Bass Pro Shops Night Race

The Bass Pro Shops Night Race is a NASCAR Cup Series race held at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. It is one of two NASCAR Cup Series races held at Bristol, the other being the Food City 500. Historically held in August from 1978 to 2019, and again in 2027. The race was moved to September from 2020 to 2026.

The race is currently the third race in the NASCAR Chase. Joey Logano is the defending race winner.

History From 1961 to 1977 the race was not held at Night and was held during the day due to the track not having lights. The second date historically suffered from attendance issues during this period and was slid up and down the schudle from dates ranging from Early July to November though most early races where held in July.

In 1977 after Bristol Motor Speedway founder Larry Carrier sold the track to Lanny Hester and Gary Baker and improvements were made to the facilities, they lobbied NASCAR to stabilize their two race dates with them asking for the spring race to be moved near April 1 and to move the second date from November to Late August. With the decision to race during the night primarily occurring due to heat concerns. The lights used in the 1978 race consisted of a high school football stadium system lights and temporary light towers. The first Night Race saw increased attendance and all subsequent editions of the race also held at night continued to see high attendance.

From 2001 to 2015, Newell Brands has been the title sponsor of the race, and until 2009 their marker pen brand Sharpie lent its name to the race. Newell Rubbermaid elected to change the race branding to promote one of its other brands, Irwin Industrial Tools. For the 2016 season, the main title sponsor switched to outdoor recreational retailer Bass Pro Shops.

In 2020, the race was moved from its traditional August date to mid-September, becoming a NASCAR Chase race.

Past winners

YearDateDriverTeamManufacturerRace distanceRace timeAverage speed(mph)ReportRef Laps Miles (km) 1961 July 3046 Jack Smith* Johnny Allen* Jack Smith Pontiac500250 (402.336)3:39:2368.278 Report 1962 April 2972 Bobby Johns Shorty Johns Pontiac500250 (402.336)3:24:2273.397 Report 1963 July 2828 Fred Lorenzen* Ned Jarrett* Holman-Moody Ford500250 (402.336)3:20:2574.844 Report 1964 July 2628 Fred Lorenzen Holman-Moody Ford500250 (402.336)3:12:1278.044 Report 1965 July 2511 Ned Jarrett Bondy Long Ford500250 (402.336)4:02:3761.826 Report 1966 July 2499 Paul Goldsmith Ray Nichels Plymouth500250 (402.336)3:12:2477.963 Report 1967 July 2343 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Plymouth500250 (402.336)3:10:3578.705 Report 1968 July 2117 David Pearson Holman-Moody Ford500250 (402.336)3:16:3476.31 Report 1969 July 2017 David Pearson Holman-Moody Ford500266.5 (428.89)3:08:0779.737 Report 1970 July 1922 Bobby Allison Bobby Allison Dodge500266.5 (428.89)3:08:2384.88 Report 1971 July 113 Charlie Glotzbach* Raymond Hassler* Richard Howard Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)2:38:12101.074 Report 1972 July 912 Bobby Allison Richard Howard Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)2:52:2692.735 Report 1973 July 872 Benny Parsons L. G. DeWitt Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)2:53:0491.342 Report 1974 July 1411 Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)3:31:5975.43 Report 1975 November 243 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge500266.5 (428.89)2:44:4997.016 Report 1976 August 2911 Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet400213.2 (343.112)2:08:5999.175 Report 1977 August 2811 Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet400213.2 (343.112)2:40:2779.726 Report 1978* August 2611 Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates Oldsmobile500266.5 (428.89)3:25:0088.628 Report 1979 August 2588 Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)2:54:4691.493 Report 1980 August 2311 Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)3:03:5186.973 Report 1981 August 2211 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Buick500266.5 (428.89)3:08:4484.723 Report 1982 August 2811 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Buick500266.5 (428.89)2:49:3294.318 Report 1983 August 2711 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Buick419*222.794 (346.552)2:29:5089.43 Report 1984 August 2544 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)3:07:1985.365 Report 1985 August 243 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)3:27:4481.388 Report 1986 August 2311 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)3:03:5586.934 Report 1987 August 223 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)2:56:5690.278 Report 1988 August 273 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)3:22:5978.775 Report 1989 August 2617 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)3:04:1485.554 Report 1990 August 254 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)2:54:1391.782 Report 1991 August 247 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford500266.5 (428.89)3:14:5682.028 Report 1992 August 2917 Darrell Waltrip DarWal, Inc. Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)2:55:2091.198 Report 1993 August 286 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford500266.5 (428.89)3:01:2188.172 Report 1994 August 272 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing Ford500266.5 (428.89)2:55:0191.363 Report 1995 August 265 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)3:15:0381.979 Report 1996 August 242 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing Ford500266.5 (428.89)2:55:1291.267 Report 1997 August 2388 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford500266.5 (428.89)3:19:5180.013 Report 1998 August 226 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford500266.5 (428.89)3:03:5486.949 Report 1999 August 283 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)2:55:1191.276 Report 2000 August 262 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing Ford500266.5 (428.89)3:07:1585.394 Report 2001 August 2520 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac500266.5 (428.89)3:07:5385.106 Report 2002 August 2424 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)3:27:2477.097 Report 2003 August 2397 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford500266.5 (428.89)3:26:3277.421 Report 2004 August 288 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)3:00:3688.538 Report 2005 August 2717 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford500266.5 (428.89)3:08:5084.678 Report 2006 August 2617 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford500266.5 (428.89)2:57:3790.025 Report 2007 August 2599 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford500266.5 (428.89)2:59:3989.006 Report 2008 August 2399 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford500266.5 (428.89)2:54:3691.581 Report 2009 August 2218 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota500266.5 (428.89)3:08:3180.24 Report 2010 August 2118 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota500266.5 (428.89)2:41:2499.071 Report 2011 August 272 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge500266.5 (428.89)2:45:1696.753 Report 2012 August 2511 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota500266.5 (428.89)3:09:2784.402 Report 2013 August 2420 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota500266.5 (428.89)2:57:0790.279 Report 2014 August 2322 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford500266.5 (428.89)2:52:0092.965 Report 2015 August 2222 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford500266.5 (428.89)2:45:0596.891 Report 2016 August 20/21*4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)3:25:0577.968 Report 2017 August 1918 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota500266.5 (428.89)2:46:3795.969 Report 2018 August 1841 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford500266.5 (428.89)2:58:3589.538 Report 2019 August 1711 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota500266.5 (428.89)2:49:0994.531 Report 2020 September 194 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford500266.5 (428.89)2:46:4395.911 Report 2021 September 185 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)3:02:5687.409 Report 2022 September 1717 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford500266.5 (428.89)3:01:0788.286 Report 2023 September 1611 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota500266.5 (428.89)2:48:2094.99 Report 2024 September 215 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet500266.5 (428.89)2:37:53101.277 Report 2025 September 1320 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota500266.5 (428.89)3:48:1069.686 Report 2026 September 1922 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford500266.5 (428.89)3:02:2087.697 Report

