Posted on by Reid Spencer

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Everyone knows Kyle Busch as “Rowdy,” but you could also call him “The Postman,” given that neither rain, snow, sleet nor hail could keep him from completing his appointed rounds at Bristol Motor Speedway.

 

Executing a textbook bump-and-run against runner-up Kyle Larson on Lap 495 of 500, Kyle Busch pulled away to win Monday’s weather-delayed Food City 500, claiming his second straight victory of 2018 and his seventh win at Thunder Valley, most among active drivers.

 

In a race delayed by rain after 204 laps on Sunday—then prefaced by sleet on Monday—Busch, the pole winner, claimed the 45th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of his career, breaking a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott for 16th on the all-time win list.

 

Larson, who led a race-high 200 laps, held the top spot after a restart on Lap 479, following the 13th caution of the race for Brad Keselowski’s contact with the outside wall off Turn 2. Busch charged past eventual fourth-place finisher Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on Lap 485 and took off in pursuit of Larson.

 

As the drivers worked traffic, Busch got to Larson’s bumper and nudged the No. 42 Chevrolet in Turns 1 and 2. The coup de grace came in Turns 3 and 4, where Busch’s No. 18 Toyota pushed Larson’s Chevy up the track, with Busch diving underneath for the lead.

RELATED: Race results | Series standings | At-track gallery | Shop Kyle Busch gear

The final caution was a godsend for Busch, who thought he had a tire going flat and was preparing to pit.

 

“We weren’t quite as good as the 42 (Larson) on that long run before that last caution came out,” said Busch, who led 117 laps in the two-day affair. “I actually thought I had a tire going down, but we were able to get some tires on it and go give it everything we had.

 

“We had a 20-lap shootout, and that was everything it was about right there, just chasing down that 42 and being able to get there.”

 

The final pit stop proved critical, because Busch had the superior car after the final restart.

 

“It was the best right at the end,” said Busch, who won his second straight Cup race at Bristol. “I know Larson was a little bit loose right there. It seemed like he was over-driving and trying to hold the bottom, but he was slipping out of the bottom, and I got a huge run on him and got to him and it was just on.

 

“I knew I might as well just take the opportunity that I got right now. I knew it was a little early ‘cause you tend to try to want to think about saving that bump-and-run deal for the last lap, but I just took my chance with it, and if he got back to my rear bumper, then so be it. I think that’s fair game, being able to race that way. Fortunately, I was able to run away from him and he couldn’t get back to me.”

 

Finishing second to Busch at Bristol has become an annoying habit for Larson, who crossed the finish line .628 seconds behind the No. 18 on Monday. On three previous occasions in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, 2013 through 2015, Larson ran second to Busch at Thunder Valley.

RELATED: Larson comes oh-so-close to victory | See every spring race winner at Bristol 

 

“I’ve been beat by Kyle about every time I race here, too, so that gets frustrating after a while,” Larson said. “As soon as we restarted there, I was extremely loose. The No. 17 (Stenhouse) got to my inside. I just really didn’t have any grip.

 

“I thought it would tighten up for me and I could get going, but it never really did, and I was just really loose. I hate that I didn’t win. It’s another one at Bristol. I feel like every time I race here I almost get a win.”

 

Seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson ran third, posting his first top five of the season after starting from the rear because of a tire change after qualifying. Alex Bowman, Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, finished a career-best fifth.

 

Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman completed the top 10.

 

Busch expanded his series lead to 59 points over second-place Logano. Monday marked the first time a series leader had won at Bristol since Dale Earnhardt accomplished the feat in 1987, when he swept both Bristol races as the points leader.

Posted on by Staff Report

A Bristol breakthrough? More like a Bristol bummer.

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Kyle Larson looked to have the best car in the field at several points during Monday’s weather-delayed race at Bristol Motor Speedway, but he couldn’t hold off a hard-charging Kyle Busch at the end.

Busch executed a bump-and-run on Larson with six laps remaining at Bristol Motor Speedway, then held on as Larson desperately tried to catch him in a frenzied finish at the .533-mile track.

