If this past Saturday’s chaos that took place in the penultimate NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season race at Watkins Glen is any indication, fans can expect total mayhem at the regular season finale Friday night at tough and tumble Bristol Motor Speedway.
The Food City 300 under the lights on Friday, Sept. 20 (7:30 p.m., The CW and PRN Radio), will set the 12-driver lineup for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs Round of 12. The cast of characters seeking one of those 12 championship eligible positions is a highly talented group. The defending Food City 300 winner Justin Allgaier, a two-time Bristol winner in the series, leads the pack in his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevy. Category musclemen Austin Hill and Shane van Gisbergen are right on his rear bumper, looking to take control as the category hits the seven-race postseason.
Allgaier, who admittedly loves racing at the unique .533-mile high-banked bullring known as the World’s Fastest Half-Mile, among other endearing nicknames, will be ready to try and claim the NASCAR Xfinity Regular Season crown with a strong performance at Bristol.
Meanwhile, defending Xfintiy Series champ Cole Custer will also be in the mix at the controls of his No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing machine. Custer led six laps on the New York road course over the weekend but like Allgaier, the challenging short track in Eastern Tennessee is more his cup of tea. He will also be considered on a short list of top contenders for the Food City 300.
For the Playoff picture, essentially four drivers are in the mix to get into the top 12. The other six drivers who are locked into the Playoff already in addition to Allgaier, Hill, van Gisbergen and Custer include Chandler Smith, Sam Mayer, Jesse Love, Riley Herbst, AJ Allmendinger and Sheldon Creed.
The two drivers who are currently above the cutline will be trying their best to finish ahead of the two drivers that are currently below the cutline. Parker Kligerman and Sammy Smith both head to Bristol inside the line, while Ryan Sieg and Brandon Jones are on the outside looking in. Those two will need great finishes and a little help from Kligerman and Smith to make it happen via points. Of course, a victory from Sieg and Jones, or any of the other season regulars, also would instantly punch their Playoff ticket.
While the Playoff intrigue will be the major storyline, another headline to watch will be the return of NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. to competition at his beloved Bristol Motor Speedway. Incidentally, the track is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the popular phrase he coined, “It’s Bristol, baby!” following his emotional Cup Series win from 2004.
Make no mistake, Earnhardt Jr. is not entered in the race in a celebratory or ceremonial role. He is going full steam ahead for the victory. Last year he nearly won the Food City 300 in spectacular fashion. He led 47 laps of the race and seemed en route to getting a trophy when a wire shorted out and ended his night. He finished 30th overall after putting fans on the edges of their seats for most of the night.
He will be back behind the wheel of the blue and yellow No. 88 Helmann’s Chevy looking to add to his Bristol and NASCAR Xfinity Series win totals. The No. 88 for JRM should be in prime form after rookie Connor Zilisch won the recent Watkins Glen race to become the seventh driver in NASCAR history to win in his Xfinity Series debut. Zilisch won’t race in Xfinity at Bristol, but he is going to pull a Thursday doubleheader running in the UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics Craftsman Truck Series race and the Bush’s Beans 200 ARCA Menards Series race. He is in contention to win the 2024 ARCA Menards Series East championship with a strong run in that race.
In addition to Earnhardt Jr., several other non-regulars have entered the Food City 300, including local favorite Chad Finchum of nearby Knoxville, Tenn. Finchum, who will drive the No. 14 machine for SS Greenlight Racing, won an ARCA race at Bristol in 2016. Ryan Truex also is scheduled to race at Bristol in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing entry. Truex is a two-time winner this season in his limited Xfinity schedule, claiming trophies at Dover and Daytona. Truck Series regular Daniel Dye will compete in the Food City 300 in the No. 10 Chevy for Kaulig Racing. This will be Dye’s 10th career Xfinity start and first-ever Xfinity run at Bristol. Dye also will compete in the UNOH 200 on Thursday night in his No. 43 Chevy Silverado as one of the 10 Playoff contenders.
Finally, a little more history will be made at iconic Bristol Motor Speedway Friday night as it will become the first track to feature an Xfinity Series race airing on new NASCAR broadcast partner The CW. The channel will broadcast the regular season finale and all of the Xfinity Series Playoff races this year. Starting next year, The CW will broadcast every Xfinity Series race.
America’s Night Race weekend kicks off Thursday, Sept. 19 with Ben Rhodes and defending winner Corey Heim battling for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoff victory in the UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics (8 p.m., FS1, MRN Radio). The rising stars in the ARCA Menards Series, including rising stars William Sawalich and Connor Zilisch and former IndyCar racer Marco Andretti, also will take on the challenging half-mile bullring in the Bush’s Beans 200 as part of a titan Thursday night doubleheader (5 p.m., FS1, MRN Radio).
Finally, the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series will take to the track on Saturday for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race (Sept. 21, 7:30 p.m., USA Network, PRN Radio), you’ll get to see all of your favorite drivers like Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick to name a few, racing hard in the Round of 16 to advance in the first elimination race of the Playoffs.
To purchase tickets, please visit www.bristolmotorspeedway.com or call the BMS Ticket Sales Center at (866) 415-4158.
BMS PR
