BRISTOL

Call it a Crown Jewel, call it a spectacle, call it a fan favorite. Whatever the moniker, the annual Bristol Motor Speedway night race has grown in prestige for all kinds of reasons.

 

Forever a must-see-live for all NASCAR fans, the IRWIN Tools Night Race combines hard, tight racing under the lights in a coliseum setting. But this season there are two wrinkles that ratchet up the anticipation – the Wild Card and the Sprint Summer Showdown Presented by HTC EVO 3D.

 

After race No. 26 at Richmond, the top-10 drivers are locked into the 12-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field. Spots 11 and 12 – the Wild Cards – go to drivers outside the top 10 with the most wins, provided they are in the top 20. A precious three races remain for Wild Card opportunities.

 

Bristol’s also the final race for drivers to become eligible for the Sprint Summer Showdown. The winners of Indianapolis (Paul Menard), Pocono (Brad Keselowski), Watkins Glen (Marcos Ambrose), Michigan (Kyle Busch) and Bristol become eligible for the $3 million prize. If one of the eligible drivers wins at Atlanta, a million dollars goes to the driver, the driver’s charity and one lucky fan.

 

Angles for both topics follow below.

 

But first things first. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series kicks off a week of racing with a rare Wednesday night feature – the O’Reilly 200. Kyle Busch won last year’s event on his way to the first – and thus far only – weekend sweep of all three NASCAR national series races.

 

After two consecutive road-course races, the NASCAR Nationwide Series returns to the traditional oval style, with Friday night’s Food City 250.