NASCAR Cup Series News & Notes – Bristol Motor Speedway

NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Food City 500
The Place: Bristol Motor Speedway
Track Length: 0.533 Mile Concrete Oval
The Date: Sunday, April 13
The Time: 3 p.m. ET
The Purse: $11,055,250
TV: FS1, 1:30 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 266.5 miles (500 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 125),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 250), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 500)

Where To Watch NASCAR This Week:

 Friday, April 11

NCTS Practice & Kennametal Pole Qualifying (FS2 at 3:30 p.m. ET)

NCTS Race: Weather Guard Truck Race (FS1, NRN, SiriusXM at 7:30 p.m. ET)

Saturday, April 12

NXS Practice & Kennametal Pole Qualifying (The CW App at 11:30 a.m. ET)

NCS Practice & Busch Light Pole Qualifying (Amazon Prime, PRN, SiriusXM at 2 p.m. ET)

NXS Race: SciAps 300 (The CW, PRN, SiriusXM at 5 p.m. ET)

Sunday, April 13

NCS Race: Food City 500 (FS1, PRN, SiriusXM at 3 p.m. ET)

Bristol Storylines and Insights:

• This weekend marks the 126th running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• This weekend, nine of the 55 NASCAR Cup Series Bristol Motor Speedway pole winners are entered in the race.

• Denny Hamlin (3) and Kyle Larson (2) have combined to win five of the last eight Bristol races.
• Denny Hamlin won four times at Bristol; three of his four wins came in the last eight races.
• Six of the 44 NASCAR Cup Series Bristol Motor Speedway race winners are entered in this weekend’s race.

• Kyle Larson led 462 of the 500 laps led at Bristol last September, the most ever led by a Hendrick Motorsports driver in a Cup race.
• 462 of Hendrick Motorsports’ 577 laps led at Bristol in the Next Gen car came last September by Kyle Larson.
• This race last year had a track record 54 lead changes, the fall race had eight (the fewest in the last 29 races there).
• No driver failed to finish due to an accident in this race at Bristol last year, the first time since May 1983.
• There were 16 leaders in this race last year, tied for the most in a short track race since 1989.
• None of the last 16 races at Bristol ended in overtime; the last Bristol overtime race was in April 2015.
• Last September’s Bristol race saw 36 laps of caution, the fewest for a race here since April 1984 (19).
• A driver swept the stages in each of the last three Bristol races; Kyle Larson last September was the only driver ever at Bristol to sweep both stages and win.
• There was only one caution free stage in the stage era of racing at Bristol.
• The driver leading the most laps won five of the last six Bristol races.
• The final green flag stretch was at least 121 laps in each of the last three Bristol races and at least 57 laps in each of the last six.
• There were only five cautions at Bristol last September, tied for the fewest in the last 78 races there.
• Each of the last 22 races at Bristol were won by a driver with at least 200 prior Cup Series starts.
• Kyle Larson finished top-10 in 10 of his last 11 Bristol starts including top-fives in all five races there with Hendrick Motorsports.
• Four drivers finished top-10 in the four Bristol races in the Gen 7 car: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott.
• Five drivers finished top-10 in both races at Bristol last year: Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott.
• Three of the five drivers to finish top-10 in both Bristol races last year are Hendrick Motorsports drivers: Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott.
• Joe Gibbs Racing drivers led 957 of the 2,000 laps raced at Bristol in the Gen 7 car (48%).
• Kyle Busch’s eight Bristol wins rank fifth all-time but he finished 20th or worse in each of the last five races there.
• Ty Gibbs’ 239 laps led at Bristol are his most led at a track, he led over 100 laps in two of the last three races there.
• Teams swept the top-two finishing positions in both races at Bristol in 2024: Joe Gibbs Racing in March and Hendrick Motorsports in September.
• Denny Hamlin will make his 400th consecutive start at Bristol, the 29th to ever do so in the Cup Series and third active driver.
• Six drivers ended winless streaks of 50+ races at Bristol, more than any other short track in Cup Series history.
• The polesitter finished second in each of the last three races this year, the longest such streak since May 1972.
• Denny Hamlin has tied Kyle Busch for most wins among Joe Gibbs Racing drivers at 56.
• Joey Logano is one of only two defending champions without a top-five finish through the season’s first 8 races (Bill Elliott – 1989)
• Two full-time teams don’t have a DNF yet in 2025: Hyak Motorsports and Legacy Motor Club.
• The 205 lead lap finishers in 2025 are the most ever through the first eight races of a season.
• 2025 is the first time since 2018 that five different teams won the pole in the first eight races of the season.
• Joe Gibbs Racing is the third organization in history to win five of the first eight races in a season and the first two do it twice (Richard Childress Racing – 1987, Hendrick Motorsports – 2007, Joe Gibbs Racing – 2019, 2025).
• Denny Hamlin can become the third oldest driver to win three consecutive Cup races, and the oldest since Harry Gant in September 1991.
• Josh Berry accounts for two of Ford’s six top-five finishes in 2025 including the only win.
• Ford’s six top fives are their fewest since 1981 (6) and their 20 top-10s are their fewest since 2016 (14).
• 2024 NASCAR Cup Champion Joey Logano’s 260 laps led in 2025 are the most for a driver through the first eight races without a top-five finish since 2016 (Matt Kenseth – 306).
• Bubba Wallace’s 78 stage points through eight races in 2025 are his most ever at this point in a season by 36 points.
• Three races ended with a last lap pass in 2025, tied for the most ever through eight races with 2014.
• Ryan Blaney ranks second in 2025 in stage points earned (85), 36% of his total points this season came from stages.
• Three full-time drivers have yet to score stage points in 2025: Justin Haley, Riley Herbst and Cody Ware.
• William Byron leads all drivers with 354 laps led in 2025, the fewest by the driver leading the most laps after eight races in a season since Jim Paschal’s 220 in 1963.
• Three drivers finished on the lead lap in all eight races in 2205: Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick.

