Key Takeaways: Bristol

By: Taylor Starer

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returned to short-track racing on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway and all 500 laps of the event had fans on their toes. From pre-race front-runners leaving the race early to unexpected drivers battling their way up through the 40-car field, NASCAR.com's Taylor Starer breaks down the key takeaways from the Food City 500.

Does what happened at Bristol stay at Bristol?

Short tracks often bring out short tempers, and even though there were no post-race spats, the battles at Bristol were intense. There was Ryan Blaney's hard racing with Kurt Busch, Landon Cassill's bump to Ty Dillon's No. 14 Chevrolet and Martin Truex Jr. and Aric Almirola's contact.

Could any of these incidents bring out something bigger when the series heads to another short track this weekend at Richmond?

Surprise, surprise

It was a very emotional post-race for Matt DiBenedetto, driver of the No. 83 BK Racing Toyota, as he finished sixth in the Food City 500, his best Sprint Cup Series finish in 41 starts.

'I'm speechless,' DiBenedetto said post-race. 'This is an incredible day for us.'
Along with DiBenedetto, there were other surprise top-10 finishers at Bristol. Roush Fenway Racing's Trevor Bayne and HScott Motorsports driver Clint Bowyer also finished fifth and eighth, respectively, which were their best showings of the 2016 season.

JGR: The highs and the lows

Sunday's Food City 500 was one of mixed emotions for the four-car Joe Gibbs Racing team. With Carl Edwards taking home his first win of 2016, there came much celebration -- and a backflip, of course.

But fellow JGR drivers Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth had multiple issues that derailed their chances at a win and resulted in finishes of 36th-or-worse. One has to wonder what kind of mood that put team owner Joe Gibbs in.

'In some ways, it's a thrill, though, to win, and to see Comcast and everybody with us in the Winner's Circle, you know, that's certainly a high,' Coach Gibbs said. 'And I think the other guys -- as soon as I go to them, I've gone to Carl when it's Denny winning or whatever, and he says, 'Hey, go get in the Winner's Circle.' They really, I think have great respect for each other.'

Don't count out Cassill

Landon Cassill leading 20 laps at Bristol just goes to show it's not always about a car's setup -- because pit road strategy can get you to the front just as well. That's exactly what happened for the No. 38 driver.

Cassill grabbed the lead on Lap 262, when a majority of the field pitted and the Front Row Motorsports Ford stayed out. Cassill's lead was eventually overtaken by race winner Carl Edwards, but the 26-year-old still maintained a strong presence in the field, ultimately finishing 22nd.

Cassill's 20 laps out front was the most laps he's led in a single Sprint Cup season in his seven years racing in NASCAR's premier series.

The bottom line

Drivers quickly learned that running the bottom line on restarts at Bristol isn't the place you want to be.

Kevin Harvick was forced to restart in the bottom lane on Lap 491 and he dropped back two positions as he tried to move up to the outside line. In the next restart at Lap 496, Harvick restarted fifth and dropped back two more positions as he raced the bottom line in the final laps.

Harvick was far from the only driver plagued by the bottom lane. Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Ryan Blaney also suffered from it.

“The bottom is terrible here,” Blaney said. “You can't go anywhere on the bottom. If you're lucky enough to restart on the top then you'll move forward even if you have a terrible race car.'