A fan-favorite track takes center stage this week as all three national series compete at Bristol Motor Speedway, starting on Thursday night.
The Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series teams will both be in action on Thursday while kicking off a packed schedule of racing. Truck Series teams will continue in the playoffs while ARCA teams will push toward the end of the season.
Corey Heim is the defending winner of the Bristol playoff race. Heim is third in the Truck Series standings heading into the second race of the playoffs. Christian Eckes won this season's spring race at Bristol.
William Sawalich is the defending winner of the ARCA Menards Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Sawalich is back in the lineup for Thursday's race. This event will decide whether he or Connor Zilisch wins the ARCA East championship.
Bristol Motor Speedway Thursday forecast and schedule
Thursday forecast: Partly cloudy skies throughout the day. A high of 72 degrees and a 4% chance of rain at the start of the Truck Series race.
Thursday, Sept. 19 (Eastern Time)
- 9 a.m. -- ARCA Menards Series garage hours
- 9:30 a.m. -- Truck Series garage hours
- 1 - 1:45 p.m. -- ARCA Menards Series practice (No TV)
- 2 - 2:20 p.m. -- ARCA Menards Series qualifying (No TV)
- 3 - 3:35 p.m. -- Truck Series practice (FS2)
- 3:35 - 4:30 p.m. -- Truck Series qualifying (FS2)
- 5 p.m. -- ARCA Menards Series race (200 laps, 106.6 miles. FS1, Radio coverage on Motor Racing Network)
- 8 p.m. -- Truck Series race (200 laps, 106.6 miles. FS1, Radio coverage on Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Playoff picture: The first race of the Truck Series playoffs ended with Layne Riggs in victory lane. The Front Row Motorsports driver is not in the playoffs, so this win did not have an impact on the championship battle.
Eckes leads the standings with two races before the field cuts down to eight drivers. He is 60 points above the cutline. Ty Majeski is just behind him at +44. Heim is at +41. Nick Sanchez (+34), Taylor Gray (+13), Tyler Ankrum (+13), Daniel Dye (+9), and Grant Enfinger (+2) are the other drivers above the cutline.
Ben Rhodes is the first driver below the cutline. He is two points behind Enfinger. Rajah Caruth is four points below the cutline.