After the entry list for the Cup Series for the Food City 500 was set, a few changes were made to the lineup.

Alex Bowman has been cleared by NASCAR to race and returns to the track earlier than expected.

After the race at Martinsville, Richard Childress Racing had listed the number 33 car for Bristol with Austin Hill behind the wheel.  But with the plethora of issues that have seen his drivers finish back in the field, team owner Richard Childres has pulled the 33 car from the field.

Chad Finchum is replacing Timmy Hill in the number 66 car at Bristol.

There are 37 cars entered to run at the half mile track known as Thunder Valley and The Last Great Coliseum.

The drivers have been divided into two groups and will have just 25 minutes for practice time before the groups are merged for single car qualifying.

Riley Herbst scrapes the wall but the track stays green and he takes the car down pit road for repairs.

Running 15 second laps around the half mile track, the drivers do sustain some G-forces.  While Larry McReynolds would not say exactly what those G-forces are, he said that prior to the race he would explain what the drivers deal with and will be comparing it to a major event that just took place in the United States (astronauts).

Ricky Stenhouse Jr tops the leaderboard in single lap runs with a time of 15.403 seconds but Michael McDowell leads the way in multiple lap runs in group one.

Several of the drivers have reported loose conditions in their cars.

Austin Cindric topped the leaderboard at the end of group two practice but is third overall.  Ryan Blaney led the way in multiple lap times.

Clouds have covered the sun and the track temperature has dropped some 10 degrees.

The first driver on the track to make a qualifying lap is Chad Finchum who posted a time of 15.711 seconds around the half mile track.

With a time of 15.101 seconds, Ryan Blaney puts his number 12 car on the pole for his 13th career pole.  Tyler Reddick will start alongside on the front row.

The starting lineup for the Food City 500:
Ryan Blaney
Tyler Reddick
Chase Briscoe
Riley Herbst
Ty Gibbs
Ross Chastain
Chris Buescher
Kyle Larson
Austin Cindric
Carson Hocevar
Denny Hamlin
Bubba Wallace
Daniel Suarez
Christopher Bell
Zane Smith
Noah Gragson
Ryan Preece
Chase Elliott
Michael McDowell
Joey Logano
Brad Keselowski
AJ Allmendinger
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Austin Dillon
Josh Berry
Connor Zilisch
Alex Bowman
Erik Jones
Kyle Busch
Cole Custer
John Hunter Nemechek
Ty Dillon
Shane van Gisbergen
William Byron
Todd Gilliland
Cody Ware
Chad Finchum

During the pre-race technical inspection process, five Cup Series drivers’ cars failed the process twice – Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, Ross Chastain, Cole Custer and Chad Finchum.  As a result of the failures, each team has lost a crew member and will have their pit stall selections assigned by NASCAR once all the remaining drivers have made their choices.

After practicing and qualifying under the clouds, the drivers will be racing on some of the hottest days so far and NASCAR has reapplied the traction compound (“sticky stuff”) to the bottom lane of the track.

Stages one and two of the race are 125 laps each with stage three lasting 250 laps for a total of 250 laps around the half mile track.

Larry McReynolds reveals that to aid the drivers with comfort, foam is added to the head rest and between the legs.  The drivers face g-forces of 3-Gs twice every lap – the same as the astronauts on the Artemis II mission.

Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Tyler Reddick alongside.  Blaney gets out in front for the lead with Ross Chastain in second and Kyle Larson in third; Herbst and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Lap six, Ryan Blaney has a near one second lead on Ross Chastain; Kyle Larson, Riley Herbst, and Tyler Reddick continue to make up the top five.

William Byron had to start the race from the back of the field after the crew made a steering rack change before the race.  He has moved up only three spots since the start of the race.

Lap 14, Ryan Blaney’s lead is now nearly a second and a half on Ross Chastain; Kyle Larson, Riley Herbst, and Tyler Reddick continue to round out the top five.

Lap 20, leader Ryan Blaney has reached the slower traffic and will quickly be putting cars a lap down.

Lap 24, Ryan Blaney has lapped Chad Finchum for the first car one lap down.

Lap 28, Ryan Blaney has a one second lead on Ross Chastain.

Lap 30, Kyle Larson passes Ross Chastain for second.

Lap 32, the top five are Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Riley Herbst, and Tyler Reddick.

Lap 35, leader Ryan Blaney has put Ty Dillon one lap down, William Byron is the next car and the last car on the lead lap at the moment.

Lap 40, William Byron is now one lap down.

Lap 42, Ryan Blaney’s lead on Kyle Larson is now down to just a quarter of a second.

Lap 44, Kyle Larson passes Ryan Blaney for the lead.

Lap 48, Kyle Larson has a near half second lead on Ryan Blaney; Ross Chastain, Riley Herbst, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 54, there are now 30 cars on the lead lap.

Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson are battling for the lead.

Lap 58, Kyle Larson has pulled out to a half second lead on Ryan Blaney; Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, and Riley Herbst round out the top five.

The first caution flag of the race come out on lap 62 for Brad Keselowski who spins out after contact from Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Connor Zilisch is the “lucky dog”.

Drivers come down pit road for service but Kyle Larson had a bit of a slow stop.

Tyler Reddick was caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the longest line.

Chase Elliott and Josh Berry stayed out on the track.

Chase Elliott brings the field down for the green flag restart with Josh Berry alongside on lap 71.  Drivers are three wide on the restart with Kyle Larson getting back out in front; Josh Berry, Christopher Bell, Chase Eliott, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Lap 76, after restarting the race from the back of the field, Tyler Reddick has moved up four spots so far.

Lap 77, Kyle Larson has a near one second lead on Josh Berry; Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Drivers are getting three wide on the track.

Chad Finchum is off the track.

Chad Finchum returns to the track six laps down.

Lap 84, Tyler Reddick is up to 28th as he works his way back through the field after a speeding penalty.

There are 34 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 91, Kyle Larson has a lead of over two seconds on Josh Berry; Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Chad Finchum is off the track again.

Lap 98, Christopher Bell passes Josh Berry for second; two and a half seconds behind leader Kyle Larson.

Lap 104, Christopher Bell has begun to close the gap on leader Kyle Larson; Larson’s lead is now under two and a half seconds.

Lap 107, the top five are Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Josh Berry, and Chase Briscoe.

Lap 109, William Byron is now two laps down and Tyler Reddick is up to 27th the last car on the lead lap.

Lap 114, Kyle Larson still has a lead of over two seconds on Christopher Bell; Ryan Blaney, Josh Berry, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.

Tyler Reddick is reporting some steering issues with his car and brake shakes.

Kyle Larson wins stage one.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Kyle Larson
Christopher Bell
Ryan Blaney
Chase Briscoe
Josh Berry
Denny Hamlin
Carson Hocevar
Riley Herbst
Bubba Wallace
Austin Cindric

Connor Zilisch is the “lucky dog”.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larson winning the race off of pit road.

Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek, and Michael McDowell were caught speeding on pit road.  Zane Smith was charged with an equipment interference violation.  The drivers will have to restart the race from the back of the longest line.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Denny Hamlin alongside on lap 137.  Larson jumps out in front for the lead with Chase Briscoe in second; Josh Berry, Denny Hamlin, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.

Lap 142, Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar battle for fifth place.

Tyler Reddick has entered the top 20 in 17th.

The caution flag comes out on lap 145 when Christopher Bell gets loose and spins out into the wall.

Christopher Bell was charged with pitting too soon and having too many crew members over the wall.

Ross Chastain is reporting some possible voltage issues.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart with Josh Berry alongside on lap 152.  Larson gets out in front for the lead with Josh Berry and Chase Briscoe in a battle for second.

The top five are Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, Denny Hamlin, and Carson Hocevar.

There are 28 cars on the lead lap.  Chad Finchum is back on the track 71 laps down.

Carson Hocevar passes Denny Hamlin for fourth.

The caution flag comes out on lap 160 for a crash involving Alex Bowman, Shane van Gisbergen, and John Hunter Nemechek.  Todd Gilliland avoided any damage by just missing hitting Alex Bowman.  Shane van Gisbergen got things started when he spun out.

Ty Dillon is the “lucky dog”.

During the caution NASCAR sent out the sweepers to clean up some of the rubber marbles.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart with Josh Berry alongside on lap 168.  Larson jumps out in front for the lead with Chase Briscoe taking second.

Lap 171, the top five are Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, Carson Hocevar, and Ryan Blaney.

Shane van Gisbergen is the only driver off the track.

Alex Bowman takes his car behind the wall.

There are 29 cars on the lead lap.

After a speeding penalty, Tyler Reddick has made it back to the top 15 in 14th place.

Lap 179, Kyle Larson has a half second lead on Chase Briscoe; Josh Berry, Ryan Blaney, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.

All three of the Team Penske cars plus the Wood Brothers car have worked their way to the top 10.

Lap 185, Kyle Larson has a lead of over a second on Chase Briscoe; Ryan Blaney, Josh berry, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.

Alex Bowman is out of the race.  John Hunter Nemehek and Shane van Gisbergen are still off the track.

Lap 194, Ryan Blaney passes Chase Briscoe for second; nearly two seconds behind leader Kyle Larson.

Lap 200, Kyle Larson has a lead of over a second on Ryan Blaney with Larson amid slower traffic.

Lap 206, Kyle Larson’s lead is down to just over a second on Ryan Blaney; Chase Briscoe, Carson Hocevar, and Josh Berry round out the top five.  There are 28 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 215, Kyle Larson’s lead is now under one second on Ryan Blaney as the leaders encounter slower traffic.

