Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney is once again the NASCAR Cup Series point standings leader, after becoming the only driver this season to post three top-five finishes in the first four races of the season. The reigning Cup champion currently holds a 10-point lead over second place Kyle Larson and third place Martin Truex Jr. in the standings as the series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500 on Sunday, March 17 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Blaney will look to hold on to the top spot this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. In 14 appearances at the ‘World’s Fastest Half-Mile’, he has led 493 laps and put up two top-five and five top-10 finishes. He finished 22nd in the Bristol Playoff race last September.
If Blaney were to go on and win the NASCAR Cup Series title again this year, he would become the first driver since Jimmie Johnson’s record five straight (2006-2010) to win consecutive championships in the series. A total of 10 drivers have won consecutive titles in the series – Buck Baker (1956-57), Lee Petty (1958-59), Joe Weatherly (1962-63), David Pearson (1968-69), Richard Petty (1971-72, 1974-75), Cale Yarborough (1976-78), Darrell Waltrip (1981-82), Dale Earnhardt (1986-87, 1990-91, 1993-94), Jeff Gordon (1997-98), Jimmie Johnson (2006-2010).
NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Food City 500
The Place: Bristol Motor Speedway
The Date: Sunday, March 17
The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $8,182,531
TV: FOX, 3 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 266.5 miles (500 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 125),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 250), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 500)
Christopher Bell becomes fourth different winner in as many races in 2024
The Toyota teams were super-fast at Phoenix Raceway and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell managed to pilot his No. 20 to Victory Lane, becoming the fourth different winner in as many races to start the 2024 season.
The Modern Era (1972-2024) record of different winners to start a NASCAR Cup Series season is 10, set back in 2000. That year, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. snapped the different winners streak by winning his second race of the 2000 season at Richmond Raceway (Race No. 11 on the schedule).
This season, Bell joins William Byron (Daytona), Daniel Suarez (Atlanta) and Kyle Larson (Las Vegas) as the fourth different driver to lock into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs by virtue of their wins. Bell has earned a spot in the Playoffs the last three consecutive seasons (2021-2023).
Riding the wave of momentum, Bell looks to keep the early season success going this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Last September during the Playoff race, Bell qualified on the pole and finished third – a career-best at Bristol. In six series starts on the Tennessee half-mile, Bell has collected two top fives and three top 10s.
Starting Upfront: 27 wins have come from the pole at Bristol
Qualifying is important each week but can be even more so in a race like Sunday’s with how quickly cars can go a lap down at a short track like Bristol Motor Speedway. Interestingly, 27 of the 123 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Bristol Motor Speedway have been won from the pole or first starting position, a winning percentage of 21.95% – the most of any starting position on the grid.
A total of 16 different drivers have won the NASCAR Cup Series Bristol race from the pole, three of which are active this weekend – Brad Keselowski (2020), Denny Hamlin (2019) and Kyle Busch (2018).
A total of 53 drivers have won a pole at Bristol, and seven of the 53 NASCAR Cup Series Bristol Motor Speedway pole winners are entered this weekend, led by Denny Hamlin with four poles.
| Active Bristol Pole Winners (7) | Poles | Seasons |
| Denny Hamlin | 4 | 2019, ’15, ’14, ’13 |
| Kyle Busch | 2 | 2018, ’13 |
| Christopher Bell | 1 | 2023 |
| Chase Elliott | 1 | 2019 |
| Kyle Larson | 1 | 2018 |
| Erik Jones | 1 | 2017 |
| Joey Logano | 1 | 2010 |
Also, eight different drivers have posted their first NASCAR Cup Series career pole at Bristol Motor Speedway; including two active drivers – Joey Logano (2010) and Erik Jones (2017).
Expect the teams to definitely to try qualify into the top-10 this weekend, as 78% of the Cup races at Bristol have been won by drivers starting 10th or better, with 33.3% of the wins coming from the front row. Busch Light Pole Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday, March 16 at 5 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Nine Wins Club: Will Kyle Busch earn his ninth career win at Bristol?
This weekend Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch has the opportunity to join an elite list, known as the ‘Nine Wins Club,’ a group of the most dominant drivers to ever race in the NASCAR Cup Series. To earn a prestigious spot in the statistical club, a driver must win at least nine or more races at a single track, and since 1949 only nine drivers have been able to accomplish the feat.
At Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch leads all active drivers with eight wins (Spring 2007, 2009 sweep, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019), and can become the only active driver to win nine times at a single track this weekend. Busch also has a win at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track (2022), but that is considered a different track statistically.
| Race Winners | No. of Tracks | Tracks With Nine Or More Wins |
| Richard Petty | 5 | Martinsville (15), North Wilkesboro (15), Richmond (13), Rockingham (11) Daytona (10) |
| Dale Earnhardt | 4 | Talladega (10), Atlanta (9), Bristol (9), Darlington (9) |
| Darrell Waltrip | 3 | Bristol (12), Martinsville (11), North Wilkesboro (10) |
| Jimmie Johnson | 2 | Dover (11), Martinsville (9) |
| David Pearson | 1 | Darlington (10), Michigan (9) |
| Cale Yarborough | 1 | Bristol (9), Daytona (9) |
| Rusty Wallace | 1 | Bristol (9) |
| Jeff Gordon | 1 | Martinsville (9) |
| Kevin Harvick | 1 | Phoenix (9) |
Kyle Busch has made 34 series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, posting eight wins, 14 top fives and 19 top 10s.
