BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY (.533-MILE OVAL)
LOCATION: BRISTOL, TENNESSEE
EVENT: NASCAR CUP SERIES (RACE 29 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 7:30 P.M. ET, SATURDAY, SEPT. 19 (NBCSN/PRN/SIRIUSXM)
Chase Elliott
No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
Driver Chase Elliott Hometown Dawsonville, Georgia
Age 24 Resides Dawsonville, Georgia
2020 Season
7th in standings
28 starts
2 wins
1 pole position
11 top-five finishes
16 top-10 finishes
646 laps led
Career
177 starts
8 wins
9 pole positions
55 top-five finishes
90 top-10 finishes
2,490 laps led
Track Career
9 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
3 top-five finishes
4 top-10 finishes
287 laps led
ROUND OF 16: Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway marks the final event in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs Round of 16. Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, currently sits seventh in the playoff standings, 57 points behind the leader.
CAREER HIGHS: In 2020, Elliott has accumulated career bests in laps led (646), runner-up results (three), top-five finishes (11), stage points (217) and stage wins (six) through the first 28 races of a season. His two wins and 16 top-10s are tied for a personal best at the 28-race mark.
NAPA AUTO PARTS: The familiar blue, white and yellow NAPA AUTO PARTS paint scheme will return to the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE this weekend at Bristol. The Atlanta-based company will serve as majority sponsor for Elliott and the No. 9 team for a total of 26 NASCAR Cup Series races this year. In February, it was announced that NAPA AUTO PARTS and Hendrick Motorsports will continue their partnership for another two seasons. NAPA will remain a primary sponsor of Elliott and the No. 9 team through 2022. Click here to read the full release.
NIGHT RACE SUCCESS: Another successful night race is in the books for Elliott after Saturday’s top-five result at Richmond. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native has one win (Charlotte), three runner-up finishes, six top-fives (the most of all drivers) and 238 laps led in the last eight points-paying NASCAR Cup Series night races. Elliott’s NASCAR All-Star Race win at Bristol was also collected under the lights.
BACK AT BRISTOL: During the May NASCAR Cup Series event at Bristol, Elliott and the NAPA team were a force to be reckoned with all afternoon, leading 88 laps and picking up two stage wins before a late-race accident while battling for the lead left him with a 22nd-place finish. In July at BMS, Elliott drove his No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to take the checkered flag after dominating the field during the 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race. Elliott won the second and third stages before crossing the finish line first in the final stage and earning the $1 million prize.
LEADS THE FIELD: In nine Cup-level starts at Bristol, Elliott has led 287 laps – his second-highest total at any track behind only Dover International Speedway (321). He leads all drivers with the longest active streak of races led at Bristol (four).
BRISTOL STATS: On Saturday, Elliott will make his 10th NASCAR Cup Series start at Bristol Motor Speedway. In his first nine appearances at the 0.533-mile oval, the driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE has collected three top-five finishes, four top-10s and one pole award (April 2019). He also ranks sixth in average finish (12.7) of drivers with more than six Bristol starts since 2014.
PIT ROAD PERFORMANCE: As the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Bristol, the No. 9 team owns the fourth-best average time for four-tire pit stops at 13.94 seconds through 28 races. The team is comprised of jackman T.J. Semke, gasman John Gianninoto, tire carrier Jared Erspamer and tire changers Chad Avrit and Nick O’Dell.
William Byron
No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
Driver William Byron Hometown Charlotte, North Carolina
Age 22 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2020 Season
13th in standings
28 starts
1 win
0 pole positions
3 top-five finishes
10 top-10 finishes
97 laps led
Career
100 starts
1 win
5 pole positions
8 top-five finishes
27 top-10 finishes
391 laps led
Track Career
5 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finish
0 laps led
CALLING HIS SHOT: Heading to the final race in the Round of 16, William Byron currently sits three points below the cut line and looks to advance in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. While he may start the race on the outside looking in, the gap between 10th place and 13th in the playoff standings is tight. Currently sitting 13th, Byron has outscored 12th-place driver Clint Bowyer by more than three points in three of the last four races. Meanwhile, the third-year Cup Series driver is only seven points behind 10th-place Aric Almirola. In the last four races at Bristol Motor Speedway, Almirola has finished at least seven positions behind the driver of the No. 24. Byron is also only seven points behind Kurt Busch, who is 11th in the standings. Over the last six races this season, Byron has averaged 10.6 more points per race than Busch.
