Overview
- Friday, Sept. 18, rain and lightning canceled Cup practice and qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway, so NASCAR used its rulebook qualifying metric to set the Bass Pro Shops Night Race grid with Kyle Larson awarded the pole.
- Truck Series qualifying was halted by a lengthy lightning hold on Thursday, Sept. 17, and the UNOH 250 lineup was set by the same rulebook metric, placing Layne Riggs on the Truck pole.
- The metric combines recent race results, owner points and fastest laps, a formula that benefits drivers already high in the Chase standings and changes who begins with track position on Bristol’s half‑mile concrete oval.
- NASCAR updated its wet‑weather tire policy for the weekend to allow teams to switch to wet tires after a race starts, a procedural change that matters because forecasts show a continued chance of storms before Saturday night’s race.
- The Bass Pro Shops Night Race remains scheduled for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network with HBO Max offering in‑car and multi‑view options, and the starting grids set by the metric will directly influence strategy in a Chase where Denny Hamlin leads Kyle Larson by nine points and Layne Riggs holds a 25‑point Truck advantage.