There’s going to be tons of action, drama and excitement this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway and that’s not even considering the amazing NASCAR racing that’s going to be taking place on the iconic half-mile oval.
The Food City 500 weekend is shaping up to be one of the best ever with great weather, amazing entertainment, incredible racing in all three of the NASCAR divisions and an incredible venue to party and have fun with friends. We hope you can join us, it’s going to be a blast.
Below are five things you can't miss during Food City 500 weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway:
1. Unpredictable racing in Sunday’s Food City 500: Most of the drivers and crew chiefs in the NASCAR Cup Series garage agree that developing a strategy and plan for Bristol Motor Speedway is one of the toughest chores that they face. With recent equipment package changes from NASCAR and Goodyear for its Cup Series short track and road course races, the Food City 500 should have somewhat of a new identity when the green flag drops Sunday afternoon. Drivers, teams, fans and others in the industry can’t wait to see what the new product will look like as 40 cars battle around the high-banks at legendary Bristol Motor Speedway. NASCAR has increased the horsepower to a maximum of 750 for all cars in the Food City 500. Goodyear says it will deliver a softer tire for the race as well. The combination of the two is expected to provide more thrilling racing at the important regular season race. You will need to buckle yourself in tight for this one Sunday at 3:30 p.m. it’s going to be barn-burner with Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe and Carson Hocevar, among others, getting ready to rumble Bristol style.
2. Cup Series drivers Moonlighting Friday and Saturday Nights: If you haven’t got your ticket for Friday night’s Tennessee Army National Guard 250 or Saturday’s Suburban Propane 300 go ahead and grab them. Sunday may not be the only chance you have to watch your favorite Cup Series driver on the track. There are seven NASCAR Cup moonlighters entered in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race and whenever you mix those talented drivers with the battle-tested regulars in the Truck Series, it always produces intense, thrilling racing action. The Cup drivers in the truck race include Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, Carson Hocevar. Meanwhile in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series race on Saturday a pair of Cup regulars are sure to figure into the mix come checkered flag time. Defending race winner Kyle Larson will be driving the JR Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet and Cup rookie Connor Zilisch will be piloting the No. 1 Chevy for JRM. Saturday’s race is also under the lights as both have 7:30 p.m. start times.
3. Music and Entertainment galore: The Bristol Motor Speedway Fan Zone will be buzzing with activity all weekend and will be the place to be for fun activities and entertainment. One of the main attractions highlighting the fun will be appearances by Red Panda (Rong Niu). The highly-skilled acrobat will be aboard her famed 8-foot-tall unicycle performing dazzling stunts and tricks and wowing the crowd. Her amazing agility, focus and perfection is something you can only see firsthand to believe. She gained notoriety for performances during NBA halftime shows and she also appeared on Season 8 of America’s Got Talent. There will also be two post-race concerts following Friday and Saturday’s racing, including the popular BMS Glow Party on Friday with the 1990s tribute band Non-Stop Nineties playing. On Saturday night NASH Country will play after the Suburban Propane 300. On Sunday you will want to be at the Food City Fan Zone stage presented by Coca-Cola Zero Sugar at noon for Trackside Live with hosts Kenny Wallace, John Roberts and Jose Castillo. After that you need to move inside the stadium for the pre-race concert with rising country start Graham Barham, who will play from 1-2 p.m. and lead into driver introductions.
4. Food City Hauler Parade Returns: The rumble of NASCAR thunder will be on the streets of Bristol on Saturday morning, April 11, as the beautiful race car haulers of the Cup Series teams make their official arrival to Bristol Motor Speedway in the official Food City Hauler Parade. Fans who want to cheer on their favorite teams and welcome the NASCAR Cup Series to Bristol are encouraged to line along the route of the parade, which begins on Commonwealth Avenue at Euclid Ave. on the Virginia side of the city and then turns into Volunteer Parkway as it crosses the state line into Tennessee. The parade will travel south on Volunteer Parkway (Hwy 11E) until the rigs enter the BMS property at Entrance No. 2 (South). The Food City Big Cart and Salute Trailer will lead the Food City Hauler Parade. The timing for the Food City Hauler Parade includes a start time of 8 a.m. sharp. The first truck is expected to enter BMS at approximately 8:30 a.m., where they will roll into the infield and park in their designated positions within the infield-garage area. The parade route is approximately 9 miles in length and will feature all of the Cup Series transporters that are entered in the Food City 500 on Sunday April 12. The parade is expected to be completed by 9 a.m. The last time a NASCAR parade was held at Bristol Motor Speedway was in March 2019.
5. Driver appearances and autograph sessions: If you are looking for driver appearances, Bristol Motor Speedway is the place to be this weekend. Most of the NASCAR drivers will be available for autographs and to meet with fans at their souvenir haulers in the BMS Fan Zone. Others will be making appearances on the Food City Fan Zone Stage presented by Coca-Cola Zero Sugar throughout the day on each day of the weekend. For a complete list of driver autograph sessions and appearances, please click this link.
The race weekend kicks off with the Craftsman Trucks on the Bristol high banks on the evening of April 10 for the Tennessee Army National Guard 250 Truck Race (7:30 p.m., FS1, PRN Radio, SiriusXM Radio); On Saturday, April 11, it will be action-packed with the Suburban Propane 300 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race (7:30 p.m., The CW, PRN Radio, Sirius XM Radio) and Bush’s Beans Qualifying for both the Cup Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series; The tradition-rich Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race will thrill fans on Sunday afternoon, April 12 (3 p.m., FS1, PRN Radio, Sirius XM Radio) and bring the fun weekend to a triumphant finish.
Fans can purchase tickets to the Food City 500 weekend of races or any events at Bristol Motor Speedway, please visit the track’s website or call the BMS Ticket Sales Center at (866) 415-4158. For ultimate value, kids 12 and under are free with a paid adult for Friday and Saturday’s races and only $10 for Sunday’s Food City 500.
