NASCAR Bristol night race: Start time, lineup, TV schedule

Denny Hamlin, left, will start on the pole alongside Kurt Busch, right, Saturday at the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.(Photo: Andrew Weber, USA TODAY Sports)

BRISTOL, Tenn. — It's time for NASCAR to race at Bristol Motor Speedway, and we've got some essential information you need to get ready for Saturday night's Irwin Tools Night Race.

START TIME: Drivers will be instructed to start their engines at 7:42 p.m. Eastern time tonight, followed by the green flag at 7:47 p.m. So if you want to skip the pre-race show and just tune in for the race, turn on your TV at 7:47.

RACE DISTANCE: The Bristol race is not 500 miles (thankfully) but 500 laps around the 0.533-mile track. That's a total of 266.5 miles, which doesn't sound all that long.

CHASE: Drivers who could shake up wild card with win

NATIONAL ANTHEM: Children of the drivers and crew chiefs will sing the national anthem tonight, an annual tradition thanks to the Motor Racing Outreach ministry.

TV/RADIO SCHEDULE: ABC will broadcast tonight's race and has a pre-race show beginning at 7 p.m. ET. The Performance Racing Network (PRN) will call the race on the radio.

WEATHER: Pleasant. After daytime temperatures reach into the low 80s, the race itself should see temperatures in the high 60s to low 70s with little chance of rain.

LAST TIME: One year ago, Denny Hamlin won the Bristol night race in an event more remembered for Tony Stewart throwing his helmet at Matt Kenseth. And in March, Kasey Kahne held off Kyle Busch for the win.

RYAN: It's time for nice-guy Kasey to fight back

STARTING LINEUP: Hamlin, looking to make it two straight night race wins, won the pole for tonight's race with a Friday lap of 128.969 mph.

Here's the full starting lineup for tonight's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol:

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Kurt Busch
3. Carl Edwards
4. Brian Vickers
5. Matt Kenseth
6. Joey Logano
7. Kasey Kahne
8. Ryan Newman
9. Martin Truex Jr.
10. Aric Almirola
11. Mark Martin
12. Brad Keselowski
13. Jimmie Johnson
14. Marcos Ambrose
15. Kevin Harvick
16. Juan Pablo Montoya
17. David Ragan
18. Ryan Truex
19. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
20. Jamie McMurray
21. Paul Menard
22. Danica Patrick
23. Bobby Labonte
24. Clint Bowyer
25. David Gilliland
26. Michael McDowell
27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
28. Josh Wise
29. Greg Biffle
30. Casey Mears
31. David Reutimann
32. Jeff Gordon
33. Landon Cassill
34. JJ Yeley
35. Ken Schrader
36. Dave Blaney
37. Joe Nemechek
38. David Stremme
39. Travis Kvapil
40. Tony Raines
41. Jeff Burton
42. Scott Speed
43. Kyle Busch

Follow Jeff Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck