A look at the NASCAR qualifying results for the 2026 Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race today at Bristol Motor Speedway.
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The starting lineup is set for Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, and as always, track position will play a major role at “The Last Great Coliseum.” With tight confines and limited passing opportunities, where drivers begin the race can have a significant impact on both stage results and overall finishing position.
Adding to the challenge this weekend is the fact that drivers will be adjusting to a new Goodyear tire compound. This race will also utilize NASCAR’s new short-track package which features increased horsepower and less downforce compared to the previous races at Bristol in the Gen-7 car.
The following shares the official starting grid for Sunday’s race, along with Bristol Motor Speedway track details and key observations from NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying. If you are playing some fantasy today, make sure you check out our NASCAR fantasy picks for the Food City 500!
NASCAR Qualifying Results at Bristol Motor Speedway
2026 Food City 500 Race Info
Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Start Time: 3 p.m. EST
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway — Bristol, TN
Coverage: FS1
Pole Sitter: Ryan Blaney
Defending Champion: Kyle Larson
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Food City 500 Race Breakdown
Distance: 266.5 miles
Laps: 500
Lap Length: 0.533 miles
Stages: Three (125 laps, 125 laps, 250 laps)
Surface: Concrete
Turns: 4
Banking: Turns 24-28°; Frontstretch and Backstretch — 4-8°
Official Food City 500 Starting Lineup
For the first time this season, Ryan Blaney will lead the field to the green flag. The Team Penske driver captured his second career pole at Bristol and the 13th of his Cup Series career overall with a qualifying lap time of 15.101 seconds (127.064 mph).
Blaney’s qualifying time was 0.023 seconds ahead of Tyler Reddick, who turned his lap at 126.871 mph. He will be the second car starting on the outside row as he seeks his fifth win of the 2026 season.
Reddick may have been the fastest Toyota in the NASCAR qualifying results, but he will hardly be the only one starting near the front. In fact, behind Blaney, the next four fastest cars in qualifying were all Toyotas. There are eight Camrys in Sunday’s field and six of them will starting in the top-12.
The table below shares the complete Food City 500 starting lineup and NASCAR qualifying results for Sunday afternoon’s race.
| Position | Driver | Number | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske | Ford |
| 2 | Tyler Reddick | 45 | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 3 | Chase Briscoe | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 4 | Riley Herbst | 35 | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 5 | Ty Gibbs | 54 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 6 | Ross Chastain | 1 | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 7 | Chris Buescher | 17 | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 8 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Austin Cindric | 2 | Team Penske | Ford |
| 10 | Carson Hocevar | 77 | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 13 | Daniel Suarez | 7 | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 15 | Zane Smith | 38 | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 16 | Noah Gragson | 4 | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 17 | Ryan Preece | 60 | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 18 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 19 | Michael McDowell | 71 | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 20 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske | Ford |
| 21 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 22 | AJ Allmendinger | 16 | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 23 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | HYAK Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 24 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 25 | Josh Berry | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 26 | Connor Zilisch | 88 | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 27 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 28 | Erik Jones | 43 | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota |
| 29 | Kyle Busch | 8 | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 30 | Cole Custer | 41 | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet |
| 31 | John Hunter Nemechek | 42 | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota |
| 32 | Ty Dillon | 10 | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 33 | Shane van Gisbergen | 97 | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 34 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 35 | Todd Gilliland | 34 | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 36 | Cody Ware | 51 | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 37 | Chad Finchum | 66 | Garage 66 | Ford |
NASCAR Food City 500 Practice and Qualifying Notes
- Despite being the third driver to attempt his qualifying lap, Riley Herbst threw down an impressive lap at 125.679 mph and will line up fourth on Sunday’s starting grid. This came after Herbst hit the outside wall multiple times in practice.
- Five drivers had their cars fail pre-race inspection twice. Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Michael McDowell, Cole Custer and Chad Finchum all lost the right to choose their pit stalls as a result.
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. posted the top lap speed in practice at 124.573 mph.
- The best ten-lap consecutive average speed in practice belonged to Noah Gragson at 123.529 mph. He went on to qualify 16th.
- In terms of individual practice lap speeds, Austin Cindric, Erik Jones and Bubba Wallace were among the top five.
- Ross Chastain aided his quest to turn around a slow start to the season by pacing the Chevrolets in the NASCAR qualifying results. He will start sixth overall.
- William Byron will have his work cut out for him after a rough qualifying run that sees him start 34th. In fact, three of the four Hendrick Motorsports cars will start 18th or worse.
