2026 Food City 500
| Race details[1][2][3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 36 in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
| Date | April 12, 2026 | ||
| Location | Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.533 miles (0.858 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 133.25 mi (214.445 km) | ||
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS1 | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Kevin Harvick | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | PRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Brad Gillie and Mark Garrow | ||
| Turn announcers | Nick Yeoman (Backstretch) | ||
The 2026 Food City 500 is an upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race that will be held on April 12, 2026, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Contested over 500 laps on the 0.533 miles (0.858 km) short track, it will be the 8th race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Report
Background
The 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. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.
Besides holding racing events, the track has hosted the Battle at Bristol, a college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Virginia Tech Hokies on September 10, 2016, and the MLB Speedway Classic, an MLB baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds from August 2-3, 2025.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Alex Bowman, the original driver of the No. 48, was sidelined for the race due to vertigo sustained at Austin.[4]
Media
Television
The race will be carried by FS1 in the United States. Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and three-time Bristol winner Kevin Harvick will call the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little, Regan Smith and Josh Sims will handle pit road for the television side, and Larry McReynolds will provide insight on-site during the race.
| FS1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | In-race analyst |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer Color-commentator: Kevin Harvick |
Jamie Little Regan Smith Josh Sims |
Larry McReynolds |
Radio
PRN will have the radio call for the race which will be simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Brad Gillie and Mark Garrow will call the race in the booth when the field raced down the frontstretch. Nick Yeoman will call the race from atop the turn 3 suites when the field raced down the backstretch. Andrew Kurland, Brett McMillan and Wendy Venturini will cover the action on pit lane for PRN.
| PRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Brad Gillie Announcer: Mark Garrow |
Backstretch: Nick Yeoman | Andrew Kurland Brett McMillan Wendy Venturini |
References
- ^ "2026 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ^ "Bristol Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
- ^ "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR. August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
- ^ "Alex Bowman to miss next three NASCAR Cup Series races as he focuses on vertigo recovery". Hendrick Motorsports. Retrieved March 17, 2026.