Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race

Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Venue	Bristol Motor Speedway
Location	Bristol, Tennessee, United States
Corporate sponsor	Bass Pro Shops National Rifle Association
First race	1961
Distance	266.5 miles (428.9 km)
Laps	500
Previous names	Volunteer 500 (1961–1975, 1978–1979) Volunteer 400 (1976–1977) Busch Volunteer 500 (1980) Busch 500 (1981–1990) Bud 500 (1991–1993) Goody's 500 (1994–1995) Goody's Headache Powder 500 (1996–1999) goracing.com 500 (2000) Sharpie 500 (2001–2009) Irwin Tools Night Race (2010–2015)
Most wins (driver)	Darrell Waltrip (7)
Most wins (team)	Junior Johnson & Associates (9)
Most wins (manufacturer)	Chevrolet (20)
Circuit information
Surface	Concrete
Length	0.533 mi (0.858 km)
Turns	4

The Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. It is one of two Sprint Cup 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, and is considered among the most difficult tickets to obtain in sports, with waiting lists for this event one of the longest in motorsports.

History

Since 2001, 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.

Past winners

Year	Date	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Race distance		Race time	Average speed (mph)	Report
					Laps	Miles (km)
1961	July 30	Jack Smith* Johnny Allen*	Jack Smith	Pontiac	500	250 (402.336)	3:39:23	68.373	Report
1962	April 29	Bobby Johns	Shorty Johns	Pontiac	500	250 (402.336)	3:24:22	73.397	Report
1963	July 28	Fred Lorenzen* Ned Jarrett*	Holman-Moody	Ford	500	250 (402.336)	3:20:25	74.844	Report
1964	July 26	Fred Lorenzen	Holman-Moody	Ford	500	250 (402.336)	3:12:12	78.044	Report
1965	July 25	Ned Jarrett	Bondy Long	Ford	500	250 (402.336)	4:02:37	61.826	Report
1966	July 24	Paul Goldsmith	Ray Nichels	Plymouth	500	250 (402.336)	3:12:24	77.963	Report
1967	July 23	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Plymouth	500	250 (402.336)	3:10:35	78.705	Report
1968	July 21	David Pearson	Holman-Moody	Ford	500	250 (402.336)	3:16:34	76.31	Report
1969	July 20	David Pearson	Holman-Moody	Ford	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:08:07	79.737	Report
1970	July 19	Bobby Allison	Bobby Allison	Dodge	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:08:23	84.88	Report
1971	July 11	Charlie Glotzbach* Raymond Hassler*	Richard Howard	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:38:12	101.074	Report
1972	July 9	Bobby Allison	Richard Howard	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:30:28	92.735	Report
1973	July 8	Benny Parsons	L. G. DeWitt	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:53:04	91.342	Report
1974	July 14	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:31:59	75.43	Report
1975	November 2	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Dodge	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:44:49	97.016	Report
1976	August 29	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet	400	213.2 (343.112)	2:08:59	99.175	Report
1977	August 28	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet	400	213.2 (343.112)	2:40:27	79.726	Report
1978*	August 26	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates	Oldsmobile	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:25:00	88.628	Report
1979	August 25	Darrell Waltrip	DiGard Motorsports	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:54:46	91.493	Report
1980	August 23	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:03:51	86.973	Report
1981	August 22	Darrell Waltrip	Junior Johnson & Associates	Buick	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:08:44	84.723	Report
1982	August 28	Darrell Waltrip	Junior Johnson & Associates	Buick	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:49:32	94.318	Report
1983	August 27	Darrell Waltrip	Junior Johnson & Associates	Buick	418*	222.794 (358.552)	2:29:50	89.43	Report
1984	August 25	Terry Labonte	Hagan Racing	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:07:19	85.365	Report
1985	August 24	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:27:44	81.388	Report
1986	August 23	Darrell Waltrip	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:03:55	86.934	Report
1987	August 22	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:56:56	90.373	Report
1988	August 27	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:22:59	78.775	Report
1989	August 26	Darrell Waltrip	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:04:14	85.554	Report
1990	August 25	Ernie Irvan	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:54:13	91.782	Report
1991	August 24	Alan Kulwicki	AK Racing	Ford	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:14:56	82.028	Report
1992	August 29	Darrell Waltrip	DarWal, Inc.	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:55:20	91.198	Report
1993	August 28	Mark Martin	Roush Racing	Ford	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:01:21	88.172	Report
1994	August 27	Rusty Wallace	Penske Racing	Ford	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:55:01	91.363	Report
1995	August 26	Terry Labonte	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:15:03	81.979	Report
1996	August 24	Rusty Wallace	Penske Racing	Ford	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:55:12	91.267	Report
1997	August 23	Dale Jarrett	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:19:51	80.013	Report
1998	August 22	Mark Martin	Roush Racing	Ford	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:03:54	86.949	Report
1999	August 28	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:55:11	91.276	Report
2000	August 26	Rusty Wallace	Penske Racing	Ford	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:07:15	85.394	Report
2001	August 25	Tony Stewart	Joe Gibbs Racing	Pontiac	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:07:53	85.106	Report
2002	August 24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:27:24	77.097	Report
2003	August 23	Kurt Busch	Roush Racing	Ford	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:26:32	77.421	Report
2004	August 28	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Chevrolet	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:00:36	88.538	Report
2005	August 27	Matt Kenseth	Roush Racing	Ford	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:08:50	84.678	Report
2006	August 26	Matt Kenseth	Roush Racing	Ford	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:57:37	90.025	Report
2007	August 25	Carl Edwards	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:59:39	89.006	Report
2008	August 23	Carl Edwards	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:54:36	91.581	Report
2009	August 22	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:08:31	80.24	Report
2010	August 21	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:41:24	99.071	Report
2011	August 27	Brad Keselowski	Penske Racing	Dodge	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:45:16	96.753	Report
2012	August 25	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	500	266.5 (428.89)	3:09:27	84.402	Report
2013	August 24	Matt Kenseth	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:57:07	90.279	Report
2014	August 23	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:52:00	92.965	Report
2015	August 22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	500	266.5 (428.89)	2:45:05	96.891	Report

