Event: Food City 500
Date/Time: Sunday, April 12, 2026, 3 p.m. ET
Location: Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee
Layout: 0.533-Mile Oval
TV/Radio: FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
After the Easter break, Josh Berry and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team return to action this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, aiming to carry forward the momentum built over the last two NASCAR Cup Series races.
Following a challenging stretch after a ninth-place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500, Berry and the Wood Brothers Racing team have shown encouraging progress with their Ford Mustang Dark Horse, recording a 17th-place result at Darlington Raceway and a 10th-place finish at Martinsville Speedway.
“I feel pretty good about where we’re at,” Berry said on a teleconference Wednesday. “I think there are a lot of strong tracks for us coming up. We had a solid day at Darlington, a day that we needed, and then had a really good car at Martinsville.
“Unfortunately, we just kind of lost some track position here or there to take us out of a top five, but I certainly thought we had top-five pace and ended up 10th there, so I think there are a lot of positives.
“We had a nice off weekend and we’re ready to get back to Bristol. We had good cars there last year and hopefully we can keep the train rolling.”
Berry enters Sunday’s Food City 500 with a solid baseline at the high-banked, half-mile concrete oval. In last year’s spring race, he finished 12th, while a fire cut short his effort in the September night race.
He noted that short tracks continue to be a key area of strength for the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team.
“I feel like it’s been good,” he said. “It was a strength of ours last year. It seems like we struggled a little bit more at Phoenix than we expected, but obviously had a really good car at Martinsville.”
Despite updates to the rules package since last season, Berry is confident in the team’s preparation as he returns to race in his home state. A native of Hendersonville, Tennessee, Berry will compete roughly 300 miles from home this weekend.
“I feel good about everything we’ve been doing this week to prepare for Bristol,” he said. “It’s obviously a little different aero package and horsepower, so there’s going to be some adapting for everybody to that package. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going and have another solid day.”
Practice for the Food City 500 is scheduled for Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET, followed by qualifying at 5:40 p.m. ET, with coverage on Prime Video. Sunday’s 500-lap race is set to take the green flag shortly after 3 p.m. ET on FS1, with Stage 1 concluding at Lap 125 and Stage 2 at Lap 250.
Sunday, April 12
Josh Berry will sign autographs at the Team Penske/Wood Brothers merchandise hauler beginning at 11:10 a.m. local time in the Bristol Motor Speedway fan zone. 100 wristbands will be distributed on a first come, first-served basis.
Josh Berry
Age: 35 (Oct. 22, 1990)
Hometown: Hendersonville, Tennessee
Crew Chief: Miles Stanley
IG: @joshberry88
X: @joshberry
About Motorcraft®
Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to under hood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford Dealers and Lincoln Retailers, independent distributors and automotive-parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty* of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com. *See your dealer for limited-warranty details.
About Quick Lane® Tire & Auto Center
Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine maintenance, serving all vehicle makes and models. Quick Lane provides a full menu of automotive services, including tires, oil change and maintenance, brakes, batteries, alternator and electrical system, air conditioning system, cooling system, transmission service, suspension and steering, wheel alignment, belts and hoses, lamps and bulbs and wiper blades plus a thorough vehicle checkup report. Service is performed by expert technicians while you wait at any of nearly 800 locations in the U.S., with evening and weekend hours available and no appointment necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com. *See your dealer for limited-warranty details.
