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NASCAR: 2018 Food City 500 at Bristol start time moved up

By Asher Fair

BRISTOL, TN - AUGUST 19: Erik Jones, driver of the #77 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota, and Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 DEWALT/Flexvolt Toyota, lead the field on a restart during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 19, 2017 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
BRISTOL, TN - AUGUST 19: Erik Jones, driver of the #77 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota, and Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 DEWALT/Flexvolt Toyota, lead the field on a restart during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 19, 2017 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images) /
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The start time for the Food City 500 at Bristol, which is the eighth race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season, has been moved up.

As a result of the threat of inclement weather, NASCAR and Bristol Motor Speedway officials have moved up the start time of Sunday’s Food City 500 at the four-turn, 0.533-mile oval in Bristol Tennessee.

The Food City 500 was initially scheduled to begin at 2:13 pm ET on Sunday, but it has now been moved up by one hour and rescheduled for 1:13 pm ET. All pre-race festivities have also been moved up by one hour.

The race, which is scheduled to last for 500 laps (266.5 miles), is still scheduled to be broadcast live on Fox whenever it ends up taking place, although there is no guarantee that it will actually end up taking place at its newly scheduled time.

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There is a 100% chance of rain in Bristol, Tennessee tomorrow, and it is predicted to start at around 10:00 am ET. It is not predicted to stop until after 4:00 pm ET on Monday, so I am not exactly sure what NASCAR and the track officials believe they are gaining by moving the start time of the race up by one hour from 2:13 pm ET to 1:13 pm ET.

The race will probably end up being pushed back to Monday. The only question at that point would be whether or not the race will actually end up being contested on Monday since rain is supposed to fall on the track for much of the day.

Whenever the race does get underway, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch is set to start from the pole position in his #18 Toyota alongside his brother Kurt Busch in his #41 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing. Kyle Busch won the most recent Cup Series race at Texas last week, and he won the most recent Cup Series race at Bristol last August.

Jimmie Johnson won last season’s April Bristol race in his #48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.

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Be sure to watch Fox on Sunday, April 15th at 1:00 pm ET to see whether or not that is when the 2018 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway will end up taking place. Regardless of when the race does end up taking place, Fox will broadcast it live from the track in Bristol, Tennessee.

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