Racing Insights: Who will best the Bristol field?

There’s some unpredictability in the air for Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The new 750-horsepower configuration for the NASCAR Cup Series makes its second straight short-track appearance, but its first at the 0.533-mile Tennessee track. A new Goodyear tire setup for Sunday’s 500-lapper offers some extra intrigue as the Cup Series returns from a one-week break.

Kyle Larson (April) and Christopher Bell (September) divided the victories in last year’s races at Bristol, and predictably, they’re among the favorites. Racing Insights projects that Larson will win on Sunday, while Bell is picked to come home third. Here’s a look at more drivers to keep tabs on, plus the full projected results for Sunday’s Cup Series showdown.

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DRIVERS TO WATCH

DENNY HAMLIN: Leave it to the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran to situate himself among the prerace favorites, especially at Bristol, where he ranks as a four-time winner. Two of those wins have come in his last five Bristol starts, and if tire management figures prominently into Sunday’s equation, Hamlin’s case to contend becomes even stronger.

TY GIBBS: The 23-year-old driver’s quest for his first Cup Series victory is 130 races in, but Bristol looms as a prime opportunity. Gibbs has been a top-10 finisher in four of the last five Bristol races, leading 440 laps in six starts there. He also enters with a significant head of steam, carrying a streak of five consecutive top 10s into the weekend.

CARSON HOCEVAR: The young Spire Motorsports talent might be more of a sleeper than Gibbs, but he has plenty of upside at the high-banked Tennessee bullring. Hocevar has finished 11th or better in three of his five career starts at Bristol, and that portfolio includes a seventh-place run with 26 laps led last fall. Like Gibbs, he’s seeking a first Cup Series victory.

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FULL PROJECTED RESULTS FOR 2026 FOOD CITY 500 (3 p.m. ET, FS1)