Denny Hamlin looks to become 13th different driver to win consecutive races at Bristol
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin won last season’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway netting his third career win at the half-mile track. In his post-race TV interview on the frontstretch, Hamlin responded to the booing fans by famously saying, “I beat your favorite driver! All of them!”. Now the Virginia native returns to Tennessee looking to get his first win of 2024 and become the 13th different driver to win consecutive races in the NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol.
In total, 12 drivers have won consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races at Bristol; led by NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip with eight consecutive victories from 1979-1984. The remaining 11 drivers are Fred Lorenzen (1963-1964 sweep), David Pearson (1968 sweep), Bobby Allison (1972 sweep), Cale Yarborough did it twice (1974 sweep and four straight from 1976-1977), Richard Petty (1975 sweep), Dale Earnhardt also did twice (1985 sweep and 1987 sweep), Alan Kulwicki (1992 sweep), Rusty Wallace (2000 sweep), Kurt Busch (2003 sweep and 2004 Spring race), Kyle Busch has also done it twice (2009 sweep and Fall 2017-Spring 2018) and
Brad Keselowski (Fall 2011-Spring 2012).
Hamlin has made 33 series starts at Bristol, posting three wins, 10 top fives and 17 top 10s.
Looking For More: Former Bristol winners to watch this weekend
Bristol Motor Speedway has hosted 123 NASCAR Cup Series races producing 44 different winners since 1961. This weekend, six of the 44 NASCAR Cup Series Bristol Motor Speedway race winners are entered in the Food City 500 and will be looking to add to their win totals this weekend.
| Active Bristol Winners (6) | Wins | Seasons |
| Kyle Busch | 8 | 2019, ’18, ’17, ’11, ’10, ’09 sweep, ’07 |
| Brad Keselowski | 3 | 2020, ’12, ’11 |
| Denny Hamlin | 3 | 2023, ’19, ’12 |
| Joey Logano | 2 | 2015, ’14 |
| Chris Buescher | 1 | 2022 |
| Kyle Larson | 1 | 2021 |
After his runner-up finish last weekend at Phoenix Raceway, RFK Racing Chris Buescher is definitely one to watch this weekend at Bristol. Buscher has made 14 series starts at Bristol, posting one win (2022), three top fives and four top 10s.
No Luck: Logano needs a good finish at Bristol
Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano is not having the start of the 2024 season he was hoping for. The Team Penske veteran has finished 28th or worse in three of the first four races of the season, and Logano finds himself mired (30th) in the points – the worst points position through the first four races of a season since his rookie year in 2009, when he was 33rd after the fourth race of the year.
Luckily for Joey Logano the NASCAR Cup Series is heading to Bristol Motor Speedway, a track he has found success at before. In 27 series starts at Bristol, he has accumulated two wins, six top fives and 10 top 10s. Logano will have his work cut out for him this weekend though, in the two Next Gen car races on the concrete surface at Bristol, he has finished 27th due to a suspension failure in 2022 and 34th due to being caught in an incident in 2023.
Sunoco Rookie Spotlight: Spire Motorsport’s Carson Hocevar is off to quick start
Four races into the season and Spire Motorsport’s rookie Carson Hocevar is off to a fast start. He leads the 2024 Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings by 22 points over Stewart-Haas Racing’s Josh Berry in second.
In four starts this season, Hocevar has won the Sunoco Rookie of the Race Award twice after posting two top-15 finishes. He currently ranks 24th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings.
Keep an eye on Hocevar this weekend as well, the Michigan native made his series track debut at Bristol last season, and he started 16th and drove up to an 11th-place finish.
Of the four rookies this season, Hocevar, Berry, Zane Smith and Kaz Grala, Hocevar is the only one to have made a previous start at Bristol. Berry, Smith and Grala will be making their series track debuts at the ‘Word’s Fastest Half Mile’ this weekend.
NASCAR Cup Series, Etc.
Josh Berry heads home to Tennessee – A total of 109 different drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Tennessee, but currently there is only one active in the NASCAR Cup Series and that is Stewart-Haas Racing’s Josh Berry from Hendersonville.
Of the 109 Tennessee NASCAR drivers, only 15 have won a NASCAR national series race, and only two have won a NASCAR Cup Series race in Tennessee – Darrell Waltrip (Bristol, 12 wins; Nashville, eight wins) and Joe Lee Johnson (Nashville, one win). This weekend, Berry look to become just the third driver from Tennessee to win at a track in Tennessee in Cup Series history.
