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 (7 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 his Round of 16 race win at Atlanta, Joey Logano is safe from elimination; the other 15 drivers will battle for the remaining 11 available spots. Winning the race would automatically advance a playoff driver to the next round, regardless of points. Just win at Bristol … easy enough, right?

Links to keep handy:

• What to Watch: a guide breaking down what you can expect to see Saturday night, courtesy of NASCAR.com’s Zack Albert.

• 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 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. 

All times listed are Eastern.

Saturday, September 21

7:20 p.m.: The Motor Racing Outreach kids — children of NASCAR drivers and crews — are kicking things off with a wonderful performance of the national anthem. Great singing, kids!

7:12 p.m.: This 500-lapper has stage breaks at Lap 125 and 250. Stage points will play a factor tonight.

7:05 p.m.: Here‘s my Fantasy Live lineup for this evening. It‘s heavy on Hendrick Motorsports, and I selected William Byron in my NASCAR.com 36 for 36 pick, too. We’ll see if qualifying speed translates to results.

7:01 p.m.: Last night in the Xfinity Series, we watched Justin Allgaier‘s seemingly-insurmountable 43-point lead vanish after a crash, handing the regular-season title to race winner Cole Custer. In other words, nobody‘s safe from elimination — other than Joey Logano, who‘s headed to the Round of 12 thanks to his Atlanta win two weeks ago.

7 p.m.: It‘s almost time to end the Round of 16! Let‘s take a look at playoff standings heading into tonight‘s race while we fire up USA Network, shall we?

1. Joey Logano, advanced to Round of 12
2. Christopher Bell, +46
3. Austin Cindric, +43
4. Alex Bowman, +41
5. Daniel Suárez, +36
6. Tyler Reddick, +30
7. Chase Elliott, +30
8. Ryan Blaney, +29
9. Kyle Larson, +26
10. William Byron, +25
11. Chase Briscoe, +6
12. Ty Gibbs, +6
— Top 12 drivers after Bristol advance — 
13. Denny Hamlin, -6
14. Brad Keselowski, -12
15. Martin Truex Jr., -14
16. Harrison Burton, -20