The Food City 500 is an annual 500-lap, NASCAR Cup Series race held at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. This is one of two NASCAR races held at Bristol, the other being the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. It became the first venue to host the Car of Tomorrow, a race won by Kyle Busch. For much of its history, from 1961 to 1992 the race was run on the original asphalt surface, then on concrete from 1993 to 2020 after Bristol changed surfaces, but was moved to a dirt layout beginning in 2021, under the name Food City Dirt Race. Since 2024, the race returned the concrete oval.
Ty Gibbs is the defending race winner.
History
In 2008, Bristol Motor Speedway President & General Manager Jeff Byrd requested that NASCAR move the spring race to a later Spring date, to avoid the problems with rain, snow, and sleet that hit the area in late winter and early spring. This was not carried out until 2015. In 2015, the race moved from mid-March to April.
In 2011, title sponsor Food City announced it would honor former Speedway President and General Manager Jeff Byrd, who died in October 2010, by renaming the 2011 Spring race the Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City.
In 2015, the race was renamed the Food City 500 In Support Of Steve Byrnes And Stand Up To Cancer to support NASCAR on Fox broadcaster Steve Byrnes in his battle with cancer, in association with the Entertainment Industry Foundation.
The 2020 race was dubbed the Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 to honor grocery store workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dirt Configuration
In 2021, the race shifted to a dirt surface version of the track and was renamed the Food City Dirt Race. The race's stage lengths were initially set at 75 each for the first two segments followed by 100 in the final stage, but stages 1–2 were later adjusted to be 100 laps apiece following Friday practices.
In 2022, the race became a night race, and was run on Easter Sunday. Part of the reason it was moved from daylight to nighttime is because of visibility issues that plagued the event in 2021 with sunlight reflecting off the dirt.
On September 15, 2023, Bristol announced that the Food City 500 would return to the concrete oval, beginning in 2024.
|-
| 1962
| July 29
|align="center"|42
| Jim Paschal
| Petty Enterprises
| Plymouth
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|250 (402.336)
|align="center"|3:19:16
|align="center"|75.276
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1963
| March 31
|align="center"|22
| Fireball Roberts
| Holman-Moody
| Ford
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|250 (402.336)
|align="center"|3:15:02
|align="center"|76.91
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1964
| March 22
|align="center"|28
| Fred Lorenzen
| Holman-Moody
| Ford
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|250 (402.336)
|align="center"|3:27:46
|align="center"|72.196
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1965
| May 2
|align="center"|26
| Junior Johnson
| Junior Johnson & Associates
| Ford
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|250 (402.336)
|align="center"|3:20:10
|align="center"|74.937
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1966
| March 20
|align="center"|29
| Dick Hutcherson
| Holman-Moody
| Ford
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|250 (402.336)
|align="center"|3:34:26
|align="center"|69.952
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1967
| March 19
|align="center"|6
| David Pearson
| Cotton Owens
| Dodge
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|250 (402.336)
|align="center"|3:17:32
|align="center"|75.937
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1968
| March 17
|align="center"|17
| David Pearson
| Holman-Moody
| Ford
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|250 (402.336)
|align="center"|3:14:11
|align="center"|77.247
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1969
| March 23
|align="center"|22
| Bobby Allison
| Mario Rossi
| Dodge
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|250 (402.336)
|align="center"|3:04:09
|align="center"|81.455
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1970
| April 5
|align="center"|27
| Donnie Allison
| Banjo Matthews
| Ford
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:02:42
|align="center"|87.543
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1971
| March 28
|align="center"|17
| David Pearson
| Holman-Moody
| Ford
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:52:23
|align="center"|91.704
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1972
| April 9
|align="center"|12
| Bobby Allison
| Richard Howard
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:50:18
|align="center"|92.826
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1973
| March 11/25*
|align="center"|11
| Cale Yarborough
| Richard Howard
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:57:43
|align="center"|88.952
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1974
| March 17
|align="center"|11
| Cale Yarborough
| Richard Howard
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|450*
|align="center"|239.85 (386.001)
|align="center"|3:42:50
|align="center"|64.533
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1975
| March 16
|align="center"|43
| Richard Petty
| Petty Enterprises
| Dodge
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:43:53
|align="center"|97.053
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1976