Lap 224, Denny Hamlin passes Josh Berry for fifth.

Lap  228, Kyle Larson’s lead is gone!  Ryan Blaney and Larson battle for the lead.  Denny Hamlin passes Carson Hocevar for fourth.

The shadows are creeping upon the track which will change the track and lower temperatures.

Leaders passes Daniel Suarez to put him a lap down; there are now 24 crs on the lead lap.

Kyle Larson has opened up a half second lead on Ryan Blaney; Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.

With 10 laps remaining in stage two, Kyle Larson is in the middle of heavy slower traffic with Ryan Blaney on his bumper.

In the meantime, Daniel Suarez is working to get back on the lead lap!

Kyle Larson wins stage two for the stage sweep.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Kyle Larson
Ryan Blaney
Denny Hamlin
Carson Hocevar
Chase Briscoe
Josh Berry
Ty Gibbs
Joey Logano
Bubba Wallace
Austin Cindric

Drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larson reporting a very loose condition.  Kyle Larson barely edges out Denny Hamlin to win the race off of pit road.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Chase Briscoe alongside on lap 261.  Larson jumps out in front for the lead and begins to pull away.

The top five are Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, and Ty Gibbs.

Noah Gragson is getting three wide and passing cars. In three laps he has advanced six spots.

Tyler Reddick has entered the top 10.

Lap 289, Kyle Larson has a half second lead on Denny Hamlin; Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

With the race now over halfway through, some of the drivers are playing bumper cars.

Christopher Bell gets into the wall again but the car keeps moving and the track stays green.

Ryan Blaney passes Carson Hocevar and Joey Logano for fifth.

Blaney has passed Ty Gibbs for fourth.

Lap 281, Kyle Larson has a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.

Ty Gibbs passes Chase Briscoe for fourth.

Lap 289, Kyle Larson has a two second lead on Ryan Blaney; Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.  Tyler Reddick is in eighth place.

Lap 293, Kyle Larson has a two second lead on Ryan Blaney.  Ty Gibbs passes teammate Denny Hamlin for third.

Kyle Larson has become the ninth driver to lead 2,000 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Lap 304, Kyle Larson has a second and a half lead on Ryan Blaney; Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.

Bubba Wallace and Brad Keselowski battle to 10th.

The caution flag comes out on lap 313 when Riley Herbst and Kyle Busch make contact sending Busch in a spin.  Erik Jones hits Kyle Busch and spins out.

Drivers come down pit road for service with some drivers reporting a loose condition.  Kyle Larson wins the race off of pit road with Ty Gibbs in second.

The top five are Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Briscoe.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr was charged with a safety violation and will have to restart the race from the back of the longest line.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart with Denny Hamlin alongside on lap 320.  Larson takes the lead with Hamin in second.

Shane van Gisbergen returns to the track 158 laps down.

Lap 324, Kyle Larson has a third of a second lead on Ryan Blaney; Ty Gibbs and Joey Logano battle for third with Denny Hamlin in fifth.

The drivers may or may not have enough fuel to finish the race depending on whether or not the crews got the tanks full.

Tyler Reddick is just outside the top five in sixth place.

Chad Finchum is off the track.

Lap 332, Ryan Blaney has closed the gap on leader Kyle Larson to less than half a second; Ty Gibbs, Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

This week Brad Keselowski is driving a bright red car…but not quite as red as the “nuclear” hot dogs at Martinsville last week.

Lap 339, Ryan Blaney passes Kyle Larson for the lead.

Lap 346, Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe battle for sixth.

Lap 354, Carson Hocevar passes Chase Briscoe for seventh.

Ryan Blaney has pulled out to a lead of over two seconds on Kyle Larson; Ty Gibbs, Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Chad Finchum is out of the race with 25 cars on the lead lap.

John Hunter Nemechek has returned to the track 178 laps down.

Kyle Larson has led 284 laps of the race.

Ryan Blaney puts Michael McDowell a lap down for 24 cars on the lead lap with Ricky Stenhouse Jr the last car on the lead lap as leader Ryan Blaney is amidst heavy traffic.

Lap 370, the top five remains Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin.

Carson Hocevar has passed Tyler Reddick for sixth place.

Larry McReynolds reports that tires may be a bigger issue than fuel with 180 laps since the last pit stops if the race stays green.

Kyle Busch gets loose right in front of the leaders but saves the car and the track stays green.

With 120 laps remaining in the race, Ryan Blaney has a lead of over three seconds on Kyle Larson.

The caution flag comes out on lap 382 when Connor Zilisch gets into the wall and spins out. 

Daniel Suarez is the “lucky dog”.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Ryan Blaney winning the race off of pit road.  Josh Berry and Kyle Larson make contact on pit road.

