CONCORD, N.C. - It's Bristol baby. This weekend, Hendrick Motorsports and the NASCAR Cup Series will head to Thunder Valley for Bristol Motor Speedway's spring race. This event will mark the first time since 2020 that the concrete layout was utilized for the track's first of two annual dates on the schedule.
The Cup Series has covered the 0.533-mile track with dirt for the past three seasons. With the return to concrete, the spring race has an extra layer of importance as the Round of 16 closes at the short track. Gathering a solid notebook for the fall's playoff race will be one of the many important story lines to follow over the weekend.
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Rick Hendrick's first Bristol win as a car owner came in 1989 with Darrell Waltrip. The team found victory lane again with both Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte in 1995, followed by four additional victories for Gordon and the No. 24 entry ('96, '97, '98, '02). Kyle Busch won the first "The Car of Tomorrow" era race in 2007, followed by Jimmie Johnson's 2010 and 2017 triumphs. Kasey Kahne was victorious in 2013, while Kyle Larson was the most recent winner, taking the victory in 2021. Chase Elliott also won the All-Star Race in 2020, the only time Bristol has hosted the event.
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The Cup Series last took to Bristol's concrete surface on September 16, 2023. That night, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers finished the event inside the top-13 positions. Larson's runner-up result was the strongest showing of the bunch. While he led 20 circuits, the more impressive feat was how he came from the 36th starting position after getting very loose during his qualifying run. Elliott came home seventh for his second straight top-10 finish at Bristol and William Byron earned his third straight top-10 result at Bristol with a ninth-place run.
KEY NUMBERS TO KNOW FOR BRISTOL
Data provided by Racing Insights
Larson, No. 5 team
Dating back to 2017, Larson earned five top-five results in his last nine starts at Bristol. This includes one victory, three runner-up finishes, three stage victories and an average finish of 5.78. The 2021 Cup Series champion also has the best average finish (7.40) in the Cup Series on short tracks in the Next Gen and earned two wins on that track type last year (Richmond Raceway and Martinsville Speedway).
Elliott, No. 9 team
On the concrete layout, Elliott has led 439 laps at Bristol. That total is his third-best at any track on the circuit. In six of the last eight races on short tracks, the 2020 Cup Series champion has earned top-10 finishes and that stretch includes two straight top-10s at "The Last Great Colosseum."
Byron, No. 24 team
Since the Next Gen car debuted in 2022, Byron has scored the fourth-most points on short tracks (331). He is one of seven active drivers to win on a short track in the Next Gen car (Martinsville in April of 2022). In four of the last five events at Bristol, Byron has finished inside the top 10.
Bowman, No. 48 team
Alex Bowman has earned two fifth-place finishes on Bristol's concrete layout with Hendrick Motorsports. While he has yet to break through at the Tennessee short track for a win, two of his seven Cup Series victories have come at tracks under a mile in length as he won at Richmond and Martinsville in 2021.
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports had four of the nine best drivers at Bristol's fall race in average running position. While the team has only gone to victory lane at Bristol once in the last three seasons, at least one Hendrick Motorsports driver has finished inside the top-two spots in each race.
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DID YOU KNOW?
Hendrick Motorsports is three laps away from 80,000 circuits out front in the Cup Series. With 6,404 laps led, Bristol ranks third on the team's laps led leaderboard.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS AND TV COVERAGE
Saturday, March 16
5 p.m. ET: Group Practice - FS1
5:50 p.m. ET: Qualifying - FS1
Byron will be in Group A, while Bowman, Elliott and Larson are in Group B.
Sunday, March 17
3:30 p.m. ET: Cup Series race - FOX
RELATED: Short-track success stands as a hallmark of Hendrick Motorsports
STAGE LENGTHS
Cup Series race
Stage 1: Lap 125
Stage 2: Lap 250
End of Race: Lap 500
WILL THE RACE BE ON THE RADIO?
Yes, listeners can find both events on PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
WHERE CAN I STREAM THE BROADCAST?
Fans can watch all the action with the FOX Sports Live app. For live updates and additional content during the race, head over to X and follow @TeamHendrick for the most accurate and up-to-date information.
HOW CAN I FIND FS1?
The channel number may vary depending on the location. Use this link to enter your zip code and select your television provider for assistance in finding what channel number FS1 is on your provider.