Bristol II Event Info:
Date: Saturday, Sept. 13
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Bristol, Tennessee
Format: 500 Laps, 266.5 Miles, Stages: 125-250-500
TV: USA
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
Weekend Schedule:
Friday: 2 p.m. ET, Xfinity Practice (CW App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Friday: 3:05 p.m. ET, Xfinity Qualifying (CW App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Friday: 4:30 p.m. ET, Cup Practice (USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Friday: 5:40 p.m. ET, Cup Qualifying (USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Friday: 7:30 p.m. ET, Xfinity Race (CW, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 7:30 p.m. ET, Cup 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 16 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
- Bristol also marks the start of the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs, with both Sam Mayer (3rd, +11 to cutline) and Sheldon Creed (10th, -2 to cutline) entering the weekend as two of the 12 playoff drivers.
- Mayer (10.6) holds the second highest average finish among full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers this season, behind only Connor Zilisch (8.5).
- Mayer has finished inside the top five in four of his previous six starts heading into the playoffs, including Indianapolis (2nd), Iowa (1st), Watkins Glen (2nd), and Daytona (4th).
- Mayer (7.4) also has the third highest average starting position among full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers this season, behind Zilisch (6.2) Justin Allgaier (7.1).
- He has started inside the top 10 in 12 of his last 13 starts dating back to Nashville Superspeedway in May, including his lone pole of the season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.
Cole Custer Team Info:
Crew Chief: Aaron Kramer
Partner: HaasTooling.com
Sheldon Creed Team Info:
Crew Chief: Jonathan Toney
Partner: Road Ranger
Sam Mayer Team Info:
Crew Chief: Jason Trinchere
Partner: Audibel
Custer at Bristol (Cup)
Starts: 5
Wins: —
Top-10s: 1
Poles: —
- Custer makes his sixth Cup start at Bristol this weekend, where he has a 24.6 average finish. In the spring race earlier this season he finished 29th after starting 33rd.
- He started inside the top-15 two times, and started a career-best P11 in the fall of 2022. He boasts a 20.8 average starting position.
- Custer finished top-10 in six of eight career NXS starts at Bristol, including a victory in 2024 after starting P2. He also has three career poles in the Xfinity Series at ‘The World’s Fastest Half-Mile’.
Creed at Bristol (Xfinity)
Starts: 4
Wins: —
Top-10s: 1
Poles: —
- Creed is set to make his fifth Xfinity start at Bristol on Saturday, where he has one career top-10 finish. His best finish came last fall when he finished 2nd and led 28 laps.
- His highest career start was 14th, also last fall, and he boasts an average starting position of 19.5 in four career Xfinity races.
- Creed’s 62 laps led at Bristol in the NASCAR Xfinity Series are his third most at any track, behind Darlington (77) and Atlanta (93).
Mayer at Bristol (Xfinity)
Starts: 5
Wins: —
Top-10s: 3
Poles: —
- Mayer is in line for his sixth Xfinity start at Bristol this weekend, a track where he has finished in the top-10 three times, including a career-best fourth-place result in 2022.
- His best career starting position is fifth in 2022, and he holds an average qualifying effort of 12.8.
- Mayer has led 116 career laps at Bristol across five career Xfinity races, his most of any track in the Xfinity Series.
Where They Stand
Cup Points Standings (41: 33rd): Custer is 33rd in the Cup Series points standings with 363 points heading into Bristol this Saturday.
Xfinity Points Standings (41: 3rd, 00: 10th): Mayer sits third in the Xfinity Series playoff standings with 2016 points, +11 points to the cutline, while Creed is in 10th place with 2003 points, -2 points below the cutline.
