NASCAR races in Bristol this afternoon

(WNFL/LEARFIELD) – It’s race day for the NASCAR big boys in Bristol.

What do you need to watch for?

Next Race: Food City 500

The Place: Bristol Motor Speedway

Track Length: 0.533 Mile Concrete Oval

The Date: Sunday, April 13

The Time: 3 p.m. ET

The Purse: $11,055,250

TV: FS1, 1:30 p.m. ET

Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

Distance: 266.5 miles (500 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 125),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 250), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 500)

• This weekend marks the 126th running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• This weekend, nine of the 55 NASCAR Cup Series Bristol Motor Speedway pole winners are entered in the race.

• Denny Hamlin (3) and Kyle Larson (2) have combined to win five of the last eight Bristol races.
• Denny Hamlin won four times at Bristol; three of his four wins came in the last eight races.
• Six of the 44 NASCAR Cup Series Bristol Motor Speedway race winners are entered in this weekend’s race.

• Kyle Larson led 462 of the 500 laps led at Bristol last September, the most ever led by a Hendrick Motorsports driver in a Cup race.
• 462 of Hendrick Motorsports’ 577 laps led at Bristol in the Next Gen car came last September by Kyle Larson.
• This race last year had a track record 54 lead changes, the fall race had eight (the fewest in the last 29 races there).
• No driver failed to finish due to an accident in this race at Bristol last year, the first time since May 1983.
• There were 16 leaders in this race last year, tied for the most in a short track race since 1989.
• None of the last 16 races at Bristol ended in overtime; the last Bristol overtime race was in April 2015.
• Last September’s Bristol race saw 36 laps of caution, the fewest for a race here since April 1984 (19).
• A driver swept the stages in each of the last three Bristol races; Kyle Larson last September was the only driver ever at Bristol to sweep both stages and win.
• There was only one caution free stage in the stage era of racing at Bristol.
• The driver leading the most laps won five of the last six Bristol races.
• The final green flag stretch was at least 121 laps in each of the last three Bristol races and at least 57 laps in each of the last six.
• There were only five cautions at Bristol last September, tied for the fewest in the last 78 races there.
• Each of the last 22 races at Bristol were won by a driver with at least 200 prior Cup Series starts.
• Kyle Larson finished top-10 in 10 of his last 11 Bristol starts including top-fives in all five races there with Hendrick Motorsports.
• Four drivers finished top-10 in the four Bristol races in the Gen 7 car: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott.
• Five drivers finished top-10 in both races at Bristol last year: Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott.
• Three of the five drivers to finish top-10 in both Bristol races last year are Hendrick Motorsports drivers: Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott.
• Joe Gibbs Racing drivers led 957 of the 2,000 laps raced at Bristol in the Gen 7 car (48%).
• Kyle Busch’s eight Bristol wins rank fifth all-time but he finished 20th or worse in each of the last five races there.
• Ty Gibbs’ 239 laps led at Bristol are his most led at a track, he led over 100 laps in two of the last three races there.
• Teams swept the top-two finishing positions in both races at Bristol in 2024: Joe Gibbs Racing in March and Hendrick Motorsports in September.
• Denny Hamlin will make his 400th consecutive start at Bristol, the 29th to ever do so in the Cup Series and third active driver.
• Six drivers ended winless streaks of 50+ races at Bristol, more than any other short track in Cup Series history.
• The polesitter finished second in each of the last three races this year, the longest such streak since May 1972.
• Denny Hamlin has tied Kyle Busch for most wins among Joe Gibbs Racing drivers at 56.
• Joey Logano is one of only two defending champions without a top-five finish through the season’s first 8 races (Bill Elliott – 1989)
• Two full-time teams don’t have a DNF yet in 2025: Hyak Motorsports and Legacy Motor Club.
• The 205 lead lap finishers in 2025 are the most ever through the first eight races of a season.
• 2025 is the first time since 2018 that five different teams won the pole in the first eight races of the season.
• Joe Gibbs Racing is the third organization in history to win five of the first eight races in a season and the first two do it twice (Richard Childress Racing – 1987, Hendrick Motorsports – 2007, Joe Gibbs Racing – 2019, 2025).
• Denny Hamlin can become the third oldest driver to win three consecutive Cup races, and the oldest since Harry Gant in September 1991.
• Josh Berry accounts for two of Ford’s six top-five finishes in 2025 including the only win.
• Ford’s six top fives are their fewest since 1981 (6) and their 20 top-10s are their fewest since 2016 (14).
• 2024 NASCAR Cup Champion Joey Logano’s 260 laps led in 2025 are the most for a driver through the first eight races without a top-five finish since 2016 (Matt Kenseth – 306).
• Bubba Wallace’s 78 stage points through eight races in 2025 are his most ever at this point in a season by 36 points.
• Three races ended with a last lap pass in 2025, tied for the most ever through eight races with 2014.
• Ryan Blaney ranks second in 2025 in stage points earned (85), 36% of his total points this season came from stages.
• Three full-time drivers have yet to score stage points in 2025: Justin Haley, Riley Herbst and Cody Ware.
• William Byron leads all drivers with 354 laps led in 2025, the fewest by the driver leading the most laps after eight races in a season since Jim Paschal’s 220 in 1963.
• Three drivers finished on the lead lap in all eight races in 2205: Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick.