NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Bristol Motor Speedway Preview

Race Preview:

The Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol is a 250-lap, 125-mile race around the half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway. The stage cautions will fall on laps 65 and 130, and the checkered flag on lap 250. The prize money for this race is $782,900.

This race is the 2nd race of the Dash 4 Cash promotion. Daniel Hemric won the first race at Martinsville, winning a prize amount of $50,000 bonus dollars. If Hemric wins this race, he will win an extra $150,000. New driver wins, and they will receive a bonus of $50,000. If Hemric can sweep all three events, he will be awarded $500,000 in bonus prize money. Only full-time Truck Series drivers are eligible for this bonus.

The Track: Bristol Motor Speedway

Known by many nicknames, “The Last Great Coliseum,” “Worlds Fastest Half-Mile,” or “Thunder Valley,” there is nowhere like Bristol Motor Speedway. Built in 1961, the Bristol Motor Speedway is a 0.5-mile asphalt oval. Its 4 turns are progressively banked, with the bottom groove with 24 degrees of banking and increasing as you move towards the wall to max out at 28 degrees. The straight aways have between 4 and 8 degrees.

The Truck Series started racing at Bristol in 1995, with Joe Ruttman winning the first race. Since that first race, the series has raced 28 times at the track. Kyle Busch holds the wins record, with 5 wins in 12 starts at the track. Christian Eckes set the lap record in 2023 with a 15.35-second lap.

Craftsman Truck Series Points Standings:

Here are the points standings following the previous race at Martinsville Speedway:

1. Corey Heim: 229
2. Ty Majeski: 209
3. Chandler Smith: 193
4. Daniel Hemric: 175
5. Stewart Friesen: 167
6. Tyler Ankrum: 164
7. Grant Enfinger: 157
8. Layne Riggs: 148
9. Jake Garcia: 137
10. Ben Rhodes: 131

Drivers To Watch:

Kyle Larson is in the field. The 2021 Cup Champion is making his second attempt at sweeping a weekend, winning the Truck, Xfinity, and Cup races in one weekend. Larson would join Kyle Busch as the only driver to complete this feat. He is driving the #07 for Spire Motorsports.

Some other notable drivers joining the field are Brandon Jones, driving the #1 for TRICON Garage. Parker Kligerman is back in the field, driving the #75 Chevy for Henderson Motorsports. Corey Day is back, still driving the #7 Chevy for Spire.

I think we are in for the same group of contenders from Homestead-Miami Speedway, running up front at Bristol. Heim, Larson, Riggs.

Layne Riggs is the defending race winner and, in just his two starts at Bristol, has an average finish of 5.5. His last three finishes, his average finish has been 6. He seems to be a contender to compete with Heim on a week-by-week basis. Look out for the #38 F150 on Friday.

Corey Heim is fast, but his Achilles heel is his equipment. He should’ve beat Riggs and Larson at Homestead, but a burnt wire caused some electrical gremlins. Like Riggs, he has a win at Bristol, but he has four starts to Riggs’s two. His average finish at the track is better, though, sitting at 4.8. Again, ‘Heim-time’ is inevitable, but he’s got to have a proper hot-rod underneath him to contend.

Kyle Larson has never made a Truck start at Bristol on the concrete. He has a win in the Xfinity Series at Bristol and two in Cup. He knows how to get around this track. It is hard to bet against Larson winning this race, BetUS has his odds set at -135 to win. It is truly Larson vs the field.

How To Watch The Craftsman Truck Series at Bristol Motor Speedway:

Here is the schedule for the 2025 Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway:

• Friday, April 11th
  • Practice and Qualifying:
    • 3:30 PM, Eastern Time
    • Coverage is provided by Fox Sports Two 
  • The Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway:
    • 7:30 PM, Eastern Time
    • Coverage is provided by Fox Sports One and on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio