The second race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series postseason at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway was just the fifth race (and only the fourth oval race) this year to feature exclusively the 36 chartered entries, with zero non-chartered (open) cars entered.
This weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, there is one open car on the entry list, and it is one that was featured in the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway. But it won't be driven by the same driver as it was two weekends ago at the "Lady in Black".
After Chad Finchum made his team-leading seventh start of the year behind the wheel of the No. 66 Ford for Garage 66 (MBM Motorsports) Ford at Darlington, it's Josh Bilicki who is set to make his third start of the year in the car this weekend.
One lineup change confirmed for Bristol night race
It would have been Bilicki's fourth appearance, but the team opted to withdraw the No. 66 car from the entry list late in the week leading up to the race at Chicagoland Speedway, where Bilicki had been slated to compete.
Bilicki is locked into Saturday night's 500-lap Bass Pro Shops Night Race around the four-turn, 0.533-mile (0.858-kilometer) high-banked Bristol, Tennessee oval because the No. 66 Ford is the only open car on the entry list, meaning the field will only have 37 cars.
In his two starts so far this season, Bilicki has placed 34th at Watkins Glen International in May and 35th at Richmond Raceway in August.
The other open car that ran the Darlington race is the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota, which was driven by Corey Heim for the 10th time this year. Heim isn't slated to return until the October race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
No open cars have been confirmed for next weekend's race at Kansas Speedway.
Tune in to USA Network this Saturday, September 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the Bass Pro Shops Night Race from Bristol Motor Speedway.
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