Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race

The Bass Pro Shops NRA 500 is a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. It is one of two NASCAR Cup Series races held at Bristol, the other being the Food City 500, but it is by far the more popular of the two. Since 1978, the race has been held in late-August, typically on the last weekend of the month, on a Saturday night.
==History==
From 2001 to 2015, Newell Rubbermaid has been the title sponsor of the race, and until 2009 their marker pen brand Sharpie lent its name to the race. Newell Rubbermaid elected to change the race branding to promote one of its other brands, Irwin Industrial Tools. For the 2016 season, the main title sponsor switched to outdoor recreational retailer Bass Pro Shops with associate sponsorship from the National Rifle Association, a gun advocacy group.
==Past winners==
Year 	Date 	No.	Driver 	Team 	Manufacturer	Race distance	Race distance 	Race time	Average speed(mph)	Report
Year 	Date 	No.	Driver 	Team 	Manufacturer	Laps 	Miles (km) 	Race time	Average speed(mph)	Report
1961 	July 30 	46 	Jack Smith*<BR> Johnny Allen* 	Jack Smith 	Pontiac 	500 	250 (402.336) 	3:39:23 	68.373 	Report
1962 	April 29 	72 	Bobby Johns 	Shorty Johns 	Pontiac 	500 	250 (402.336) 	3:24:22 	73.397 	Report
1963 	July 28 	28 	Fred Lorenzen*<BR> Ned Jarrett* 	Holman-Moody 	Ford 	500 	250 (402.336) 	3:20:25 	74.844 	Report
1964 	July 26 	28 	Fred Lorenzen 	Holman-Moody 	Ford 	500 	250 (402.336) 	3:12:12 	78.044 	Report
1965 	July 25 	11 	Ned Jarrett 	Bondy Long 	Ford 	500 	250 (402.336) 	4:02:37 	61.826 	Report
1966 	July 24 	99 	Paul Goldsmith 	Ray Nichels 	Plymouth 	500 	250 (402.336) 	3:12:24 	77.963 	Report
1967 	July 23 	43 	Richard Petty 	Petty Enterprises 	Plymouth 	500 	250 (402.336) 	3:10:35 	78.705 	Report
1968 	July 21 	17 	David Pearson 	Holman-Moody 	Ford 	500 	250 (402.336) 	3:16:34 	76.31 	Report
1969 	July 20 	17 	David Pearson 	Holman-Moody 	Ford 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:08:07 	79.737 	Report
1970 	July 19 	22 	Bobby Allison 	Bobby Allison 	Dodge 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:08:23 	84.88 	Report
1971 	July 11 	3 	Charlie Glotzbach*<BR> Raymond Hassler*	Richard Howard 	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:38:12 	101.074 	Report
1972 	July 9 	12 	Bobby Allison 	Richard Howard 	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:30:28 	92.735 	Report
1973 	July 8 	72 	Benny Parsons 	L. G. DeWitt 	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:53:04 	91.342 	Report
1974 	July 14 	11 	Cale Yarborough 	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:31:59 	75.43 	Report
1975 	November 2 	43 	Richard Petty 	Petty Enterprises 	Dodge 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:44:49 	97.016 	Report
1976 	August 29 	11 	Cale Yarborough 	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet 	400 	213.2 (343.112) 	2:08:59 	99.175 	Report
1977 	August 28 	11 	Cale Yarborough 	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet 	400 	213.2 (343.112) 	2:40:27 	79.726 	Report
1978*	August 26 	11 	Cale Yarborough 	Junior Johnson & Associates	Oldsmobile 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:25:00 	88.628 	Report
1979 	August 25 	88 	Darrell Waltrip 	DiGard Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:54:46 	91.493 	Report
1980 	August 23 	11 	Cale Yarborough 	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:03:51 	86.973 	Report
1981 	August 22 	11 	Darrell Waltrip 	Junior Johnson & Associates	Buick 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:08:44 	84.723 	Report
1982 	August 28 	11 	Darrell Waltrip 	Junior Johnson & Associates	Buick 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:49:32 	94.318 	Report
1983 	August 27 	11 	Darrell Waltrip 	Junior Johnson & Associates	Buick 	418* 	222.794 (358.552)	2:29:50 	89.43 	Report
1984 	August 25 	44 	Terry Labonte 	Hagan Racing 	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:07:19 	85.365 	Report
1985 	August 24 	3 	Dale Earnhardt 	Richard Childress Racing 	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:27:44 	81.388 	Report
1986 	August 23 	11 	Darrell Waltrip 	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:03:55 	86.934 	Report
1987 	August 22 	3 	Dale Earnhardt 	Richard Childress Racing 	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:56:56 	90.373 	Report
1988 	August 27 	3 	Dale Earnhardt 	Richard Childress Racing 	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:22:59 	78.775 	Report
