The Cup Series is heading to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500. Can Denny Hamlin match his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell and win three in a row, or can Kyle Larson redeem himself from his Darlington mistakes and sweep the weekend?
NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway Preview
Last year, we had one of the greatest Next-Gen races ever, with Goodyear bringing a tire that wore incredibly fast and Denny Hamlin prevailing over the field. While Goodyear brought the same tire in the fall, the results were not the same. That one-off tire put on the greatest show at Bristol we have seen since the inception of the new car.
This year, we are talking again about Denny Hamlin. He is coming off two wins in a row, Martinsville and Darlington, and if he can hold on for a third win in a row.
Race Preview:
The Food City 500 is the ninth race of the 2025 Cup Series season. The 500 lap race is 250 miles long, with stage cautions on laps 125 and 250. The final stage will end on lap 500. The purse money for this race is $11,055,250.
With the strange tire Goodyear brought last year, this year, they are going to a tire that was run at the night race in 2023. The right-side tires are unique to Bristol, while the left sides are also run at Dover.
The Track: Bristol Motor Speedway
Known by many nicknames, “The Last Great Coliseum,” “Worlds Fastest Half-Mile,” or “Thunder Valley,” there is nowhere like Bristol Motor Speedway. Built in 1961, the Bristol Motor Speedway is a 0.5-mile asphalt oval. Its 4 turns are progressively banked, with the bottom groove with 24 degrees of banking and increasing as you move towards the wall to max out at 28 degrees. The straight aways have between 4 and 8 degrees.
The first Cup Series race at Bristol was in 1961, with Jack Smith winning the race in his ’61 Pontiac. There have been 125 races run at Bristol since 1961. Darrell Waltrip holds the wins record with 12 wins, and Kyle Busch, like the Xfinity and Truck Series, holds the active wins record at eight. Kyle Larson set the lap record in 2018 with a 14.94-second lap.
Cup Series Points Standings:
Here are the top ten in the Cup Series points standings following Darlington Raceway:
1. William Byron: 315
2. Denny Hamlin: 266
3. Christopher Bell: 263
4. Chase Elliott: 256
5. Tyler Reddick: 254
6. Kyle Larson: 244
7. Ryan Blaney: 236
8. Bubba Wallace: 233
9. Joey Logano: 232
10. Alex Bowman: 227
Drivers To Watch:
We have some notable drivers joining the field for the Food City 500. Corey Lajoie is in the #01 Ford for Rick Ware Racing, his second start of his part-time schedule in 2025. Josh Bilicki is in the #66 for Carl Long and Garage66. Xfinity star Jesse Love is making his first Cup Series start, driving the #33 Chevy for Richard Childress Racing.
READ MORE: Jesse Love To Make Cup Debut with Richard Childress Racing at Bristol
We have mentioned Denny Hamlin. The winner of the last two races and the winner of the previous Food City 500. He’s got the momentum and the ability to wheel a car to victory around Bristol. I think Denny is your top Toyota this Sunday.
Kyle Larson won the night race in 2024. Was it a bad tire that prohibited passing, or was it just a straight-up dominant run? Larson will have the most seat time of any driver, running both Xfinity and Trucks before Sunday’s cup race, in an attempt to join Kyle Busch as the only drivers to sweep a weekend. Larson is consistently the top Chevy, but Darlington was a huge mistake for him and the #5 team. Look for the #5 Chevy to be up front for the bowties.
Roush-Fenway-Keselowski Racing has been great this year. With Buescher and Preece consistently running up front. Buescher won the night race back in 2022 and finished seventh last year. Preece is a little bit of a longer shot to be the top Ford. He finished 14th in 2024, but that was in Stewart-Haas Racing equipment. I think Buescher has the potential to pick up a win for RFK and Ford this weekend.
How To Watch The Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway:
Here is the weekend schedule for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway:
- Saturday, April 12th
- Practice and Qualifying:
- 2:00 PM, Eastern Time
- Coverage is on Amazon Prime Sports; radio coverage is on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
- Practice and Qualifying:
- Sunday, April 13th
- The Food City 500
- 3:00 PM Eastern Time
- Coverage is on FS1; radio coverage is on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
- The Food City 500
Stay connected with Last Word on Motorsports for all the updates from the Food City 500 and the NASCAR Cup Series
Featured Image Credit: Meg Oliphant, Getty Images. 3/17/2024