NIGHT RIDER: While Saturday night’s race at Richmond may not have gone the way the No. 24 team wanted, Byron still has continued success running under the lights. In the last six races run at night, including his August win at Daytona, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native has finished inside the top 10 five times. Those five top-10 results tie Byron with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman and six other drivers as the fifth-most top-10s in 2020 night races.
BATTLE AT BRISTOL: This weekend, Byron will make his sixth NASCAR Cup Series start at Bristol Motor Speedway. He has a best qualifying effort of second at “The Last Great Colosseum,” lining up alongside Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott in April 2019. In the May Bristol event, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native raced his way to an eighth-place finish – a personal track-best performance. Just two months later in July, the Cup Series returned to Bristol Motor Speedway for the NASCAR All-Star Race, where Byron won the opening stage the Open race and locked himself into the main event.
KNAUS’ KNOWLEDGE: With 37 Bristol Motor Speedway starts already under his belt, Saturday night’s race will mark No. 38 for veteran crew chief Chad Knaus at the half-mile track. With two wins, two pole awards, 12 top-five finishes and 20 top-10s coming with Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team, Knaus most recently added a top-10 finish to his BMS stats after an eighth-place result with Byron and the No. 24 team in May. The No. 24 group followed it up with a stage win in the All-Star Open race held at Bristol in July, locking themselves into the $1 million showdown.
LAPS WITH LIBERTY: Wrapping up a four-race stretch, Liberty University will be on board the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Saturday night’s race at Bristol, followed by Texas Motor Speedway the last week of October and Martinsville Speedway in November. Liberty University is in its sixth season of sponsoring the 22-year-old driver dating back to his time in the late model ranks. Liberty has been Training Champions for Christ since it was founded in 1971. Located in the mountains of Central Virginia, Liberty is a liberal arts institution with 17 colleges and schools that offers more than 600 degree programs from the certificate to the doctoral level, on campus and online. Working on an undergraduate degree in business communications, Byron is in his junior year at Liberty University through its online program.
CLOSE TO HOME: Chris Burkey, the pit crew coach for the Nos. 9 and 24 teams, hails from Greeneville, Tennessee, which is only 47 miles southwest of Bristol Motor Speedway. Burkey has an extensive background in coaching, getting his start in football. He played for Wingate University, where he eventually started his coaching career. Burkey coached college football from 1992 to 2005 for Wingate, East Tennessee and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2005, he joined the NFL’s Miami Dolphins as a scout. Looking for a new challenge, Burkey made the transition from football to NASCAR when he was hired as a developmental pit crew coach for Hendrick Motorsports in 2009. He moved up to the head coach position for the former No. 5 team and the No. 24 team in 2014.
Jimmie Johnson
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 44 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2020 Season
17th in standings
27 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
4 top-five finishes
9 top-10 finishes
102 laps led
Career
678 starts
83 wins
36 pole positions
231 top-five finishes
373 top-10 finishes
18,936 laps led
Track Career
37 starts
2 wins
2 pole positions
13 top-five finishes
22 top-10 finishes
914 laps led
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHAMP: Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will turn 45 years young on Thursday, Sept. 17. The native of El Cajon, California, will make his 679th Cup start Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway as he attempts the half-mile track for the final time.
MR. TOP 10: Dating back to 2014, Johnson has only finished outside of the top 10 at Bristol three times over the span of 12 races, making for nine top-10 results. Even better, six of those finishes were in the top five, including one win in the spring of 2017. Johnson finished third in his most recent points race at Bristol in May. The only other track where Johnson has more top-10 finishes during that timeframe is Dover, where he has 10. Johnson has the best overall average finish (8.85) of any driver with more than six starts at Bristol Motor Speedway.
CAR ALLIES: Ally Racing recently brought together Johnson and Las Vegas-based custom car personality Danny Koker to share in their love for racing, music and cars. A four-episode content series showcases Koker and Johnson discussing how the car design and livery of the No. 48 Chevrolet for the upcoming Sept. 26 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was developed. For more info and to watch the weekly episodes, go to AllyRacing.com.
