What’s Happening?

The NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series return to the Southeast this weekend with a race at Bristol Motor Speedway near the Tennessee-Virginia state line. Bristol is one of the most popular and historic race tracks in all of NASCAR, and the spring race returns to the concrete. This is how you can follow the action for the weekend.

• Bristol Motor Speedway was built in 1961, and the venue has hosted 2 NASCAR Cup Series races every year since its inception. One race per year has been held either in late March or early April since the second year of the track, 1962.
• Bristol is the second shortest track in the Cup Series at 0.533 miles in length. The track is famous for its’ 24-degree baking in the corners, giving the track incredible speed for its length. The high speeds from multiple series at the track have given it the moniker, “The world’s fastest half-mile”.
• Fans are excited to see the concrete return this weekend after 3 years on dirt. Bristol is one of the most popular tracks in NASCAR, and fans are thrilled to see the concrete back.

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Weekend Schedule (All Times ET)

Saturday, March 16th: Truck Series RACE

• 3:00-3:40 PM – Truck Series Practice (FS1)
• 3:40-4:30 PM – Truck Series Qualifying (FS1)
• 5:00-5:50 PM – Cup Series Practice (FS1)
• 5:50-7:00 PM – Cup Series Qualifying (FS1)
• 8:00 PM – Truck Series Weather Guard Truck Race (FS1); 250 Laps, 133.25 Miles

Sunday, March 17th: Cup Series RACE

• 3:30 PM – Cup Series Food City 500 (FOX); 500 Laps, 266.5 Miles

What to Watch For This Weekend

Cup Series

This is the first daytime race at Bristol in the Next-Gen era, so, teams are bringing their notebooks from the Playoff races at Bristol. Toyota once again figures to be a factor, as they led 429 of 500 laps in the Night Race at Bristol in 2023. Given how well they performed at Phoenix, look out for the JGR trio of Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, and Denny Hamlin once again.

Truck Series

The Truck Series made one visit to Bristol Motor Speedway in September of 2023. Christian Eckes dominated, leading 150 of 200 laps, but, it was Corey Heim who took home the win. This may be the weekend Spire’s dominance ends, but, Rajah Caruth did finish 6th at Bristol in 2023.

An exciting weekend of racing awaits at Bristol Motor Speedway. Who will walk away from the “Last Great Colosseum” victorious?