Kyle Larson dominates in emotional NASCAR Cup Series victory at Bristol Motor Speedway: He did it for Jon. For the second straight day at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson dominated a NASCAR race and dedicated the victory to friend and PR representative Jon Edwards, who passed away suddenly during the week leading up to the race weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. On Sunday, Larson won the Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race in overwhelming fashion, leading 411 of 500 laps and sweeping both stages.[Read More]
#5-Kyle Larson won the Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The win is his 2nd win of the year, 3rd at Bristol and 31st career win.
#11-Denny Hamlin finished 2nd followed by #54-Ty Gibbs, #19-Chase Briscoe, #12-Ryan Blaney, #24-William Byron, #1-Ross Chastain, #20-Christopher Bell, #16-A.J. Allmendinger, and #3-Austin Dillon
Pole sitter #48-Alex Bowman developed engine problems near the midway point of the race, and fell out early. He finished 36th.
Larson dominated the race, leading 411 of the 500 laps. The race lasted just 2 hours, 38 minutes, and 43 seconds, the second quickest Bristol race ever.
The fastest lap bonus was earned by #16-A.J. Allmendinger.
Stages 1 and 2 were both won by #5-Kyle Larson.
There were 4 lead changes among 4 drivers and 3 cautions for 40 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was 117.703mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.
Race Fast Facts – Bristol:
Kyle Larson won the Food City 500, his 31st victory in 375 Cup Series races.
This is his second victory and sixth top-10 finish in 2025.
This is his third victory and 13th top-10 finish in 18 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Denny Hamlin (second) posted his 20th top-10 finish in 36 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his sixth top-10 finish in 2025.
Ty Gibbs (third) posted his third top-10 finish in five races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Riley Herbst (28th) was the highest finishing rookie.
William Byron leads the point standings by 30 points over Denny Hamlin.
(NASCAR)
Cup Series Playoff Standings after Bristol:
Race 9 of 36 in the season
1) #20-Christopher Bell, 3 wins, 305 points [16 playoff points]
2) #11-Denny Hamlin, 2 win, 316 [12 playoff points]
3) #5-Kyle Larson, 2 wins, 304 [14 playoff points]
4) #24-William Byron, 1 win, 346 points [regular season points leader], [8 playoff points]
5) #21-Josh Berry, 1 win, 179 points, [6 playoff points]
6) #9-Chase Elliott, 278, +80 ahead of 17th
8) #12-Ryan Blaney, 275, [2 playoff points] +77 ahead of 17th
7) #45-Tyler Reddick, 274, +76 ahead of 17th
9) #23-Bubba Wallace, 251, [1 playoff point], +53 ahead of 17th
10) #22-Joey Logano, 245, [2 playoff points], +47 ahead of 17th
11) #48-Alex Bowman, 244, +46 head of 17th
12) #17-Chris Buescher, 227, +29 ahead of 17th
13) #1-Ross Chastain, 226, +28 ahead of 17th
14) #19-Chase Briscoe, 213, +15 ahead of 17th
15) #60-Ryan Preece, 201, [1 playoff point], +3 ahead of 17th
16) #8-Kyle Busch, 200, +2 ahead of 17th
Outside the top 16:
17) #16-A.J. Allmendinger, 198, -2 behind 16th
18) #47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 176, -24 behind 16th
19) #71-Michael McDowell, 174, -26 behind 16th
20) #54-Ty Gibbs, 171, -29 behind 16th
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.
Race updates:
Checkered flag for Kyle Larson. His second win of the year. Hamlin finished second, then Gibbs, Briscoe, Blaney, Byron, Chastain, Bell, Allmedinger and ADillon.
White flag for Larson.
Lap 495 – Larson’s race to lose with 6 to go.
Lap 491- Ten to go. No change up front.
Lap 486 – Larson still in control with 15 laps remaining. He leads Hamlin by 1.6 seconds.
Lap 471 – Thirty laps to go. Larson leads Hamlin by 1.4 second. Then Gibbs, Briscoe and Byron.
Lap 551 – Fifty laps remaining. Larson over Hamlin by .5 second as they work through traffic.
Lap 445 – Larson’s lead over Hamlin is 1.2 seconds.
Lap 441 – Sixty laps remaining. Blaney pits giving the lead back to Larson. Then Hamlin, Gibbs, Briscoe, Byron, Chastain, Bell, Allmendinger, ADillon and Hocevar.
Lap434 – Reddick pits from second. Blaney is the only car on the lead lap. Larson is second.
Lap 417 – Blaney had a half lap lead on Reddick. Everyone else is at least a lap down, but Blaney and Reddick will have to pit in the next 20 or so laps.
Lap 410 – Blaney, Reddick, Wallace and Preece still out front. They have not pitted. Then Larson, Hamlin, Gibbs, Byron, Briscoe, and Bell.
Lap 402 – Blaney leads Reddick, Wallace, Preece, Stenhouse, and Larson.
Lap 393 – Blaney the leader.
Lap 391 – Green flag pit stops underway. Larson pits and Hocevar is now the leader.
Lap 384 – Bowman is official out due to engine failure.
Lap 369 – Larson leads Hamlin by 1.9 seconds. Then Gibbs, Hocevar and Blaney. 132 laps to go. 19 drivers on the lead lap.
Lap 348 – Bowman takes his car to the garage.
Lap 330 – Larson with a 2.7 second second lead over Hamlin.
Lap 301 – 300 laps complete in 1 hour and 45 minutes. Larson leads Hamlin by 1 second. Bowman reports that his engine is blowing up.
Lap 277 – Van Gisbergen goes to the garage for additional repairs.
Lap 269 – Bilicki is officially out of the race due to an electrical problem.
Lap 266 – Green flag for the start of the final stage. 235 laps remaining.
Lap 259 – Pit road is open and leaders are back in for service. Off pit road: Larson, Bowman, Hamlin, Bell, Gibbs, Hocevar, Briscoe, Haley, Blaney, Reddick.
Lap 251 – Caution out for the end of stage 2. Larson wins it. Bowman second, then Bell, Hocevar, Hamlin, Haley, Gibbs, Blaney, Briscoe, Reddick.
Lap 240 – 11 laps left in stage 1. Larson over Bowman. Bell now third, then Hocevar and Hamlin.
Lap 223 – Larson leads Bowman by 1.9 second with 28 laps left in stage 2.
Lap 201 – Larson leads Bowman, Hamlin, Bell, Hocevar, Haley, Gibbs, Briscoe, Reddick and Blaney.
Lap 189 – Green flag back out. Larson still leads Haley. The top 12 drivers did not pit.
Lap 182 – Leaders stay out under caution. Several drivers further back in the field pit. Nemechek lost a tire coming out of his pit stall and it rolled down it road, into the back of Suarez’s car.
Lap 178 – Caution is out. Van Gisbergen spun out after contact with Ware in turn 2.
Lap 151 – Haley has moved around Hamlin for second.
Lap 143 – Green flag for the start of the second stage: Larson, Hamlin, Haley, Bowman, Hocevar, Gibbs, Bell, Stenhouse, Blaney, Briscoe. This stage ends after lap 250.
Lap 135 – Pit road is open and leaders are in. Off pit road: Larson, Hamlin, Haley, Bowman, Hocevar. Busch and Van Gisbergen were too fast on pit road.
Lap 126 – Caution out for the end of stage 1. Larson wins it. He’s followed by Hamlin, Haley, Bowman, Hocevar, Bell, Blaney, Stenhouse, Gibbs, and Allmendinger. Preece, in 24th, is the free pass.
Lap 116 – Ten laps remaining in stage 1. Larson leads Hamlin, Haley, Bowman and Stenhouse.
Lap 101 – One hundred laps complete in just under 27 minutes. Larson continues to lead Hamlin, now up by 2.3 seconds. 25 laps remaining in stage 1.