This Sunday will be Josh Berry’s NASCAR Cup Series track debut at Bristol, but he has made three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the half-mile track posting one top-10 finish.
More than 20 years since a first-time winner at Bristol – Veterans have been gobbling up the wins at Bristol the last 20 years or so, as there hasn’t been a first-time winner at the track since 2002. Big names have earned their first career NASCAR Cup Series win at Bristol Motor Speedway including Dale Earnhardt (April 1, 1979), Rusty Wallace (April 6, 1986), Ernie Irvan (March 25, 1990), Elliott Sadler (March 25, 2001) and Kurt Busch (March 24, 2002).
Will we see a new winner this weekend? A total of 12 different drivers (33% of the drivers entered this weekend) are looking for their first career NASCAR Cup Series victory; including Josh Berry, Harrison Burton, Ty Gibbs, Todd Gilliland, Noah Gragson, Kaz Grala, Daniel Hemric, Carson Hocevar, Corey Lajoie, John H. Nemechek, Ryan Preece, Zane Smith.
Toyota makes history at Phoenix – At Phoenix Raceway last weekend Toyota became the first manufacturer to have five different drivers lead 50 laps or more in a single NASCAR Cup Series race (Phoenix-1, 2024).
The five Toyota drivers that led laps at Phoenix Raceway are Denny Hamlin (68), Tyler Reddick (68), Ty Gibbs (57), Martin Truex Jr. (55), Christopher Bell (50).
Consistency Counts: Four drivers have completed 100% of their laps attempted – Heading into the fifth race of the season only four drivers have managed to complete every lap and finish on the lead lap of the first four races of the year – Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr. and William Byron.
Six drivers scored their best career finish at Bristol last September – The last time the NASCAR Cup Series competed at Bristol Motor Speedway, six different drivers scored their career-best finish at the half-mile track; including Denny Hamlin (winner), Christopher Bell (third), Ty Gibbs (fifth), Michael McDowell (sixth), Carson Hocevar (11th), Todd Gilliland (16th).
Upcoming Cup Series Milestones: Bristol Motor Speedway – Below are a list of the upcoming milestones to watch for in the NASCAR Cup Series:
Starts
- Bubba Wallace will be making his 225th NASCAR Cup Series career start at Circuit of The Americas in a few weeks.
- Christopher Bell will be making his 150th NASCAR Cup Series career start at Circuit of The Americas in a few weeks.
- Joey Logano is expected to make his 550th NASCAR Cup Series career start at Richmond Raceway. He will become the 39th different driver to reach 550 or more Cup Series starts.
- Chris Buescher is expected to make his 300th NASCAR Cup Series career start at Richmond Raceway.
Wins
- If Martin Truex Jr. wins a race this season, he will tie Brad Keselowski for 24th on the all-time Cup Series wins list with 35 wins.
- If Kyle Larson wins another race this season, he will reach 25 career wins, becoming the 36th different driver all-time in the NASCAR Cup Series to reach 25 victories.
- If the Wood Brothers Racing organization wins this season, it will their 100th NASCAR Cup Series victory, they currently have 99 wins in the series.
Laps Led
The following NASCAR Cup Series drivers can reach milestones in laps led this weekend:
| Lap Leaders | Laps Led | Next Milestone | Laps Led Needed |
| Erik Jones | 827 | 1,000 | 173 |
| Kyle Larson | 7,761 | 8,000 | 239 |
| Ryan Blaney | 3,746 | 4,000 | 254 |
| William Byron | 2,640 | 3,000 | 360 |
| AJ Allmendinger | 631 | 1,000 | 369 |
| Chris Buescher | 609 | 1,000 | 391 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 562 | 1,000 | 438 |
| Joey Logano | 8,554 | 9,000 | 446 |
| Bubba Wallace | 537 | 1,000 | 463 |
The Breakfast Club to perform Food City 500 pre-race concert at Bristol – America’s favorite 1980s tribute band, The Breakfast Club, will perform the pre-race concert for the Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday afternoon, March 17, at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The Breakfast Club covers all the greatest hits from the 1980s and is the perfect fit for this pre-race concert given the throwback theme of the race weekend. Some of the artists the band covers include Duran Duran, The Cure, INXS, Beastie Boys, Journey, The Cars, Modern English, Prince, Simple Minds and Wang Chung, to name a few.
“Our guests are going to have a blast singing along with The Breakfast Club as they get revved up for the start of the Food City 500,” said Jerry Caldwell, president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway. “Their catalog of songs is so deep and it’s all of the very best tunes from the 1980s. This weekend we are back on the concrete on the racetrack and at the same time, we are taking our guests back in time with some activities at the track and this band certainly fits the bill to accomplish that.”
The pre-race concert will run from 1:30-2:30 p.m. live from the pre-race stage in the infield near the start/finish line and lead straight into pre-race ceremonies, which will include driver introductions for the Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race.
