NASCAR adjusts Bristol Night Race start time by an hour due to threat of rain

The Bristol Night Race is going to start an hour earlier than scheduled. NASCAR made the decision due to an increased threat of rain on Saturday night. Rain and bad weather have plagued this season seemingly more than most years. Bristol might be next.

The race will be moved up and will air at 6:30 p.m. EST on USA. PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will also carry the race as usual at the new start time. Make sure that you change your plans accordingly, folks.

NASCAR has the ability to move the start time up an hour within a day of the event. They are getting ahead of this one and hoping that they can get this race finished on Saturday night.

UPDATE: The start time of Saturday's NASCAR Cup Series race at @ItsBristolBaby has been moved up to 6:30 PM ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 15, 2023

“NASCAR today announced that the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 16, will now start at 6:30 p.m. ET – advancing one hour from the original 7:30 p.m. ET start time – due to forecasted inclement weather,” NASCAR said in a press release.

The Bristol Night Race is always a fun one. What makes this race even better is knowing that Bristol will have two dates on the NASCAR calendar next season, both on the concrete. That’s right, the Food City 500 is returning to the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

Bristol Night Race and Food City 500 in 2024

Having Bristol as a playoff track is almost a no-brainer. It is tricky and hard to drive and when the setup on the cars is right, it an produce some great racing. NASCAR s running the intermediate package on this track, the same they use at Dover and other tracks. Those races produced some fun action this season.

The Food City 500 is back and that is awesome. I think the 500 mile and 500 lap races, and the Coca-Cola 600, have been great with the Next Gen car. I prefer those longer races in the Cup Series because it leads to more unpredictability.

This means no Bristol Dirt Race and perhaps no dirt race at all in the Cup Series. If they hadn’t done it at Bristol, I think fans would have taken to the dirt race better. Let’s see if they add another dirt race to the schedule and make our judgments then.

As far as this weekend goes, adjust your plans by an hour, sit back and enjoy some playoff racing. Eliminations are on the line and that means we are going to see a lot of chaos and broken hearts.