BRISTOL, Tenn. (March 28, 2025) – Since 1961, Bristol Motor Speedway has been cranking out memorable finishes on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit. The track’s unique design, a .533-mile short track, lends itself to drama seemingly every time the checkered flag waves.
For NASCAR drivers, putting a victory on your resume from Bristol Motor Speedway, which has also been christened, “The Holy Grail of Short Tracks,” is a goal that seems as real as a drink of water but as hard to get as a million dollars.
The lucky few who have won at Bristol are celebrated and elevated within the sport. The all-concrete track with super high banks has been called “tricky”, “nasty”, “tough”, “challenging” and many other words that are deemed too salty for print. Tempers often flare among angry drivers who were battling for the same small slice of real estate along the high-speed bulling. When tempers boil-over the mayhem and chaos begins.
There have been many lists compiled over the years of greatest wins, most memorable victories, wildest endings and fan-favorite finishes. Today’s list takes a deeper dive into the context of racing at Bristol’s spring race. There have been five victories during the spring Food City 500 that have been deemed “tough as nails” because the consequences of the race were particularly rough on the winning driver.
As the tradition-rich Food City 500 weekend is only two weeks away, April 11-13, please review these incredible finishes where the drivers had to dig deep within themselves to ultimately grab a win at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The following list goes in chronological order from most recent to oldest.
2007 – Kyle Busch outlasts field to win the debut of the Car of Tomorrow
The 2007 Food City 500 featured the debut of NASCAR’s new Car of Tomorrow and Kyle Busch claimed one of his first Bristol victories at the event in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy Impala. Tony Stewart was the class of the field that day and led 257 laps before a fuel-pump ended his day. Busch took over from there and grabbed the hard-earned trophy. Breaking in a new car is always a difficult task, and to get the assignment of breaking in the car at Bristol must’ve been a tall order for all of the drivers, but Busch made the most of it. Most of his fellow competitors had a consensus complaint that the car was difficult to drive and even more difficult to set up. Nonetheless, it was such a pivotal moment in NASCAR history as the car was designed with specific safety initiatives that have proven to work miracles in crashes in later years.
1990 – Davey Allison overcomes backstretch pit stall to win in a wild photo finish
In one of the closest finishes in Bristol history, Davey Allison clipped Mark Martin by mere inches to take the victory in the 1990 spring race. Adding to the lore of this win was the fact that Allison’s team was pitted on Bristol’s backstretch as a result of his 19th place qualifying position. As a bunch of cars were in contention in the final laps, Ricky Rudd and Sterling Marlin tangled in turn two on the final lap which gave way to Allison and Martin to go side by side to the finish line in the dramatic race to the checkers. The result was so close NASCAR had to confirm the top two positions by using the start/finish line camera. As a jubilant Allison headed to Victory Lane, an angry Marlin headed to Rudd’s hauler to discuss their final lap encounter.
1985 – Dale Earnhardt wins without power steering on Tennessee high banks
Growing his legend by leaps and bounds, Dale Earnhardt literally manhandled his Chevy Monte Carlo to take a grueling victory in the 1985 spring race. His power steering failed early in the race and the Intimidator had to drive the final 400 laps without it. He led throughout the race and was trailing Ricky Rudd late in the race. Earnhardt took advantage of a late race caution and managed to pass Rudd with 18 laps to go. He never looked back, and defeated an all-star lineup of rivals including second-place Rudd, Terry Labonte, Buddy Baker and Rusty Wallace, who rounded out the top five. After the victory, when asked if he would want to ever do that again, Earnhardt said simply with a grin, “No.”