RICHMOND HONOR: Last weekend, Richmond Raceway recognized the historic accomplishments of seven-time champ Johnson by naming its pedestrian tunnel in his honor. The tunnel, originally constructed as part of “Richmond Raceway Reimagined” that was unveiled in fall 2018, will now be called the “Jimmie Johnson Champions Walk.” Click here for photos.
DANIELS MAKING STRIDES: Cliff Daniels will make his 44th start as a crew chief this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Daniels has led the No. 48 team to four top-fives and nine top-10 finishes so far this season.
Alex Bowman
No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
Driver Alex Bowman Hometown Tucson, Arizona
Age 27 Resides Concord, North Carolina
2020 Season
8th in standings
28 starts
1 win
0 pole positions
3 top-five finishes
10 top-10 finishes
389 laps led
Career
181 starts
2 wins
2 pole positions
13 top-five finishes
36 top-10 finishes
863 laps led
Track Career
9 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
1 top-five finish
2 top-10 finishes
0 laps led
SITTING IN EIGHTH: Coming off a ninth-place finish at Richmond Raceway, Alex Bowman now sits eighth in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings going into Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Tucson, Arizona, native is 27 markers above the 12th-place cutline. Drivers inside the top 12 following the event at the half-mile venue will move on to the Round of 12.
BOWMAN AT BRISTOL: Bowman has nine NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway with two top-10 results. His best performance at the half-mile Tennessee venue came in 2018 when he brought home a fifth-place finish after 500 laps in the spring race. Earlier this season, the series visited the track for the 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race, where Bowman and the team earned an eighth-place finish after rolling off second. In 2013, he made two starts at the facility in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, capturing one top-15 finish. The 27-year-old driver will roll off eighth on Saturday night in the final Round of 16 event.
ON A ROLL: Bowman has finished inside the top 10 in four consecutive races held at night and currently holds the longest overall active top-10 streak in the Cup Series with four in the last four weeks. The driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet finished fifth at Dover, seventh at the Daytona oval, sixth at Darlington and ninth at Richmond. Bowman has also finished inside the top 10 in the two most recent short-track events. He has never scored a top-10 in three straight short-track races.
STAGE NOTES: The No. 88 team has four stage wins this season, which is tied for fourth overall in the NASCAR Cup Series. Bowman has captured 184 stage points in 2020, which is eighth on the list of drivers following last Saturday night’s race at Richmond.
SHORT-TRACK STATS: On Saturday, the NASCAR Cup Series visited Richmond Raceway where Bowman finished ninth, his personal best result at the venue. Earlier this season, he finished sixth at Martinsville Speedway after rolling off eighth. The No. 88 team captured back-to-back top-10 finishes at Bristol in 2018, finishing fifth in the spring event and eighth in the fall event.
TENNESSEE NUMBERS: Greg Ives will call his 12th Cup Series race at Bristol on Saturday night under the lights. In 11 previous events at the half-mile track, the crew chief has two top-five finishes and four top-10s with a best finish of second in 2016 with Dale Earnhardt Jr. In 2013 and 2014, Ives was a NASCAR Xfinity Series crew chief at JR Motorsports where his drivers led 59 laps and claimed one top-five finish and three top-10s in four races. As an engineer for driver Jimmie Johnson from 2006-2010, he was part of one win, two pole awards and eight top-10 finishes at Bristol.
AXALTA ON BOARD: This weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway marks the fifth and final event of the 2020 season in which the Axalta colors will adorn Bowman’s No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. The leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings and Hendrick Motorsports announced an extension back in February that will take their partnership through the 2027 season. Read more here.
DEALS, DEALS, DEALS: During the month of September, No. 88 team sponsor ChevyGoods.com is providing discounts on various accessories on its website. Customers can receive 10% below MSRP on all Adam’s Polishes, NOCO and Truck Hero accessories purchased online. Use code CHEVYGOODS to receive the discount at ChevyGoods.com.