| March 14
|align="center"|11
| Cale Yarborough
| Junior Johnson & Associates
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|400
|align="center"|213.2 (343.112)
|align="center"|2:25:24
|align="center"|87.377
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1977
| April 17
|align="center"|11
| Cale Yarborough
| Junior Johnson & Associates
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:38:20
|align="center"|100.989
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1978
| April 2
|align="center"|88
| Darrell Waltrip
| DiGard Motorsports
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:53:03
|align="center"|92.401
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1979
| April 1
|align="center"|2
| Dale Earnhardt
| Rod Osterlund Racing
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:55:39
|align="center"|91.033
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1980
| March 30
|align="center"|2
| Dale Earnhardt
| Rod Osterlund Racing
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:44:53
|align="center"|96.977
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1981
| March 29
|align="center"|11
| Darrell Waltrip
| Junior Johnson & Associates
| Buick
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:58:36
|align="center"|89.53
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1982
| March 14
|align="center"|11
| Darrell Waltrip
| Junior Johnson & Associates
| Buick
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:49:52
|align="center"|94.025
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1983
| May 21
|align="center"|11
| Darrell Waltrip
| Junior Johnson & Associates
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:51:07
|align="center"|93.445
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1984
| April 1
|align="center"|11
| Darrell Waltrip
| Junior Johnson & Associates
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:50:10
|align="center"|93.967
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1985
| April 6*
|align="center"|3
| Dale Earnhardt
| Richard Childress Racing
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:15:42
|align="center"|81.79
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1986
| April 6
|align="center"|27
| Rusty Wallace
| Blue Max Racing
| Pontiac
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:58:14
|align="center"|89.747
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1987
| April 12
|align="center"|3
| Dale Earnhardt
| Richard Childress Racing
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:31:27
|align="center"|75.621
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1988
| April 10
|align="center"|9
| Bill Elliott
| Melling Racing
| Ford
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:12:23
|align="center"|83.115
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1989
| April 9
|align="center"|27
| Rusty Wallace
| Blue Max Racing
| Pontiac
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:30:18
|align="center"|76.034
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1990
| April 8
|align="center"|28
| Davey Allison
| Robert Yates Racing
| Ford
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:03:15
|align="center"|87.258
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1991
| April 14
|align="center"|2
| Rusty Wallace
| Penske Racing
| Pontiac
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:39:37
|align="center"|72.809
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1992
| April 5
|align="center"|7
| Alan Kulwicki
| AK Racing
| Ford
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:05:15
|align="center"|86.316
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
! colspan="12" |Concrete surface
|-
| 1993
| April 4
|align="center"|2
| Rusty Wallace
| Penske Racing
| Pontiac
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:08:43
|align="center"|84.73
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1994
| April 10
|align="center"|3
| Dale Earnhardt
| Richard Childress Racing
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:58:22
|align="center"|89.647
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1995
| April 2
|align="center"|24
| Jeff Gordon
| Hendrick Motorsports
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:53:47
|align="center"|92.011
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1996
| March 31
|align="center"|24
| Jeff Gordon
| Hendrick Motorsports
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|342*
|align="center"|182.286 (293.36)
|align="center"|1:59:47
|align="center"|91.308
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1997
| April 13
|align="center"|24
| Jeff Gordon
| Hendrick Motorsports
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:33:06
|align="center"|75.035
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1998
| March 29
|align="center"|24
| Jeff Gordon
| Hendrick Motorsports
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:13:00
|align="center"|82.85
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 1999
| April 11
|align="center"|2
| Rusty Wallace
| Penske Racing
| Ford
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:51:16
|align="center"|93.363
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2000
| March 26
|align="center"|2
| Rusty Wallace
| Penske Racing
| Ford
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:01:40
|align="center"|88.018
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2001
| March 25
|align="center"|21
| Elliott Sadler
| Wood Brothers Racing
| Ford
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:03:54
|align="center"|86.949
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2002
| March 24
|align="center"|97
| Kurt Busch
| Roush Racing
| Ford
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:14:20
|align="center"|82.281
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2003
| March 23
|align="center"|97
| Kurt Busch
| Roush Racing
| Ford
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:29:53
|align="center"|76.185
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2004
| March 28
|align="center"|97
| Kurt Busch
| Roush Racing
| Ford
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:13:34
|align="center"|82.607
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2005
| April 3
|align="center"|29
| Kevin Harvick
| Richard Childress Racing
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:26:20
|align="center"|77.496
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2006
| March 26
|align="center"|2
| Kurt Busch
| Penske Racing
| Dodge
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:21:19
|align="center"|79.427
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2007
| March 25
|align="center"|5
| Kyle Busch
| Hendrick Motorsports
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|504*
|align="center"|268.632 (432.321)
|align="center"|3:16:38
|align="center"|81.969
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2008
| March 16
|align="center"|31
| Jeff Burton
| Richard Childress Racing
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|506*
|align="center"|269.698 (434.036)
|align="center"|3:00:15
|align="center"|89.775
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2009
| March 22
|align="center"|18
| Kyle Busch
| Joe Gibbs Racing
| Toyota
|align="center"|503*
|align="center"|268.099 (431.463)
|align="center"|2:54:35
|align="center"|92.139
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2010
| March 21
|align="center"|48
| Jimmie Johnson
| Hendrick Motorsports
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:20:50
|align="center"|79.618
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2011
| March 20
|align="center"|18
| Kyle Busch
| Joe Gibbs Racing
| Toyota
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:53:55
|align="center"|91.941
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2012
| March 18
|align="center"|2
| Brad Keselowski
| Penske Racing
| Dodge
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:51:52
|align="center"|93.037
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2013
| March 17
|align="center"|5
| Kasey Kahne
| Hendrick Motorsports
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:53:25
|align="center"|92.206
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2014
| March 16
|align="center"|99
| Carl Edwards
| Roush Fenway Racing
| Ford
|align="center"|503*
|align="center"|268.099 (431.463)
|align="center"|3:11:23
|align="center"|84.051
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2015
| April 19
|align="center"|20
| Matt Kenseth
| Joe Gibbs Racing
| Toyota
|align="center"|511*
|align="center"|272.363 (438.325)
|align="center"|3:37:54
|align="center"|74.997
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2016
| April 17
|align="center"|19
| Carl Edwards
| Joe Gibbs Racing
| Toyota
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:15:52
|align="center"|81.637
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2017
| April 24*
|align="center"|48
| Jimmie Johnson
| Hendrick Motorsports
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:04:29
|align="center"|86.674
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2018
| April 15/16*
|align="center"|18
| Kyle Busch
| Joe Gibbs Racing
| Toyota
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:26:25
|align="center"|77.465
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2019
| April 7
|align="center"|18
| Kyle Busch
| Joe Gibbs Racing
| Toyota
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:56:38
|align="center"|90.527
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2020
| May 31*
|align="center"|2
| Brad Keselowski
| Team Penske
| Ford
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|266.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|3:19:02
|align="center"|80.338
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
! colspan="12" |Dirt surface
|-
| 2021
| March 29*
|align="center"|22
| Joey Logano
| Team Penske
| Ford
|align="center"|253*
|align="center"|134.849 (217.018)
|align="center"|2:43:53
|align="center"|46.313
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2022
| April 17
|align="center"|18
| Kyle Busch
| Joe Gibbs Racing
| Toyota
|align="center"|250
|align="center"|133.25 (214.445)
|align="center"|3:34:27
|align="center"|34.973
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2023
| April 9
|align="center"|20
| Christopher Bell
| Joe Gibbs Racing
|Toyota
|align="center"|250
|align="center"|133.25 (214.445)
|align="center"|2:40:40
|align="center"|46.68
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2025
| April 13
|align="center"|5
| Kyle Larson
| Hendrick Motorsports
| Chevrolet
|align="center"|500
|align="center"|265.5 (428.89)
|align="center"|2:38:43
|align="center"|100.746
| Report
|align="center"|
|-
| 2026
| April 12
|align="center"|54
| Ty Gibbs
| Joe Gibbs Racing
| Toyota
|align="center"|505*
|align="center"|269.165 (434.81)
|align="center"|3:01:50
|align="center"|88.817
| Report
|align="center"|
|}
- 1973: Race started on March 11 but suspended until March 25 after 52 laps due to rain.
