Bristol II Event Info:
Date: Saturday, Sept. 21
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Bristol, Tennessee
Format: 500 Laps, 266.5 Miles, Stages: 125-125-250
TV: USA
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
Weekend Schedule:
Friday: 4 p.m. ET, Practice (USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Friday: 4:50 p.m. ET, Qualifying (USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 7:30 p.m. ET, Race (USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Pace Laps:
- The annual Bristol Night Race plays host this weekend to the final race in the opening round of the NASCAR Playoffs.
- Brad Keselowski sits below the cut line needing a solid finish to advance into the Round of 12, just behind the No. 11 and ahead of the No. 19.
- Since Chris Buescher’s win at Bristol in 2022 – the first overall under the RFK banner – RFK has finished top-10 in two-straight Bristol races, with a pair of top-5s each from Buescher (2023 fall) and Keselowski (2024 spring).
- Keselowski has the third-best average finish of any driver at Bristol in the last four seasons (7.5), with Buescher just behind in fourth at 8.8.
- Jack Roush has 19 Bristol wins all-time, including 12 in the Cup Series, second-most only behind Michigan (14).
6 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Matt McCall
Partner: Castrol Edge
17 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: Fastenal
- RFK team partner HOIST will be activating this weekend in the campground area at Bristol Motor Speedway, centered around its ‘Fuel the Pull’ event. The ‘Fuel the Pull’ will be hosted at the HOIST vendor site stationed in the Souvenir Alley at the All-American Campground, hosting a series of tug-of-war pick-up games, where attendees can compete against friends, enjoy complimentary HOIST beverages and participate in the excitement of the weekend races.
- Buescher will make an appearance at the HOIST activation on Friday at 2 p.m. for a Q&A with fans in the area.
Keselowski at Bristol
Starts: 26
Wins: 3 (2011, 2012, 2020)
Top-10s: 10
Poles: 2 (2020)
- Keselowski makes his 27th Cup start on the concrete at Bristol this weekend. He has three Bristol Cup wins all-time with 10 top-10s and a 15.8 average finish.
- He’s coming off a third-place run there this spring, and a P8 finish last fall in this race after starting sixth. In the past four fall races he has finishes of P8, P6, P34 and P3.
- Keselowski’s three wins at BMS came back in 2011-12, and most recently in 2020.
- Keselowski has led laps in 15 different Bristol races totaling 1,014 laps, his best total of any track on the circuit outside Richmond (1,280).
- Keselowski has started top-10 in five of the last six Bristol races, including a pair of poles in 2020. Overall he has a 9.7 average starting position – his best of any track outside of Homestead (8.9). He has 16 starts inside the top-10 in 26 Bristol events.
- Keselowski also made 14 Xfinity starts at Bristol with one win and eight top-10s, and seven Truck starts with one win and three top-10s.
Buescher at Bristol
Starts: 15
Wins: 1 (2022)
Top-10s: 5
Poles: —
- Buescher enters the weekend with a load of momentum at ‘The Last Great Colosseum,’ coming off three-consecutive finishes of seventh or better. He’s the defending winner of the fall race from two years ago, and has led a combined 187 laps in the last three races alone.
- He finished seventh at Bristol this spring – after starting 34th – and fourth last fall.
- Overall, Buescher has five Cup top-10s at Bristol, with an eighth-place finish in the 2020 fall race, and a fifth-place run back in 2016.
- Buescher has an average starting position of 23.9 with a career-best starting position of 12th (2016).
- Buescher made five Xfinity Series starts at Bristol with three top-10s and a best finish of third (2015).
RFK Historically at Bristol
Cup Wins: 12 (Mark Martin, 1993, 1998; Kurt Busch, 2002, 2003, 2003, 2004; Matt Kenseth, 2005, 2006; Carl Edwards, 2007, 2008, 2014; Chris Buescher, 2022)
- Runner Up: RFK’s storied history at Bristol began on April 10, 1988 with the No. 6 NCS car earning a second-place finish. Since that time, in addition to the organization’s 11 NCS wins at the track, RFK Fords have finished second at Bristol on 15 occasions (7 NCS, 4 NXS, 4 NCTS).
- History and Hot Streaks at “Thunder Valley”: RFK’s history at Bristol has been one of hot streaks, including trips to victory lane in 10 of the last 21 seasons at the famed short track. RFK swept the track in 2003 and put a NCS car in victory lane at least once in every season from 2002-2008.
- Tale of the Tape: RFK has started 223 NCS races at Bristol, recording 12 total wins with 53 top-five and 93 top-10 finishes. RFK Fords have an average finish of 15.7 with 3693 laps led all-time.
RFK Bristol Wins
1993-2 Martin Cup
1996-1 Martin NXS
1997-1 Burton NXS
1998-2 Martin Cup
2002-1 Busch Cup
2003-1 Busch Cup
2003-2 Busch Cup
2004-1 Busch Cup
2004 Edwards Truck
2005-2 Kenseth Cup
2006-2 Kenseth Cup
2006 Martin Truck
2006-2 Kenseth NXS
2007-1 Edwards NXS
2007-2 Edwards Cup
2008-2 Edwards Cup
2009-2 Ragan NXS
2014 -1 Edwards Cup
2022-2 Buescher Cup
Last Time Out & Where They Stand
Watkins Glen: Buescher earned the first road course win of his career Sunday at the Glen, overcoming three late-race restarts and retaking the lead from road course ace Shane Van Gisbergen. Keselowski finished 26th.
Points Standings (6: 14th, 17: 18th): Keselowski sits 12 points behind the cut line entering Bristol.
