A NASCAR tripleheader is on tap this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway as all three top touring series compete at the same venue for the fourth time this season. The Front Row Motorsports duo of Chandler Smith and Layne Riggs have combined to win the last three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races with each of them going to Victory Lane in 2025.
THE SCHEDULE
- Friday, April 10 -- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, 7:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
- Saturday, April 11 – NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, 7:30 p.m. ET (CW)
- Sunday, April 12– NASCAR Cup Series, 3 p.m. ET (FS1)
UP TO SPEED
CONSISTENT BLANEY LOOKING FOR FIRST BRISTOL WIN
Ryan Blaney’s trademark consistency has been on display all season and it continued two weeks ago with a sixth-place finish at Martinsville Speedway. That marked Blaney’s fifth top-10 finish in the last six races, which includes a win at Phoenix Raceway. As a result, he’s second in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings, trailing leader Tyler Reddick by 82 points. Blaney heads into this weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway still looking for his first win, but he’s finished sixth or better in each of the last three races.
SITTING ON 749
The next Ford win will be its 750th all-time in NASCAR’s top series. Ned Jarrett is Ford’s win leader with 43 while Bill Elliott is second with 40. Shirtless Jimmy Florian scored the Blue Oval’s first series victory when he upset the likes of Lee Petty, Curtis Turner and Joe Weatherly at Dayton Speedway on June 25, 1950. Florian earned his nickname after getting out of his 1950 flathead Ford without a shirt. Overall, 91 drivers have won at least one series race with Ford, including notable drivers Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, A.J. Foyt, Richard Petty, and Dale Earnhardt.
ACTIVE BRISTOL WINNERS
Three current Ford drivers have at least one NASCAR Cup Series victory on the concrete of Bristol Motor Speedway. Brad Keselowski has three wins, including one with Ford in 2020, while Joey Logano owns a pair (2014-15) and Chris Buescher has one (2022). Rusty Wallace and Kurt Busch each had five victories to lead Ford all-time while David Pearson is next with four.
FORD’S BRISTOL TRIFECTA
Two drivers have won at least one race in all three of NASCAR’s top touring series at Bristol Motor Speedway with Ford. Mark Martin was the first to do it as he got Ford’s first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win at the track in 1989, and then followed that up with a Cup Series win in 1993 and Truck triumph in 2006. He did all of those while driving for Jack Roush, who also produced the other name on the list – Carl Edwards. The NASCAR Hall of Famer did it in order, winning in the Truck Series in 2004 and then the O’Reilly Series in 2006 before completing the trifecta in 2007 at the Cup level. Ryan Blaney could join that list this weekend if he can win Sunday’s Food City 500.
THEY SAID IT
BRAD KESELOWSKI: “When I think of Bristol, I just think of everything that racing should be – tight confines and cars on top of each other on a fast half-mile short track with the high banks. You don’t have a second to breathe and I just love the in-your-face challenge that is Bristol.”
A LOOK BACK
ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND
As NASA’s Artemis II rocket continues its historic test flight around the moon, it seems appropriate to go back to July 20, 1969. While Neil Armstrong was making history as the first man on the moon, David Pearson was busy winning at Bristol in the first race since the track installed high banking. What made the race even more interesting is that Pearson was relieved during the race by none other than Richard Petty, who was driving a Ford that season and dropped out earlier in the event. Even more ironic is that Petty was chasing Pearson for the championship that season, one in which Pearson eventually won for the second straight time.
A THREE SERIES SWEEP
One of the most memorable Ford weekends at Bristol came in August of 2014 when Ford swept all three NASCAR series races – Craftsman Truck, O’Reilly and Cup. Brad Keselowski captured his first NCTS victory while Ryan Blaney took the O’Reilly - then Xfinity - Series event. Joey Logano capped the weekend sweep when he passed Matt Kenseth with 45 laps to go and then had to hold off Keselowski to post his third win of the 2014 season. Logano was in control until caution came out with 69 laps to go. While he pitted for four tires, Kenseth and others stayed out which put Logano sixth on the ensuing restart with 63 to go. With fresh tires, however, he was able to move to the front in less than 20 laps and then hold off his Penske teammate down the stretch. It marked the first time Ford swept all three divisions in the same weekend since 2006 when Mark Martin (NCTS) and Kenseth (NOAPS and NCS) did it, ironically, at Bristol.
FORD AND FRONT ROW GOING FOR FOUR STRAIGHT AT BRISTOL
Ford Racing and Front Row Motorsports swept the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway a year ago as Chandler Smith and Layne Riggs each went to Victory Lane. That extended the organization’s win streak to three with Riggs winning twice during that span. Smith captured this event last season, leading a race-high 127 laps, while Riggs recovered from a spin on lap one to take the playoff race and advanced to the Round of 8.
FOUR IN THE TOP EIGHT
Ford Racing has half of the top eight drivers in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point standings, led by Layne Riggs, Chandler Smith and Ty Majeski in third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Smith (Daytona) and Riggs (St. Pete) have one victory apiece while Majeski has one runner-up finish (St. Pete) and three top-10 efforts in the first five events. Ben Rhodes rounds out the foursome as he sits eighth in the standings.
PAST WINNERS
FORD’S NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS AT BRISTOL (CONCRETE ONLY)
1963 – Fireball Roberts and Fred Lorenzen
1964 – Fred Lorenzen (Sweep)
1965 – Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett
1966 – Dick Hutcherson (1)
1968 – David Pearson (Sweep)
1969 – David Pearson (2)
1970 – Donnie Allison (1)
1971 – David Pearson (1)
1988 – Bill Elliott (1)
1990 – Davey Allison (1)
1991 – Alan Kulwicki (2)
1992 – Alan Kulwicki (1)
1993 – Mark Martin (2)
1994 – Rusty Wallace (2)
|1996 – Rusty Wallace (2)
1997 – Dale Jarrett (2)
1998 – Mark Martin (2)
1999 – Rusty Wallace (1)
2000 – Rusty Wallace (Sweep)
2001 – Elliott Sadler (1)
2002 – Kurt Busch (1)
2003 – Kurt Busch (Sweep)
2004 – Kurt Busch (1)
2005 – Matt Kenseth (2)
2006 – Matt Kenseth (2)
2007 – Carl Edwards (2)
2008 – Carl Edwards (2)
2014 – Carl Edwards and Joey Logano
2015 – Joey Logano (2)
2018 – Kurt Busch (2)
2020 – Brad Keselowski (1) and Kevin Harvick (2)
2022 – Chris Buescher (2)
FORD’S NASCAR NOAPS SERIES WINNERS AT BRISTOL
1989 – Mark Martin (2)
1994 – Kenny Wallace (2)
1996 – Mark Martin (1)
1997 – Jeff Burton (1)
2006 – Matt Kenseth (2)
2007 – Carl Edwards (1)
2009 – David Ragan (2)
2014 – Ryan Blaney (2)
2015 – Joey Logano (1)
2020 – Chase Briscoe (2)
2024 – Cole Custer
FORD’S NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES WINNERS AT BRISTOL (CONCRETE ONLY)
1995 – Joe Ruttman
2004 – Carl Edwards
2006 – Mark Martin
2014 – Brad Keselowski
2015 – Ryan Blaney
2024 – Layne Riggs
2025 – Chandler Smith (1) and Layne Riggs (2)