1989 	August 26 	17 	Darrell Waltrip 	Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:04:14 	85.554 	Report
1990 	August 25 	4 	Ernie Irvan 	Morgan-McClure Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:54:13 	91.782 	Report
1991 	August 24 	7 	Alan Kulwicki 	AK Racing 	Ford 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:14:56 	82.028 	Report
1992 	August 29 	17 	Darrell Waltrip 	DarWal, Inc. 	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:55:20 	91.198 	Report
1993 	August 28 	6 	Mark Martin 	Roush Racing 	Ford 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:01:21 	88.172 	Report
1994 	August 27 	2 	Rusty Wallace 	Penske Racing 	Ford 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:55:01 	91.363 	Report
1995 	August 26 	5 	Terry Labonte 	Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:15:03 	81.979 	Report
1996 	August 24 	2 	Rusty Wallace 	Penske Racing 	Ford 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:55:12 	91.267 	Report
1997 	August 23 	88 	Dale Jarrett 	Robert Yates Racing 	Ford 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:19:51 	80.013 	Report
1998 	August 22 	6 	Mark Martin 	Roush Racing 	Ford 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:03:54 	86.949 	Report
1999 	August 28 	3 	Dale Earnhardt 	Richard Childress Racing 	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:55:11 	91.276 	Report
2000 	August 26 	2 	Rusty Wallace 	Penske Racing 	Ford 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:07:15 	85.394 	Report
2001 	August 25 	20 	Tony Stewart 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	Pontiac 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:07:53 	85.106 	Report
2002 	August 24 	24 	Jeff Gordon 	Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:27:24 	77.097 	Report
2003 	August 23 	97 	Kurt Busch 	Roush Racing 	Ford 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:26:32 	77.421 	Report
2004 	August 28 	8 	Dale Earnhardt Jr. 	Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:00:36 	88.538 	Report
2005 	August 27 	17 	Matt Kenseth 	Roush Racing 	Ford 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:08:50 	84.678 	Report
2006 	August 26 	17 	Matt Kenseth 	Roush Racing 	Ford 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:57:37 	90.025 	Report
2007 	August 25 	99 	Carl Edwards 	Roush Fenway Racing 	Ford 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:59:39 	89.006 	Report
2008 	August 23 	99 	Carl Edwards 	Roush Fenway Racing 	Ford 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:54:36 	91.581 	Report
2009 	August 22 	18 	Kyle Busch 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	Toyota 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:08:31 	80.24 	Report
2010 	August 21 	18 	Kyle Busch 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	Toyota 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:41:24 	99.071 	Report
2011 	August 27 	2 	Brad Keselowski 	Penske Racing 	Dodge 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:45:16 	96.753 	Report
2012 	August 25 	11 	Denny Hamlin 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	Toyota 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:09:27 	84.402 	Report
2013 	August 24 	20 	Matt Kenseth 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	Toyota 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:57:07 	90.279 	Report
2014 	August 23 	22 	Joey Logano 	Team Penske 	Ford 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:52:00 	92.965 	Report
2015 	August 22 	22 	Joey Logano 	Team Penske 	Ford 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:45:05 	96.891 	Report
2016 	August 20/21*	4 	Kevin Harvick 	Stewart-Haas Racing 	Chevrolet 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	3:25:05 	77.968 	Report
2017 	August 19 	18 	Kyle Busch 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	Toyota 	500 	266.5 (428.89) 	2:46:37 	95.969 	Report
===Notes===
*1961: Relief driver Johnny Allen drove the race for Jack Smith; Smith is credited with the win for starting the race.
*1963: Relief driver Ned Jarrett drove the race for Fred Lorenzen; Lorenzen is credited with the win for starting the race.
*1971: Relief driver Raymond Hassler drove the race for Charlie Glotzbach; Glotzbach is credited with the win for starting the race.
*1978: Race changed to become a Saturday night event.
*1983: Race shortened due to rain.
*2016: Race started on Saturday night but was finished on Sunday afternoon due to rain.
