BRISTOL, Tenn. — The first round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs ends on Saturday night with an elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
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Sixteen playoff drivers will enter the night race with championship dreams. Only 12 will advance to the second round of the playoffs. The remaining four will fall out of contention.
Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe enter the weekend in the safest position. They both won their way into the Round of 12.
Elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway information
Weather: The WeatherUnderground forecast calls for mostly sunny skies throughout the day with a high near 80 degrees. A 75 degrees and a 1% chance of rain at the start of the Cup Series elimination race.
Green flag time: Michael Buffer will say "Let's get ready to rumble" at 7:25 p.m. ET. The grand marshal will give the command to fire engines at 7:26 p.m. ET. The starter will wave the green flag at 7:35 p.m. ET.
Starting lineup: Cup Series practice and qualifying will take place on Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Pre-race: The garage opens at 3:30 p.m. ET. Driver introductions will take place at 6:45 p.m. ET. Pre-race coverage begins with "Countdown to Green" on USA Network at 7 p.m. ET. Race coverage continues at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
The invocation will be at 7:16 p.m. ET. The national anthem will be performed at 7:17 p.m. ET.
Stages: The race will consist of three stages. The first stage ends at Lap 125. The second stage ends at Lap 250. The scheduled end of the race is Lap 500.
Playoff picture: The Cup Series drivers have completed two playoff races, which took place at Darlington Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway. Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin won the respective races.
Kyle Larson leads the rest of the playoff drivers with a 60-point cushion to the cutline. The others in positive situations include Bubba Wallace (+50), Ryan Blaney (+42), William Byron (+39), Tyler Reddick (+37), Christopher Bell (+32), Chase Elliott (+28), Joey Logano (+21), Ross Chastain (+19), and Austin Cindric (+11).
Austin Dillon (-11), Shane van Gisbergen (-15), Alex Bowman (-35), and Josh Berry (-45) are the four drivers in danger of elimination.
Past winners: Several Cup Series drivers have won at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hamlin has four wins, including three in the last nine races. Larson has three wins, including the last two at the short track.
Other Cup Series drivers with at least one Bristol win include Logano (two wins), Kyle Busch (eight wins), Brad Keselowski (three wins), Chris Buescher (2022), and Chase Elliott (All-Star Race).
