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NASCAR at Bristol, starting lineup for 2026 Food City 500
The NASCAR Cup Series is in Tennessee on Sunday, April 12, for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway after a week off.
Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Team Penske Ford will start in the pole position, with Tyler Reddick and the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota on the outside.
It promises to be an exciting afternoon of racing on the World’s Fastest Half-Mile.
Kyle Larson (+340) is favored to take home the checkered flag, followed by Denny Hamlin (+470) and Blaney (+600), according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Sep 12, 2025; Bristol, Tennessee, USA; General view during the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images
Sunday’s race will begin at approximately 3:00 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1, with live streaming on Fubo, the FOX One app, and HBO Max.
The Food City 500 will run 500 laps around Bristol’s 0.5333-mile. Stage 1 will run 125 laps, Stage 2 is 125 laps, and the final 250 laps will make up Stage 3.
Where will your favorite driver start Sunday afternoon’s race?
A full look at the starting lineup for the Food City 500 can be seen below.
Food City 500 starting lineup
Apr 11, 2026; Bristol, Tennessee, USA; Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney (12) during qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images
Row 1
1. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
2. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
Row 2
3. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
4. Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
Row 3
5. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
6. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Row 4
7. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
8. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Apr 11, 2026; Bristol, Tennessee, USA; JR Motorsports driver Kyle Larson (88) at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images
Row 5
9. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
10. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Row 6
11. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
12. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
Row 7
13. Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
14. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Row 8
15. Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
16. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Row 9
17. Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
18. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Mar 29, 2026; Martinsville, Virginia, USA; Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott (9) celebrates the win with his crew and the trophy grandfather clock at Martinsville Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
Row 10
19. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
20. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
Row 11
21. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
22. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Row 12
23. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet
24. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Row 13
25. Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
26. Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Row 14
27. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
28. Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Apr 11, 2026; Bristol, Tennessee, USA; Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch (8) during qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images
Row 15
29. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
30. Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet
Row 16
31. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
32. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Row 17
33. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
34. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Row 18
35. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
36. Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet
Row 19
37. Chad Finchum, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford
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