NASCAR: 2024 Bristol playoff qualifying updates, full starting lineup
By Asher Fair
There are 15 drivers set to battle for the remaining 11 spots in the round of 12 of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs during Saturday night's Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
With non-playoff driver Chris Buescher of RFK Racing having won at Watkins Glen International this past Sunday afternoon, only Team Penske's Joey Logano is locked into the quarterfinal round of the four-round, 10-race postseason.
The two-time series champion, who has never failed to qualify for the Championship 4 in an even-numbered season, clinched his round of 12 spot by winning the round of 16 opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
With the four-turn, 0.533-mile (0.858-kilometer) high-banked Bristol, Tennessee oval, also known as the "Last Great Colosseum", being a short track, the single-car qualifying session is set to feature two-lap runs for each driver instead of one-lap runs.
The drivers are split up into two groups, with the qualifying order determined by a four-variable metric that NASCAR has used since 2020. A full breakdown of that formula can be found here.
Non-playoff drivers slot in before the playoff drivers in each group, ensuring that there are eight playoff drivers in each group. The fastest five drivers in each group advance to the second round to battle for the pole position.
Unlike when Bristol hosted the Cup Series back in March, the second round is also group-based.
NASCAR at Bristol: Full starting lineup
1st - Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
2nd - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
3rd - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
4th - Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
5th - Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
6th - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
7th - Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
8th - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
9th - Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
10th - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
11th - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
12th - Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
13th - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
14th - Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
15th - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
16th - Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
17th - Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
18th - Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
19th - A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
20th - Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
21st - Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
22nd - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
23rd - Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
24th - Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
25th - Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
26th - Justin Haley, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
27th - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
28th - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
29th - Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
30th - Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
31st - Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
32nd - Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
33rd - Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
34th - Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
35th - Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
36th - Kaz Grala, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford
37th - Josh Bilicki, No. 66 MBM Motorsports Ford
Next. NASCAR: There's a new championship favorite not named Kyle Larson. NASCAR: There's a new championship favorite not named Kyle Larson. dark
Bristol Motor Speedway is scheduled to host the Bass Pro Shops Night Race this Saturday, September 21, with USA Network set to provide live coverage starting at 7:30 p.m. ET. Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin won this race last year, and he also won the race at the track back in March. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!
feed