• 1961: Relief driver Johnny Allen drove the race for Jack Smith; Smith is credited with the win for starting the race.^[1]
• 1963: Relief driver Ned Jarrett drove the race for Fred Lorenzen; Lorenzen is credited with the win for starting the race.^[1]
• 1971: Relief driver Raymond Hassler drove the race for Charlie Glotzbach; Glotzbach is credited with the win for starting the race.^[1]
• 1978: Race changed to become a Saturday night event.
• 1983: Race shortened due to rain.

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
	Matt Kenseth	2005, 2006, 2013
2	Fred Lorenzen	1963, 1964
	David Pearson	1968, 1969
	Bobby Allison	1970, 1972
	Richard Petty	1967, 1975
	Terry Labonte	1984, 1995
	Mark Martin	1993, 1998
	Carl Edwards	2007, 2008
	Kyle Busch	2009, 2010
	Joey Logano	2014, 2015

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
5	Joe Gibbs Racing	2001, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013
4	Holman-Moody	1963, 1964, 1968, 1969
	Richard Childress Racing	1985, 1987, 1988, 1999
3	Hendrick Motorsports	1989, 1995, 2002
2	Petty Enterprises	1967, 1975
	Richard Howard	1971, 1972

Manufacturer wins

# of wins	Manufacturer	Years won
20	Chevrolet	1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1999, 2002, 2004
19	Ford	1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2015
4	Toyota	2009, 2010, 2012, 2013
3	Buick	1981, 1982, 1983
	Pontiac	1961, 1962, 2001
	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.

Television broadcasters

Year	Network	Lap-by-lap	Color commentator(s)
1985	ESPN	Larry Nuber	Benny Parsons
1986		Bob Jenkins	Larry Nuber Benny Parsons
1987			Larry Nuber
1988			Ned Jarrett
1989			Benny Parsons Ned Jarrett
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000		Jerry Punch
2001	TNT	Allen Bestwick	Benny Parsons Wally Dallenbach
2002
2003
2004
2005		Bill Weber
2006
2007	ESPN	Jerry Punch	Dale Jarrett Andy Petree
2008
2009
2010	ABC	Marty Reid
2011
2012		Allen Bestwick
2013
2014
2015	NBCSN	Rick Allen	Jeff Burton Steve Letarte
2016

References

1. "Daily Trackside Report". The Auto Channel. August 2, 1996. Retrieved September 28, 2013.

External links

• NASCAR Commentators Crews and Networks