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NASCAR practice speeds, lap averages and notes for the 2026 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Use the NASCAR stats and data to build DFS lineups on DraftKings. Ricky Stenhouse Jr was fastest.
The NASCAR Cup Series ran a single practice session at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon in preparation for the upcoming Food City 500 on Sunday afternoon.
The 37-car field was split into two groups for practice.
Below you will find the two groups, key notes from the practice session, as well as the practice speeds for all drivers.
Important Practice Notes
Alex Bowman - After missing the last four races due to vertigo issues, Alex Bowman is back behind the wheel of the No. 48 Chevrolet this weekend. He showed speed in practice, ranking third-best in 10-lap average, and noted that he's aiming for a solid top-15 result on Sunday.
Shane van Gisbergen - It's never a good sign when a driver doesn't even make a 10-lap run in practice at a short track like Bristol. Shane van Gisbergen struggled quite a bit on Saturday and never made any extended run.
Ryan Blaney - The No. 12 Ford is fast. Blaney didn't have a great single lap in practice, but he dominated the long-run charts, ranking fastest in 15-, 20-, 25-, and 30-lap average.
2026 Food City 500 at Bristol Practice Speed Chart
Click here to download the PDF of the practice speed chart.
| Pos | Driver | Time | Speed | Fastest Lap | Laps Ran | Behind Leader |
| 1. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 15.403 | 124.573 | 5 | 50 | ---.--- |
| 2. | Noah Gragson | 15.439 | 124.283 | 6 | 43 | -0.036 |
| 3. | Austin Cindric | 15.451 | 124.186 | 25 | 71 | -0.048 |
| 4. | Erik Jones | 15.453 | 124.170 | 7 | 60 | -0.050 |
| 5. | Bubba Wallace | 15.459 | 124.122 | 4 | 66 | -0.056 |
| 6. | Michael McDowell | 15.462 | 124.098 | 6 | 67 | -0.059 |
| 7. | Connor Zilisch | 15.470 | 124.034 | 8 | 46 | -0.067 |
| 8. | Ty Gibbs | 15.470 | 124.034 | 15 | 63 | -0.067 |
| 9. | AJ Allmendinger | 15.474 | 124.002 | 17 | 50 | -0.071 |
| 10. | Kyle Larson | 15.476 | 123.986 | 18 | 65 | -0.073 |
| 11. | Riley Herbst | 15.478 | 123.970 | 8 | 72 | -0.075 |
| 12. | John Hunter Nemechek | 15.479 | 123.961 | 5 | 40 | -0.076 |
| 13. | Zane Smith | 15.491 | 123.865 | 14 | 56 | -0.088 |
| 14. | Ryan Preece | 15.494 | 123.841 | 11 | 62 | -0.091 |
| 15. | Ryan Blaney | 15.496 | 123.826 | 20 | 77 | -0.093 |
| 16. | Alex Bowman | 15.497 | 123.818 | 5 | 44 | -0.094 |
| 17. | Kyle Busch | 15.497 | 123.818 | 17 | 56 | -0.094 |
| 18. | Todd Gilliland | 15.503 | 123.770 | 13 | 42 | -0.100 |
| 19. | Carson Hocevar | 15.504 | 123.762 | 11 | 58 | -0.101 |
| 20. | Joey Logano | 15.521 | 123.626 | 15 | 76 | -0.118 |
| 21. | Tyler Reddick | 15.525 | 123.594 | 18 | 72 | -0.122 |
| 22. | William Byron | 15.529 | 123.562 | 12 | 68 | -0.126 |
| 23. | Christopher Bell | 15.535 | 123.515 | 10 | 61 | -0.132 |
| 24. | Denny Hamlin | 15.535 | 123.515 | 23 | 75 | -0.132 |
| 25. | Cody Ware | 15.549 | 123.403 | 7 | 49 | -0.146 |
| 26. | Austin Dillon | 15.554 | 123.364 | 11 | 48 | -0.151 |
| 27. | Chase Briscoe | 15.562 | 123.300 | 21 | 68 | -0.159 |
| 28. | Chase Elliott | 15.571 | 123.229 | 21 | 57 | -0.168 |
| 29. | Brad Keselowski | 15.575 | 123.197 | 31 | 33 | -0.172 |
| 30. | Ty Dillon | 15.579 | 123.166 | 7 | 43 | -0.176 |
| 31. | Ross Chastain | 15.582 | 123.142 | 11 | 47 | -0.179 |
| 32. | Cole Custer | 15.586 | 123.110 | 9 | 58 | -0.183 |
| 33. | Josh Berry | 15.622 | 122.827 | 19 | 61 | -0.219 |
| 34. | Shane Van Gisbergen | 15.634 | 122.733 | 14 | 43 | -0.231 |
| 35. | Daniel Suarez | 15.635 | 122.725 | 9 | 40 | -0.232 |
| 36. | Chris Buescher | 15.673 | 122.427 | 19 | 57 | -0.270 |
| 37. | Chad Finchum | 15.746 | 121.860 | 8 | 41 | -0.343 |
2026 Food City 500 at Bristol 10-Lap Average Chart
| Pos | Driver | From Lap | To Lap | Avg Speed |
| 1. | Noah Gragson | 3 | 12 | 123.519 |
| 2. | Ryan Blaney | 11 | 20 | 123.393 |
| 3. | Carson Hocevar | 11 | 20 | 123.300 |
| 4. | Todd Gilliland | 7 | 16 | 123.293 |
| 5. | Alex Bowman | 4 | 13 | 123.254 |
| 6. | Bubba Wallace | 2 | 11 | 123.247 |
| 7. | Zane Smith | 7 | 16 | 123.240 |
| 8. | Michael McDowell | 6 | 15 | 123.195 |
| 9. | Austin Cindric | 22 | 31 | 123.188 |
| 10. | Joey Logano | 11 | 20 | 123.146 |
| 11. | AJ Allmendinger | 5 | 14 | 123.123 |
| 12. | Christopher Bell | 9 | 18 | 123.053 |
| 13. | Tyler Reddick | 12 | 21 | 123.027 |
| 14. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 15 | 24 | 123.025 |
| 15. | Kyle Busch | 13 | 22 | 123.014 |
| 16. | John Hunter Nemechek | 4 | 13 | 122.980 |
| 17. | Erik Jones | 5 | 14 | 122.979 |
| 18. | Kyle Larson | 46 | 55 | 122.962 |
| 19. | Riley Herbst | 6 | 15 | 122.945 |
| 20. | Ryan Preece | 9 | 18 | 122.924 |
| 21. | William Byron | 9 | 18 | 122.855 |
| 22. | Denny Hamlin | 8 | 17 | 122.778 |
| 23. | Cole Custer | 8 | 17 | 122.477 |
| 24. | Austin Dillon | 9 | 18 | 122.454 |
| 25. | Connor Zilisch | 14 | 23 | 122.391 |
| 26. | Chase Briscoe | 18 | 27 | 122.385 |
| 27. | Ross Chastain | 16 | 25 | 122.236 |
| 28. | Chase Elliott | 19 | 28 | 122.217 |
| 29. | Ty Dillon | 2 | 11 | 122.157 |
| 30. | Chris Buescher | 11 | 20 | 122.069 |
| 31. | Josh Berry | 10 | 19 | 122.029 |
| 32. | Ty Gibbs | 52 | 61 | 122.028 |
| 33. | Cody Ware | 5 | 14 | 121.999 |
| 34. | Daniel Suarez | 29 | 38 | 121.229 |
| 35. | Brad Keselowski | 4 | 13 | 120.653 |
| 36. | Chad Finchum | 1 | 10 | 117.360 |
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