Tonight’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Bristol: Start… – NBCSports.com

BRISTOL, Tenn. — The prerace festivities for Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race will feature as much pomp and circumstance as any Sprint Cup Series race, from the drivers choosing their own songs for introductions to a popular rendition of the national anthem by a Motor Racing Outreach children’s choir that is comprised of many sons and daughters of NASCAR drivers, crew chiefs and team members.

The 500-lap race has been famous for delivering an even greater spectacle on a rough-and-tumble bullring famous for producing fireworks on and off the track.

Here are the particulars (all times are ET):

START: The command to start engines will be given at 7:40 p.m. ET. The green flag is scheduled for 7:45 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is scheduled for 500 laps (266.5 miles) around the 0.533-mile oval.

PRERACE SCHEDULE: The Sprint Cup garage opens at 11:30 a.m.. The drivers meeting is at 5:30 p.m. Driver introductions (and songs) are at 6:50 p.m.

NATIONAL ANTHEM: It will be performed by a choir of Motor Racing Outreach children at 7:31 p.m.

TV/RADIO:  NBCSN will broadcast the race (and streaming available at http://stream.nbcsports.com/liveextra), starting with NASCAR America at 5 p.m. and Countdown to Green at 7 p.m. Performance Racing Network will broadcast the race on radio and at GoPRN.com. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry PRN’s broadcast.

FORECAST: The wunderground.com site predicts 80 degrees at race time with a 15% chance of rain.

LAST YEAR: Joey Logano scored his first victory at Bristol Motor Speedway, seizing first from Matt Kenseth and leading the final 45 laps in a 1-2 finish for Team Penske with teammate Brad Keselowski

STARTING LINEUP: