wins at Bristol, the most recent coming in 2020. He has also posted top-10 finishes in 10 of his past 13 visits. However, he’ll have to battle his way through the pack after qualifying 21st.

“The ‘just survive’ strategy at Bristol is great as long as you’re up in the points or in the middle of the pack in the points,” Harvick said. “But if you’re in the bottom third of those points, you’ve got to make some stuff happen and try to get points in the stages and try to win the race.”

LONGSHOT PICK
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+12500)
Stenhouse is 22 points below the Round of 12 cut line and desperately needs a strong race Saturday night. His longshot odds have made Stenhouse the book’s biggest liability this week, as he has been backed by 3.0 percent of the total bets.

–Field Level Media

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Justin Allgaier took advantage of a strategic call by JR Motorsports crew chief Jim Pohlman to win Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the first event in the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs.

Charging from 13th after restart on Lap 257 of 300, Allgaier passed Daniel Hemric for the lead on Lap 288 and pulled away to win by 1.695 seconds, securing a spot in the Round of 8 of the playoffs.

Allgaier also broke news in Victory Lane, announcing that he had re-signed for another season with JR Motorsports.

That was the good news. In a rare appearance as a driver, team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. led 47 laps before pulling off the track on lap 271 with a fireball in his car licking at his firesuit. Earnhardt made a quick exit and finished 30th.

And that was after three JR Motorsports cars were eliminated from the race in the same wreck.

Without hesitation, Pohlman called Allgaier to the pits when Josh Bilicki’s spin in Turn 1 caused the sixth and final caution on Lap 248. Allgaier rocketed through the field until he caught Hemric, harrying the driver of the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet until he slipped past with just over 12 laps left.

The victory was Allgaier’s second at the 0.533-mile short track and his first since his initial Xfinity Series win in 2010. Between victories Allgaier led plenty of laps but couldn’t return to victory lane — until Friday night.

“This team has done an amazing job at this racetrack since I started at JR Motorsports,” Allgaier said. “We led a lot of laps, and the monkey was definitely on our back. The pit strategy there… coming down pit road by myself was nerve-wracking, right?

“I’m speechless, man. This place, Jim Pohlman and I circled this place on our calendar when we started the year, before we ever even took a green flag lap, we said we want to win Bristol. Man, we won Bristol! It’s Bristol, baby — let’s go!”

The victory was Allgaier’s third of the season and 22nd of his career.

Hemric floundered early in the race until the top lane came in. Then his car came to life.

“We just enough race car there that once the top came in, I was going to live by it,” Hemric said. “I thought it would be OK. I thought if I could hold the 7 (Allgaier) off to get to that next group of traffic maybe I’d have a chance to at least race him down in the last five or 10 laps.

“Yeah, the tires were just too much there. Him and Dale Jr. had the best cars all night. So yeah, proud of this group. We definitely stole a finish tonight but came a long way through traffic.”

Playoff drivers John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer and Chandler Smith finished third through fifth, respectively. Custer led 109 laps, one fewer than Allgaier.

A four-car wreck in Turn 1 on Lap 167 sidelined three JR Motorsports cars, two of them driven by playoff contenders Josh Berry and Sam Mayer. After slight side-to-side contact with the No. 1 Chevrolet of Mayer, Berry’s No. 8 Chevy cut a right front tire and turned up the track into Mayer, knocking him into the outside wall.

Running behind his JR Motorsports teammates, Brandon Jones also was collected in the wreck, as was the No. 39 Ford of Ryan Sieg.

Those weren’t the only teammates who ran afoul of each other. On Lap 217, Sheldon Creed clipped regular-season winner Austin Hill just short of the start/finish line. Out of control, Hill’s Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet bounced off the inside wall and nosed into the outside SAFER barrier in Turn 1. Hill was unable to continue.

Hill finished 33rd. Creed came home 11th.

As if that weren’t enough drama, Earnhardt ran in or near the lead until his car began to smoke with 30 laps left.

