NASCAR Live Race Updates: Food City 500 at Bristol
Welcome to the Racing America On SI Live Race Updates page for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Be sure to refresh this post throughout Sunday's race as the Live Race Updates story will be updated with the biggest moments from the 500-lap race including lead changes, crash replays, the winner of the race, finishing results, and more.
Stage 3 Updates
Lap 500: Kyle Larson Wins at Bristol
After leading 411 of the 500 laps in Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson secured the win by 2.250 seconds over Denny Hamlin.
Food City 500 Race Results
Pos | Car | Driver | Laps | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | 500 | -- |
2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 500 | 2.250 |
3 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | 500 | 6.769 |
4 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | 500 | 6.911 |
5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | 500 | 7.395 |
6 | 24 | William Byron | 500 | 7.997 |
7 | 1 | Ross Chastain | 500 | 11.432 |
8 | 20 | Christopher Bell | 500 | 14.895 |
9 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | 500 | 16.505 |
10 | 3 | Austin Dillon | 499 | 1 lap |
Click here for full race results
Lap 452: Denny Hamlin Closing in on Larson for Lead in Lapped Traffic
Kyle Larson continues to lead, but they are in heavy lapped traffic, and Denny Hamlin has cut the deficit to about a half-second. Hamlin is seeking his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series race win.
Lap 439: Blaney Relinquishes Lead to Pit
Ryan Blaney finally comes to pit road after leading 48 laps, and seeing himself be the only car on the lead lap. Kyle Larson, the race's dominant driver, has retaken the lead of this race with just 61 laps remaining.
Lap 435: Ryan Blaney the Only Car on Lead Lap
Tyler Reddick was lapped by Ryan Blaney, and then came to pit road. Blaney is now the only car on the lead lap as the laps are winding down in Bristol, but Blaney should have to pit one more time. The estimated fuel window is 190 laps, and Blaney would need to stretch the tank 243 laps to make the full distance.
Lap 401: Only Three Drivers on Lead Lap As Green Flag Pit Sequence Continues to Cycle Out
Only Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, and Bubba Wallace find themselves on the lead lap at Lap 401 as the three drivers have yet to pit during the green flag pit sequence. Ryan Preece is fourth, one lap down, and he has also yet to pit. But if the caution were to come out before he's passed by Kyle Larson in fifth, Preece would receive the free pass.
Lap 390: Lead Change as Kyle Larson Hits Pit Road
Kyle Larson has taken his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to pit road to avoid getting chewed up and spit out by others on fresh tires, and in doing so, Carson Hocevar took the lead on Lap 390 to mark just the second lead change of the day.
Two laps later, Hocevar came to pit road, which relinquished the lead to Ryan Blaney.
As Hocevar was pitting, his team ran into an issue as the car fell off the jack before the left rear tire could be fastened. Hocevar, who was a top-10 contender essentially all race, will now find himself 19th, two laps off the pace.
Lap 388: Ty Gibbs Kicks Off Green Flag Pit Sequence
Something we don't often see at Bristol, green flag pit stops, is taking place right now. Ty Gibbs made the decision to hit pit road on Lap 388.
Lap 383: Austin Cindric and Bubba Wallace Go a Lap Down
Bubba Wallace (18th) and Austin Cindric (19th) are the latest to go a lap down to race leader Kyle Larson. As Larson continues to navigate lapped traffic, Denny Hamlin has cut the lead down to under a second. Perhaps a battle for the lead is brewing?
Lap 372: 19 Cars Remain on the Lead Lap
Kyle Larson's dominance has led to a lot of cars now being put a lap down in the Food City 500 at Bristol. Larson recently got around Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the 20th-place runner, to put him a lap down. The next driver, who will look to keep himself from going a lap down will be 19th-place Austin Cindric.
We have had just ONE lead change through the opening 372 laps, which came on Lap 40 when Larson got around Alex Bowman for the top spot. Bowman has since gone behind the wall due to engine issues.
Lap 349: Bowman Goes Behind the Wall
After nursing his No. 48 Chevrolet for several laps, Alex Bowman has finally brought his ailing race car the garage area for his team to look it over. With it being engine issues, there's a good chance that this could be it for the polesitter for the day, but the team will see what they can do.
Lap 332: Larson Stretches Lead
Kyle Larson's lead has now surpassed three seconds over Denny Hamlin on Lap 332. Ty Gibbs sits third, and he's followed by Carson Hocevar, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Justin Haley, and AJ Allmendinger.
Lap 300: Alex Bowman's No. 48 Trails Smoke
The end is near for polesitter Alex Bowman, who now has smoke trailing from behind his No. 48 Chevrolet. His team is now instructing him on where the DVP work area is so he can bring the car to them for potential repairs.
Lap 294: Alex Bowman Fading and Feels He Has Engine Issue
Alex Bowman, who started from the pole, and had a great race going, has faded to the 14th position, and is now radioing to his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team that he feels he has an engine issue. FOX's Clint Bowyer states it sounds like Bowman's car is down a cylinder.
Lap 280: SVG Goes Behind the Wall
After a spin earlier in the race, Shane van Gisbergen has pulled his No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet behind the wall. SVG joins Josh Bilicki, who retired for the day in the No. 66 Garage 66 Ford after completing 193 laps.
Lap 270: William Byron Into the Top-10
William Byron, who started 26th, has worked his way inside of the top-10 on lap 270. As Byron moved into the top-10, Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell nearly had a crash battling inside the top-five. Gibbs would take over the fourt spot, while Bell dropped to seventh.
Lap 265: Back to Green!
Kyle Larson leads the field into Turn 1, while Alex Bowman and Denny Hamlin battle for the runner-up spot.
Lap 259: Kyle Larson Retains the Lead Off Pit Road
Kyle Larson defeated his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman off of pit road to retain the lead heading into the final Stage of the race.
Denny Hamlin will restart third, followed by Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Carson Hocevar, Chase Briscoe, Justin Haley, Ryan Blaney, and Tyler Reddick.
Stage 2 Updates
Lap 250: Larson Sweeps Stages 1 and 2
It's still all Kyle Larson in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has led 211 of the opening 250 laps, and he has now swept both Stages 1 and 2 of the race.
That's 20 bonus points in the regular season championship standings, and two Playoff Points in Larson's back pocket. Now, he'll look to close it all out with a race win.
Pos | Car | Driver | Stage Points | Playoff Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | 10 | 1 |
2 | 48 | Alex Bowman | 9 | -- |
3 | 20 | Christopher Bell | 8 | -- |
4 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | 7 | -- |
5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 6 | -- |
6 | 7 | Justin Haley | 5 | -- |
7 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | 4 | -- |
8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | 3 | -- |
9 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | 2 | -- |
10 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 1 | -- |
Ryan Preece will receive his third free pass of the day under this caution.
Lap 189: Back to Green!
We're back under the green flag, and Kyle Larson is still asserting his dominance as the race leader. Denny Hamlin sits second, but is passed on Lap 191 by Alex Bowman, who moves to P2.
Lap 182: John Hunter Nemechek Loses Wheel on Pit Road; Wheel Lands in Suarez Pit Box
Under the caution, John Hunter Nemechek left his pit box before his crew could finish tightening one of his wheels. As he drove off, the wheel nut flew off, and the tire detached and began rolling down pit road out of control.
The wheel rolled into the pit box of Daniel Suarez's No. 99 Trackhouse Racing pit crew. The wheel actually contacted Suarez's fueler, who essentially shrugged the obstacle off like it was nothing.
Here's the strange moment where JHN's wheel flies off and lands in the No. 99 pit box. Look at the fueler. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/AHRk5hyhxw
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) April 13, 2025
Suarez's crew would be busted for a pit road interference penalty. The No. 99 team, which was proccupied with the situation at the rear of their car, let a tire roll away into Corey LaJoie's pit box ahead of them, which impeded LaJoie's fueler.
Lap 182: McDowell Penalized
While the majority of the race leaders stayed on track under the caution for Shane van Gisbergen's spin, Michael McDowell was one that did pit, and he was flagged for speeding on pit road. McDowell will drop to the rear as a penalty.