Lap 81 – Larson leads second place Hamlin by 1.7 second. Then Haley, Bowman and Stenhouse. No one has had tire issues yet.
Lap 66 – Larson is now starting to work his way through the back of the field, lapping cars. Ware currently runs last.
Lap 51 – Larson quickly out to a 1.9 second lead over Haley. Then Hamlin, Bowman, Stenhouse, Hocevar, Blaney, Bell, Keselowski, and Gibbs.
Lap 41 – Larson takes the lead from Bowman.
Lap 40 – Bowman still leading but some movement behind him. Haley up to second, Larson third, Hamlin fourth and Stenhouse back to 5th.
Lap 31 – Bowman still the leader. He’s up on Stenhouse by .2 second.
Lap 16 – With 15 laps complete. Bowman still leads with Stenhouse second, then Hamlin, Larson, Blaney, Bell, Hocevar, Briscoe, TDillon and Berry.
Lap 2 – Bowman leads the first lap.
3:13pm/et – Green flag at Bristol. Bowman and Stenhouse on the front row. First stage is 125 laps.
3:03pm/et – Engines are fired.
2:54pm/et – Pre-race ceremonies are underway.
Logano and Nemechek will start from the rear today after unapproved adjustments.
No weather issues for today’s race: Sunny, with a high near 62. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph.
Paint Schemes
Race Details
Broadcast: FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 500 laps / 266.5 miles
Stages: 125 / 250 / 500
Average time of race: 3:20:41
Pit road speed: 30 mph
Caution car speed: 35 mph
Fuel Window: 190 laps
Timing (all times local & subject to change)
Invocation: 2:54:20 p.m.
National Anthem: 2:55:00 p.m.
Command: 3:02:00 p.m.s
Cars to the rear: #22-Joey Logano (unapproved adjustments), #42-John Hunter Nemechek (unapproved adjustments)
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 #48-Alex Bowman chose pit stall 1.
Outside pole sitter #47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. took the 23rd stall.
See all pit choices on the Bristol Pit Stall page.
#48-Alex Bowman won the Busch pole for the Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway with a speed of 128.675mph for his second pole of the year, second at Bristol and seventh of his career.
#47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. will start second followed by #5-Kyle Larson, #11-Denny Hamlin, #12-Ryan Blaney, #54-Ty Gibbs, #20-Christopher Bell, #16-AJ Allmendinger, #77-Carson Hocevar, and #7-Justin Haley.
See the complete qualifying results and the Food City 500 Starting Lineup.
Bristol Motor Speedway – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Alex Bowman won the Pole Award for the Food City 500 with a lap of 14.912 seconds, 128.675 mph.
This is his seventh pole in 334 NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his second pole and fourth top-10 start in 2025.
This is his second pole in 16 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2025 and his third in 22 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Kyle Larson (third) posted his 10th top-10 start at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his fourth in nine races this season.
Riley Herbst (25th) 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:
#47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 128.082
#12-Ryan Blaney 127.571
#2-Austin Cindric 127.140
#5-Kyle Larson 126.737
#9-Chase Elliott 126.520
Slowest: #10-Ty Dillon 122.240
Most laps run: #41-Cole Custer, 47
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 34 drivers): #5-Kyle Larson 125.704
Notes: Tires showed serious wear after both groups/sessions. A heavy amount of rubber has built up on the track itself, with many teams reporting cording to their Goodyears.
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, 39 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Open teams entered are: #01-Corey LaJoie, #33-Jesse Love, #66-Josh Bilicki.
See the full entry list on the Food City 500 Entry List page.
NASCAR News & Notes
Statistical Analysis
Goodyear Fast Facts — Bristol: This tire set-up debuted on the Cup cars at Bristol in September 2023 . . . while this right-side tire code is unique to Bristol, Cup teams also ran this left-side code at Dover last season.
Race rules and information:
