Kyle Larson won two out of three races during the Food City 500 weekend, just missing the coveted triple that he was seeking. Larson scored dominating victories in the Food City 500 Cup race and SciAps 300 Xfinity Series race, but came up one position short in the WEATHER GUARD Truck Race.

He still managed to grab a record that doesn’t get reset very often. He put the record for most laps led in a weekend by a single driver even further up the ladder by leading 411 laps in the Cup race and 276 laps in the Xfinity race. The grand total of 687 laps is the new NASCAR record for that category.

When Larson climbed from his car on Sunday afternoon he had a huge grin on his face. He clearly has learned the secret to running well at The World’s Fastest Half-Mile. Larson now has three Cup victories and two Xfinity wins at the iconic bullring.

“It’s fun,” Larson said. “I love this place because it is just so high paced and with traffic; just dicing it up and picking the right lines at the right time while conserving your tires. It’s like a 500-lap sprint car race. It just suits me and my style with quick decision making. I just love this place. I think a lot of us do here in this series. Just had another good race.”

He also was smiling because he was able to dedicate the Food City 500 victory to his team publicist, Jon Edwards, who died suddenly earlier in the week. Larson, along with the entire industry were also mourning two others, pioneering journalist Al Pearce and NASCAR Craftsman Truck team owner Shige Hattori, who also passed away prior to Bristol.

“Jon Edwards meant a lot to the 5 team, and a lot to the NASCAR Industry, too,” Larson said. “Just good to get a win for him. Obviously, we don’t want to be winning for him and his spirit, we wish he was here in person with us. But he is no longer here, so it’s just going to be fun to celebrate and I know he is smiling down on us. We had a damn good weekend, as he would say. A lot of fun, and I can’t say enough about the team.

“We’ve lost a lot of great people in our sport over the last week, so our thoughts are with them.”

Larson had some fun with rival Denny Hamlin, telling FOX Sports’ Jamie Little he was glad he ended Hamlin’s winning streak. Not only did Larson stop his potential three-in-a-row this season but he also took away the Food City 500 crown from Hamlin, who won it last year.

“Glad to stop his three-peat,” Larson said with a grin. “We hate to see him win as I’m sure you guys do too (pointing to the crowd).”

JOHNNY BENCH VISITS ‘DREAM’ TRACK

Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, the longtime catcher for the Cincinnati Reds, served as the co-Grand Marshal for the Food City 500.

Prior to going on the pre-race stage alongside fellow co-Gand Marshal Bob Kesling to give the most famous words in motorsports, Bench took a few moments to meet with the media inside the BMS Media Center.

“This has always been my dream racetrack,” said Bench of Bristol Motor Speedway. “Fifteen seconds around for a lap? I’ve loved the sport forever.”

The Reds will face the Atlanta Braves in the MLB Speedway Classic at Bristol on Saturday, Aug. 2.

“Baseball is really smart in bringing it into a new (locations),” Bench said. “I heard about it and the next day I was on the phone getting tickets. I don’t have any doubt that this will be a pristine, great-looking field. MLB is committed to making this happen.”

After Bench was finished with his interview Jeff Gordon walked into the media center to visit with media and others in the industry and Bench was able to chat with the NASCAR champ and five-time Bristol winner for several minutes. The two shared several laughs in their conversation.

He and Kesling, the long-time Voice of the Tennessee Vols sports teams, nailed the duo command for drivers to start engines.

A two-time National League MVP, Bench was named World Series MVP in 1976, was a 10-time Gold Glove winner and was voted to 14 All-Star teams. His ‘Big Red Machine’ earned two World Series championship titles in 1975-1976, first over the Boston Red Sox and the following year over the New York Yankees.

IDA ZETTERSTROM PROMOTES NHRA AT THUNDER VALLEY

NHRA Top Fuel driver Ida Zetterstrom took time out of her busy schedule to attend her first-ever NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway. She participated in many interviews throughout the day to promote the upcoming Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, June 6-8 at the adjacent Bristol Dragway.

Swedish star Zetterstrom met with fans at the BMS Fan Zone during an interview on the Food City Fan Zone Stage presented by Coke Zero Sugar. She then chatted with host Don Helman on WXSM The Sports Monster who was leading a pre-race show on site. Zetterstrom, who won the 2023 FIA European Top Fuel Championship, spoke to the media during a moderated interview in the BMS Media Center before heading up on the roof of the building where she was interviewed on Colossus TV by host Jose Castello.

On the FOX pre-race show Zetterstrom was interviewed by Michael Waltrip as he did his famous grid walk. After that she toured the NASCAR Cup Series pits and met with several teams. She accepted an invitation from Joey Logano’s team to sit on the pit box for the first stage of the 500-lap Food City 500. She also sat on the pit box for Tyler Reddick’s team during the second stage.

Competing in a 10-race schedule this season on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, Zetterstrom’s next race will be next weekend’s NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte. Then, she will return to Eastern Tennessee for the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, June 6-8, looking for her first NHRA Wally trophy and Bristol victory.

“This is my first time attending a NASCAR race and it’s been a lot of fun at the Food City 500, but I’m ready to get back to Thunder Valley for some drag racing,” Zetterstrom said. “I am looking forward to racing at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in June and hope the fans will come out to see us. Remember, every ticket is a pit pass. We will see you there!”                                               

To purchase tickets, please visit www.bristolmotorspeedway.com or call the BMS ticket sales center at (866) 415-4158.