Cup teams return to Bristol Motor Speedway Sunday for the first spring race on concrete since 2020.
William Byron, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell all have spots in the playoffs after winning the first four races of the season. Ryan Blaney leads the Cup standings after three top-five finishes in the first four races.
Here is a look at the drivers to keep an eye on during Sunday’s race at the .533-mile Tennessee track.
FRONTRUNNERS
Chris Buescher
Points position: 16th
Best finish this season: 2nd (Phoenix I)
2024 stats: Four starts with two top-10 finishes, one top five, one DNF and an average finish of 16.5.
Past at Bristol: Buescher has 14 starts at Bristol with four top-10 finishes, three top fives and one win. He led 169 laps in the 2022 race before winning for the first time at the short track. Buescher finished fourth in last season’s playoff race.
Kyle Larson
Points position: 2nd
Best finish this season: 1st (Las Vegas I)
2024 stats: Four starts with one top-10 finish, one top five and one win. An average finish of 14.5 with 205 laps led.
Past at Bristol: Larson has 15 starts at Bristol with 10 top-10 finishes, five top fives, one win and 870 laps led. He has finished sixth or better in his last four starts at Bristol.
Denny Hamlin
Points position: 8th
Best finish this season: 8th (Las Vegas I)
2024 stats: Four starts with one top-10 finish, 109 laps led and an average finish of 15.3.
Past at Bristol: Hamlin has 33 starts at Bristol with 17 top-10 finishes, 10 top fives, three wins and 1,036 laps led. He finished ninth in the 2022 playoff race and then won last season’s playoff race.
Brad Keselowski
Points position: 22nd
Best finish this season: 4th (Phoenix I)
2024 stats: Four starts with one top-10 finish, one top five, five laps led and two DNFs.
Past at Bristol: Keselowski has 25 starts at Bristol with nine top-10 finishes, six top fives and three wins. Keselowski led 109 laps at Bristol in 2022 before finishing 13th while Buescher won. He finished eighth in last season’s playoff race.
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
Joey Logano
Points position: 30th
Best finish this season: 9th (Las Vegas I)
2024 stats: Four starts, including two from the pole, and one top-10 finish. Three finishes of 28th or worse and an average finish of 25.8.
Past at Bristol: Twenty-seven starts with two wins (2014, 2015). Logano has finished 11th or worse in six straight races at Bristol. He had DNFs in both Next Gen races on the concrete surface.
Ross Chastain
Points position: 7th
Best finish this season: 4th (Las Vegas I)
2024 stats: Four starts with three top-10 finishes, one top five and 16 laps led. He has an average finish of 9.5, second only to Ty Gibbs among full-time drivers.
Past at Bristol: Chastain has seven starts at Bristol with one top-10 finish and an average finish of 23.3. He finished sixth at Bristol in 2022 but finished 23rd in last season’s playoff race. Chastain has finished 13th or worse in the last four short track races.
Austin Dillon
Points position: 32nd
Best finish this season: 16th (Las Vegas I)
2024 stats: Four starts, two DNFs and one top-15 finish. Average finish of 26.8 with no laps led. Dillon has been involved in crashes in the first 10 laps of three races this season.
Past at Bristol: Dillon has 17 starts at Bristol with three top-10 finishes and one top five. He finished 31st in the 2022 playoff race after a crash. He finished 17th in last season’s playoff race.