RELATED: Busch wins at Bristol | At-track photos | See the spin Larson overcame

It was a moment of heartbreak for Larson, who led a race-high 200 laps but had to settle for second.

“I hate that I didn’t win,” Larson said after emerging from his Chevrolet. “I feel like every time I race here I almost get a win. I’ve been beat by Kyle about every time I race here, too, so that gets frustrating after a while.”

Larson was the leader at Lap 204 when the race was halted from its Sunday start and pushed to a Monday finish. Larson was in position to post his first stage win of the season, but Brad Keselowski scooted past him on Lap 244 to lead at the halfway mark.

Busch led 117 laps after starting from the Busch Pole, winning for the second consecutive race. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver won last week at Texas Motor Speedway.

Posted on by Staff Report

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series head to Richmond Raceway, while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is off. Check out the tentative full schedule below, subject to change.

Note: All times are ET

Saturday, April 21
Race-day schedule
4:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Driver/Crew Chief meeting
5:59 p.m.: Intro Grand Marshal: Lauren Fulcher
6 p.m.: Driver Introductions
6:27 p.m.: Pledge of Alliance: Cool Springs Baptist Church Cub and Boy Scout Park 521
6:27 p.m.: God Bless America: Sophia Nadder
6:30 p.m.: Invocation: Chaplain Col. Terry Romine
6:31 p.m.: National Anthem: Elliott Yamin
6:37 p.m.: “Drivers Start Your Engines” by: Lauren Fulcher
6:44 p.m.: Green flag for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 (400 laps, 300 miles), FOX (Canada: TSN 1, 4) (Results)

Press Pass (Watch live)
9:30 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

Friday, April 20
8-8:45 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice (Results)
9:40-10:25 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
11:05-11:55 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
12:35-1:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
4:05 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
5:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, FS1 (Canada: TSN 3) (Results)
7 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series ToyotaCare 250 (250 laps, 187.5 miles), FS1 (Canada: TSN 3) (Results)

Press Pass (Watch live)
10 a.m.: Kyle Larson
10:15 a.m.: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
10:50 a.m.: Justin Allgaier, Spencer Gallagher and Elliott Sadler
2:05 p.m.: Daniel Hemric
2:20 p.m.: Kyle Busch
4 p.m.: Denny Hamlin
6:15 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying
9:15 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Xfinity Series race

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Monday’s resumption of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 has been delayed by inclement weather at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Just 204 of the scheduled 500 laps were completed Sunday afternoon before rain bumped the remainder to a 1 p.m. ET start (FOX, PRN, SiriusXM) Monday. But rain mixed with wintry precipitation late in the morning, plus a cloudburst just 20 minutes before the scheduled restart, have placed the race’s resumption on hold.

RELATED: Race leaderboard | At-track photos

Kyle Larson will be scored as the leader when the race resumes with 46 laps remaining in the second stage. Larson led 74 laps and had stretched out a significant advantage when rain stopped the event. Four red flags slowed Sunday’s action — three for weather, one for crash clean-up.

NASCAR officials announced Monday morning that the track would attempt to re-apply a light coat of PJ1 traction compound if time and weather conditions allowed. Teams also were granted the option for an extra set of new or scuffed tires for the remainder of the event.

MORE: Weather updates

NASCAR has an allotment of eight Air Titan dryers, five jet dryers (three side-draft and two down-draft), two track vacuums, one Elgin sweeper and one tractor broom to prepare the .533-mile track.

Posted on by Holly Cain

The one-day race postponement of Bristol Motor Speedway’s Food City 500 to Monday, combined with unfavorable weather conditions forecast for Michigan International Speedway this week, has forced the rescheduling of a Goodyear tire test.

Goodyear officials have postponed this week’s scheduled Tuesday and Wednesday test at Michigan and will instead hold the session April 24-25.

RELATED: Buy tickets for Michigan

That late April date was originally a planned test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but because the Michigan race weekend is June 8-10 and the Indianapolis race weekend is not until Sept. 7-9, officials decided to reschedule.

