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NASCAR at Bristol night race 2017: Start time, lineup, TV schedule, more

It's race day at Bristol Motor Speedway, and we’ve got all the information you need to get ready for tonight's Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series:

Jimmie Johnson takes the checkered flag to win the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 24.

START TIME: Johnny Morris, Founder & CEO of Bass Pro Shops; Dale Hall, CEO of Ducks Unlimited; and Ed Carter, Executive Director of Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, will instruct drivers to start their engines at 7:40 p.m. ET., followed by the green flag at 7:48 p.m.

RACE DISTANCE: The Bristol night race is 500 laps around the .533-mile track for a total of 266 miles.

SEGMENTS: Beginning this season, NASCAR is dividing every race into segments and awarding one bonus point to the winner of each stage. Segment lengths will be different for every race. Also, the top 10 finishers of the first two segments will be awarded regular-season points in descending order from 10 to 1. Here are the segments for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race: Stage 1: 125 laps; Stage 2: 125 laps; Stage 3: 250 laps.

NATIONAL ANTHEM/FLYOVER: MRO (Motor Racing Outreach) children will perform the national anthem before tonight's race. This will be followed by a tribute to Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Colossus TV at 7:33 p.m. ET.

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TV/RADIO SCHEDULE: NBC will broadcast the race on TV and has a pre-race show beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Performance Racing Network and Sirius/XM Radio will call the race on the radio.

LIVE STREAMING: NBCSports.com will live-stream the race for those who sign in with their cable/satellite provider's credentials.

WEATHER: The National Weather Service is calling for sunny skies at the green flag giving way to clear conditions after sundown. Temperatures will begin in the high 70s decreasing to low 70s as the night goes on. Only a 5 percent chance of rain is in the forecast. 

LAST TIME: Jimmie Johnson led 81 total laps in April, including the final 21, to win at Bristol for the first time since 2010. And one year ago, Kevin Harvick prevailed after leading 128 laps when the dominant car of Kyle Busch, who led for more than half the race, crashed on lap 358.

STARTING LINEUP: Rookie Erik Jones won his first career Cup Series pole with a time of 14.981 seconds in the final round of qualifying. Kyle Larson, who posted a final round-time of 14.984, will start second.

Here is the starting lineup for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race   (car number in parentheses):

1. (77) Erik Jones, Toyota, 128.082 mph.

2. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 128.057.

3. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 127.877.

4. (24) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 127.656.

5. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 127.563.

6. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 127.529.

7. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 127.393.

8. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 127.006.

9. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 126.930.

10. (21) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 126.854.

11. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 126.030.

12. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 125.872.

13. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 127.073.

14. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 127.006.

15. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 126.905.

16. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 126.896.

17. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 126.796.

18. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 126.712.

19. (38) David Ragan, Ford, 126.687.

20. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 126.411.

21. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 126.395.

22. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 125.988.

23. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 125.109.

24. (10) Danica Patrick, Ford, 124.573.

25. (41) Kurt Busch, Ford, 126.287.

26. (95) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 126.137.

27. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 125.782.

28. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 125.782.

29. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 125.749.

30. (7) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, 125.559.

31. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 125.518.

32. (72) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 125.175.

33. (34) Landon Cassill, Ford, 124.792.

34. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 124.549.

35. (83) Corey LaJoie, Toyota, 124.170.

36. (51) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 123.770.

37. (55) Gray Gaulding, Chevrolet, 123.546.

38. (33) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 123.364.

39. (15) Reed Sorenson, Toyota, 122.819.

40. (23) Joey Gase, Toyota, 121.620.

Failed to qualify

41. (66) Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, 122.022.

Follow Horrow on Twitter @EllenJHorrow

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