NASCAR Bristol Night Race recap, finishing order: Kurt Busch breaks long winless streak
By Nick Tylwalk
The Bristol night race was full of plot twists as it usually is, and an unexpected winner emerged from the chaos.
All week long leading up to the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, much of the focus was on Kyle Busch. That was warranted given the success he’d had at The Last Great Colosseum, winning the previous two NASCAR Cup Series races there, but in the end, it was Kurt Busch who made the trip to Victory Lane instead of his younger brother.
On a night when a number of different drivers found their way to the front, it was the driver who hadn’t won since the first race of the 2017 season who was there when it mattered. Kurt Busch’s sixth Bristol win ended a 58-race streak of futility, locking him into the 2018 NASCAR Playoffs and perhaps quieting whispers about his future with Stewart-Haas Racing, at least for the time being.
Kurt Busch didn’t lead all that many laps but was lurking when misfortune found some of the other contenders. One of them was Martin Truex Jr., who was running second to Clint Bowyer when contact with Kyle Busch knocked him into JJ Yeley and the outside wall. An unhappy Truex, who had battled from the back after going a lap down early, put some of the blame on the 18 and some on himself for not knocking Bowyer out of the way to take the lead.
It was even more of a roller coaster ride for Kyle Busch, who was involved in a wreck just two laps into the race — one that his brother was also involved in, though to a lesser extent — that seemed like it would end his night. Despite going several laps down, the 18 hung around and clearly was still one of the fastest cars on the track. While battling three-wide in the final 50 laps, though, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson sandwiched Chris Buescher, and the resulting damage cut down the left-rear tire on the 18 and finally ended his night.
More cautions ended up shuffling the lead to Kurt Busch, and even though he had tires 30 laps older than second-place Kyle Larson, he managed to avoid falling victim to what would have been the 22nd lead change of the night, holding on for his first victory since the 2017 Daytona 500.
“It was awesome to be in this position,” a jubilant Kurt Busch told the NBC Sports announcers after an extended burnout. “When you race on a short track on Saturday night, it brings back all the memories of growing up as a kid and racing with your dad and your family. I didn’t want to let my dad down.”
He certainly didn’t on this particular night at Bristol, and he knows he’ll now have a chance to race for the championship this fall, too.
Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race highlights, stage results. dark. Next
2018 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race finishing order at Bristol Motor Speedway
- Kurt Busch
- Kyle Larson
- Chase Elliott
- Joey Logano
- Erik Jones
- Clint Bowyer
- Ryan Blaney
- Alex Bowman
- Jimmie Johnson
- Kevin Harvick
- Trevor Bayne
- Ryan Newman
- Austin Dillon
- Denny Hamlin
- Kasey Kahne
- Brad Keselowski
- David Ragan
- Daniel Suarez
- Chris Buescher
- Kyle Busch
- Ty Dillon
- Matt DiBenedetto
- William Byron
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Landon Cassill
- Ross Chastain
- Blake Jones
- Tommy Hill
- Jamie McMurray
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Aric Almirola
- JJ Yeley
- Reed Sorensen
- Corey LaJoie
- Jesse Little
- Paul Menard
- Michael McDowell
- Bubba Wallace
- AJ Allmendinger
- Gray Gaulding