===Track length notes===
*1961–1968: 0.5 mile course
*1969: 0.527 mile course
*1970–present: 0.533 mile course
===Multiple winners (drivers)===
# of wins	Driver 	Years won
7 	Darrell Waltrip	1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1992
5 	Cale Yarborough	1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980
4 	Dale Earnhardt 	1985, 1987, 1988, 1999
3 	Rusty Wallace 	1994, 1996, 2000
3 	Matt Kenseth 	2005, 2006, 2013
3 	Kyle Busch 	2009, 2010, 2017
2 	Fred Lorenzen 	1963, 1964
2 	David Pearson 	1968, 1969
2 	Bobby Allison 	1970, 1972
2 	Richard Petty 	1967, 1975
2 	Terry Labonte 	1984, 1995
2 	Mark Martin 	1993, 1998
2 	Carl Edwards 	2007, 2008
2 	Joey Logano 	2014, 2015
2 	 	
===Multiple winners (teams)===
# of wins	Team 	Years won
9 	Junior Johnson & Associates	1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986
7 	Roush Fenway Racing 	1993, 1998, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
6 	Team Penske 	1994, 1996, 2000, 2011, 2014, 2015
6 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	2001, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017
4 	Holman-Moody 	1963, 1964, 1968, 1969
4 	Richard Childress Racing 	1985, 1987, 1988, 1999
3 	Hendrick Motorsports 	1989, 1995, 2002
2 	Petty Enterprises 	1967, 1975
2 	Richard Howard 	1971, 1972
===Manufacturer wins===
# of wins	Manufacturer	Years won
21 	Chevrolet 	1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2016
19 	Ford 	1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2015
5 	Toyota 	2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017
3 	Buick 	1981, 1982, 1983
3 	Pontiac 	1961, 1962, 2001
3 	Dodge 	1970, 1975, 2011
1 	Oldsmobile 	1978
==Notable races==
* 1964: Richard Petty led 442 laps but broke the rear end coming to the white flag and Fred Lorenzen erased a deficit of several laps to take the win.
* 1969: David Pearson survived multiple wrecks to win the first race with Bristol's new banking; the track banked its turns from 18 degrees to 36 to boost speeds; the change was criticized by most drivers due to the speeds, the resulting wrecks, and the greatly increased physical strain.
* 1971: Charlie Glotzbach needed relief help from Friday Hassler to post the win, the first for the new Richard Howard Chevrolet team wrenched by Junior Johnson; the race was run caution-free.
* 1973: Benny Parsons needed relief help from John Ustman to post his only win of the season; it was enough to help win the season championship.
* 1974: Neil Bonnett tore open forty feet of inside guardrail but was uninjured. On the final lap Cale Yarborough forearmed Buddy Baker sideways out of the lead; the win was the first for Junior Johnson since Carling Brewery sponsorship helped him purchase the team from Richard Howard.
* 1977: Janet Guthrie needed relief help from John Utsman, who drove Guthrie's Chevrolet home sixth, the best NASCAR finish of Guthrie's career. Cale Yarborough took the win, his eighth of the season.
* 1978: Yarborough took the win in the first night running of the Volunteer 500. Following announcement that Darrell Waltrip would drive for Harry Ranier in 1979, Ranier's present driver Lennie Pond got into several on-track skirmishes with Waltrip.
* 1979: Richard Petty won the final pole of his driving career and finished second to Darrell Waltrip.
* 1981: Waltrip finished a season sweep of Bristol races as Dale Earnhardt survived a brutal crash into pit road.
* 1984: After seven straight wins by Waltrip, Terry Labonte ended that streak by scratching to his second win of the 1984 season, a key win in his run to the '84 title.
* 1990: After Dale Earnhardt fell back Ernie Irvan beat Rusty Wallace in a late sprint to his first win.
* 1992: The track was resurfaced in concrete, and Darrell Waltrip took his final Bristol win.
* 1993: Fatigue affected Rusty Wallace as Mark Martin took the win, his third straight of 1993.
* 1995: Multiple crashes (including several skirmishes between Bobby Hamilton and Brett Bodine that led to a black flag for Hamilton) and the start being delayed by rain pushed the finish past midnight and as Terry Labonte ran into lapped traffic he was spun into the wall crossing the stripe by Dale Earnhardt. Labonte drove his wrecked Chevrolet to victory lane.
* 1998: Mark Martin took the win and dedicated the race to his father Julian, who had died weeks earlier in a plane crash.
* 1999: Terry Labonte was spun out by Darrell Waltrip as they checked up for another car's wreck ahead of them; the skirmish occurred in the final ten laps, but Labonte got tires and blasted from sixth to the lead; he scraped past Dale Earnhardt on the final lap but off turn 2, Earnhardt blasted Labonte into a spin, wiping out several cars. The win was booed savagely by the surprised audience and Labonte's crew chief Andy Graves bitterly described "two washed up former champions" (Waltrip and Earnhardt).
