The 2024 Food City 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on March 17, 2024, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Contested over 500 laps on the short track, it was the fifth race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin won the race. Martin Truex Jr. finished 2nd, and Brad Keselowski finished 3rd. Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five, and John Hunter Nemechek, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs, and Christopher Bell rounded out the top ten.
The race achieved prominent attention because of the combination of very serious tire wear to where drivers slowed their pace up to three seconds a lap and rampant passing to where the lead changed a NASCAR short track record 54 times.
On August 22, 2024, Hamlin's team was fined $100,000 (officially assessed to crew chief Chris Gabehart), with Hamlin and the No. 11 team stripped of all points from the race, and 31 additional points (75 points overall lost) when Toyota admitted they violated NASCAR's sealed engine policy by rebuilding the race-winning engine in their Costa Mesa, California factory before NASCAR could inspect it. Under NASCAR regulations, teams must reuse an engine multiple times during the year, including the final race of the season.
Report
Background
Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking combined with short length, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating.
In 2021, the race shifted to a dirt surface version of the track and was renamed the Food City Dirt Race.
On September 15, 2023, Bristol Motor Speedway announced that the race would return to being run on concrete.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Josh Berry (R) Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Noah Gragson Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 15 Kaz Grala (R) Rick Ware Racing Ford 16 A. J. Allmendinger (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Daniel Hemric Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Ryan Preece Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Justin Haley Rick Ware Racing Ford 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 71 Zane Smith (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 77 Carson Hocevar (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 15.028 seconds and a speed of .
Practice results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 15.028 127.682 2 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.110 126.989 3 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 15.118 126.922 Official practice results
Qualifying Ryan Blaney scored the pole for the race with a time of 15.356 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 15.134 15.356 2 4 Josh Berry (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15.297 15.376 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 15.165 15.452 4 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 15.387 15.506 5 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.213 15.615 6 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15.165 15.618 7 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 15.384 15.714 8 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.405 15.771 9 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 15.260 15.778 10 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.209 16.743 11 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 15.335 — 12 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 15.414 — 13 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 15.353 — 14 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.437 — 15 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 15.359 — 16 71 Zane Smith (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 15.490 — 17 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 15.382 — 18 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 15.496 — 19 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 15.399 — 20 31 Daniel Hemric Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 15.575 — 21 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 15.422 — 22 10 Noah Gragson Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15.586 — 23 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 15.468 — 24 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 15.645 — 25 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15.474 — 26 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 15.663 — 27 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 15.488 — 28 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 15.756 — 29 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.505 — 30 16 A. J. Allmendinger (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 15.848 — 31 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.534 — 32 51 Justin Haley Rick Ware Racing Ford 15.916 — 33 15 Kaz Grala (R) Rick Ware Racing Ford 15.694 — 34 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 16.078 — 35 77 Carson Hocevar (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 15.846 — 36 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 16.096 — Official qualifying results
Race
Race results
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 125
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 84 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 75 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 66 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 57 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 210 4 Josh Berry (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 125
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 93 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 84 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 75 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 57 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota --8 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 210 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 250
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 -31 2 11 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 44 3 17 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 500 50 4 29 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 33 5 10 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 44 6 26 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 499 44 7 34 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 499 38 8 5 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 499 29 9 19 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 499 48 10 12 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 499 36 11 7 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 499 26 12 2 4 Josh Berry (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 499 26 13 6 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 498 24 14 25 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 498 26 15 36 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 498 22 16 1 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 498 26 17 32 51 Justin Haley Rick Ware Racing Ford 498 20 18 28 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 498 19 19 33 15 Kaz Grala (R) Rick Ware Racing Ford 498 18 20 15 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 498 17 21 18 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 498 16 22 4 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 498 23 23 30 16 A. J. Allmendinger (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 498 0 24 31 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 498 1325 14 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 498 1226 24 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 497 11 27 35 77 Carson Hocevar (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 497 10 28 20 31 Daniel Hemric Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 496 929 9 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 496 10 30 23 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 495 7 31 21 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 495 6 32 13 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 495 5 33 27 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 495 434 22 10 Noah Gragson Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 494 3 35 8 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 492 2 36 16 71 Zane Smith (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 192 1 Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 54 among 16 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 9 for 98 laps Red flags: 0 Time of race: 3 hours, 20 minutes and 41 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television The Food City 500 was carried by Fox in the United States. Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and three-time Bristol winner Kevin Harvick called the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little and Regan Smith handled pit road for the television side, and Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.
FoxBooth announcersPit reportersIn-race analyst Lap-by-lap: Mike JoyColor-commentator: Clint BowyerColor-commentator: Kevin Harvick Jamie LittleRegan Smith Larry McReynolds
Radio PRN had the radio call for the race which was simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the race in the booth when the field raced down the frontstretch. Rob Albright called the race from atop the turn 3 suites when the field raced down the backstretch. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan and Wendy Venturini covered the action on pit lane for PRN.
PRNBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Doug RiceAnnouncer: Mark Garrow Backstretch: Rob Albright Brad GillieBrett McMillanWendy Venturini
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 1 Kyle Larson 185 1 2 Martin Truex Jr. 185 (–0) 3 3 Ty Gibbs 178 (–7) 3 4 Ryan Blaney 177 (–8) 3 5 Denny Hamlin 173 (–12) 3 6 Chase Elliott 152 (–33) 7 Ross Chastain 151 (–34) 4 8 Christopher Bell 138 (–47) 4 9 Tyler Reddick 137 (–48) 6 10 William Byron 136 (–49) 1 11 Daniel Suárez 133 (–52) 1 12 Alex Bowman 132 (–53) 9 13 Brad Keselowski 125 (–60) 2 14 Chris Buescher 124 (–61) 6 15 John Hunter Nemechek 124 (–61) 5 16 Kyle Busch 122 (–63)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 184 2 Toyota 181 (–3) 3 Ford 166 (–18)
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
Notes
References