Official Release

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker, and one of the most recognizable athletes in Kansas City, Derrick Johnson will lead the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series field to the green flag as the honorary pace car driver for the Go Bowling 400 on May 13.

After finding consistency at the first two short tracks of the season, Aric Almirola and the No. 43 Smithfield Ford team are ready to conquer one of NASCAR's shortest tracks, Bristol Motor Speedway. Richard Petty Motorsports put a lot of work on the short-track program since the beginning of this season, and with the Tennessee oval being one of Almirola's favorite tracks, the team is ready continue improving their Championship Points Standing with a strong run in Sunday's race.

Erik Jones will make his first-career NASCAR Cup Series start at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend for the Food City 500. Even though it will be Jones first-career start at the half-mile track, Jones got his first taste of Cup racing at The Last Great Colosseum in 2015 when he climbed in the No. 11 Toyota Camry to fill in for Denny Hamlin.

Roush Fenway Racing driver Ryan Reed spreads awareness of diabetes and sends encouragement to those living with the disease weekly through his on-track efforts and interactions with NASCAR fans. This weekend, Reed will add to that message by highlighting some special diabetes resources in the state of Tennessee and by visiting with fans Friday evening at the Lilly Diabetes #DriveYourHealth activation at the Bristol Motor Speedway Fan Fest.

New Camry on Track: Toyota is racing its new 2018 Toyota Camry in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) that was introduced alongside the new 2018 production Camry at this year’s North American International Auto Show.

Country music star Tyler Farr will entertain race fans with a pre-race concert prior to the 59th annual Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race on Saturday, July 1.

32nd in Points: Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 32 Cosmo Motors team currently sit 32nd in owner and driver points in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Bristol Motor Speedway, the site of this weekend's Food City 500, is the second-smallest racetrack on our schedule and one of the highest banked racetracks that NASCAR travels to.

Phoenix Raceway will host the Beach Whiskey Outback Steakhouse Qualifying Day on Friday, April 28 to kick off the Verizon IndyCar Series race weekend and set the field for the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix under the lights on Saturday, April 29.

The Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team, along with the rest of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, returns to action this week at Bristol Motor Speedway after a week off for the Easter holiday.

The Series gets ready to go short-track racing at Bristol Motor Speedway for Sunday’s 500-lap event on the high-banked concrete oval. In 22 starts at the Tennessee bullring, Hamlin has one win, six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes, and has earned himself three pole starting positions.