Lap 178: Shane van Gisbergen Spins to Bring Out Caution
Shane van Gisbergen went to the inside of Cody Ware in Turn 2 on Lap 178, and the move turned out to not work out very well. SVG got loose underneath of Ware's No. 51 machine, which sent SVG spinning out.
Here's the spin for SVG, which led to the first caution for an on-track incident in the #FoodCity500 pic.twitter.com/EpKuCjyDG1
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) April 13, 2025
Fortunately, the driver of the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet was able to avoid major damage, but he was already having a subpar day, two laps down, prior to the spin.
Ryan Preece, for the second straight caution, will receive the free pass and will return to the lead lap.
Lap 170: Larson Has Reached Lapped Traffic, Lead Tightening Up
Kyle Larson has reached the back end of the field, and has begun lapping cars again, and as he does that, it has tightened up the front runners. Haley is just 0.8 seconds behind Larson, and Hamlin is all over Haley for the second position.
Lap 153: Briscoe Nudges Past Stenhouse
Chase Briscoe used the chrome horn to move Ricky Stenhouse up the track on Lap 153, and Briscoe pulled off the pass. While Stenhouse didn't seem pleased by the move, he settled in 11th right behind Briscoe, the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Cages are already getting rattled this afternoon. 😳 #NASCARonFS1 pic.twitter.com/rmbMYfZomH
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 13, 2025
Lap 143: Back to Green!
Kyle Larson leads the field back to the green flag on Lap 143, and Denny Hamlin drops to fifth on the initial restart. Justin Haley moves up to the second position, and Hamlin recovers a couple of laps later and now runs third behind Larson and Haley.
Lap 139: Larson Wins Race Off Pit Road
Kyle Larson wins the race off pit road ahead of Denny Hamlin, Justin Haley, Alex Bowman, and Carson Hocevar.
Kyle Busch, and Shane van Gisbergen were busted for speeding on pit road, and Austin Cindric was busted for pitting outside of the box. All three drivers will restart from the tail end of the field.
Lap 126: Tires Not Playing a Factor
While the overall temperatures at Bristol Motor Speedway are comparable to Saturday, where tires were worn quickly in practice, there is next to no cloud cover today. This has led to a higher temperature within the track surface, which has led to decreased tire wear from what was expected.
It looks as though the tires, which were being corded after 40 laps in practice, will not be an issue in today's Food City 500 at Bristol, contrary to what many believed going into the day.
Stage 1 Updates
Lap 125: Kyle Larson Takes Stage 1 Win
Kyle Larson held off Denny Hamlin by a margin of 0.814 seconds to take the Stage 1 win in Sunday's Food City 500. Larson will collect the Playoff Point, and 10 Stage Points for winning the Stage.
Pos | Car | Driver | Stage Points | Playoff Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | 10 | 1 |
2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 9 | -- |
3 | 7 | Justin Haley | 8 | -- |
4 | 48 | Alex Bowman | 7 | -- |
5 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | 6 | -- |
6 | 20 | Christopher Bell | 5 | -- |
7 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | 4 | -- |
8 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 3 | -- |
9 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | 2 | -- |
10 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | 1 | -- |
Ryan Preece, who was second in line to receive the free pass under the Stage Caution as Larson had lapped Michael McDowell near the end of Stage 1, was able to work his way around McDowell before the end of Stage 1, and in doing so, will get the free pass.
Preece runs 24th at Lap 125, and will get back on the lead lap, while McDowell, and Joey Logano were the two drivers, who will remain a lap down to start Stage 2.
Lap 109: Joey Logano Goes a Lap Down
Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano has been lapped by race leader Denny Hamlin on Lap 109 of the Food City 500 at Bristol. Currently, Logano is in the free pass position, but Larson is already bearing down on additional lapped traffic.
Lap 100: Larson Continues to Lead
25 laps remain in the opening Stage of the Food City 500 at Bristol, and Kyle Larson leads Denny Hamlin by 2.5 seconds.
Haley is third, and he's followed by Bowman, and Stenhouse.
Larson has lapped up to 27th place Riley Herbst, who is looking to remain on the lead lap. Joey Logano is the next car on track ahead of Herbst in 26th.
Jesse Love, making his NASCAR Cup Series debut today, sits 34th a lap down at Lap 100.
