For the second year in a row, the spring NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is set to be run on a dirt surface. Sunday night’s Food City Dirt Race is being billed as one of the NASCAR’s showcase events of the season. It certainly had a qualifying process that was befitting of a marquee event. Unlike most NASCAR races which have individual time trial qualifying procedures, the Food City Dirt Race starting lineup was set based on the results of several heat races.
The following shares all sorts of vital information to help get you set for Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series action. Read on for the complete Food City Dirt Race starting lineup, start time and NASCAR TV as well as notes and key takeaways from qualifying.
NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway
2022 Food City Dirt Race Info
Date: Sunday, Apr. 17, 2022
Start Time: 7 p.m. EST
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway — Bristol, TN
Coverage: FOX
Pole Sitter: Cole Custer
Defending Champion: Joey Logano
Food City Dirt Race Breakdown
Distance: 133.25 miles
Laps: 250
Lap Length: 0.533 miles
Stages: Three (Laps 1-100; 101-200; 201-250)
Surface: Dirt
Turns: 4
Banking: Turns — 24-28° progressively; Frontstretch — 5-9°; Backstretch — 4-8°
Official Food City Dirt Race Starting Lineup
The 2022 Food City Dirt Race took a unique and much more elaborate form to set its starting lineup than the majority of NASCAR Cup Series events. After a pair of practice sessions on Friday, drivers competed in a series of qualifying heat races on Saturday to set the official starting grid for Sunday’s race. The lineup was officially determined based on total points accumulated in each heat race.
Drivers had two different ways in which they could accumulate qualifying points. The first was simply based on where they finished in their respective heat (first-place earned 10 points, second-place nine points, and so on). Additional points could be gained based on the number of positions gained in the qualifying heat. Starting orders for the four heat races were set randomly. Thus, if a driver started ninth in his qualifying heat and finished third, he would receive both eight points for the finishing result and an additional six points for positions gained relative to where he started.
After the four qualifying heats were run on Saturday, it was determined that Cole Custer would start on the pole in the Food City Dirt Race starting lineup. The following table displays the complete starting grid for Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race.
| Starting Position | Driver | Car Number | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 2 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 3 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Justin Haley | 31 | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 7 | Ty Dillon | 42 | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske | Ford |
| 11 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 13 | Kurt Busch | 45 | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 14 | Erik Jones | 43 | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 15 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing | Ford |
| 16 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 18 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing | Ford |
| 19 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 20 | Austin Cindric | 2 | Team Penske | Ford |
| 21 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 22 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 23 | Todd Gilliland | 38 | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 24 | Harrison Burton | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 25 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske | Ford |
| 26 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 27 | Justin Allgaier | 77 | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 28 | Noah Gragson | 16 | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 29 | J.J. Yeley | 15 | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 30 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 31 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 32 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 33 | Ross Chastain | 1 | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 34 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 35 | Cody Ware | 51 | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 36 | Josh Williams | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford |
NASCAR Food City Dirt Race Practice and Qualifying Notes
- Tyler Reddick was victorious in the first qualifying heat on Saturday. Runner-up Cole Custer bagged enough points to claim the pole position in the Food City Dirt Race starting lineup.
- The second qualifying heat race was won by Christopher Bell.
- Justin Haley was victorious in the third qualifying heat race. He was followed by defending race champion, Joey Logano.
- Ty Dillon won the fourth and final qualifying heat race which consisted of a loaded field as far as dirt track experience is concerned. NASCAR betting favorite Kyle Larson finished third in the heat.
- Prior to winning his qualifying heat, Tyler Reddick also paced the NASCAR Cup Series field in the first practice session on Friday. Reddick posted the fastest lap time at 20.017 seconds.
- The second practice session on Friday was a bit slower across the board. Denny Hamlin posted the top time at 20.668 seconds while Reddick was once again fast with the fourth-fastest time. Kyle Busch and Todd Gilliland were the only other drivers to post lap times faster than 20.7 seconds.