Brad Keselowski was caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the longest line.

Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ty Gibbs alongside with 110 laps remaining in the race.  Blaney holds on to the lead with Kyle Larson taking second.

Josh Berry gets into the wall hard after contact from Noah Gragson but the track stays green.  Berry has a smoking tire.

The top five are Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, Todd Gilliland, and Joey Logano.

Connor Zilisch is off the track.

Denny Hamlin and Carson Hocevar battle for sixth.

Ryan Blaney puts Josh Berry a laps down to pt 24 cars on the lead lap.

Connor Zilisch returns to the track 24 laps down.

Denny Hamlin and Carson Hocevar continue to battle for sixth place; swapping it back and forth.

With 90 laps remaining in the race, Ryan Blaney has a second and a half lead on Kyle Larson; Ty Gibbs, Todd Gilliland, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

With 83 laps to go, Ryan Blaney has a lead of over a second and a half on Kyle Larson.  Blaney has run the fastest lap of the race.

Eighty to go, Ryan Blaney has extended his lead to over two seconds on Kyle Larson; Ty Gibbs, Todd Gilliland, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Josh Berry has made an unscheduled  trip down pit road.  He was charged with having too many crew over the wall and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.

Kyle Larson is reporting some issues with his car and is in danger of being passed by Ty Gibbs.

There are now just 21 cars on the lead lap with Ryan Blaney two and a half seconds in front.

Just 64 laps to go, Ryan Blaney has pulled out to a lead of over three seconds on Kyle Larson; Ty Gibbs, Todd Gilliland, and Carson Hocevar rounding out the top five.

Lap 444, Ty Gibbs comes up one the outside to pass Kyle Larson for second.  Ryan Blaney is two and a half seconds out in front amidst heavy traffic.

With 53 laps to go, there are just 17 cars on the lead lap.

Fourth place driver Todd Gilliland took only two tires on the last pit stop.

With 48 laps to go, Ryan Blaney continues to laps slower cars and there are now just 14 cars on the lead lap.  Blaney has a lead of over a second on Ty Gibbs.

With 37 laps to go, Ryan Blaney’s lead is now under one second as he battle to put more cars a lap down.

Carson Hocevar passes Chase Briscoe for fourth.

Just 27 laps to go, Ryan Blaney is mired in traffic and has seen his lead drop to under a second on Ty Gibbs.

Ryan Blaney has finally passed Brad Keselowski to put him a lap down.

The caution flag comes out on lap 478 when Chase Elliott spins out in a slow lazy motion that keeps the car off the wall and away form any other cars.

Brad Keselowski is the “lucky dog”.

There are only 13 cars on the lead lap and 21 laps remaining in the race.

Some of the drivers come down pit road for fresh tires including the leader.  Just eight of the 13 lead lap cars stayed out on the track including Ty Gibbs, Carson Hocevar, and Tyler Reddick.

Kyle Larson wins the race off of pit road after taking only two tires.

Chase Elliott was caught speeding on pit road.

Ty Gibbs is the leader of the race and brings the field down for the green flag restart with Chase Briscoe alongside with 15 laps remaining in the race.  Ty Gibbs gets out in front but the driver get three wide with Tyler Reddick coming up on the outside to take second place.

Ty Gibbs and Tyler Reddick got side by side for the lead.

Kyle Larson makes it a three way battle.

Ten to go, Ty Gibbs leads the race with Kyle Larson in second; Ryan Blaney on four nee tires is third with Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe rounding out the top five.

Ryan Blaney moves up on the outside to battle Ty Gibbs with six laps to go.

Riley Herbst spins out after contact from Kyle Busch with three laps to go and brings out the caution flag. The race goes into overtime!

Just three drivers came down pit road for fresh tires.

The last time there was an overtime finish at Bristol, leader Ty Gibbs was just 12 years old.

Ty Gibbs brings the field down for the overtime shootout to end the race with Ryan Blaney alongside.  Gibbs takes the lead but gets a battle from Ryan Blaney as the whit flag waves.

Ty Gibbs wins his first race by just edging out Ryan Blaney.

The unofficial results of the Food City 500:
Ty Gibbs
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Larson
Tyler Reddick
Chase Briscoe
Todd Gilliland
Joey Logano
Ryan Preece
Denny Hamlin
Carson Hocevar
Bubba Wallace
Daniel Suarez
Chris Buescher
Brad Keselowski
AJ Allmendinger
Austin Cindric
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Austin Dillon
Zane Smith
Ross Chastain
Riley Herbst
Chase Elliott
Erik Jones
Michael McDowell
Kyle Busch
Noah Gragson
Christopher Bell
Cole Custer
Ty Dillon
William Byron
Cody Ware
Josh Berry
Connor Zilisch
Shane van Gisbergen
John Hunter Nemechek
Chad Finchum
Alex Bowman