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

On Sunday, the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series will tackle the high-speed high banks of the half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). 

Here's what you need to know ahead of the eighth race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. 

Favorite: Ryan Blaney (+350, per BetMGM)

Blaney, who won the fourth race of the season at Phoenix, will lead the field to the green flag at Bristol on Sunday afternoon. He's been good at Bristol as of late, finishing top-six in the Cup Series' last three trips to the Tennessee bullring. 

Keep an eye on Kyle Larson (+400, per BetMGM)

He may not be the favorite, but Larson has won two of the last three Bristol races and led 411 laps in the 2025 Food City 500. He also finished second in Saturday's O'Reilly Series race. 

Underdog: Riley Herbst (+5000, per BetMGM)

Ironically, Herbst has better odds than eight-time Bristol winner Kyle Busch (+6000). That's largely because the second-year driver for 23XI Racing turned in a stellar qualifying effort on Saturday afternoon and will start fourth on Sunday. 

To say a Herbst win on Sunday would be a shocker is an understatement — the Las Vegas native is 30th in the Cup Series standings with Cup finishes of 28th and 18th at Bristol — but as long as he doesn't make any huge mistakes, a top-15 or even top-10 run on Sunday isn't completely out of the question. 

Keep an eye on Josh Berry (+10000, per BetMGM)

Berry is coming off a 10th-place finish at Martinsville on March 29 and is a short-track ace. The Hendersonville, Tenn., native has a little momentum on his side and has two 12th-place finishes at Bristol. He also led 25 laps in the 2024 spring race. 

Alex Bowman returns 

Bowman will return to the Cup Series on Sunday at Bristol after a four-race absence due to vertigo symptoms he began experiencing at COTA on March 1. Bowman is last (36th) in the standings among full-time drivers and will need a stellar 19-race stretch to make the 16-driver Chase field. He starts 27th on Sunday. 

Tyler Reddick finally shows short-track pace

Short tracks have been the biggest weakness of 23XI Racing since its inception in 2021. That's been especially true for Cup Series points leader Tyler Reddick, who, despite winning four of the first six races, earned his worst result of the season (15th) at Martinsville. 

Reddick qualified second on Saturday and should, at the least, be able to earn stage points on Sunday. It would be somewhat surprising to see him contend for the win, but if he runs inside the top-10, the No. 45 group showing speed at a short track would be worrying for the rest of the field. 

Reddick has an 82-point lead over Blaney through seven races and is guaranteed to leave Bristol ahead of the pack.