Mayer, Berry, Parker Kligerman (who lost 53 laps under repairs in the garage) and Jeb Burton (who started from the rear in a backup car and finished 13th) all dropped below the cut line for the Round of 8 as the series heads for the second Round of 12 playoff race next Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Food City 300
Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol, Tennessee
Friday, September 15, 2023

1. (10) Justin Allgaier (P), Chevrolet, 300.
2. (5) Daniel Hemric (P), Chevrolet, 300.
3. (3) John Hunter Nemechek (P), Toyota, 300.
4. (1) Cole Custer (P), Ford, 300.
5. (4) Chandler Smith # (P), Chevrolet, 300.
6. (7) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 300.
7. (12) Trevor Bayne (P), Toyota, 300.
8. (16) Riley Herbst, Ford, 300.
9. (6) Sammy Smith # (P), Toyota, 300.
10. (31) Kaz Grala, Toyota, 300.
11. (21) Sheldon Creed (P), Chevrolet, 300.
12. (18) Derek Kraus, Chevrolet, 300.
13. (38) Jeb Burton (P), Chevrolet, 300.
14. (29) Connor Mosack, Toyota, 300.
15. (14) Parker Retzlaff #, Chevrolet, 299.
16. (36) Brett Moffitt, Ford, 299.
17. (25) Rajah Caruth(i), Chevrolet, 298.
18. (22) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 298.
19. (35) Stefan Parsons, Chevrolet, 298.
20. (20) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 298.
21. (27) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 298.
22. (28) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 297.
23. (30) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 297.
24. (9) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 297.
25. (32) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 296.
26. (19) Joe Graf Jr., Ford, 295.
27. (24) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 294.
28. (33) Blaine Perkins #, Chevrolet, 294.
29. (23) Chad Finchum, Ford, 276.
30. (15) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, Ignition, 271.
31. (13) Parker Kligerman (P), Chevrolet, 246.
32. (17) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, Brakes, 229.
33. (26) Austin Hill (P), Chevrolet, DVP, 217.
34. (8) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, Suspension, 178.
35. (11) Sam Mayer (P), Chevrolet, Accident, 166.
36. (2) Josh Berry (P), Chevrolet, Accident, 166.
37. (37) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, Power Steering, 117.
38. (34) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, Rear Gear, 81.

–By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Driver Kyle Busch said Friday that the swap of pit crews with Austin Dillon before Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway was a collaborative decision at Richard Childress Racing that involved both drivers.

The swap, which switches all pit crew members except for the fuelers, took place because Dillon’s crew has been faster and more consistent throughout the season, said Busch, who is in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, where Dillon is not.

“If you can take a step from an ‘8′ or a ‘9′ crew to a ‘9′ or a ‘10′ type crew, you’ll take it,” Busch said before Friday’s Cup Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“I’m involved in most discussions, but that was definitely a discussion that was talked about with everybody. I wasn’t the one who was pushing it or forcing it, by any means, but made the suggestion — probably not first — but it all came together through everybody.”

Because the switch was made this week, Busch hasn’t had an opportunity to practice with the new over-the-wall crew.

“There wasn’t time this week, unfortunately,” Busch said. “My schedule didn’t allow me to get up there on Tuesday when they were doing the pit practice stuff. Hopefully, it’s a plug-and-play, and everything’s good.”

Busch, who was eliminated from the Playoffs in the Round of 16 last year, has a 24-point cushion above the current cut line for the Round of 12.

“I forward to this year and hopefully being able to have a normal Kyle Bristol race and get out of here with some good points and move on to the next round, if not maybe a win,” said Busch, who has eight victories on Bristol concrete and one on dirt.

–Martin Truex Jr. will try to avoid elimination on one of his toughest tracks

If Martin Truex Jr. doesn’t advance to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, he’ll be the first regular-season champion to fail to do so.

But Truex faces an uphill battle after finishing 36th last Sunday at Kansas Speedway, thanks to a cut tire and a hard crash into the Turn 3 wall on Lap 4.

The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is 13th in the Playoff standings, seven points behind Kevin Harvick in 12th. After Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol, the field will be trimmed to 12 drivers.

