Denny Hamlin wins battle of NASCAR Cup tire managers at Bristol: How appropriate. On a day where tire management was the essential element in a NASCAR Cup Series race, three veterans swept the podium positions, with Denny Hamlin winning Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. In a race that produced 54 lead changes—a record for Cup Series short tracks—Hamlin lost the lead briefly to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps but regained it in traffic and beat Truex to the finish line by 1.083 seconds.[Read More]
#11-Denny Hamlin won the Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The win is his 1st win of the year, 4th at Bristol and 52nd career win.
#19-Martin Truex, Jr. finished 2nd followed by #6-Brad Keselowski, #48-Alex Bowman #5-Kyle Larson, #42-John Hunter Nemechek, #17-Chris Buescher, #9-Chase Elliott, #54-Ty Gibbs, and #20-Christopher Bell.
Pole winner #12-Ryan Blaney finished 16th.
The story of the day was tire management. Goodyear brought back the same tires as last fall, but they would not rubber the track, causing a number of failures and cording. NASCAR allowed teams to all get an additional set of tires during the race. Drivers were forced to manage the tires as they fell off dramatically after 40 laps.
Just five drivers finished on the lead lap.
Stage 1 and 2 were both won by #54-Ty Gibbs.
There were a NASCAR short track-record 54 lead changes among 16 drivers and 9 cautions for 98 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 79.678mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.
Race Fast Facts – Bristol:
Denny Hamlin won the Food City 500, his 52nd victory in 655 Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in 2024.
This is his fourth victory and 18th top-10 finish in 34 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Martin Truex Jr. (second) posted his fifth top-10 finish in 34 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his third top-10 finish in 2024.
Brad Keselowski (third) posted his 10th top-10 finish in 26 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Josh Berry (12th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Kyle Larson leads the point standings by 0 points over Martin Truex Jr..
There were a track record high of 54 lead changes, the most since April 14, 1991 (40), and the number of leaders matched the previous record of 16 (April 9, 1989).
(NASCAR)
Cup Series Playoff Standings after Bristol:
Race 5 of 26 in the regular season
1) #5-Kyle Larson [1 win], 185
2) #11-Denny Hamlin [1 win], 173
3) #20-Christopher Bell [1 win], 138
4) #24-William Byron [1 win], 136
5) #99-Daniel Suarez [1 win], 133
6) #19-Martin Truex, Jr., 185 [points leader]
7) #54-Ty Gibbs, 178, -7
8) #12-Ryan Blaney, 177, -8
9) #9-Chase Elliott, 152, -33
10) #1-Ross Chastain, 151, -34
11) #45-Tyler Reddick, 137, -48
12) #48-Alex Bowman, 132, -53
13) #6-Brad Keselowski, 125, -60
14) #17-Chris Buescher, 124, -61
15) #42-John Hunter Nemechek, 124, -61
16) #8-Kyle Busch, 122, -63
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.
Race updates:
Checkered flag: #11-Denny Hamlin wins at Bristol in an amazing race.
Lap 499 – White flag for Hamlin.
Lap 496 – 5 to go. Hamlin continues to lead Truex by .4 second.
Lap 491 – 10 to go. Hamlin over Truex by .4 second.
Lap 486 – 15 laps remaining. Hamlin leads. Truex is right with him as they continue to be mired in lap traffic. Truex briefly took the lead at the line on the last lap. Third place Keselowski is not making up any ground.
Lap 476 – No change up front. Hamlin and Truex working through tons of lap traffic.
Lap 471 – 30 laps to go. Hamlin and Truex still up front. Third place Keselowski is still 6.7 seconds back.
Lap 464 – Keselowski gets around Berry for third.
Lap 460 – Hamlin leads Truex by 1.4 second. Third place Berry is 6.7 seconds back. Keselowski is 7.5 seconds back.
Lap 455 – With pit stops complete, the top 5 are Hamlin, Truex, Berry, Larson, and Buescher.
Lap 453 – Bowman pits and Hamlin retakes the lead.
Lap 452 – Bowman to the lead at Keselowski pits.
Lap 450 – Keselowski takes the lead at Truex pits.
Lap 449 – Hamlin pits from the lead. Truex takes the lead.
Lap 448 – Gibbs with a tire down and he pits. Others in include Nemechek, Logano, Hemric, Elliott.
Lap 445 – Suarez, LaJoie, Gilliland, LaJoie, Buescher pit.
Lap 441 – Bell pits with a flat tire. Briscoe pitted a couple laps earlier.
Lap 440 – Hamlin, Truex, Keselowski, Bowman, Elliott the top 5.
Lap 435 – Larson pits under green. Blaney follows him down pit road with a flat tire.
Lap 433 – Gibbs makes contact with the wall as his tires fade. He’s back to 4th.
Lap 429 – Josh Berry pits under green.
Lap 426 – 75 laps to go. Tires starting to fall away and lap times have slowed dramatically. Hamlin takes the lead from Gibbs.
Lap 400 – Gibbs back to the front. Bell up to second, then Hamlin, Truex, and Keselowski.