“Given the postponement of the Bristol race and the extremely cool conditions forecast for Michigan this week, Goodyear and NASCAR felt it best to reschedule the tire test at MIS until next week,” Goodyear’s Director of Racing Greg Stucker said Monday. “Hopefully this will give us much more representative conditions of what to expect for race time in June (at Michigan.)”

Stucker said the company was hopeful to move the Indianapolis tire test to another date in either June or July.

Martin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Racing), Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports), Brad Keselowski (Penske Racing), Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing) and Aric Almirola (Stewart-Haas Racing) are scheduled to test at Michigan.

Posted on by Emily Bradley

NASCAR Drive for Diversity driver Rajah Caruth and NASCAR Diversity Internship Program graduate and current Rick Ware Racing engineer Monon Rahman organized the George Floyd 100 – an iRacing event helping raise awareness within the motorsports community about the Black Lives Matter movement. The race will take place Friday night at 8:30 PM ET and will be broadcast on YouTube provided by STN Racing.

Each entrant racing in the George Floyd 100 donated $9 to the Official George Floyd Memorial Fund and as of June 3, the over 101 entrants helped raise $1,286. During the race broadcast there will also be information for viewers to donate to the NAACP Legal Defense fund. Trading Paints will be backing a donation of $1 per unique stream/viewer of the race up to $1,000.

During the race, there will be a competition caution on Lap 20 to have three minutes of silence to signify the three minutes Floyd was unconscious. All iRacing participants have been encouraged to have paint schemes that pay tribute to Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others who have been killed.

Rajah Caruth spent his first season with Rev Racing, participating in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Youth Development Program, running in the U.S. Legend Car Series. In 2020, In 2020, Caruth will pilot a full-time ride in the Whelen All-American Series as well as participate in the Bojangles Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway beginning next week. Caruth is the first driver from a majority iRacing background to be selected for the program. He is a product of the eNASCAR IGNITE Series – a grassroots youth racing platform that identifies drivers without access to traditional racetracks around the world.

Posted on by Staff Report

Brad Keselowski won both stages and did it in a span of over two days in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Keselowski won an eventful opening stage Sunday, taking the top spot when teammate Ryan Blaney crashed to lead the way at the quarter mark of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. Then, he took the second stage when the race resumed Monday because of inclement weather.

In Stage 1, Keselowski’s Team Penske No. 2 Ford led just eight of the 125 laps, which featured a handful of crashes and a pair of red flags. Keselowski’s stage win was his second of the season, earning him a playoff point to bank for the postseason.

RELATED: Stage 1 results | Blaney involved in wreck late in Stage 1

Ryan Newman surged to second place, and Clint Bowyer, AJ Allmendinger and Kyle Larson completed the top five on the .533-mile track.

Blaney’s No. 12 Ford led 100 laps before sustaining race-ending damage to the front end during a Lap 117 pile-up. Chris Buescher and Trevor Bayne tangled on the backstraight, collecting Jamie McMurray, Harrison Rhodes and Blaney in their wake.

The race was slowed by two caution periods before the third yellow flag flew because of rain. The first was the largest, a multicar stack-up triggered by Michael McDowell’s spin off Turn 4 on Lap 4. McDowell’s No. 34 Ford collected the cars of Chase Elliott, William Byron, Allmendinger, Martin Truex Jr. and others on the frontstretch.

A solo spin by Allmendinger brought out the second caution. The third yellow flag (which developed into a 25-minute, 25-second red flag for rain) also served as a scheduled competition caution period.

Finish Driver Team Race points
1 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 10
2 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing 9
3 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing 8
4 AJ Allmendinger JTG-Daugherty Racing 7
5 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing 6
6 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing 5
7 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports 4
8 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing 3
9 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing 2
10 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing 1

STAGE 2

Keselowski rolled to a Stage 2 victory, his third of the season, Monday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway, leading at the halfway point of the Food City 500.

