Entry List

Bass Pro Shops Night Race

Saturday, September 17th, 2022

Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, TN

  • 15 Chevrolet
  • 15 Ford
  • 6 Toyota

  • Bristol Motor Speedway
  • 62nd Annual Bass Pro Shops Night Race
  • Busch Pole Award Pole Winner: Aric Almirola
  • Age: 38
  • Team : No. 10 - Ford BlueOval City Ford
  • Owner: Stewart-Haas Racing
  • Crew Chief: Drew Blickensderfer
  • Aric Almirola won the Busch Light Pole Award for the 62nd Annual Bass Pro Shops Night Race with a lap of 14.946 seconds, 128.382 mph.
  • This is his fourth pole in 417 NASCAR Cup Series races.
  • This is his first pole and eighth top-10 start in 2022.
  • This is his first pole in 25 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. Almirola becomes the 52nd different NASCAR Cup Series driver to win a pole at Bristol Motor Speedway.
  • Chase Briscoe (second) posted his 10th top-10 start of 2022 and his first in two races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
  • Alex Bowman (third) posted his fourth top-10 start at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his 13th in 29 races this season.
  • Austin Cindric (ninth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

  • Saturday, September 17th, 2022
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
Chris Buescher triumphs at Bristol as Playoff field is trimmed to 12

With Chase Elliott pursuing him relentlessly for the final 50 laps, Chris Buescher held on to win Saturday's Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motors Speedway, becoming the 19th different NASCAR Cup Series winner this season.

After the event that set the field for the Round of 12 in the series Playoffs—and eliminated superstars Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick from the postseason—a dozen drivers were breathing sighs of relief and hoping fervently for a return to stock car sanity in the next round.

A two-tire pit stop under caution on Lap 438 of 500 put Reddick in the lead for a restart on Lap 444. The driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford led the final 61 laps and a race-high 169 overall to give the RFK organization its first victory since Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took the checkered flag at Daytona on July 1, 2017 at Daytona.

The victory was the first for RFK Racing since Brad Keselowski joined the organization as an owner/driver after the 2021 season.

Buescher was the third straight non-Playoff driver to win a race in the Round of 16, an unprecedented occurrence.

“It’s so special here,” said Buescher, whose only other Cup win came in a rain-shortened race at Pocono in 2016. “I love this racetrack. I love the fans. I love every time we come here. It’s so special. It’s pretty awesome.” 

Buescher said he wasn’t worried about starting the final run on two fresh tires, even though everyone chasing had four.

“I wasn’t a bit,” he asserted. “It was up to me at that point. I made it work, and we had a really fast (car). We knew we had a really fast race car in practice and didn’t quite get the job done in qualifying (20th)—but what a race car.

“I don’t know what all to say right now. I’m out of breath. This place will wear you flat-out, and I love that about it. It’s just a special night.”

Elliott was .458 seconds behind Buescher at the finish. William Byron came home third, followed by Christopher Bell, who posted his third straight top-five finish in the Round of 16. Kyle Larson was fifth and Ross Chastain sixth, as all five drivers immediately behind Buescher in the finishing order advanced to the Round of 12.

Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman also clinched spots in the next round, though all had serious issues during the race.

Elliott got closer to Buescher on the final two laps but ran out of time.

“I felt like we were gaining, but it was… I wasn't close enough to do anything with him,” Elliott said. “But I appreciate the effort. We had a long day yesterday. Was able to battle back from a bad qualifying effort (23rd) to get a top two, so proud of that.

“Glad to be moving on (in the Playoff) and looking forward to some more opportunities here these coming weeks.”

Needing a victory to advance to the next round, Harvick ran consistently in the top five after staying out at the end of Stage 1 to gain track position. But Harvick’s chances evaporated in the pits on Lap 438 when his crew failed to secure the left-rear on his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.

As the tire rolled away, Harvick had to back up into his pit stall. The lost time left him 10th for the final restart on Lap 444. That’s where he finished, exiting the Playoffs in 16th place.

“It was pretty tough,” Harvick said. “We pitted in front of the 17 (Buescher), so just kind of the way the year has gone. Just went from having a chance to lead the parade to being a part of the parade. Just difficult to pass.”

