Following Denny Hamlin's second straight win this season at Darlington, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday for the running of the Food City 500.
This week's stop at Bristol will be the ninth race of the season and will be the first of two stops at the Last Great Coliseum with the series returning for the Round of 16 cutoff race in the playoffs in September. Concerned that rubber will not be laid down, NASCAR will use PJ1 Trackbite traction compound in an effort to increase passing opportunities and tire falloff.
So, let's dive right into the Food City 500 with the starting lineup after qualifying as well as all the info about the TV broadcast, start time and more than fans need to know ahead of the green flag.
Food City 500 starting lineup: Full NASCAR qualifying results
Here's a look at the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying results at Bristol and the Food City 500 starting lineup as a result.
Food City 500 Starting Position | NASCAR Cup Series Driver |
|---|---|
1st | Alex Bowman |
2nd | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
3rd | Kyle Larson |
4th | Denny Hamlin |
5th | Ryan Blaney |
6th | Ty Gibbs |
7th | Christopher Bell |
8th | AJ Allmendinger |
9th | Carson Hocevar |
10th | Justin Haley |
11th | Josh Berry |
12th | Ty Dillon |
13th | Michael McDowell |
14th | Chase Briscoe |
15th | Kyle Busch |
16th | Brad Keselowski |
17th | Austin Dillon |
18th | Zane Smith |
19th | Jesse Love |
20th | Chase Elliott |
21st | Austin Cindric |
22nd | Bubba Wallace |
23rd | Daniel Suarez |
24th | Chris Buescher |
25th | Riley Herbst |
26th | William Byron |
27th | Tyler Reddick |
28th | Erik Jones |
29th | Ryan Preece |
30th | Todd Gilliland |
31st | Noah Gragson |
32nd | John Hunter Nemechek |
33rd | Cole Custer |
34th | Cody Ware |
35th | Ross Chastain |
36th | Shane van Gisbergen |
37th | Corey LaJoie |
38th | Joey Logano |
39th | Josh Bilicki |
Alex Bowman is on the pole for Sunday's race at Bristol. With a fast lap of 14.912 seconds (128.675 mph), the Hendrick Motorsports driver claimed his second consecutive pole at the 0.533-mile short track and ran the fastest lap at Bristol since the Next Gen Car's inception in 2022. Hyak Motorsports' Ricky Stenhouse Jr. qualified second, followed by Bowman's teammate Kyle Larson (third), Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin (fourth) and Team Penske's Ryan Blaney (fifth).
Notables outside the top 10 in qualifying include Kyle Busch (15th), Jesse Love (19th), Chase Elliott (20th), William Byron (26th) and Joey Logano (38th). Busch spun off Turn 4 on his second lap of qualifying while Logano got loose off Turn 2 and made right rear contact with the outside wall. Love is making his first career Cup Series start on Sunday for Richard Childress Racing.
NASCAR race start time today: When does the Food City 500 green flag wave?
Sunday's race at Bristol will begin shortly after 3 p.m. ET for the Food City 500. According to AccuWeather, the temperature is forecasted to be around 60 degrees on Sunday with sunshine and a few clouds. There is a slight chance of a passing shower.
Food City 500 stages explained
Here is what the stage breakdown looks like based on the number of laps being run in the Food City 500:
Food City 500 Stage | Lap Number When Points Awarded |
|---|---|
Stage 1 | 125 |
Stage 2 | 250 |
Final Stage | 500 |
For those who don't know, most of the points for the season-long NASCAR Cup Series standings will be awarded for the final stage. Stages 1 and 2, though, give teams two additional opportunities to score points, as well as extra breaks for pit stops (and for the TV product, commercial breaks).
Ten points go to the stage winners, and the remainder of the top 10 receive points in decreasing order with the 10th-place finisher getting one point. The stage victories and additional points can prove valuable throughout the season as drivers try to qualify for the 10-race playoffs that begin at Darlington Raceway on Aug. 31
Food City 500 TV channel, broadcast and streaming info
The NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol on Sunday will be broadcast on FS1 with the pre-race coverage of the Food City 500 beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET and the race starting shortly after 3 p.m. ET. Fans can also catch the race on PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and streaming on Max.