Lap 77: Denny Hamlin to P2
Denny Hamlin has worked his way around Justin Haley for the runner-up position. Hamlin trails Kyle Larson, the leader, by 1.7 seconds.
Lap 50: Bowman Drops to Fourth
After being passed by Larson for the lead, Bowman was quickly passed by Haley for the second position, and Bowman would end up falling to fourth by Lap 50.
Larson leads Haley, Denny Hamlin, Bowman, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on Lap 50.
Lap 40: Kyle Larson Takes the Lead
Kyle Larson made a charge from third on Lap 37 to take the lead from Alex Bowman on the outside on Lap 40. This is the first lead change of the Food City 500 at Bristol.
Lap 37: Justin Haley Moves to P2
Justin Haley, the driver of the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, started 10th and has moved into the runner-up spot as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has been moved out of the runner-up spot. Stenhouse has dropped to fifth.
Lap 29: Joey Logano Into the Top-30
Joey Logano, who had to start from the rear of the field after an incident in qualifying and unapproved adjustments to repair the damage, has moved from 39th to 30th in the opening laps of the race.
Still a long way to go, but Logano is making moves early.
Lap 1: Alex Bowman Leads Opening Lap, Stenhouse Settles in P2 as Front Runner Single-File Out
Alex Bowman led the opening lap of the Food City 500 from the pole position, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wisely tucked in behind him as the front runners began attempting to single-file out.
The majority of the front runners have all gone to the bottom of the track, where PJ1 traction compound was re-applied after Saturday's Xfinity Series race. Ty Gibbs is still trying to work his way into the bottom lane.
3:13 PM ET: Green Flag
The green flag has flown to start the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Polesitter Alex Bowman leads the field into Turn 1 with HYAK Motorsports driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. alongside him.
Pre-Race Updates
3:02 PM ET: MLB Hall of Famer Bench and Tennessee Play-By-Play Announcer Kesling Give Command to Start Engines
Following a command to start engines from Bob Kesling, the voice of the Tennessee Volunteers, and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, the 39 cars in today's race have come to life, and they will soon follow the pace car onto the racing surface to perform the pace laps prior to the green flag of the Food City 500.
2:55 PM ET: National Anthem Completed
American Idol contestant Noah Peters has completed the National Anthem prior to Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. At the end of Peters' rendition of The Star Spangled Banner, two A-10s from the 175th Fighter Wing of the Maryland Air National Guard performed a flyover much to the delight of the crowd on hand.
Two Cars to The Rear for Unapproved Adjustments
Prior to the start of Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, two cars will drop to the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments.
John Hunter Nemechek, who was slated to start from the 32nd position in the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota Camry XSE will be the driver with the best starting spot that will have to drop to the rear.
Joey Logano, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, initially qualified 38th in the 39-car field due to an incident, where he collided with the wall during his qualifying lap on Saturday afternoon. After Logano's team made repairs to the car, Logano will drop to the rear of the field along with Nemechek.
NASCAR has also issued additional details regarding today's race.
The Food City 500 is set for an approximate green flag start time of 3:11 PM ET.
Today's pit road speed will be 30 mph, and the pace car will travel around the track at 35 mph in Sunday's race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The estimated fuel window under green flag conditions at Bristol Motor Speedway is 190 laps for NASCAR Cup Series competitors.
Food City 500 Race Info
The Food City 500 will be televised on FS1 and can be streamed on the FOX Sports App with a valid television provider login. Television coverage of the event will begin at 3:00 PM ET. The Performance Racing Network (PRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio broadcast of the event.
For subscribers of the Max streaming service, NASCAR Driver Cam, which streams live in-car camera footage from every car in the field, will be available for today's race.
The overall race purse, which teams will fight for their portion of in Sunday's race is a total of $11,055,250.
The race distance is 500 laps around the 0.533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway, which equates to a 266.5 mile race distance.
The race will be broken into three Stages. Stage 1 will end at the conclusion of Lap 125, Stage 2 will end at the conclusion of Lap 250, and the race is scheduled to finish at the end of Lap 500, barring an overtime finish.