Unfortunately, Bristol hasn’t been a strong track for Truex, who has posted just two top fives and four top 10s in 32 career starts at Thunder Valley.

“It’s a terrible spot to be in,” Truex said. “Last week, we didn’t even get a chance to race, which was disappointing. I felt like it was probably the best car I had on a mile-and-a-half all year long. I was really excited about it after coming off a tough Darlington race, and then two laps in, you feel like you’re in trouble with a flat tire and it turns out you ran something over.

“It’s terrible bad luck. I don’t know what you do about it. You just move on and do the best you can (Saturday) night. Obviously, it’s a bad spot to be in.”

Truex’s two top fives came in 2011 and 2012 when he finished second and third in consecutive races. Since then, he has rarely been a threat to win.

“We’ve run well here at times,” Truex said. “We’ve certainly struggled at times, but I think everybody has. This place is tricky with the spray (traction compound), and the groove moving around. We won’t race where we practice. It’s a little bit of a challenge there, but all of the times we’ve run here, it’s always been a flat tire or a loose wheel.

“I can’t even use both hands to count all of the times that has happened. It’s just been a tough place. Hopefully, no bad luck (Saturday) night, and we can go just have a smooth race and hopefully have the performance to get the job done.”

–Daniel Hemric to drive Kaulig Racing’s No. 31 NASCAR Cup car in 2024

Former NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Daniel Hemric will fill the seat of the No. 31 Kaulig Racing NASCAR Cup Series Chevrolet next season, team president Chris Rice announced during a press conference on Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Hemric succeeds Justin Haley, who is leaving Kaulig at the end of the season to drive for Rick Ware Racing.

In 276 starts across all three of NASCAR’s national series, Hemric has posted one victory, but that lone win came in the Xfinity Series Championship 4 race at Phoenix in 2021, earning Hemric the series title.

The 2024 season will mark Hemric’s second full-time foray into NASCAR’s top division. In 2019, he drove the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to a 25th-place finish in the Cup standings, with a best result of fifth at Talladega.

“I appreciate these guys,” Hemric said of Rice and team owner Matt Kaulig. “They went to bat for me when I didn’t know what I had next, in 2021. When I got to sit down and actually hear them out, hear what their vision was, not only for 2021 — but for 2024 and 2025 and beyond — back well before that was on the horizon, I knew after hearing what they had to say that I wanted to be a part of it.

“You’re never promised anything. You never know what’s to come, but one thing’s that’s always been true is if you keep showing up, put the work in and bring that heart each and every week, you’re going to have that same shot you can only dream of.

“Yeah, it’s been a whirlwind, to say the least… But it’s here — I’m going back.”

–Bristol Motor Speedway spring race returns to concrete surface in 2024

The spring race at Bristol Motor Speedway no longer will be a dirty business.

After three years of hauling in truckloads of Tennessee red clay to stage a dirt-track event at the 0.533-mile short track, Bristol racing will return to its concrete surface for the Food City 500 in the spring of 2024.

No specific dates for the race were provided, pending the release of the NASCAR Cup Series’ schedule for next year.

“As the motorsports world focuses on America’s Night Race (on Saturday), we are thrilled to announce Bristol Motor Speedway will host the return of the Food City 500 on the concrete high-banks of the World’s Fastest Half Mile in the spring of 2024,” Bristol Motor Speedway president and general manager Jerry Caldwell said in a statement announcing the change.

“We will revive a logo reminiscent of the first Food City 500s in the early ‘90s and resurrect the track’s vintage trademark look and feel of the era. We’re looking forward to a great weekend of racing and what’s to come in 2024.”

Accordingly, Christopher Bell, winner of the 2023 Food City Dirt Race, will have the last chance for an unprecedented sweep of Bristol Cup races on two different surfaces in the same season. The Bass Pro Shops Night Race is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Veteran driver Kevin Harvick applauded the decision.

“I think that’s fantastic,” he said. “I think the dirt race was what it was. I think it’s something that you try and probably tried it a couple years too long, but I’m always going to vote for something that’s not dirt.”

–By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.