Lap 380 – Green flag. 121 laps to go. Hamlin the leader.
Lap 374 – Pit stops underway again. Off pit road: Hamlin, Bell, Gibbs, Larson, Truex, Keselowski, Blaney, Haley, Wallace, McDowell. Equipment interference penalty for Larson.
Lap 368 – Caution is out. #2-Cindric and #47-Stenhouse spin. This will allow everyone to pit for more tires. 133 laps remaining.
Lap 366 – Hamlin takes the lead from Gibbs. It’s Hamlin’s 8th time out front today.
Lap 364 – #10-Gragson also into the wall. No caution.
Lap 362 – #31-Hemric hit the wall, but the race stays green.
Lap 351 – 150 laps remaining. Gibbs continues to lead. He’s been out front for 96 laps today. Then Hamlin, Bell, Larson, and Keselowski.
Lap 324 – Ty Gibbs gets the lead back from Hamlin.
Lap 323 – Green flag back out. 178 laps remaining.
Lap 317 – Everyone is back in the pits.Hamlin wins the race off pit road this time. Then Bell, Gibbs, Larson, and Truex.
Lap 311 – Caution for #4-Berry. He spun and got close to the outside wall, but continued.
Lap 301 – Down to 200 laps remaining. Current top 5: Truex, Bell, Gibbs, Nemechek, Hamlin.
Lap 286 – Truex, Jr back out front for the 5th time.
Lap 283 – Gibbs continues to lead Truex, Bell Nemechek, and Larson. The race seems to have settled down a bit as drivers know they need to save tires for the rest of the race.
Lap 265 – Green for the start of the final stage. Still 235 laps remaining. Gibbs is the leader. NASCAR has now released the extra set of tires to teams.
Lap 257 – Pit road open and most everyone is back in for tires and fuel. Gibbs off pit road first, then Logano, Truex, Bell, Gilliland, Nemechek, Keselowski, Chastain, Wallace, Larson. Cindric and Keselowski make contact on pit road.
Lap 251 – Caution for the end of stage 2. Top 10: #54-Gibbs, #6-Keselowski, #22-Logano, #42-Nemechek, #20-Bell, #19-Truex, #11-Hamlin, #5-Larson, #23-Wallace, #41-Preece.
Lap 250 – Gibbs back to the lead.
Lap 245 – Logano becomes the 14th different leader.
Lap 241 – Bell takes the lead again.
Lap 240 – Green flag with 10 laps remaining in stage 2.
Lap 235 – Pit road is finally open after a lengthy track cleanup. Virtually everyone pits. Many teams putting scuff tires on. Off pit road: Bell, Nemechek, Logano, Hamlin, Larson, Truex, Grala, Blaney, Gibbs, Keselowski. LaJoie and Hocevar are now up front. They did not pit.
Lap 228 – Caution is out. #8-Busch spins in turn 2, but is able to continue.
Lap 225 – #19-Truex, Jr. takes the lead for the 3rd time today. Now 32 lead changes among 12 drivers.
Lap 203 – Fox reports that Goodyear will issue all teams one additional set of tires once they are all mounted, but there will be no more than that.
Lap 200 – It’s #20-Bell’s turn to lead the race today. He gets around Buescher.
Lap 190 – Green flag is back out. Buescher and Truex up front.
Lap 182 – Leaders back on pit road for service. Tires and fuel all around. Off pit road: #17-Buescher, #54-Gibbs, #19-Truex, #20-Bell, #38-Gilliland, #5-Larson, #22-Logano, #6-Keselowski, #42-Nemechek, #4-Berry. Penalty for Ty Gibbs: equipment interference. He will have to fall to the rear.
Lap 176 – Caution out for the 5th time today. Hemric, Stenhouse, and Zane Smith bounce off one another.
Lap 172 – Gibbs back out front for the 5th time today.
Lap 167 – Larson takes the lead from Hamlin.
Lap 160 – Hamlin to the lead.
Lap 158 – Another lead change with Gibbs back to the front.
Lap 155 – Larson out front for the second time today.
Lap 151 – Gibbs back to the lead.
Lap 148 – #19-Truex, Jr goes to the lead for the first time today. There have already been 20 lead changes among 10 drivers today.
Lap 142 – Gibbs retakes the lead.
Lap 141 – Green flag for the start of stage 2. Stage 2 ends after lap 250. Goodyear is mounting more tires so teams can have an additional set during the race.
Lap 132 – Leader pit during the stage break. Larson off pit road first, then Gibbs, Keselowski, Blaney, Buescher, Nemechek.
Lap 126 – Stage 1 top 10: #54-Gibbs, #5-Larson, #17-Buescher, #6-Keselowski, #42-Nemechek, #1-Truex, #12-Blaney, #41-Preece, #4-Berry, and #20-Bell.
Lap 124 – Caution is out. Hamlin and Busch with separate tire issues. Busch is backing around the track. Stage 1 will end under caution.
Lap 121 – #54-Gibbs takes the lead for the first time today. Larson is up to second.
Lap 108 – Josh Berry made contact with the wall. He’s dropping back.
