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Joey Logano Earns 40th NASCAR Cup Series Win In Bass Pro Shops Night Race At Bristol

by Hunter Thomas September 20, 2026 0 comments

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Joey Logano was clutch in the final laps as he held on to win the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night.

Logano entered The Chase race 51 points back from Denny Hamlin who was the current leader in the standings. Logano stayed up front all race long, earning valuable stage points and now he leaves Bristol with his third win of the season and is now only 16 points back from Kyle Larson who takes over the top spot in the standings.

 “It’s huge,” Logano said. “We’re in the hunt now. We’re right where we need to be. We had a solid run last week and capitalized again with huge points again tonight, so we’re there.”

Logano started the race on the outside pole. He won Stage 1 and finished third in Stage 2. Throughout the night, Logano was out in front of the field for 93 laps. In the closing laps, Logano snuck by Ty Gibbs and Carson Hocevar who were fighting for the lead. Logano led the final seven laps en route to his 40^th career NASCAR Cup Series win.

“There’s nothing like the Bristol Night Race,” Logano said. “This is just the coolest experience as a race car driver being in front of all you fans down here, hearing everyone scream and cheer – sometimes boo, that’s alright. It’s pretty awesome.”

Larson finished runner-up on Saturday in the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. He ran up front inside the top-10 and also earned valuable stage points after finishing second in Stage 1 and ninth in Stage 2. He now leads The Chase standings by a mere one point over Hamlin.

“I don’t think we were a top-five car, but we did a great night executing tonight and that’s what it takes.” Larson said. “We didn’t have the best car tonight, but we still came home with a top-two finish. We weren’t too hot there in the second stage, and really the majority of the final stage, but I’m proud of the pit call and the fight we had to hang on there. We got good stage points early, so we’ll take it and try to have more days like today. I’m happy with the effort, and we’ll go to Kansas (Speedway) and continue to go to work.”

Finishing third was Carson Hocevar, and it was a wild ending for the driver of the Spire Motorsports No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet. On Lap 459, Ryan Blaney spun off the nose of Hocevar as the two were battling for position. After the race, Blaney approached Hocevar, and the two drivers fought on pit road.

VIDEO: Carson Hocevar On Fighting Ryan Blaney: That Was The First Time I Ever Hit Anybody

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell and Gibbs completed the top-five. Rounding out the top-10 was Josh Berry, Bubba Wallace, Hamlin, William Byron despite crashing on Lap 444 and Ryan Preece.

There were 13 lead changes among six drivers. Blaney led a race high of 202 laps; however, after the crash, he finished a disappointing 33^rd and his now 52 points back from The Chase lead.

The caution came out 10 times for 78 laps. Six cautions were for multicar accidents.

The Chase Standings following Bristol: Larson leads, followed by Hamlin (-1), Logano (-16), Bell (-17), Gibbs (-42), Blaney (-52) and Tyler Reddick (-61). All other drivers are more than a race behind in points.

The NASCAR Cup Series will now head to Kansas Speedway for the fourth race of The Chase on Sunday, Sept. 27. The Hollywood Casino 400 will broadcast live on the USA Network at 3 p.m. ET.

Photo Credit: Hunter Thomas/TheFourthTurn.com