The winner of Stages 1 and 2 will be awarded one Playoff Point, and the race winner will be awarded five Playoff points. The Playoff Points will be added to the reseeded point totals if the drivers make it into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, and the Playoff Points will be carried through each round of the Playoffs by the drivers, who earn them.
The top-10 finishers in Stages 1 and 2 will also receive regular-season championship points. The Stage Winners will receive 10 points for the Stage Win, and the point total will decrease by one point througout the top-10 finishers in each Stage.
Denny Hamlin is the defending race winner of the Food City 500, and he comes into this event on a two-race winning streak. If Hamlin can pick up the win in the race, his Joe Gibbs Racing team will become the first organization in NASCAR Cup Series history to have multiple drivers with three-race winning streaks in a single season (Christopher Bell won three straight races earlier this year).
Alex Bowman on Pole for Food City 500
Alex Bowman took his second pole position of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season as he turned the fastest lap of the Next Gen era (2022) at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bowman's lap time was a 14.912-second trip around the half-mile track, which equated to a 128.675 mph average speed.
Food City 500 Starting Lineup
Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
2 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | HYAK Motorsports | Chevrolet |
3 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
6 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
7 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
8 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
9 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
10 | 7 | Justin Haley | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
Click here for the full starting lineup
Repairs Made to Joey Logano's Right Rear After Qualifying Incident
Joey Logano caught the right rear of his No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford into the outside wall on the exit of Turn 2 during his qualifying run at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday.
Damage from the wall for @joeylogano's No. 22. pic.twitter.com/UW5L6Zgsme
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 12, 2025
The No. 22 team opted to make repairs to the car rather than going to a backup car. On Sunday morning, the No. 22 Ford was repaired, and ready to push to the grid. Kelly Crandall of RACER shared a photo of Logano's repaired car on X.
The bumper and right rear of the 22 have been repaired for the race today. Joey Logano smacked the wall pretty hard during qualifying yesterday. pic.twitter.com/mPlogZIc9d
— Kelly Crandall (@KellyCrandall) April 13, 2025
NASCAR Reapplies PJ1 Traction Compound to Bottom Groove Ahead of Food City 500
NASCAR applied approximately a four-foot-wide strip of PJ1 traction compound to the bottom groove of Bristol Motor Speedway in the turns on Thursday ahead of the NASCAR Truck, Xfinity, Cup triple-header race weekend at the 0.533-mile short track.
Following Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series event, which was won by Kyle Larson, NASCAR decided to reapply the traction compound to the bottom of the track prior to Sunday's Food City 500.
According to Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, NASCAR reapplied the compound in the exact same fashion that they applied it on Thursday, meaning it will remain a four-foot-wide strip, and the application machine was used at the same speed as it was put down on Thursday.
NASCAR reapplied PJ1 to the track surface for today's race. It was applied exactly (width, speed of machine, etc.) as was initially done on Thursday.
— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) April 13, 2025
Goodyear Adds Additional Set of Tires After Excessive Wear in Practice
After tires were being corded after just 40 lap runs in Saturday's NASCAR Cup Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway, Goodyear has added a set of tires to the race day allotment for the 39 teams in the field for Sunday's Food City 500.
Teams will now have 11 sets of tires (10 sticker sets, and one scuffed set used in qualifying) to manage over the course of the 500-lap event.
NASCAR has added a set of tires for today’s Cup race at @ItsBristolBaby. That brings teams up to 11 sets for the race (10 race sets plus their qualifying set), which is the same number of sets they ended the spring ‘24 Bristol race with.
— Goodyear Racing (@GoodyearRacing) April 13, 2025
Denny Hamlin won last year's Food City 500 at Bristol, in a race that featured excessive tire wear. However, after Goodyear brought the same tire back to Bristol last Fall, many expected that the tire wear situation in the 2024 Food City 500 was an anomoly.
As a result, Goodyear brought the same tire back to the Food City 500, and everyone expected more of what we saw in the Fall, but tire wear has mirrored what happened at Bristol last Spring. While nobody knows what to actually expect in the race, as teams are able to make adjustments overnight to compensate for the unexpected tire wear, just about everyone expects tire wear to play a factor in Sunday's race.
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Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.
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