Bristol live blog: All the updates from the Round of 16 elimination race

We‘re bringing you live updates covering Saturday night‘s NASCAR Cup Series race from Bristol Motor Speedway, the Bass Pro Shops Night Race (6:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Bookmark this page and check back often as we chronicle the action from ‘The Last Great Colosseum.‘

Overview:

• Iconic NASCAR short track Bristol Motor Speedway hosts the 500-lap Round of 16 playoff elimination race Saturday night.

• Among the 16 playoff contenders, four drivers will leave Bristol eliminated from the championship fight. And, considering Bristol is famously known for its full-contact short-track racing action, expect some flared tempers and hurt feelings. Bristol, baby!

• By virtue of their Round of 16 race wins, Kyle Larson (Darlington) and Tyler Reddick (Kansas) are safe from elimination; the other 14 drivers will battle for the remaining 10 available spots. See our guide to clinch scenarios—or, to consider things more simply, winning the race would automatically advance a playoff driver to the next round, regardless of points. Just win at Bristol … easy enough, right?

• This weekend marks the Cup Series‘ lone stop on Bristol‘s traditional concrete surface in 2023. Back in April, dirt-racing expert Christopher Bell won on the track‘s dirt-covered surface; shortly afterward, cleanup began to return the track to its usual non-dirt format—the one that‘ll set the Round of 12 Saturday.

Links to keep handy:

• Bristol playoff race 101, an overview of all things Bristol, from NASCAR.com‘s Cameron Richardson.

• What to Watch: a guide breaking down what you can expect to see Saturday night, courtesy of our colleague Kobe Lambeth.

• Playoff clinch scenarios—or, again, keeping in mind a race win means a driver advances.

• Our at-track photo gallery provides a glimpse at images you won‘t see on TV.

• Keep up with the action on the go with NASCAR Mobile, watch live in-car cameras with NASCAR Drive, and follow along with live leaderboards and scanner audio with Race Center.

If it helps to get you in the mood, you can check out past Bristol races ad-free on NASCAR Classics.

Friday, September 15

5:50 p.m.: Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Corey LaJoie, Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott advance to the final round of qualifying from Group A to run for the pole against Group B‘s fast five, on deck now.

5:20 p.m.: Practice is now history. Kyle Larson set the fastest lap overall with a 15.186-second trip around Bristol in Group A. William Byron paced Group B, good enough for eighth overall with a time of 15.390 (full results). On to qualifying!

4:30 p.m.: The lone practice session (4:35 p.m. ET) and qualifying (5:20 p.m. ET) takes place this afternoon. Catch the on-track action on USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, or the NBC Sports App, and stick around for the Xfinity Series playoffs opener shortly afterward — it‘ll be a nice appetizer for tomorrow night‘s main course.