Busch’s ouster was a touch-and-go affair. Both he and Tyler Reddick fell two points short after Austin Cindric, who finished seven laps down in 20th place but gained enough positions by passing back markers to advance.

Busch had accumulated 14 points in the first two stages and was running above the cut line when his engine blew on Lap 270—Busch’s second such failure in the three Playoff races. 

“It just goes with our year,” Busch said. “I don’t even know what to say. I’m flabbergasted. I just feel so bad for my guys. They don’t deserve to be in this spot. They work too hard. We are too good of a group to be this low—down on the bottom, fighting for our lives just to make it through. Two engine failures in three weeks, that will do it to you.” 

Reddick and Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon both failed to make the Round of 12 after both drivers’ Chevrolets were damaged in a 12-car pileup on the backstretch on Lap 277. Reddick finished 25th and Dillon 31st.

Keselowski led 109 laps and appeared to have race-winning chances until his right-front tire went flat on Lap 414 while he was leading.

“We had two cars that were really good today and one that was unlucky and one that executed, and everything came the right way for them,” Keselowski said.

  • Drivers Entered: 36
  • Laps Scheduled: 500
  • Margin of Victory: 0.458 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 3 Hours 1 Minutes 7 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 88.286
  • Cautions: 11 for 80 laps
  • Lead Changes: 12
  • Green Flag Passes: 2,690 (6.4 passes per green flag lap)