* 2002: Jeff Gordon won after doing a bump-and-run in the last laps on Rusty Wallace. Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. were the dominant drivers, Earnhardt leading the opening 130 laps. The race was full of flaring tempers, a lot of people ended up being summoned for various reason to the Big Red Truck. One of these examples was Ward Burton, who threw his brakepads at Earnhardt after Earnhardt wrecked him in turn 3 on lap 403.
* 2003: After a postrace confrontation with Kurt Busch at Michigan, Jimmy Spencer was suspended for a week by NASCAR. Busch was booed when he took the win.
* 2005-8: Roush-Fenway Racing won four straight Sharpie 500s with the wins split by Matt Kenseth (2005 & 2006) and Carl Edwards (2007 & 2008).
* 2010: Kyle Busch won after dominating despite a tire going down on the final lap. This put Busch in the record books as the first driver to sweep all three top series' races on the same track on the same weekend, dubbed "The Trifecta". He also won the Camping World Truck race on Wednesday night, and the Nationwide race on Friday night. Out of a possible 956 laps he led 116 out of 206 in the truck event (race ended with G-W-C finish six laps past the scheduled distance of 200), 116 of 250 in the Nationwide event, and 282 of 500 in the Cup event. Together he led 514 of 956 laps, or about 53.8% of the laps run.
* 2012: Denny Hamlin won, holding off Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. This was the first race after the top groove had been regrinded, leading to the return of bump-and-run racing. There were several on-track altercations. On lap 333, Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart tangled fighting for the lead, and Stewart responded by throwing his helmet at Kenseth's hood. Later, Danica Patrick was wrecked by Regan Smith and wagged her finger at him.
* 2013: Matt Kenseth held off Kasey Kahne over the last 40 laps to win his fifth race of the season. This was the third race of the season where Kahne was within striking distance of the lead but was just unable to overtake Kenseth.
* 2017: Kyle Busch wins and sweeps all three top series' races for the second time at Bristol, having won the Camping World Truck race on Wednesday night and the Xfinity race on Friday night.
==Television broadcasters==
Year	Network 	Lap-by-lap 	Color commentator(s)
1985	ESPN 	Larry Nuber 	Benny Parsons
1986	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Larry NuberBenny Parsons
1987	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Larry Nuber
1988	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Ned Jarrett
1989	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Benny ParsonsNed Jarrett
1990	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Benny ParsonsNed Jarrett
1991	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Benny ParsonsNed Jarrett
1992	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Benny ParsonsNed Jarrett
1993	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Benny ParsonsNed Jarrett
1994	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Benny ParsonsNed Jarrett
1995	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Benny ParsonsNed Jarrett
1996	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Benny ParsonsNed Jarrett
1997	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Benny ParsonsNed Jarrett
1998	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Benny ParsonsNed Jarrett
1999	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Benny ParsonsNed Jarrett
2000	ESPN 	Jerry Punch 	Benny ParsonsNed Jarrett
2001	TNT 	Allen Bestwick	Benny ParsonsWally Dallenbach
2002	TNT 	Allen Bestwick	Benny ParsonsWally Dallenbach
2003	TNT 	Allen Bestwick	Benny ParsonsWally Dallenbach
2004	TNT 	Allen Bestwick	Benny ParsonsWally Dallenbach
2005	TNT 	Bill Weber 	Benny ParsonsWally Dallenbach
2006	TNT 	Bill Weber 	Benny ParsonsWally Dallenbach
2007	ESPN 	Jerry Punch 	Dale JarrettAndy Petree
2008	ESPN 	Jerry Punch 	Dale JarrettAndy Petree
2009	ESPN 	Jerry Punch 	Dale JarrettAndy Petree
2010	ABC 	Marty Reid 	Dale JarrettAndy Petree
2011	ABC 	Allen Bestwick	Dale JarrettAndy Petree
2012	ABC 	Allen Bestwick	Dale JarrettAndy Petree
2013	ABC 	Allen Bestwick	Dale JarrettAndy Petree
2014	ABC 	Allen Bestwick	Dale JarrettAndy Petree
2015	NBCSN 	Rick Allen 	Jeff BurtonSteve Letarte
2016	NBCSNCNBC*	Rick Allen 	Jeff BurtonSteve Letarte
2017	NBC 	Rick Allen 	Jeff BurtonSteve Letarte
2018	NBCSN 	Rick Allen 	Jeff BurtonSteve LetarteDale Earnhardt Jr.
===Notes===
* 2016: Race started on NBCSN, but was pushed to CNBC due to the postponement of the race.
* 2017: Race did not air on NBC O&O WRC-TV in Washington, due to airing an NFL preseason game between the Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins.
==References==
==External links==
*NASCAR Commentators Crews and Networks