The NASCAR Food City 500 is set for 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 12, at Bristol Motor Speedway. It's the NASCAR circuit's return to the track following a break last Sunday for the Easter holiday.
The eighth race of the season takes place in Bristol, Tenn., set for 500 laps at the short track (0.533-mile long). Ryan Blaney will start in pole, with Tyler Reddick starting second.
Below, we'll break down our NASCAR predictions and picks for Sunday’s Food City 500, including key driver picks for PrizePicks.
Make your NASCAR picks for the Food City 500 on PrizePicks now.
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NASCAR Food City 500 Winner Payouts – Sunday, April 12
Ryan Blaney enters Sunday’s race as the favorite with a 3.57x payout ($100 pays out $357) if he wins the Food City 500, while Kyle Larson is right behind at a 4.54x payout if he captures the checkered flag, via PrizePicks Team Picks.
Here are the full payouts for drivers to win the Food City 500 on Sunday:
- Ryan Blaney – 3.57x
- Kyle Larson – 4.54x
- Denny Hamlin – 6.66x
- Ty Gibbs – 6.66x
- Chase Briscoe – 8.33x
- Christopher Bell – 9.09x
- Tyler Reddick – 10x
- Carson Hochevar – 11.11x
- Joey Logano – 16.66x
- Chase Elliott – 16.66x
- Ross Chastain – 22.22x
- Bubba Wallace – 22.22x
Play the Food City 500 winner on PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money — available in 35 states!
Team Picks data is live at the time of writing and is subject to change.
NASCAR Food City 500 Stats, Preview for Sunday, April 12
Here are some stats and figures to get you set for the NASCAR Food City 500 on Sunday, including insights on our NASCAR prediction for the race.
Lock in your Food City 500 prediction on PrizePicks before the line moves.
- Ryan Blaney captured the pole for Sunday, seeking his first career win at Bristol.
- Kyle Larson won last April’s race at Bristol, while Christopher Bell picked up a victory in the fall race at this track.
- Larson posted six consecutive Top 5 Bristol finishes before closing 32nd last September.
- Denny Hamlin put together four straight Top 4 finishes at Bristol from 2023 through 2025, including a second-place finish behind Larson last April.
- Tyler Reddick has won four races this season, looking for his first-ever victory at Bristol. In 10 career events at Bristol, Reddick owns only two Top 10 finishes.
- Ty Gibbs has picked up three stage victories at Bristol in six career races, while finishing third last April.
NASCAR Predictions for Food City 500 – Sunday, April 12
Here are four top Food City 500 picks to target on Sunday. PrizePicks NASCAR predictions are headlined by four drivers: Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, and Bubba Wallace.
To calculate fantasy points, here is the scoring: 0.25 points for a lap led, 0.45 points for fastest lap; the race winner picks up 45 points, second place grabs 42 points, and that number decreases by one for each descending finish.
Christopher Bell: 50.5 Fantasy Score, 9.09x to Win
Starting Position: 14th
- Since winning three of the first four races in 2025, Bell has picked up one victory in the last 39 events, which coincidentally came at Bristol last September.
- In four of the past five races, Bell posted a Top 7 finish, highlighted by a second-place finish at Phoenix on March 8.
- Bell is listed at a 1.26x payout to finish in the Top 10 at Bristol for a seventh straight time.
- In eight of the last 11 short track races, Bell placed Top 8, including a seventh-place finish at Martinsville on March 29.
Add Christopher Bell to your PrizePicks Lineup now.
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Chase Briscoe Projection: 34.5 Fantasy Score, 8.33x to Win
Starting Position: 3rd
- Briscoe led for 127 laps in last September’s race in Bristol before finishing ninth.
- In the past three Bristol events, Briscoe closed in the Top 9, including a fourth-place finish last April.
- Briscoe looks to get on track this week after finishing 14th or lower in five of the first seven races.
- In Briscoe’s last nine short track events since 2024, three of his five Top 10 finishes came at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Add Chase Briscoe to your PrizePicks Lineup now.
Kyle Larson Projection: 49.5 Laps Led, 4.54x to Win
Starting Position: 8th
- In last season’s victory at Bristol, Larson dominated by leading for 411 of the 500 laps.
- In his past three wins at this track, he led for at least 175 laps each time.
- However, in Larson’s previous four races at Bristol that he did not win, he led for 34 or fewer laps.
- Larson seeks his first victory of 2026, as he has led for 20 or less laps in four of the past five events.
Add Kyle Larson to your PrizePicks Lineup now.
Bubba Wallace Projection: 37.5 Fantasy Score, 22.22x to Win
Starting Position: 12th
- Wallace has not seen success at Bristol, finishing lower than 10th in 12 of 14 events.
- He began the season with five consecutive Top 11 finishes, but fell to 34th at Darlington and 36th at Martinsville.
- In the last four short track races, Wallace finished below 18th each time, including three finishes of 28th or worse.
- Wallace crashed in last September’s Bristol race, completing 487 laps and finishing 34th. He closed fourth in the first stage and eighth in the second stage before his accident.
Add Bubba Wallace to your PrizePicks Lineup now.
Make NASCAR Food City 500 Picks on PrizePicks
NASCAR is back on Sunday following a one-week break as Larson seeks his first win of the season. Meanwhile, Blaney will aim for his first career victory at Bristol Motor Speedway out of pole position.
Don’t wait until lock — make your NASCAR Food City 500 picks on PrizePicks now and earn real money if you’re right.
There are hundreds of driver projections on the NASCAR board for every race; just pick at least two stat projections to build your Lineup on PrizePicks. Or, make your picks race winners on Team Picks, now available in 35 states!
Check out the Playbook throughout the season for more NASCAR picks, predictions, and news every day.
