BRISTOL, Tenn. — Kyle Larson will try to do what only one other driver in the NASCAR Cup Series has accomplished in Bristol Motor Speedway history when the circuit arrives for the Food City 500 weekend, April 11-13.
Ironically, the other driver’s name is also Kyle.
Larson is entered in all three of NASCAR’s major races during the Bristol weekend as the California driver seeks to claim the highly-elusive triple.
Only Kyle Busch has achieved that quest in NASCAR history, first in 2010 and then once again in 2017, both at Bristol Motor Speedway. NASCAR legend Darrell Waltrip, a 12-time winner at BMS, says the accomplishment is one of the greatest thing he’s ever seen a NASCAR driver do.
“I never in my life thought someone could win three races in a weekend at Bristol, but Kyle Busch has,” Waltrip has said. “I don’t know how he physically does it because all those laps in one weekend don’t appear to affect him all that much. Kyle stays up on the wheel and gets the job done.”
For those who are counting, Larson will need to complete 1,050 laps over the three races and compete against the greatest stock car racers in the world on one of the most challenging tracks to get the job done.
In January, Larson said Bristol Motor Speedway is his favorite track.
“To me, it’s the closest style to a dirt sprint car race, although it’s a lot longer,” Larson said. “Just the intensity, the aggression, the fast-paced style of that race I’m comfortable with. I just love that track. I look forward to going there. I love having two races again on the concrete. So yeah, Bristol has been a place where I’ve led tons of laps at before and won a lot of stages but have kind of fallen off at the ends of the races. But since joining Hendrick (Motorsports), we’ve been good all race long and that was fun to dominate that race (last) year.”
Larson will open the weekend on Friday, April 11 with the WEATHER GUARD Truck Race in the NASCAR Craftsman Series. Larson will pilot the No. 07 HendrickCars.com Chevy Silverado in that 250-lap race that takes the green flag at 7:30 p.m. Prior to that race, Larson’s only truck start at Bristol came in the 2021 Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt.
On Saturday, April 12, Larson will climb aboard the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Camaro to take on the NASCAR Xfinity Series regulars at 5 p.m. in the SciAps 300. Larson has won one Xfinity series race at Bristol in his career, the 2018 Food City 300.
He will then pilot his famed No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy in the Food City 500 on Sunday, April 13 at 3 p.m. Larson has two Cup victories to his credit at BMS – both in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. This past September Larson was dominant in that race, and led an amazing 462 laps to win the race in record time. That effort broke a record for fastest race time at BMS held by the late Charlie Glotzbatch in 1971.
“I love racing at Bristol, so I am excited to add those races to my schedule,” Larson said. “Hopefully we can put on a great show with HendrickCars.com on board, and battle for the victories.”
A win in the WEATHER GUARD Truck Race also would put Larson in some elite company. He would join six drivers who have won Bristol races in all three of NASCAR’s major touring series. Those drivers include Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano.
“He is such a natural talent and one of the most popular drivers in the Cup Series, so we are thrilled to see him go for the trifecta at Bristol,” said Jerry Caldwell, president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway. “Who knows what will happen, but he clearly has the skills and talent to do it. We love seeing drivers take on the high banks in different cars and different series. He has certainly proved he knows his way around the track and that he can win in anything, so it will be fun and exciting for everyone to watch him and all the other drivers compete during races throughout the Food City 500 weekend.”
