2026 Bass Pro Shops Night Race Betting Race Picks

Date/Time: Saturday September 19th, 2026. 7:30PM (EST)
Where: Bristol Motor Speedway
TV: USA

Later tonight, NASCAR’s Cup Series will fire the engines for the running of the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The infamous Bristol night race has been one of the most popular races on the Cup Series schedule for many years. The action packed bullring at Bristol known as “The World’s Fastest Half-Mile” always produces exciting racing and also usually produces some conflicts at the same time. Last night, we were able to sweep all of our picks in the Food City 300 in a big payday. Tonight, we look to do the same for one of the more exciting races of the entire season!

One of the major storylines going into tonight’s race surrounds the fact that both practice and qualifying sessions were cancelled on Saturday due to rain. As a result, Kyle Larson will start from the pole following his first win of the season last week at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. Interestingly, last week’s race produced a near record number of cautions with many of the championship contenders finding trouble. As a result of the cancelled qualifying, those drivers will have to come from deep in the field. Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott, and Ryan Blaney are among the names that will be starting outside the top 20 positions.

Perhaps the bigger concern among all drivers and a concern for handicapping tonight’s race surrounds the fact that each team will be starting tonight’s race without a single lap of practice. If anyone misses the setup from the beginning of tonight’s race, they could be in a hole throughout the entire night. The good news for teams is that Goodyear returned the same tire combination that was run back in the spring race. Ty Gibbs earned his first career victory back in the spring despite dominant performances from both Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson. Of course the biggest difference in the spring race was it was run in the daytime and tonight’s race will create completely different track conditions!

Bristol – Notes

• Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers with 4 career wins at Bristol.
• Kyle Larson (3), Brad Keselowski (3), Joey Logano (2), Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, and Ty Gibbs are all former winners at Bristol.
• Kyle Larson (118.4), Denny Hamlin (112.3), Ty Gibbs (110.4), Christopher Bell (108.2), and Ryan Blaney (101.0) are the only drivers to produce a +100 average driver rating over the last 6 races at Bristol.
• Ty Gibbs has finished 3rd or better in 2 of the last 3 races at Bristol.
• Denny Hamlin has finished 4th or better in 4 of the last 6 races at Bristol.
• Kyle Larson has finished in the Top 5 in 7 of the last 8 races at Bristol.
• Ryan Blaney has finished 6th or better in the last 4 races at Bristol.
• Joey Logano has finished 7th or better in the last two races at Bristol.
• Christopher Bell has finished 8th or better in 3 of the last 4 races at Bristol.
• Chase Briscoe has finished 9th or better in the last 4 races at Bristol.
• Alex Bowman has finished 9th or better in 3 of the last 5 races at Bristol.
• Carson Hocevar has finished 11th or better in the last 3 races at Bristol.
• There have been at least 9 cautions in 3 of the last 5 races at Bristol.
• Toyota drivers have won 4 of the last 6 races at Bristol.
• The eventual race winner has started from the top 5 in 9 of the last 11 races at Bristol.

Betting Targets

To my calculation, there has only been 1 winner in the last 10 races that has been better than 10-1 betting odds. We hit Ty Gibbs for his first career win in the spring race but even that was a mere 10-1 odds. I point out those facts because these races at Bristol are always top heavy among the betting favorites. As indicated in the notes section above, there are a handful of drivers that always appear to be fighting for the top spot at Bristol and they are among the heavy favorites for tonight’s race. From a betting perspective, we must be very selective among the favorites to yield any betting value. Personally, I had this race circled on the calendar for Kyle Larson but he won prematurely last week at Gateway. Larson and the #5 team have been getting better on a weekly basis and due to how well he runs at Bristol, I think the #5 team is starting to peak at the right time. As a result, I want Larson on my lineup more than any of the other betting favorites.

Christopher Bell is getting 8-1 odds among the drivers that I consider heavy favorites. I could make the argument that Bell has been a top 3 driver for the 3 races at Bristol despite his finishing position. As a result, I think Bell deserves legitimate betting consideration. As we move deeper into the field, Chase Briscoe and Carson Hocevar are among the drivers that I would label as solid “value” plays. While Hocevar may have a target on his back, he has produced a minimum 103.0 average driver rating over the last 3 races at Bristol. Briscoe is in a similar range of performance metrics in recent races at Bristol. Needless to say, both drivers can be considered in all betting formats. Deeper names in the field that may be worth of H2H consideration include the likes of Alex Bowman and Ryan Preece. Both drivers are underrated talents at Bristol and have top 10 upside. Perhaps a driver that could be considered at even deeper value in prop bet formats includes the #88 of Connor Zilisch who appears to be finding some momentum.

Draftkings Bass Pro Shops Night Race Optimal Lineup

2026 Bass Pro Shops Night Betting Race Picks

More picks to be posted closer to race time. Continue to check back until *FINAL* status is displayed!

Ryan Blaney +700 (1 unit)
Chase Briscoe +1500 (.5 unit)
Carson Hocevar +2000 (.5 unit)

H2H Match-Ups and Props

Kyle Larson -140 over Ty Gibbs (3 units)
Ryan Preece -110 over Austin Cindric (2 units)
Chase Elliott +105 over Tyler Reddick (2 units)
Carson Hocevar +275 wins Group 3 (Byron, Reddick, Buescher)(1 unit) *Draftkings

Two Team Parlay

Kyle Larson +350 wins Bass Pro Shops Night Race
Carson Hocevar +100 finishes Top 10
Risking 1 unit to win: +800