1979 – Rookie Dale Earnhardt stuns with Cup victory at Bristol
Rookie driver Dale Earnhardt, 28 at the time, scored his first Cup Series victory at the 1979 Bristol spring race in grand fashion by holding off superstars Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip for the victory. Earnhardt led 161 laps of the race and took the lead for good with 27 laps to go. He finished three seconds ahead of Allison and proved he belonged on the biggest stage with the world’s best stock car racers. “This was a win in the big leagues, the Grand Nationals,” Earnhardt famously said in Victory Lane. “It was against top caliber drivers. It wasn’t some dirt track back home.” He remains the only rookie to ever win a Cup Series race at Bristol. Longtime NASCAR reporter Kenny Bruce summed the day up best: “The seven-time series champion won nine times at Bristol, but the ’79 victory, with team owner Rod Osterlund and colorful crew chief Jake Elder was where it all began. How many Cup rookies have won at Bristol? Just one. Earnhardt.”
1973 – Cale Yarborough has record day by leading all the laps
After years of disappointment at Bristol, Cale Yarborough finally got it done and in record-setting fashion as he led all 500 laps of the 1973 Southeastern 500. It took two weeks to finish the race due to a weather delay, but even that minor inconvenience couldn’t deter Yarborough. Calling his No. 11 machine the smoothest ride he ever had, Yarborough started on the pole and never trailed in the race. He joins Jeff Burton as the only two drivers in NASCAR history to lead every lap of a Cup race in the modern era.
Fans will definitely want to be at Bristol Motor Speedway when the next tough as nails victory takes place. It could be on April 13 during the Food City 500 when many of the best drivers in the sport, including Busch, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe, put it all on the line to grab the famed BMS Trophy and BMS Gladiator Sword.
The highly-anticipated weekend opens with the WEATHER GUARD Truck Race, a 250-lap race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series under the lights on Friday, April 11 (7:30 p.m., FS1 and PRN Radio), and continues Saturday afternoon on April 12 with the SciAps 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race (5 p.m., The CW, PRN Radio) and then culminates Sunday afternoon with the historic Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race (April 13, 3 p.m., FS1 and PRN Radio).
In addition to cheering on their favorite drivers on the track, Bristol Motor Speedway fans will definitely want to take advantage of so many activities to make a complete weekend of family fun. There will be great video entertainment provided by Colossus TV, the world’s largest center-hung video screen, premium VIP experiences, tailgating, on-site camping, concerts and other entertainment at the Food City Fan Zone Stage headlined by Trackside Live with Kenny Wallace and John Roberts, great food and beverages in the concession stands throughout the property, and so much more.
To purchase tickets for the Food City 500 or any of the BMS NASCAR events in 2025, please visit www.bristolmotorspeedway.com or call the BMS ticket sales center at (866) 415-4158.
About Bristol Motor Speedway
Forged amid the scenic mountains of Northeast Tennessee near the Virginia state line, Bristol Motor Speedway is The Last Great Colosseum, a versatile multi-use venue that hosts major auto races, football games, concerts and many other captivating events, including an upcoming Major League Baseball game. The facility features a 0.533-mile concrete oval race track with 28-degree corner banking and 650-feet straightaways that offers racing in several NASCAR touring series, highlighted by two major Cup Series weekends each year. In 2025, the venue will transform into a baseball stadium to host the MLB Speedway Classic featuring the Atlanta Braves vs. the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 2nd. In 2020, the track also served as host of the prestigious NASCAR All-Star Race, and from 2021-2023 the track converted to a temporary dirt track each spring to take the Cup Series back to its racing roots. While at the track, fans are offered a unique viewing experience courtesy of Colossus TV, the world’s largest outdoor center-hung four-sided video screen with a 540,000-watt audio system. The adjacent quarter-mile dragstrip, Bristol Dragway, offers more than 50 events annually, including the marquee NHRA Super Grip Thunder Valley Nationals. The Thunder Valley Amphitheatre presented by Ballad Health transforms Bristol Dragway into a premier outdoor concert venue for the world’s greatest music performers. Three football games have kicked-off inside the oval, most notably the 2016 Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol, where border rivals the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech met before an NCAA-record crowd of 156,990. In existence since 1961, Bristol Motor Speedway was purchased in 1996 by Speedway Motorsports, a leading marketer and promoter of motorsports entertainment in the United States. For more information, please visit www.bristolmotorspeedway.com.
