NASCAR Cup Series: Will Kyle Busch win his third consecutive Bristol race?

Kyle Busch has won the last two NASCAR Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway. Will he win his third race in a row at the track this Saturday?

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch has won both of the last two NASCAR Cup Series races in which he has driven at Bristol Motor Speedway in his #18 Toyota. He is set to attempt to win his third consecutive Cup Series race at the track in this Saturday night’s race, the 2018 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race.

The last Cup Series race that was held at the four-turn, 0.533-mile (0.858-kilometer) Bristol Motor Speedway oval in Bristol, Tennessee that was not won by Busch was held in April of 2017. Busch started that race in seventh place and finished in 35th after being involved in an accident on lap 384 of the race’s 500 laps.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson won that race in his #48 Chevrolet, and as a result of that, he is the most recent winner of a Bristol race among drivers who are not named Kyle Busch.

Busch won the race at Bristol Motor Speedway last August after he started back in 18th place and led 156 of its 500 laps. He held off second place finisher and race polesitter Erik Jones by 1.422 seconds to take the victory, which was his first Cup Series victory at the track since he won the Cup Series race at the track back in March of 2011.

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Earlier this season in April, Busch claimed his second consecutive Cup Series victory at Bristol Motor Speedway. He started the race from the pole position and went on to win it by 0.628 seconds over second place finisher Kyle Larson after leading 117 of its 500 laps.

Busch’s success at Bristol Motor Speedway isn’t strictly limited to the Cup Series, either. He has seven career Cup Series victories at the track, but that win total is only a fraction of his career NASCAR win total at the track.

Busch has won nine Xfinity Series races and five Truck Series races at the track in his career as well, and he has swept the Cup Series race, the Xfinity Series race and the Truck Series race at the track in two separate race weekends in his career. He did so back in August of 2010, and he did so last August as well.

There are several drivers who have a great chance to win the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race on Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. However, Busch is the best active driver at the track, and he should be considered the favorite to end up in victory lane for the third consecutive time in a Cup Series race at the track, the eighth time in a Cup Series race at the track in his career, and the 22nd time in a NASCAR race at the track as a result of it.

Will Kyle Busch win his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend? Tune in to NBC Sports Network at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 18 to watch the live broadcast of the 2018 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race to find out.