1983: Race shortened due to rain. 2016: Race started on Saturday night but was finished on Sunday afternoon due to rain.

Track length notes 1961–1968: 0.5 mile course 1969: 0.527 mile course 1970–present: 0.533 mile course

Multiple winners (drivers) # of wins Driver Years won 7 Darrell Waltrip 1979, 1981–1983, 1986, 1989, 1992 5 Cale Yarborough 1974, 1976–1978, 1980 4 Dale Earnhardt 1985, 1987–1988, 1999 3 Rusty Wallace 1994, 1996, 2000 Matt Kenseth 2005–2006, 2013 Kyle Busch 2009–2010, 2017 Denny Hamlin 2012, 2019, 2023 Joey Logano 2014–2015, 2026 2 Fred Lorenzen 1963–1964 David Pearson 1968–1969 Bobby Allison 1970, 1972 Richard Petty 1967, 1975 Terry Labonte 1984, 1995 Mark Martin 1993, 1998 Carl Edwards 2007–2008 Kurt Busch 2003, 2018 Kevin Harvick 2016, 2020 Kyle Larson 2021, 2024

Multiple winners (teams) # of wins Team Years won 9 Junior Johnson & Associates 1974, 1976–1978, 1980–1983, 1986 Joe Gibbs Racing 2001, 2009–2010, 2012–2013, 2017, 2019, 2023, 2025 8 RFK Racing 1993, 1998, 2003, 2005–2008, 2022 7 Team Penske 1994, 1996, 2000, 2011, 2014–2015, 2026 5 Hendrick Motorsports 1989, 1995, 2002, 2021, 2024 4 Holman-Moody 1963–1964, 1968–1969 Richard Childress Racing 1985, 1987–1988, 1999 3 Stewart–Haas Racing 2016, 2018, 2020 2 Petty Enterprises 1967, 1975 Richard Howard 1971–1972

Manufacturer wins # of wins Manufacturer Years won 23 Chevrolet 1971–1974, 1976–1977, 1979–1980, 1984–1990, 1992, 1995, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2016, 2021, 2024 Ford 1963–1965, 1968–1969, 1991, 1993–1994, 1996–1998, 2000, 2003, 2005–2008, 2014–2015, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2026 8 Toyota 2009–2010, 2012–2013, 2017, 2019, 2023, 2025 3 Buick 1981–1983 Pontiac 1961–1962, 2001 Dodge 1970, 1975, 2011 1 Oldsmobile 1978

Notable races 1964: Richard Petty led 442 laps but broke the rear end coming to the white flag and Fred Lorenzen erased a deficit of several laps to take the win. 1969: David Pearson survived multiple wrecks to win the first race with Bristol's new banking; the track banked its turns from 18 degrees to 36 to boost speeds; the change was criticized by most drivers due to the speeds, the resulting wrecks, and the greatly increased physical strain. 1971: Charlie Glotzbach needed relief help from Friday Hassler to post the win, the first for the new Richard Howard Chevrolet team wrenched by Junior Johnson; the race was run caution-free. 1973: Benny Parsons needed relief help from John Ustman to post his only win of the season; it was enough to help win the season championship. 1974: Neil Bonnett tore open forty feet of inside guardrail but was uninjured. On the final lap, Cale Yarborough forearmed Buddy Baker sideways out of the lead; the win was the first for Junior Johnson since Carling Brewery sponsorship helped him purchase the team from Richard Howard. 1977: Janet Guthrie needed relief help from John Utsman, who drove Guthrie's Chevrolet home sixth, the best NASCAR finish of Guthrie's career. Cale Yarborough took the win, his eighth of the season. 1978: Yarborough took the win in the first night running of the Volunteer 500. Following the announcement that Darrell Waltrip would drive for Harry Ranier in 1979, Ranier's present driver Lennie Pond got into several on-track skirmishes with Waltrip. 1979: Richard Petty won the final pole of his driving career and finished second to Darrell Waltrip. 1981: Waltrip finished a season sweep of Bristol races has Dale Earnhardt survived a brutal crash into pit road. 1984: After seven straight wins by Waltrip, Terry Labonte ended the streak by scratching to his second win of the 1984 season, a key win in his run to the '84 title.