NASCAR Food City 500 preview: Favorite, underdog, top storylines

On Sunday, NASCAR Cup Series stars will take to Bristol Motor Speedway's high banks for the ninth race of the 2025 season. 

Here's what you need to know ahead of Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol.

Favorite: Kyle Larson (+450, per DraftKings)

Larson and Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin are tied atop the oddsboard going into Sunday's race, but Larson gets the nod coming off a near-perfect performance in last season's playoff race. Larson led 462 of the 500 laps in that race. Since joining Hendrick Motorsports ahead of the 2021 season, Larson has finished inside the top five in all five of his starts at "Thunder Valley."

After a disastrous weekend at Darlington with a pair of spins, Larson should have an excellent shot at arguably his best track.

Underdog: Ty Gibbs (+2200, per DraftKings)

After putting together only one top-20 finish through the season's first six races, Gibbs ran in the top 10 for much of the Martinsville race before settling for 13th and scoring his first top 10 with a ninth-place result at Darlington.

Gibbs has two top 10s in four Bristol starts, led 137 laps and swept the stages in the 2024 spring race. Don't be surprised to see Gibbs in contention on Sunday, especially if he can keep his nose clean at "The Last Great Coliseum."

Denny Hamlin looking to put Joe Gibbs Racing on a list of its own

It would not be a Bristol race weekend without mentioning Hamlin. He has been one of Larson's fiercest competitors, and Sunday should be no different, given the success both of them have experienced there.

Should Hamlin, a four-time Bristol Cup Series winner, find victory lane on Sunday, it would be his third consecutive win this season. He would join teammate Christopher Bell on that list and make JGR the first team in series history to have multiple drivers win three straight races in one season. If momentum and track history are any indication, Hamlin could put his organization in the history books on Sunday.

How does William Byron respond after disappointing runner-up at Darlington?

For the first 243 laps of the Goodyear 400 at Darlington, Byron was the race's leader for all of them and appeared to be on his way to leading every lap in the race. Byron's dominant day fell short after staying on track longer during the final green-flag pit cycle and coming off pit road third for the overtime restart.

Surprisingly, Bristol is the only track Byron has made over three starts without leading a lap. In 11 starts, he only has four top 10s and an average finish of 17.4. You can never count Byron and the No. 24 team out but don't be shocked if he is not among the front-runners on Sunday.

How will the racing look on Sunday?

The 2024 Bristol races were opposites of one another. The spring race, which returned to the concrete surface for the first time since 2020, featured dramatic tire fall-off throughout the event. There were nine cautions for 98 laps and a short track record of 54 lead changes among 16 drivers.

The fall race only had five cautions — tied for the fewest in the last 78 races at Bristol — and was completely dominated by Larson. It will be interesting to see how Sunday's race plays out and whether passing becomes an issue.