  • Bristol Motor Speedway
  • 62nd Annual Bass Pro Shops Night Race
  • Race Winner: Chris Buescher
  • Age: 29
  • Team : No. 17 - Fastenal Ford
  • Owner: RFK Racing
  • Crew Chief: Scott Graves
  • Chris Buescher won the 62nd Annual Bass Pro Shops Night Race, his second victory in 250 NASCAR Cup Series races.
  • This is his first victory and ninth top-10 finish in 2022.
  • This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in 13 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
  • Chase Elliott (second) posted his sixth top-10 finish in 12 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his 18th top-10 finish in 2022.
  • William Byron (third) posted his third top-10 finish in eight races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
  • Harrison Burton (16th) was the highest finishing rookie.
  • The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season becomes the fifth different season to reach 19 different winners (series-most in a single season); joining the 1956, 1958, 1961 and 2001 seasons. Among the five seasons to reach 19 different winners the 2022 season reached the record in the fewest races (29 races); the previous record was 36 races in 2001.
Kyle Larson celebrates in victory lane at Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol, Tennessee - September 18, 2021 : Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 Valvoline Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Jared C TiltonGetty Images
Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway Entry List
ENTRY # DRIVER HOMETOWN DOB AGE MAKE SPONSOR TEAM CREW CHIEF
1 16 AJ Allmendinger Los Gatos, CA Dec 16, 1981 42 Chevrolet Action Industries Kaulig Racing Matt Swiderski
2 10 Aric Almirola Tampa, FL Mar 14, 1984 40 Ford Ford BlueOval City Stewart-Haas Racing Drew Blickensderfer
3 6 Brad Keselowski Auburn Hills, MI Feb 12, 1984 40 Ford Kohler Generators RFK Racing Matt McCall
4 11 Denny Hamlin Chesterfield, VA Nov 18, 1980 43 Toyota FedEx Ground Joe Gibbs Racing Chris Gabehart
5 15 JJ Yeley Phoenix, AZ Oct 5, 1976 48 Ford World Supercross Championship Rick Ware Racing Kevyn Rebolledo
6 22 Joey Logano Middleton, CT May 24, 1990 34 Ford Shell Pennzoil Team Penske Paul Wolfe
7 4 Kevin Harvick Bakersfield, CA Dec 8, 1975 48 Ford Busch Light Stewart-Haas Racing Rodney Childers
8 18 Kyle Busch Las Vegas, NV May 2, 1985 39 Toyota M&M's Joe Gibbs Racing Ben Beshore
9 19 Martin Truex Jr Mayetta, NJ Jun 29, 1980 44 Toyota Bass Pro Shops Joe Gibbs Racing James Small
10 34 Michael McDowell Phoenix, AZ Dec 21, 1984 39 Ford Love's Travel Stops Front Row Motorsports Blake Harris
11 77 Landon Cassill Cedar Rapids, IA Jul 7, 1989 35 Chevrolet Zeigler Auto/LoJack Spire Motorsports Kevin Bellicourt
12 3 Austin Dillon Lewisville, NC Apr 27, 1990 34 Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops /TRACKER Off Road Richard Childress Racing Justin Alexander
13 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr Olive Branch, MS Oct 2, 1987 37 Chevrolet Kroger/ Thomas' JTG Daugherty Racing Brian Pattie
14 5 Kyle Larson Sacremento, CA Jul 31, 1992 32 Chevrolet HendrickCars.com Hendrick Motorsports Cliff Daniels
15 48 Alex Bowman Tuscon, AZ Apr 25, 1993 31 Chevrolet Ally Hendrick Motorsports Greg Ives
16 12 Ryan Blaney High Point, NC Dec 31, 1993 30 Ford Menards\Pennzoil Team Penske Jonathan Hassler
17 7 Corey Lajoie Kannapolis, NC Sep 25, 1991 33 Chevrolet Schluter Systems Spire Motorsports Ryan Sparks
18 42 Ty Dillon Lewisville, NC Feb 27, 1992 32 Chevrolet EG3 Technologies Petty GMS Motorsports Chad Norris
19 9 Chase Elliott Dawsonville, GA Nov 28, 1995 28 Chevrolet Hooters Hendrick Motorsports Alan Gustafson
20 17 Chris Buescher Prosper, TX Oct 29, 1992 31 Ford Fastenal RFK Racing Scott Graves
21 43 Erik Jones Byron, MI May 30, 1996 28 Chevrolet U.S. Air Force Petty GMS Motorsports Dave Elenz
22 78 BJ McLeod Wauchula, FL Nov 17, 1983 40 Ford MALCO Live Fast Motorsports Lee Leslie
23 99 Daniel Suarez Monterrey, Mexico Jan 7, 1992 32 Chevrolet Tootsies Orchid Lounge TrackHouse Racing Travis Mack
24 51 Cody Ware Greensboro, NC Nov 7, 1995 28 Ford Nurtec ODT Rick Ware Racing Ken Evans
25 1 Ross Chastain Alva, FL Dec 4, 1992 31 Chevrolet Worldwide Express TrackHouse Racing Phil Surgen
26 45 Bubba Wallace Mobile, AL Oct 8, 1993 31 Toyota MoneyLion 23XI Racing Bootie Barker
27 24 William Byron Charlotte, NC Nov 29, 1997 26 Chevrolet Acronis Hendrick Motorsports Rudy Fugle
28 41 Cole Custer Ladera Ranch, CA Jan 23, 1998 26 Ford Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Stewart-Haas Racing Mike Shiplett
29 8 Tyler Reddick Corning, CA Jan 11, 1996 28 Chevrolet Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Richard Childress Racing Randall Burnett
30 31 Justin Haley Winamac, IN Apr 28, 1999 25 Chevrolet LeafFilter Gutter Protection Kaulig Racing Trent Owens
31 20 Christopher Bell Norman, OK Dec 16, 1994 29 Toyota Yahoo! Joe Gibbs Racing Adam Stevens
32 2 Austin Cindric Columbus, OH Sep 2, 1998 26 Ford Freightliner Team Penske Jeremy Bullins
33 14 Chase Briscoe Mitchell, IN Dec 15, 1994 29 Ford Magical Vacation Planner Stewart-Haas Racing Johnny Klausmeier
34 21 Harrison Burton Huntersville, NC Oct 9, 2000 23 Ford Motorcraft \ Quick Lane Wood Brothers Racing Brian Wilson
35 23 Ty Gibbs Charlotte, NC Oct 4, 2002 22 Toyota Monster Energy 23XI Racing Billy Scott
36 38 Todd Gilliland Sherrills Ford, NC May 15, 2000 24 Ford Long John Silver's Front Row Motorsports Seth Barbour