There are some who say as the racing at Bristol Motor Speedway goes, so goes the sport of NASCAR Cup Series racing.
That is certainly evident in 2026, as the past two winners of Cup races at The World’s Fastest Half-Mile, Ty Gibbs at the Food City 500 in April and Christopher Bell at last September’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race, are headed to the third of 10 NASCAR Chase races in three weeks in solid form riding plenty of momentum looking to win a championship title.
To accomplish their goal, they will have to get past their Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, a four-time Bristol winner, including three of those in the crown jewel Night Race. Hamlin is the current season points leader with four victories on his resume this year.
For sure, there is a positive mood brewing in Hendersonville, N.C. at the team’s headquarters, with lots of smiles on faces throughout the building. Joe Gibbs Racing is ready to cash in on the stellar regular season it has had.
The JGR squad will be joined by 12 more championship contenders at Bristol Motor Speedway, where all three of NASCAR’s marquee series will compete in NASCAR’s newly-restored Chase during America’s Night Race weekend, Sept. 17-19 on the all-concrete high banks.
Bell, who is fifth in Cup points heading to the Chase has come agonizingly close to winning this season. He finished runner-up seven times in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing machine, tying the Cup Series record for most second-place finishes in a winless season. He is looking forward to returning to Bristol, where he is the defending winner of the Night Race and also won a Truck race during the April weekend earlier this year.
“Bristol is my favorite track that we go to, and yeah, with the tires now, you just don't know what to expect, and it keeps people on their toes,” Bell said. “It’s just a really special night, for sure. Bristol is such a unique track, and now in the last couple of years, with the tire degradation and the unexpected tire degradation that we've had, you just never know what you're going to have at Bristol. So, yeah, the Bristol Night Race has always been my favorite race of the year.”
He says it’s been a rising tide at Joe Gibbs Racing with all of the success this year. When you look at the points standings, all four of the team’s drivers have locked in their positions for The Chase. Each will be hungry for a win as the regular season shifts to post-season.
“It's no secret that the Toyotas are super-fast,” Bell said. “All of our teams are doing a really good job of executing the races, and it's showing in the point standings. We have four in the top seven. it's been a great year for JGR. Obviously, my teammates have got to Victory Lane, and we're still waiting to get that 20 car to Victory Lane. Hopefully it comes before the Bristol Night Race, but I guess if it has to wait until Bristol, I'll be happy if it comes at Bristol.”
Veteran Hamlin, who has scored victories this year at Las Vegas, Nashville, Michigan, Pocono and the NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover, seems more determined than ever to get that first championship this go-around.
“If you've been with Toyota, you probably had a pretty good year,” Hamlin said. “So, everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing has just done an amazing job of keeping that level of performance up through the entire year, which is very, very hard in our sport. As we know, this thing has ebbs and flows that constantly change. But overall, it definitely has been a year that we've been performing great right from the beginning into even the start of the Chase.”
Hamlin scored his first Bristol win at the Night Race in 2012. He then overtook Matt DiBenedetto in the closing laps to score another Night Race victory in 2019. His most recent Night Race win came in 2023 and he then won the 2024 Food City 500 using race management strategy with tire-wear conditions.
“I’ve had the privilege of winning a couple Night Races there, and it's been just an electric feeling,” Hamlin said. “And, you know, just the way you can win them there is fantastic. Bristol really challenges you. I think it's personally one of the more challenging physical races that we have all year. You just don't usually get a lot of straightaway speed to, or distance to relax. And that's the time that I spend to kind of let my body take a reset before I enter the next corner. Especially my age, I need that extra time to relax. And Bristol doesn't give me that chance. And so it tests you, no doubt about it. But I just, I've really found unique racing lines that have worked for me around that particular track. And then it's the ability to pass, not only lead lot cars, but a lot of cars. That's really been the key to keeping me up front. And then obviously the pit crew plays such a pivotal role in what happens on pit road.”
Hamlin says the Chase will make the title contending 16 approach the race a bit more aggressively.
“I think it allows you to race a little bit more freely,” Hamlin said. “Now that it's not a cutoff race, because I mean, I remember last year thinking, I forget my points position, but it wasn't great. And I need to have just a good solid day. And I was running in the top five. And it's like, you know, I could push a little more and actually go for the race win here. But you know what, the points are going to get reset anyway. Let's just get out of here with my top five and move on. Now I think that every position in each one of these 10 races matter. It’s now going to push me to then go for that race win, which as a matter of fact, now gives you 15 more bonus points. So, I think that this format is actually better, and it will be better for the racing in Bristol.”
Bell agrees, and says drivers will need to make quick evaluations on the track during the 500 laps to try and gather every point that’s available to them.
“One thing that the format change does is it makes every spot more valuable,” Bell said. “So, for those people that are, you know, maybe not on the cut line, it makes the race more important for them. You know, there are many times I went into Bristol either with a big point advantage or already having a win. And then that race became, you know, a freebie. With this chase format, there's no more freebies, and I like that a lot.”
The biggest surprise at JGR this year has been the breakout season for Ty Gibbs in the 54 machine. He will be flying M&M’s tribute colors in memory and honor of the late Kyle Busch during the race and will look to keep his hot-streak to the season going.
Not to pile on more pressure than racing for a NASCAR Cup championship, but with a Bristol win Gibbs could become the 10th driver in Bristol history and first since Kyle Busch in 2009 to sweep both Bristol races in a season and also would give JGR 20 wins at the track as a team, which would be a record internally.
His career-first victory in April during the Food City 500 lifted the weight off his back and this summer he also raced to a win at Iowa. He’s been in the top five of points most of the year and currently holds down the third spot with 16 top 10s and 10 top-fives.
Gibbs has the ‘why not me?’ attitude for the season crown, but most importantly hopes the trophy comes back to the JGR shop regardless which driver grabs it.
“Yeah, it would be sick to win the title,” Gibbs said. “I think I'd be one of the youngest to do it, so we are definitely gonna go for it, but if not me, hopefully one of my teammates will do it.”
And regarding Bristol, many of the sport’s pundits had predicted Ty would win at Bristol sooner than later. Who knows, now that win could lead to many more, starting on Saturday, Sept. 19.
“It’s just fun racing under the lights,” Gibbs said. “And you just hammer it as hard as you can for the whole time and I think it's pretty physical too, so I think it's one of the best racetracks in the world.”
“Bristol's like one of the only tracks you can clearly see the whole track, so I think that's such a great experience for the fans and for people that go watch it. Anybody that asks me like what's my favorite track to go or where should I go, it would be Bristol for sure.”
The race weekend features the crown jewel Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday night, Sept. 19, a 500-lap post-season race in the NASCAR Cup Series and also the Food City 300 on Friday night, Sept. 18, a Chase race in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series opens its Chase at Bristol with the UNOH 250 presented by Ohio Logistics in what promises to be a thrilling Thursday night double-header with the ARCA Menards Series, which will open the racing that afternoon with the Bush’s Beans 200 as the future stars of the sport take to the track. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit the Bristol Motor Speedway website or call the BMS Tickets Sales Center at (866) 415-4158.