Keselowski swept past second-stage dominator Kyle Larson with six laps left in the 125-lap stage to collect his third stage win of the season. The eighth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the year is scheduled for 500 laps.

RELATED: Stage 2 results | At-track photos

Pole-starter Kyle Busch took second place at the drop of the green-checkered flag. Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Larson completed the top five.

The stage took place over two days, as intermittent rain Sunday afternoon suspended the race until Monday with 204 laps complete. Larson was leader at that point, having led 74 consecutive laps.

Finish Driver Team Race points
1 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 10
2 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 9
3 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports 8
4 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing 7
5 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing 6
6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing 5
7 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports 4
8 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 3
9 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing 2
10 Darrell Wallace Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports 1

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Ryan Blaney’s high hopes for Bristol Motor Speedway ended in a crash near the end of Sunday’s first stage in the Food City 500.

Blaney led twice for 100 laps, but his Team Penske No. 12 Ford was collected when Trevor Bayne and Chris Buescher tangled on the backstretch, clogging the track on Lap 117 of a scheduled 500. Harrison Rhodes and Jamie McMurray also piled in, but Blaney’s front-running car sustained race-ending front-end damage.

RELATED: At-track photos | Big wreck at Bristol on Lap 3

“It’s obviously frustrating when lapped cars wreck and take the leader out. That’s unfortunate,” Blaney said after being checked out at the infield care center. “They weren’t lap-down cars yet, I guess, but I don’t know. I didn’t really see much. By the time I got away from the car right in front of me they were already turned right up the race track and I was already going to the top.

“I kind of saw them spinning low and I thought that top was gonna be OK and then they slid back up and got us. That stinks. I thought we had a good car and nothing to show for it.”

RELATED: Blaney comments after Bristol crash

Blaney was in position to clinch his third stage win of the season, but teammate Brad Keselowski took over the top spot and held on for his second stage victory of 2018.

Bayne continued after the contact, but Buescher and Rhodes were sidelined for the rest of the day.

“Unfortunately, I hate that it did collect Blaney and everybody involved,” Buescher said. “I hate that we all got a bunch of torn-up race cars. All three or four of us were trying to get clear of one car for a long time and it got very frustrating. The top (groove) was coming in. It was exciting, I think it’s going to be a great race to the end. I’m just pissed off that we are not participating anymore.”

The clean-up forced the second red flag of the cool, damp day at the .533-mile track. The red flag period lasted six minutes.

Posted on by Track Release

BRISTOL, Tenn. — NASCAR Nation cast more than 100,000 votes during the last month to pick song choices for the 39 drivers who will enter The Last Great Colosseum during driver introductions for today’s Food City 500.

NASCAR’s best gladiators are prepared to do battle, beginning their routine with heart-pumping entrances that has their fans stamp of approval. Bristol Motor Speedway officials worked with each Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver and teams to identify three songs that were eligible for the fan vote.

Kyle Busch, a master of the iconic East Tennessee half-mile, has won a lot at Bristol (20 wins across NASCAR’s top three series and six in Cup), so it was only fitting that the fans chose “All I Do Is WIN” by DJ Khalid, which received 47 percent of the vote. The 2015 Cup Series Champion swept the August Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race week last year and will take today’s 1 p.m. green flag from the pole.

Brother Kurt Busch, who has a not-to-shabby five Cup wins at Bristol, qualified second and will enjoy the fans choice. Nicknamed the Outlaw, fans chose Chris Stapleton “Outlaw State of Mind,” garnering 47 percent.

Fans of seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson decided to honor him in style. The two-time and defending Food City 500 winner will have his “Seven Nation Army” with him as The White Stripes classic earned 50 percent.

Chase Elliott has perhaps the most unique driver intro song. The fans went to bat for the Elliott family, voting for “A Crazy Racin’ Man” by Bill Elliott, a song off the 1983 album Stock Car Entertainers of the Year. The song garnered 58 percent of the vote.