Lap 101 – 100 laps complete. Hamlin leads Busch Blaney Elliott and Keselowski. 25 laps remaining in stage 1.
Lap 90 – Hamlin retakes the lead from Blaney.
Lap 84 – Ryan Blaney back to the lead.
Lap 80 – Green flag back out. Hamlin and Blaney up front.
Lap 75 – Leaders are back on pit road for the second time today. Off pit road: Hamlin, Blaney, Elliott, Busch, Keselowski.
Lap 74 – Under caution it’s #8-Busch, #12-Blaney, #11-Hamlin, #9-Elliott, #6-Keselowski, #5-Larson, #23-Wallace, #14-Briscoe, #20-Bell and #48-Bowman.
Lap 71 – Caution for tire debris from #71-Zane Smith.
Lap 70 – Another new leader as #8-Busch takes the lead.
Lap 66 – Now it’s #12-Blaney back out front as he gets around Elliott. #8-Busch now up to second. Elliott falls to fourth.
Lap 62 – #9-Chase Elliott now takes the lead from Hamlin and Blaney moves to second.
Lap 54 – Hamlin takes the lead from Wallace.
Lap 53 – Bubba Wallace continues to lead but Hamlin is up to second with Blaney third.
Lap 41 – All cars involved in the last caution have met minimum speed.
Lap 38 – Green back out with Wallace and Berry up front.
Lap 32 – Back to green. #23-Wallace takes the lead and the caution is right back out for an accident involving #45-Reddick, #77-Hocevar, #4-Berry, #31-Hemric, #15-Grala, #38-Gilliland, #47-Stenhouse, #22-Logano, #23-Wallace, #7-LaJoie, #2-Cindric, and #16-Allmendinger.
Lap 26 – Leaders hit pit road for service. #45-Reddick stayed out. Possible contact on pit road between #23-Wallace and #9-Elliott.
Lap 23 – Caution is out after #24-Byron got into the wall and put debris on the track. Byron on pit road with a broken toe link.
Lap 22 – #11-Hamlin to the lead.
Lap 3 – Josh Berry takes the lead from Blaney.
3:49pmet – Green flag at Bristol. #12-Blaney and #4-Berry on the front row.
3:39pm/et – Engines have been fired after a command by Kyle Petty, Richard Petty, Richard Childress, and Joe Gibbs.
3:30pm/et – Pre-race ceremonies are underway.
3:19pm/et – Just about 10 minutes until pre-race ceremonies get underway. Still no cars to the rear.
12:07pm/et – Currently no cars to the rear today.
Broadcast: FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 500 laps / 266.5 miles
Stages: 125 / 250 / 500
Average time of race: 3:14:02
Pit road speed: 30 mph
Caution car speed: 35 mph
Fuel Window: 190 laps
Timing (all times local & subject to change)
- Drivers report to The Drivers Meeting by 2:40 p.m.
- Red Carpet Walk at 2:50 p.m.
- Driver Introductions will begin promptly at 3:00 p.m.
- Invocation: 3:30:20 p.m.
- National Anthem: 3:31:00 p.m.
- Command: 3:38:00 p.m.
- Green Flag: 3:47:00 p.m.
Paint Schemes
Cars to the rear: none
Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway have been made.
Pole winner #12-Ryan Blaney chose pit stall 1.
Outside pole sitter #4-Josh Berry took the 23rd stall, the final stall on the backstretch.
See all pit choices on the Bristol Pit Stall page.
#12-Ryan Blaney won the Busch pole for the Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway with a speed of 124.954mph for his 1st pole of the year, 1st at Bristol and 10th of his career.
#4-Josh Berry will start second followed by #11-Denny Hamlin#22-Joey Logano, #9-Chase Elliott, #14-Chase Briscoe, #34-Michael McDowell, #24-William Byron, #23-Bubba Wallace, and #5-Kyle Larson.
See the complete qualifying results and the Food City 500 Starting Lineup.
Bristol Motor Speedway – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Ryan Blaney won the Pole Award for the Food City 500 with a lap of 15.356 seconds, 124.954 mph.
This is his 10th pole in 311 NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and second top-10 start in 2024.
This is his first pole in 15 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Josh Berry # (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2024 and his first in one race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Denny Hamlin (third) posted his 20th top-10 start at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his third in five races this season.
Josh Berry (second) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR)
Qualifying Order
Practice for the Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is over. The results:
#12-Ryan Blaney 127.681
#8-Kyle Busch 126.988
#23-Bubba Wallace 126.921
#1-Ross Chastain 126.904
#22-Joey Logano 126.862
Slowest: #15-Kaz Grala 117.956
Most laps run: #23-Bubba Wallace, 56 laps.
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 29 drivers): #12-Ryan Blaney 125.713mph.
Notes: #54-Ty Gibbs scraped the wall during Group B practice. The top 5 drivers were all in Group A practice.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Food City 500 Practice speeds page.
Crew Rosters
The entry list for the Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is posted, 36 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
See the full entry list on the Food City 500 Entry List page.
Goodyear Fast Facts — Bristol Motor Speedway
Race rules and information:
