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NASCAR Food City 500: How to Watch, Schedule & More

NASCAR Food City 500: How to Watch, Schedule & More

The 2024 NASCAR season’s fifth official race is coming around the bend and down the homestretch: all of our favorite Cup Series drivers will take to the asphalt on March 17 during the Food City 500 at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Here’s our guide to catching every heart-pounding moment of action.

Can’t make it out to the race? That’s OK, we’ve got you covered with live coverage from the comfort of your couch on DIRECTV.

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2024 Food City 500 Logo

Food City 500 Race Info

Date & Time: Sunday March 17, 2024, 3:30 p.m. ET
Racetrack: Bristol Motor Speedway
Location: Bristol, Tennessee
Laps/Distance: 500 laps, 266.5 miles
How to Watch: Fox (Check local listings for channel number)

How to Watch the Food City 500 Live

You can watch all of your favorite NASCAR drivers including William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and more vying for victory lane in Bristol live on FOX (check here for channel number). The race starts at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 17, and you won’t want to miss a moment of the racing action.

Food City 500 Weekend Schedule

Saturday, March 16

  • NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Practice: 3 p.m. on FS1 (Channel 219)
  • Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying: 3:40 p.m. on FS1 (Channel 219)
  • Craftsman Truck Series Weather Guard Truck Race: 8 p.m. on FS1 (Channel 219)
  • NASCAR Cup Series Practice: 5 p.m. on FS1 (Channel 219)
  • Cup Series Qualifying: 5:50 p.m. on FS1 (Channel 219)

Sunday, March 17

Who won the 2023 Food City 500?

Christopher Bell, driving the #20 Toyota, won last year’s Food City 500.

Food City 500 Racetrack Specs

After three years being held on a dirt layout, the Food City 500 will once again be held on concrete. The track features a 0.533-mile-long, short oval with turns ranging from 24 to 30 degrees of banking.

The track is the only one on the NASCAR schedule to feature two pit road lanes instead of a single combined road.

Bristol is famous for tense, close contact racing that has led to some of NASCAR’s most memorable race moments.

History of the Food City 500

The Food City 500 is an old race, first being held in 1961 as the Southeastern 500.

Like most NASCAR events, the 133-mile race has gone through multiple name changes since then, having been held as the Southeastern 400, the Valleydale Southeastern 500, the Valleydale 500, the Valleydale Meats 500, Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City, Food City 500 in support of Steve Byrnes and Stand Up to Cancer, Food City presents Supermarket Heroes 500 and the Food City Dirt Race.

NASCAR legend Rusty Wallace has the most wins for this race at six. Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, and Kyle Busch have won five times each.

Watch the Food City 500 on DIRECTV

With your DIRECTV subscription, you won’t miss a single heart-pounded lap of the Food City 500, or any other NASCAR race this season across FOX, FS1, NBC or the USA Network.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How can I watch the Food City 500 NASCAR race this weekend?

Watch this weekend's NASCAR Cup Series race, the Food City 500, on FOX.

When is the Food City 500 Race?

The Food City 500 Cup Series race is on Sunday, March 17 at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Where is this weekend's NASCAR race?

This weekend's NASCAR race is at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.

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