Following an off weekend for Easter, the first of two off weekends on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, the series is set to be back in action this Sunday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500.
Like the series' most recent race at Martinsville Speedway two weekends ago, the 500-lap race around the four-turn, 0.533-mile (0.858-kilometer) high-banked Bristol, Tennessee oval is considered a short track race.
As a result, each of the 37 drivers on the entry list is allowed to make a two-lap qualifying attempt, rather than just a single-lap attempt. However, drivers can opt against the second lap, as the starting lineup is set to be determined by top lap speed, rather than two-lap average speed.
On short tracks, there is no second round shootout for the pole position like there is on superspeedways; the first round is set to determine the entire 37-car starting lineup.
The qualifying order was determined by the two-variable metric that NASCAR has used since the start of the 2025 season. A full breakdown of that formula can be found here.
Follow along with our Food City 500 qualifying updates from Bristol Motor Speedway. A full qualifying order can be found here.
NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup at Bristol
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
2 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
3 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
4 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
5 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
6 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
7 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
8 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
9 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
10 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
11 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
12 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
13 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
14 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
15 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
16 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
17 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
18 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
19 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
20 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
21 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
22 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
23 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
24 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
25 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
26 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
27 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
28 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
29 | Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
30 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
31 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
32 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
33 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
34 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
35 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
36 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
37 | Chad Finchum, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford |
Sunday's Food City 500 is set to be shown live from Bristol Motor Speedway on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV and catch all of the action from the "Last Great Colosseum"!