CONCORD, N.C. – On Saturday night, Hendrick Motorsports will return to Bristol Motor Speedway for the first elimination race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Teammates Chase Elliott, William Byron and Alex Bowman are all vying for spots in the Round of 12. A win by any of the three drivers at “The Last Great Colosseum” will punch their ticket to move on. Regular season champion Kyle Larson has already locked himself into the next round by way of playoff points. Elliott is currently in seventh place in the playoff standings and will need a solid night of racing to advance.
Bowman is on the bubble, currently tied for 12th with Kurt Busch, and will need to run well at Bristol to advance. Byron, who is 18 points back, rounds out the Hendrick Motorsports stable in 15th. The 23-year-old driver will have to turn in a good performance to move into the Round of 12.
Here is everything you need to know to tune in to Saturday night’s playoff elimination race at Bristol.
WHAT TIME ARE PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING?
Since NASCAR is taking extra precautions to ensure the safety of the teams and personnel at the track, there will be no practice and no qualifying.
The starting order for Saturday night’s race was announced Wednesday morning based on metric system put in place in August 2020.
WHAT TIME IS THE RACE?
The race will be on Saturday, Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m. ET and be broadcast on NBCSN.
CAN I LISTEN ON THE RADIO?
The race will be available on PRN Radio as well as SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
CAN I STREAM ONLINE?
Click here to download the NBC app for online streaming, and fans can always keep up with the action on Twitter by following @TeamHendrick.
WHAT CHANNEL IS NBCSN?
It varies, but this link allows fans to find the channel by entering their zip code.
WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW? Eleven of Hendrick Motorsports’ 52 NASCAR Cup Series short-track wins (best of active teams) have come at Bristol, where it has secured 12 pole positions and led more than 6,000 laps. The organization holds the BMS track records for top-five finishes (60) and top-10s (109). A record six different drivers have won there for team owner Rick Hendrick.