Qualifying Results : Bristol Motor Speedway

• Bristol Motor Speedway
• Food City 500
• Busch Pole Award Pole Winner: Ryan Blaney
• Age: 30
• Team : No. 12 - Menards/Dutch Boy Ford
• Owner: Roger Penske
• Crew Chief: Jonathan Hassler
• Ryan Blaney won the Pole Award for the Food City 500 with a lap of 15.356 seconds, 124.954 mph.
• This is his 10th pole in 311 NASCAR Cup Series races.
• This is his first pole and second top-10 start in 2024.
• This is his first pole in 15 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Josh Berry (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2024 and his first in one race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Denny Hamlin (third) posted his 20th top-10 start at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his third in five races this season.
• Josh Berry (second) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

• Sunday, March 17th, 2024
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

Denny Hamlin wins battle of NASCAR Cup tire managers at Bristol

How appropriate.

On a day where tire management was the essential element in a NASCAR Cup Series race, three veterans swept the podium positions, with Denny Hamlin winning Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In a race that produced 54 lead changes—a record for Cup Series short tracks—Hamlin lost the lead briefly to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps but regained it in traffic and beat Truex to the finish line by 1.083 seconds.

In a return to concrete after three straight spring races on dirt, Hamlin won his second straight race at the 0.533-mile speedway and his fourth overall, second most among active drivers to Kyle Busch’s eight.

The victory was the 52^ndof Hamlin’s career, 13^thall-time, and his first this season.

But the story was the tires and the mysterious way they behaved in a race that saw the track start to eat through to the cords 45 laps into a green-flag run.

Goodyear brought the same tire that ran without issues in last fall’s Night Race, but on Sunday, the concrete surface did not take rubber. Instead, marbles (small balls of rubber from degraded tires) accumulated high in the corners, making the top of the track untenable.

There were two variables that might have helped to account for the tire issues. The temperature was roughly 10-15 degrees cooler than it was for last year’s Night Race, which was run on Sept. 16.

NASCAR also opted for a different resin the bottom lane from the PJ1 traction compound previously in use.

Whatever the cause, with his short-track background, Hamlin was best equipped to deal with the surprising situation.

“That’s what I grew up here doing in the short tracks in the Mid Atlantic, South Boston (Va.), Martinsville,” said Hamlin, who grew up in Chesterfield, Va. “Once it became a tire-management race, I really liked our chances.

“Obviously, the veteran in Martin, he knew how to do it as well. We just had a great car, great team. The pit crew just did a phenomenal job all day. Can’t say enough about them… Man, it feels so good to win in Bristol.”

Truex passed Hamlin for the lead in traffic on Lap 483 but surrendered the top spot to the race winner one lap later, as the teammates worked around slower cars. Truex’s tires gave up the ghost on the last few circuits, as Hamlin pulled away.

“Apparently, that’s what I needed to have happen here at Bristol to have a shot at winning—I guess this tire management thing fit into my wheelhouse here at Bristol,” Truex said.

“Man, the difference was just coming out of the pits so far behind Denny (after green-flag pit stops during the final run). I had to use mine up more on the last run. The last four, five laps of the race, was cord.”

Hamlin led a race-high 163 laps, as the four JGR drivers spent a combined 383 of 500 laps at the front field, with Ty Gibbs leading 137, Truex 54 and Christopher Bell 29.

Brad Keselowski, a three-time winner at the track, finished third, 7.284 seconds behind Hamlin.

Hendrick Motorsports drivers Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson were fourth and fifth, respectively, as only five drivers finished on the lead lap.

The last time five or fewer drivers finished on the lead lap was the June 6, 2004 race at Dover.

John Hunter Nemechek, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, Gibbs and Bell came home sixth through 10^th, respectively.

Larson and Truex leave Bristol tied for the series lead, passing defending series champion Ryan Blaney, who finished 16^th.

• Drivers Entered: 36
• Laps Scheduled: 500
• Margin of Victory: 01.083 Seconds
• Time of Race: 3 Hours 20 Minutes 41 Seconds
• Average Speed: 79.678
• Cautions: 9 for 98 laps
• Lead Changes: 54
• Green Flag Passes: 3,589 (8.9 passes per green flag lap)

• Bristol Motor Speedway
• Food City 500
• Race Winner: Denny Hamlin
• Age: 43
• Team : No. 11 - Express Oil Change Toyota
• Owner: Joe Gibbs
• Crew Chief: Christopher Gabehart
• Denny Hamlin won the Food City 500, his 52nd victory in 655 Cup Series races.
• This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in 2024.
• This is his fourth victory and 18th top-10 finish in 34 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Martin Truex Jr. (second) posted his fifth top-10 finish in 34 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his third top-10 finish in 2024.
• Brad Keselowski (third) posted his 10th top-10 finish in 26 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Josh Berry (12th) was the highest finishing rookie.
• Kyle Larson leads the point standings by 0 points over Martin Truex Jr..
• There were a track record high of 54 lead changes, the most since April 14, 1991 (40), and the number of leaders matched the previous record of 16 (April 9, 1989).