William Byron and Trevor Bayne will have school spirit for their walkouts. Byron, a Liberty University student, will enter to “Fan the Flames” (41 percent of the vote), while Bayne, a Knoxville native, will get the crowd going with “Rocky Top” (60 percent), representing the orange and white of the University of Tennessee.

Two-time Bristol winner Kevin Harvick may have the most ironic song choice in the field. Harvick will be using the Pharrell song “Happy,” but the driver of the No. 4 is starting 39th. It remains to be seen whether Harvick will be a happy camper at The Last Great Colosseum.

Other top highlights included Brad Keselowski (The Beach Boys’ “Little Deuce Coupe”), Ryan Blaney (Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues”), Daniel Suarez (“Speedy Gonzalez” by Pat Boone) and Chris Buescher (“Pork and Beans” by Weezer, an ode to his sponsor for the race, Bush’s Beans).

 

Driver Song, artist Vote percentage
Kyle Busch “All I Do is WIN” by DJ Khaled 47 percent
Brad Keselowski “Little Deuce Coupe” by The Beach Boys 40 percent
Ryan Blaney “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash 54 percent
Kyle Larson “Dirt Road Anthem” by Jason Aldean 56 percent
Paul Menard “R.O.C.K. in the USA” by John Mellencamp 50 percent
Alex Bowman “Rise” by I Prevail 60 percent
Michael McDowell “Taken it to the Streets”, by The Doobie Brothers 66 percent
Joey Logano “Brass Monkey” by The Beastie Boys 47 percent
William Byron “Fan the Flames” by Liberty University 41 percent
Daniel Suarez “Speedy Gonzalez” by Pat Boone 50 percent
Erik Jones “You Ain’t Seen Nothin Yet” by Bachman Turner Overdrive 37 percent
Clint Bowyer “Country Boy Can Survive” by Hank Williams Jr. 51 percent
Kasey Kahne “5-1-5-0” by Dierks Bentley 41 percent
Chase Elliott “A Crazy Racin’ Man” by Bill Elliott 58 percent
Landon Cassill “Going to Mars” by Judah and the Lion
Ryan Newman “Huntin, Fishin & Lovin Every Day” by Luke Bryan 53 percent
Jamie McMurray “One” by Metallica 42 percent
Ty Dillon “Walk it Like I Talk It” by Migos 51 percent
Trevor Bayne “Rocky Top” by the Pride of the Southland Marching Band 60 percent
Corey LaJoie “Walmart Yodeling Song”
DJ Kennington “The Hockey Song”
Reed Sorenson “Motorsport” by Migos
Harrison Rhodes “Enter Sandman” by Metallica
Chad Finchum “Where I Come From” by Alan Jackson 49 percent
Kevin Harvick “Happy” by Pharrell 37 percent
Posted on by Staff Report

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ Food City 500 was halted by weather for a third time on a soggy Sunday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Kyle Larson was scored as the leader with 204 of a scheduled 500 laps complete. Denny Hamlin was in second place, with Paul Menard, pole-starter Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. completing the top five.

Erik Jones was scored as the leader with 165 of a scheduled 500 laps complete. Kyle Larson was credited with second place, with Alex Bowman, Paul Menard and William Byron completing the top five.

Rain also interrupted the race at Lap 165 (26 minutes, 54 seconds of red-flag time) and Lap 49 (25 minutes, 25 seconds).

RELATED: At-track photos | Leaderboard

After seeing warm and sunny skies on Friday and most of Saturday, Sunday’s forecast that called for thunderstorms and 100 percent chance of precipitation proved correct. Storm clouds moved in Sunday, and morning precipitation dampened the track.

The start of Sunday’s event was set for 1 p.m. ET, but was delayed to an approximate 1:28 p.m. ET green flag as track officials got the track to a race-worthy condition. NASCAR has a crew of eight Air Titan dryers, five jet dryers (three side-draft and two down-draft), two track vacuums, one Elgin sweeper and one tractor broom to prepare the .533-mile track.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson is the defending race winner.