Hendrick Motorsports
MOMENTUM INTO BRISTOL: Hendrick Motorsports is carrying momentum into Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff showdown at Bristol Motor Speedway. In each of the last six races, the team has led laps, placed multiple cars inside the top 10 and recorded at least one top-five finish. During that stretch, Hendrick Motorsports has the most or is tied for the most in the series in wins (two), top-five finishes (10) and top-10s (15). It also has one runner-up finish, one stage win and 207 laps led in those events. The team’s average result of 11.63 over the last half-dozen races is the best of all Cup-level organizations.
LOOKING FOR 12: At the half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway, car owner Rick Hendrick has 11 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series victories with a track record six different drivers. Jeff Gordon (five) and Jimmie Johnson (two) have won multiple races there for Hendrick Motorsports while Darrell Waltrip (1989), Terry Labonte (1995), Kyle Busch (2007) and Kasey Kahne (2013) have also gone to Bristol victory lane for the team. Most recently, Chase Elliott won the July 15 non-points NASCAR All-Star Race at the track.
NOT SHORT ON WINS: Going into Saturday night’s playoff race at Bristol, Hendrick Motorsports has 50 Cup Series wins on short tracks – the most among active teams. Ten different drivers have posted a short-track victory for car owner Rick Hendrick, which is one away from tying the NASCAR record held by Junior Johnson and Associates.
PLAYOFF HISTORY: Since the inception of the format in 2004, Hendrick Motorsports has 44 NASCAR Cup Series playoff wins – 16 more than any other team. The organization has scored at least one playoff victory in a record 15 different seasons, missing only 2017. A series-topping seven different drivers have won a playoff race for Hendrick Motorsports.
MORE STATS: Since its inception in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 260 race victories and holds the all-time records for championships (12), pole positions (226), top-five finishes (1,092), top-10s (1,884) and laps led (70,123) in points-paying NASCAR Cup Series competition. Including 2020, the organization has won at least one race in 35 consecutive seasons, the longest-ever streak. Hendrick Motorsports is eight wins away from tying Petty Enterprises’ all-time Cup record of 268.
QUOTABLE /
Driver Chase Elliott on if he has an advantage due to his regular-season performances at Bristol:
“I’m not sure that it gives us an edge, but it does give us a good starting spot from a setup perspective, so I look forward to that. I think we have a good baseline, so to speak, to start the race, which is encouraging. Hopefully, we can make the right adjustments throughout the race to be good at the end of 500 laps.”
Elliott on this year’s playoff schedule:
“I was glad to see NASCAR switch it up and change it around. Ultimately, if you are running like you need to be to be a contender, you don’t just sit there and worry about that last race in the round, you want to do good at all of them. I think you have two opportunities to put yourself in a good position. There are a lot of things that are out of your hands. I think if we are running like we need to be running to contend for the championship we aren’t only worried about the last race of each round.”
Driver William Byron on his mindset for Bristol:
“I have confidence for this weekend at Bristol after our performance in the spring race and the All-Star Race. We ran well in both races this year, plus all four races that I’ve run there with Chad (Knaus) on the pit box have been good. We’ve just had circumstances out of our control. I think Hendrick Motorsports as whole runs well at Bristol, too. Chase (Elliott) showed that with his All-Star Race win in the summer. That just means we have a good notebook to utilize for our setup. Overall, I have confidence for this Saturday’s race. We just need to focus on the details, execute all race and we’ll accomplish what we need to.”
Driver Jimmie Johnson on his final Bristol race:
“It’s hard to believe this is my final night race at Bristol. We have been so close the past few races. I would really like my final time there to be a win. We need to execute. Starting 24th will be tough but we’ve been on the outside looking in before and have had fast cars to get through the field. I have so many good memories at Bristol – once I figured out that track – and some great memories of my girls singing the national anthem there before the race.”
Driver Alex Bowman on Bristol Motor Speedway:
“Bristol is a good track for us, just as long as we have the track position we need. If you get down on track position early, it can be difficult to bounce back. We ran pretty strong in the All-Star Race over the summer, which gives the team some momentum going into the final race in the Round of 16.”
Bowman on the No. 88 team’s momentum:
“Following last weekend’s race in Richmond, we have some really good momentum going into Bristol. Richmond has always been a tough track for this team but coming out of Saturday night with a ninth-place finish, was like a win. We are doing what we need to do, as a team, in order to continue pushing our way through the playoff rounds.”
