The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series hits Bristol Motor Speedway today, Saturday, April 12, for qualifying ahead of the Food City 500.
Last time out at Darlington, Denny Hamlin rolled back the years at throwback weekend, taking an overtime victory with a Carl Edwards-inspired paint scheme after a fantastic stop from his pit crew saw him exit pit road in the lead late in the race.
It was Hamlin's second win in as many weeks, and another victory this weekend would see him become Joe Gibbs Racing's all-time most-winning driver, with the No. 11 star currently tied for that honor on 56 JGR wins with Kyle Busch.
Interestingly, Hamlin won last year's Food City 500, but it was actually Ryan Blaney for Team Penske who had put it on pole that day, with Josh Berry qualifying in second. We can't wait to see who comes out on top later this afternoon.
Heading into the weekend, William Byron continues to lead the 2025 regular season standings, 49 points ahead of Hamlin in second and 52 clear of Christopher Bell in third. Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick currently round out the top five.
With that said, let's get into all of the details you need ahead of Saturday's qualifying action and how you can watch it all unfold live.
NASCAR Cup Series: Bristol qualifying start times
The all-important qualifying session from Bristol Motor Speedway kicks off today (Saturday, April 12, 2025) at 3:05 pm ET. Here are the start times converted to your city and time zone:
City (Time Zone)
Session start time
New York, NY (ET)
3:05 PM
Charlotte, NC (ET)
3:05 PM
Columbia, SC (ET)
3:05 PM
Charleston, WV (ET)
3:05 PM
Augusta, ME (ET)
3:05 PM
Chicago, IL (CT)
2:05 PM
Pierre, SD (CT)
2:05 PM
Nashville, TN (CT)
2:05 PM
Des Moines, IA (CT)
2:05 PM
Montgomery, AL (CT)
2:05 PM
Mexico City, MX (CT)
2:05 PM
Phoenix, AZ (MT)
1:05 PM
Denver, CO (MT)
1:05 PM
Salt Lake City, UT (MT)
1:05 PM
Albuquerque, NM (MT)
1:05 PM
El Paso, TX (MT)
1:05 PM
Los Angeles, CA (PT)
12:05 PM
Las Vegas, NV (PT)
12:05 PM
Seattle, WA (PT)
12:05 PM
Portland, OR (PT)
12:05 PM
San Francisco, CA (PT)
12:05 PM
Rio de Janeiro, BR (BRT)
4:05 PM
London, GB (GMT)
8:05 PM
Madrid, ES (CET)
9:05 PM
Sydney, AU (AEDT)
5:05 AM (Sunday)
Perth, AU (AWST)
3:05 AM (Sunday)
Adelaide, AU (ACDT)
4:35 AM (Sunday)
Qualifying action from Bristol Motor Speedway will be available for NASCAR fans to watch on television.
All of the action will be broadcast live on Amazon Prime Video in the United States.
Practice can also be watched on Prime Video from 2 pm ET.
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series is set to be broadcast across several broadcast partners in the United States: FOX, Prime Video, TNT Sports, and NBC.
Action from Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend will be broadcast across two of those, with Saturday's qualifying session set to be shown live on Amazon Prime Video and Sunday's race live on FOX Sports 1.
Broadcast details vary depending on your location. Please check below to see how you can catch the action in your country.