Bristol Night Race Preview: Larson Closes In as Gibbs and Bell Defend the High Banks

Kyle Larson finally has a win to carry into Bristol. Now comes the question his rivals might prefer to avoid: what happens if the No. 5 starts controlling races again?

The Bass Pro Shops Night Race arrives Saturday with Larson nine points behind Denny Hamlin in the Cup Series Chase. His Gateway victory ended a 51-race drought and moved him from seventh to second in the standings. Bristol offers an immediate opportunity to turn that breakthrough into a sustained championship charge, but the two most recent winners on these concrete banks drive for Joe Gibbs Racing: Christopher Bell last September and Ty Gibbs this April.

This is the third race of a 10-race Chase. Bristol no longer eliminates four contenders at the end of an opening round. That changes the urgency without reducing the consequences. A driver buried by trouble Saturday will carry those lost points into the remaining races; there is no approaching round reset to erase them.

Practice and qualifying air on truTV. Josh Bilicki is entered in Garage 66's No. 66 Ford, joining the regular contenders for a field small enough that every entered car can make the race. Friday's sessions will establish the grid; no starting positions are assumed in this preview.

Larson's Bristol appeal goes deeper than the timing of his Gateway win. He led 284 laps in April before finishing third. Hendrick Motorsports lists his average Bristol finish in the Next Gen era at seventh, best among drivers with multiple starts. Saturday also marks his 200th Cup race paired with crew chief Cliff Daniels.

The Associated Press reported that Daniels credited a more disciplined setup approach after Hendrick tried changing too much early in the season.

That makes Friday's longer practice runs especially interesting. Larson does not need to set the fastest single lap to strengthen his case. A car that keeps turning as rubber builds and traffic closes around it would be more useful evidence that the team can dictate Saturday's pace.

Gibbs already demonstrated that the fastest car does not automatically collect the trophy. In April, he held off Blaney by 0.055 seconds in overtime, with Larson third. Gibbs stayed out while his challengers took much fresher tires, then protected the advantage that track position gave him. His first Cup victory was earned under direct pressure from two champions.

Blaney led 190 laps that afternoon, combining with Larson to lead 474 of the race's 505 laps. Yet NASCAR's reporting also documented 11 positions lost by the No. 12 on pit road. For this return visit, evaluating Blaney means watching the whole operation: sustained speed, stops and the ability to restart in the right place.

Hamlin still controls the standings, and his Bristol record gives him a credible response to Larson's momentum. He has two victories and seven top-10 finishes in his last eight starts here. Bell is only 18 points behind Hamlin, leaving the defending Night Race winner close enough to change the championship conversation himself.

Bell's 2025 win is also a useful warning against assuming a familiar race will unfold predictably. After taking right-side tires late, he charged from fifth to the lead on Lap 497 and survived contact from Brad Keselowski in the final corner. Keselowski had four fresh tires; Bell made his track position and restart count.

The current tire combination is the one Cup teams used in April, rather than a reason to replay last September's strategy automatically. Goodyear says it is intended to lay rubber into the concrete and develop multiple grooves. Teams have 10 new race sets, plus the qualifying set transferred into the race. Watch how the racing lanes evolve and how much speed drivers retain over a run before deciding that fresh tires or staying out will always be the winning choice.

Larson leads the current FantasyJolt salary board at $15. Hamlin, Blaney and Gibbs each cost $14, while Bell, Joey Logano and Chase Briscoe are $13. Those prices make the first decision consequential: paying for Larson and two $14 drivers spends $43, leaving only $7 for the last two positions.

The reason to consider that expense is Bristol's lap count. Standard FantasyJolt scoring awards 0.1 points per lap led, so 100 laps out front add 10 base points before the group multiplier. A driver controlling a large portion of this race can separate from someone who merely finishes near the front. Larson and Blaney's spring performances make them natural candidates for the highest multipliers, subject to what Friday reveals.

There are less restrictive ways to build. Bell at $13 provides access to the defending winner while saving two dollars against Larson. Alex Bowman at $10 finished eighth in last year's Night Race. Todd Gilliland at $4 finished sixth here in April, making him worth watching closely in practice. One strong historical result does not establish a reliable weekly floor, but Gilliland's price allows room for two expensive contenders.

The following is a provisional salary construction, with group placement expressing the intended roles rather than a model ranking:

Total: $50 for five drivers. Jones fills the remaining $8 slot in this example; his inclusion needs support from Friday's sessions. Swapping Larson for a $14 driver frees another dollar to reconsider the supporting selections.

As of September 17, race-specific FantasyJolt projections are not yet available. Treat these drivers as an initial watch list and revisit the complete lineup after practice, qualifying and inspection news. Starting farther back does not earn place-differential points under standard FantasyJolt scoring. The useful question is whether that driver can reach strong finishing and stage positions, or lead laps, at a salary that improves the entire five-driver team.