This past Saturday, the NASCAR Cup Series did battle at “The Last Great Colosseum” for the Night Race Classic, a notorious favorite among both fans and drivers. With a stacked field of 39 drivers, a soft right-side tire, and four drivers facing elimination after 500 grueling laps around the 0.533-mile Tennessee concrete short track, this year’s race left fans and drivers satisfied, a welcome change after several abysmal events last season.
Stage 1
A.J. Allmendinger captured the pole Friday night in his #16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet with a 15.117, while Ryan Blaney, who was +19 to the cutline entering the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, grabbed the outside pole with a 15.120. At the start, Allmendinger chose the outside line, as Ty Gibbs got the jump behind them and surged into the lead early on.
On Lap 75, Josh Berry, who was in a must-win scenario after crashing at Darlington Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway, came down pit road with a fire caused by tire rubber, ending his playoff run and proving tire wear would be a factor all night, much like the 2024 spring race. Berry was credited with 39th place, officially ending his postseason hopes.
During Berry’s pit road scare, NASCAR threw the caution, prompting the field to pit for tires. Many drivers had already lost track position during the green-flag run because of tire wear. When the green flag came back out on Lap 95, Gibbs surged ahead of William Byron, as Front Row Motorsports driver Zane Smith climbed into second. Both Gibbs and Smith were chasing their first career NASCAR Cup Series wins. But just as the action heated up, Alex Bowman spun in Turn 2. Entering Bristol -35 to the cutline, Bowman needed every point he could get, and this incident put the driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet further behind.
The next restart came on Lap 107. With Stage 1 ending on Lap 125, Blaney began marching to the front as lapped traffic interfered with leader Ty Gibbs, allowing the #12 Menards Ford to collect ten stage points and one playoff point, strengthening his cushion going into the Round of 12 if everything else went right for Team Penske.
Stage 2
When the green flag dropped to begin Stage 2, Bubba Wallace launched ahead of Gibbs, but Gibbs reclaimed the lead before the next caution on Lap 148. That yellow flew after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made contact with Riley Herbst out of Turn 4, briefly blocking the track. The Lap 156 restart was tame, aside from Chase Elliott getting a poor jump and being shuffled toward the back.
On Lap 224, Carson Hocevar took the lead from Bowman, who had rebounded after his earlier spin. Hocevar, another hungry youngster searching for his first career victory in his second full-time season, briefly controlled the race before Gibbs took the top spot back. Then, on Lap 238, Shane van Gisbergen lost control. SVG entered Bristol -15 to the cutline, and his long night only got worse from there.
On the next restart, Stenhouse Jr. and Gibbs battled side by side, but with Stenhouse Jr. on older tires, Gibbs surged forward with Blaney in tow. This time, the 22-year-old sealed the stage win over Blaney. Gibbs’ points didn’t count toward the Playoffs, but the victory gave him bragging rights and momentum.
Stage 3
Gibbs and Bowman led the field into the final stage, but Bowman couldn’t hold his position and quickly got caught in traffic. SVG got loose on the apron, triggering another caution. On the Lap 277 restart, Darlington winner Chase Briscoe took the lead, just before Cole Custer lost control on Lap 281.
The race resumed on Lap 289 with Briscoe ahead of Chris Buescher, but Noah Gragson’s #4 Rush Truck Centers Ford lost control on the frontstretch to bring out another yellow. On Lap 301, Briscoe again led Buescher and Wallace, but chaos struck when Denny Hamlin bumped John Hunter Nemechek into Chase Elliott, sending Elliott hard into the Turn 3 wall and ending his day. With a DNF, Elliott had to watch the final 180 laps from the garage and hope his +10 cushion to 13th held up.
The rest of the race was filled with incidents, pit strategy, and chaos. Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson both had tire issues, Larson pitted on Lap 365, and Hamlin lost a wheel on Lap 384, causing an accident and another caution.
Up front, Briscoe and Gibbs dueled with just over 100 laps to go. The JGR teammates put on a show until Gibbs made a costly mistake, slamming the brakes and missing pit road with 66 laps left. That opened the door for Brad Keselowski and Christopher Bell to battle for the lead, while Austin Cindric was forced to pit with 42 to go due to a fire on his right-front tire.
With 34 laps remaining, Alex Bowman found himself in third behind Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar, putting him just one point below the cutoff line. With 13 to go, Cole Custer got loose and sent Bubba Wallace into the wall, bringing out another yellow.
On the final restart, Christopher Bell charged past Hocevar and Smith on the inside lane, with Keselowski close behind. On the final lap, Keselowski tried a bump-and-run on the #20, but it wasn’t enough. Bell held on for his fourth win of the season, locking himself into the Round of 12.
The next race is the Mobil-1 301, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Coverage begins at 2:00 PM EST / 11:00 AM CST on USA Network. With a spot in the Round of 8 on the line and the playoff cutline tighter than ever, drivers will need to bring their A-game, you won’t want to miss it!
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