- 1974: Race shortened due to energy crisis.
- 1985: Race postponed from March 31 due to rain.
- 1996: Race shortened due to rain.
- 2007–09, 2015, 2021 and 2026: Races extended due to NASCAR overtime.
- 2014: Race extended due to NASCAR overtime, but overtime restart was aborted and race called due to rain.
- 2017: Race postponed from Sunday to Monday due to rain.
- 2018: Race suspended until Monday due to rain.
- 2020: Race postponed from April 5 to May 31 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2021: Race postponed from Sunday to Monday due to heavy rain and flash flooding.
Track length notes
- 1961–1969: 0.5 mile course
- Since 1970: 0.533 mile course
Multiple winners (drivers)
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
!colspan="3" | Asphalt/Concrete surface
|-
! # Wins
! Driver
! Years won
|-
! 6
| Rusty Wallace
| 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1999–2000
|-
! rowspan="3" | 5
| Darrell Waltrip
| 1978, 1981–1984
|-
| Dale Earnhardt
| 1979–1980, 1985, 1987, 1994
|-
| Kyle Busch
| 2007, 2009, 2011, 2018–2019
|-
! rowspan="3" | 4
| Cale Yarborough
| 1973–1974, 1976–1977
|-
| Jeff Gordon
| 1995–1998
|-
| Kurt Busch
| 2002–2004, 2006
|-
! 3
| David Pearson
| 1967–1968, 1971
|-
! rowspan="4" | 2
| Bobby Allison
| 1969, 1972
|-
| Carl Edwards
| 2014, 2016
|-
| Jimmie Johnson
| 2010, 2017
|-
| Brad Keselowski
| 2012, 2020
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
!colspan="3" | Dirt surface
|-
! # Wins
! Driver
! Years won
|-
! rowspan="3" | 1
| Joey Logano
| 2021
|-
| Kyle Busch
| 2022
|-
| Christopher Bell
| 2023
|}
Multiple winners (teams)
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
!colspan="3" | Asphalt/Concrete surface
|-
! # Wins
! Team
! Years won
|-
! 9
| Hendrick Motorsports
| 1995–1998, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2025
|-
! 8
| Joe Gibbs Racing
| 2009, 2011, 2015–2016, 2018–2019, 2024, 2026
|-
! rowspan="2" | 7
| Junior Johnson & Associates
| 1965, 1976–1977, 1981–1984
|-
| Team Penske
| 1991, 1993, 1999–2000, 2006, 2012, 2020
|-
! rowspan="2" | 5
| Holman-Moody
| 1963–1964, 1966, 1968, 1971
|-
| Richard Childress Racing
| 1985, 1987, 1994, 2005, 2008
|-
! 4
| Roush Fenway Racing
| 2002–2004, 2014
|-
! 3
| Richard Howard
| 1972–1974
|-
! rowspan="3" | 2
| Petty Enterprises
| 1962, 1975
|-
| Rod Osterlund Racing
| 1979–1980
|-
| Blue Max Racing
| 1986, 1989
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
!colspan="3" | Dirt surface
|-
! # Wins
! Team
! Years won
|-
! 2
| Joe Gibbs Racing
| 2022–2023
|-
! 1
| Team Penske
| 2021
|}
Manufacturer wins
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
!colspan="3"| Asphalt/Concrete surface
|-
! # Wins
! Manufacturer
! Years won
|-
! 24
| Chevrolet
| 1972–1974, 1976–1980, 1983–1985, 1987, 1994–1998, 2005, 2007–2008, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2025
|-
! 18
| Ford
| 1963–1966, 1968, 1970–1971, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2000–2004, 2014, 2020
|-
! 8
| Toyota
| 2009, 2011, 2015–2016, 2018–2019, 2024, 2026
|-
! rowspan="2" | 5
| Pontiac
| 1961, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993
|-
| Dodge
| 1967, 1969, 1975, 2006, 2012
|-
! 2
| Buick
| 1981–1982
|-
! 1
| Plymouth
| 1962
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
!colspan="3"| Dirt surface
|-
! # Wins
! Manufacturer
! Years won
|-
! 2
| Toyota
| 2022–2023
|-
! 1
| Ford
| 2021
|}