Food City 500
Bristol Motor Speedway — April 12, 2026
Ty Gibbs
Winner
505
Laps
12
Lead Changes
4
Leaders
Ty Gibbs won the 2026 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 12, 2026, leading 25 of 505 laps. Ryan Blaney finished second; Kyle Larson rounded out the podium. The race had 12 lead changes among 4 different leaders.
Race Details
Date
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Track
Season
2026
Winner
Lead Changes
12
Leaders
4 drivers
| Pos | Start | +/- | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | +4 | Ty Gibbs |
| 2 | 1 | -1 | Ryan Blaney |
| 3 | 8 | +5 | Kyle Larson |
| 4 | 2 | -2 | Tyler Reddick |
| 5 | 3 | -2 | Chase Briscoe |
| 6 | 35 | +29 | Todd Gilliland |
| 7 | 20 | +13 | Joey Logano |
| 8 | 17 | +9 | Ryan Preece |
| 9 | 11 | +2 | Denny Hamlin |
| 10 | 10 | — | Carson Hocevar |
| 11 | 12 | +1 | Bubba Wallace |
| 12 | 13 | +1 | Daniel Suarez |
| 13 | 7 | -6 | Chris Buescher |
| 14 | 21 | +7 | Brad Keselowski |
| 15 | 22 | +7 | A.J. Allmendinger |
| 16 | 9 | -7 | Austin Cindric |
| 17 | 23 | +6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 18 | 24 | +6 | Austin Dillon |
| 19 | 15 | -4 | Zane Smith |
| 20 | 6 | -14 | Ross Chastain |
| 21 | 4 | -17 | Riley Herbst |
| 22 | 18 | -4 | Chase Elliott |
| 23 | 28 | +5 | Erik Jones |
| 24 | 19 | -5 | Michael McDowell |
| 25 | 29 | +4 | Kyle Busch |
| 26 | 16 | -10 | Noah Gragson |
| 27 | 14 | -13 | Christopher Bell |
| 28 | 30 | +2 | Cole Custer |
| 29 | 32 | +3 | Ty Dillon |
| 30 | 34 | +4 | William Byron |
| 31 | 36 | +5 | Cody Ware |
| 32 | 25 | -7 | Josh Berry |
| 33 | 26 | -7 | Connor Zilisch |
| 34 | 33 | -1 | Shane van Gisbergen |
| 35 | 31 | -4 | John Hunter Nemechek |
| 36 | 37 | +1 | Chad Finchum |
| 37 | 27 | -10 | Alex Bowman |
Stage Results
| Driver | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Larson | 1 | 1 | — | 20 |
| Ryan Blaney | 3 | 2 | — | 17 |
| Chase Briscoe | 4 | 5 | — | 13 |
| Denny Hamlin | 6 | 3 | — | 13 |
| Carson Hocevar | 7 | 4 | — | 11 |
| Josh Berry | 5 | 6 | — | 11 |
| Christopher Bell | 2 | — | — | 9 |
| Ty Gibbs | — | 7 | — | 4 |
| Bubba Wallace | 9 | 9 | — | 4 |
| Joey Logano | — | 8 | — | 3 |
| Riley Herbst | 8 | — | — | 3 |
| Austin Cindric | 10 | 10 | — | 2 |
| Tyler Reddick | — | — | — | — |
| Todd Gilliland | — | — | — | — |
| Ryan Preece | — | — | — | — |
| Daniel Suarez | — | — | — | — |
| Chris Buescher | — | — | — | — |
| Brad Keselowski | — | — | — | — |
| A.J. Allmendinger | — | — | — | — |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | — | — | — | — |
| Austin Dillon | — | — | — | — |
| Zane Smith | — | — | — | — |
| Ross Chastain | — | — | — | — |
| Chase Elliott | — | — | — | — |
| Erik Jones | — | — | — | — |
| Michael McDowell | — | — | — | — |
| Kyle Busch | — | — | — | — |
| Noah Gragson | — | — | — | — |
| Cole Custer | — | — | — | — |
| Ty Dillon | — | — | — | — |
| William Byron | — | — | — | — |
| Cody Ware | — | — | — | — |
| Connor Zilisch | — | — | — | — |
| Shane van Gisbergen | — | — | — | — |
| John Hunter Nemechek | — | — | — | — |
| Chad Finchum | — | — | — | — |
| Alex Bowman | — | — | — | — |
Model Performance
How well did the NR-Rating model predict this race? Across 36 matched drivers, the model averaged 7.3 positions off — better than the season average of 8.5. Average
| Pos | Driver | Predicted | Actual | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ty Gibbs | 12.6 | 1 | +11.6 |
| 2 | Ryan Blaney | 6.8 | 2 | +4.8 |
| 3 | Kyle Larson | 8.6 | 3 | +5.6 |
| 4 | Tyler Reddick | 9.9 | 4 | +5.9 |
| 5 | Chase Briscoe | 12.6 | 5 | +7.6 |
| 6 | Todd Gilliland | 17.1 | 6 | +11.1 |
| 7 | Joey Logano | 12.1 | 7 | +5.1 |
| 8 | Ryan Preece | 10.8 | 8 | +2.8 |
| 9 | Denny Hamlin | 6.8 | 9 | -2.2 |
| 10 | Carson Hocevar | 14.7 | 10 | +4.7 |
| 11 | Bubba Wallace | 14.0 | 11 | +3.0 |
| 12 | Daniel Suarez | 15.6 | 12 | +3.6 |
| 13 | Chris Buescher | 10.3 | 13 | -2.7 |
| 14 | Brad Keselowski | 12.0 | 14 | -2.0 |
| 15 | A.J. Allmendinger | 18.3 | 15 | +3.3 |
| 16 | Austin Cindric | 17.0 | 16 | +1.0 |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 20.1 | 17 | +3.1 |
| 18 | Austin Dillon | 17.0 | 18 | -1.0 |
| 19 | Zane Smith | 20.2 | 19 | +1.2 |
| 20 | Ross Chastain | 13.8 | 20 | -6.2 |
(showing top 20 finishers)
Predicted finish from NR-Rating model. Delta = predicted − actual (positive = driver beat prediction). Confidence: High Confidence = low variance (stdDev ≤ 9), Moderate = medium variance, Coinflip = high variance.
Historical Context
- Ty Gibbs: has 10 career starts at Bristol Motor Speedway with a 12.6 avg finish (1 win) — the model may have underweighted this track history.
- Ryan Blaney: was the model’s top pick based on 28 career starts at Bristol Motor Speedway with a 11.6 avg finish (2 wins), finishing P2 on the day.
Explore More
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the 2026 Food City 500?
Ty Gibbs won the 2026 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Where was the 2026 Food City 500 held?
The 2026 Food City 500 was held at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 12, 2026.