Sprint Cup Race No. 23 – Bristol Motor Speedway: TV Schedule

With just four races left in the Sprint Cup regular season, NASCAR heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race on Saturday, returning to NBC Sports Network.

As the regular season begins to wind down, every Sprint Cup race become more and more important for those trying to make the Round of 16 that will start on Sunday, September 18 in Chicago. In the first of the final four events, NASCAR heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the second time this year and there is a lot more at stake than back in April.

For the first time since Pocono, the series is back on NBC Sports Network, although the final practice will still be on USA Network because of Olympic coverage. You can see all practices on the NBC Sports app.

Carl Edwards won the spring race at Bristol that effectively punched his ticket to the Chase. He bested Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is not expected to be back from concussion-like symptoms.

In the second race a year ago, Denny Hamlin won the pole while setting a track record of 131.407 mph (14.602 seconds), while the race record was set all the way back in 1971 by Charlie Glotzbach with an average speed of 101.074 mph. Joey Logano is the defending champion.

The first race at Bristol was on July 30, 1961 and was won by Jack Smith, with relief from Johnny Allen. The first night event was run in the fall of 1978. Overall, this will be the 112^th race held at the Tennessee half-miler.

Richard Petty holds the mark for the most starts with 60, and while Jeff Gordon is officially retired, he is subbing for Earnhardt this week. He leads all active drivers with 46. There have been 42 different winners at Bristol, with Darrell Waltrip leading the pack with a dozen trips to Victory Lane. In the active group,  Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch each have five.

Next: Ranking every NASCAR track

Here is the complete television schedule for NASCAR’s Bristol stop:

FRIDAY, AUG. 19
10:00 A.M. – Sprint Cup practice (NBC Sports App)
12:30 P.M. – Spring Cup final practice (NBC Sports App)
1:00 P.M. – Sprint Cup final practice (USA Network)
5:30 P.M. –  Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (USA Network)

SATURDAY, AUG. 20
7:30 p.m. – Sprint Cup Series Countdown (NBCSN)
8:00 p.m. – Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race (NBCSN)