NASCAR & Bristol, Etc.

Historical & Significant Events at Bristol Motor Speedway:

• Groundbreaking for Bristol International Speedway, as Bristol Motor Speedway was originally known, took place in 1960.
• The track was built by Bowling operator Larry Carrier, Kingsport businessman Carl Moore and construction company owner R.G. Pope and the track measured an exact half-mile.
• The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway was on July 30, 1961, and the inaugural event was won by Jack Smith with relief from Johnny Allen. Smith had a three lap lead when Allen took over and Allen built the lead to as many as six laps.
• Also in 1961, the NFL’s Washington Redskins took on the Philadelphia Eagles in a pre-season game at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Eagles won, 17-10.
• In 1969 the track was dug up and reshaped and the banking significantly increased. Starting in July 1969 the track was measured at .533 miles.
• Financial problems led to sale of the track after the 1976 season to Nashville accountant and attorney Gary Baker and his partner Lanny Hester.
• All of the NASCAR Cup Series races at Bristol have been scheduled for 500 laps, except for both races in 1976 and the second in 1977, which were 400 laps each.
• The name changed to Bristol International Raceway in 1978.
• The first night race was held in the fall of 1978.
• In 1982 and in 1985 the track underwent ownership changes. In 1982 California businessman Warner Hodgdon began buying into teams and tracks. In 1982 he bought out Hester and in 1983 Baker’s half. In 1985 Hodgdon declared bankruptcy. Larry Carrier stepped in to run the track.
• The surface was changed from asphalt to concrete in 1992, becoming the first track on the schedule to be completely surfaced in concrete.
• Larry Carrier led the track for 10 years until he sold it to Speedway Motorsports for a reported $26 million in 1996. The track had a capacity of 71,000 and the Night Race was one of the Series premier events, called the ‘Toughest Ticket in Racing’.
• The track name changed again, this time to Bristol Motor Speedway in May of 1996.
• The track was resurfaced between races in 2007, and the turns were ground down in 2012 to eliminate part of the progressive banking.
• In 2016, Bristol enjoyed its “Biggest Year Yet” hosting the Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol, where border rivals Virginia Tech and the University of Tennessee played a college football game in front of an NCAA-record crowd of 156,990.
• In 2016, a special country music concert was held, featuring a trio of successful local acts. The Honda Ridgeline Bristol Tailgate featured Kenny Chesney, The Band Perry and Old Dominion in front of a crowd of more than 40,000.
• The week following the Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol, Bristol Motor Speedway held a second game in 2016, the Food City Bucs at Bristol presented by Food City. The local favorite East Tennessee State University Buccaneers upset rival Western Carolina University 34-31 in a thrilling come-from-behind victory.
• In 2020, Bristol Motor Speedway hosted the NASCAR Cup Series Open and All-Star Race for the first-time.
• In total, there have been 125 NASCAR Cup Series points-paying races at Bristol Motor Speedway since the first race in 1961, two races each season until 2021 when the track replaced their spring date with the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track (2021-2023).
• The 2024 season is the first season since 2021 that both Bristol races will be run on the concrete surface. From 2021-2023 the spring Bristol race was run a dirt surface.
• In 2025, Bristol Motor Speedway will host the first Major League Baseball game in Tennessee history inside its infield. On Aug. 2, 2025, the Atlanta Braves will play the Cincinnati Reds in an official regular season game during the MLB Speedway Classic.

Latest Track Storylines at Bristol Motor Speedway:

• Rodney Atkins, a successful country music artist from East Tennessee, will perform at the pre-race concert for the Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 13. Atkins will perform on the infield stage at Bristol Motor Speedway at 12:45 p.m., leading into the popular driver introductions, with the NASCAR Cup Series race starting at 3 p.m. ET.
• Atkins, who hails from Knoxville and was raised in Cumberland Gap, is a prominent figure in country music with eight top-five singles, over 14 million records sold, and 4 billion global streams.
• Announced this week by officials from Food City and Bristol Motor Speedway, the Voice of the Vols Bob Kesling, Big Red Machine captain Johnny Bench and Vol Network Executive Steve Early have been named dignitaries for the tradition-rich Food City 500 on Sunday.
• Kesling and Bench will serve as co-Grand Marshals for the NASCAR Cup Series race that will take the green flag on Sunday, April 13 at 3 p.m. ET at iconic Bristol Motor Speedway. They will give the command simultaneously for drivers to start their engines as the field of cars are lined up on pit road ready to begin the race.
• It was also announced that Early, Vol Network Vice President and General Manager, was named Honorary Starter for the race. He will climb into the flag stand and wave the green flag at the start of the race.
• To help race fans enjoy this weekend’s Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, track officials are making the 80-page commemorative souvenir program available for free in both printed and digital formats.
• The souvenir program will once again be available in the reformatted Broadway Play “Playbill” style size that is more convenient for fans to carry the program with them while they are at the track. A limited number of printed programs will be available to guests to pick up at a variety of locations on property during the event, including at BMS Guest Services locations, BMS souvenir stands, BMS operated camp grounds and BMS ticket booths, while supplies last.