Posted on by Staff Report

The remainder of Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway has been postponed to Monday because of rain.

On-track action is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET on Monday, with TV coverage on FOX (PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have the radio coverage).

Kyle Larson was scored as the leader after 204 laps when the race’s fourth red flag flew. There were three stoppages for rain (at Laps 49, 165 and 204) and one for crash clean-up (Lap 119).

RELATED: Race leaderboard | Stage 1 recap | At-track photos

Intermittent rain also delayed the start by approximately a half-hour. The green flag was initially set for 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, but NASCAR officials decided Saturday to move the start time up to 1 p.m ET. Sunday morning rain adjusted the start time to 1:28 p.m. ET.

Kyle Larson during a Sunday break in the action at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Larson led 74 laps and had opened up a significant edge before the rains came for a final time. His Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet was able to steer clear of rampant trouble in the race’s first half.

Larson said he was optimistic about his chances whenever the race resumed. He started from the pole position and led a race best 202 laps in last year’s Spring race at Bristol but finished sixth.

“Yeah, it’s hard to get a rhythm with all the rain and stuff and then getting out of your car and getting back in,” Larson said. “Our McDonald’s Chevy is really fast, I would just like to get some racing going, but then again, I feel like I always do better or do worse once the track gets a bunch of rubber on it.

“So, if we keep getting all these stops and jet dryers and stuff to take the rubber off the track, maybe it will help us out. But, feeling good about it so far.”

Some of those early pitfalls snagged early leader Ryan Blaney, who led 100 of the first 117 laps before his Team Penske No. 12 Ford was swept into a crash near the end of Stage 1. A collision involving the cars of Trevor Bayne and Chris Buescher obstructed the track, collecting Jamie McMurray, Harrison Rhodes and Blaney, who retired in 35th place with heavy front-end damage.

A Lap 3 stack-up sidelined other Bristol hopefuls. Michael McDowell lost control through Turn 4, and his spinning No. 34 Ford entangled Chase Elliott’s No. 9, Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 78 and AJ Allmendinger’s No. 47.

Brad Keselowski led once for 13 laps to win Stage 1, vaulting to the front when Blaney, his Team Penske teammate, crashed out. He was scored in 14th place when the race was forced to a Monday conclusion.

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 morning and it began raining shortly after 10 a.m. ET.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson — currently scored eighth after starting at the back of the pack — is the defending race winner. Last spring’s Bristol race was also contested on a Monday.

Contributing: NASCAR Wire Service

Posted on by RJ Kraft

Kyle Busch, the most recent Bristol winner, won the Busch Pole Qualifying Award and will start in the top position in Sunday’s Food City 500 (1 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Bristol Motor Speedway. After three practice sessions for this race, we’ve dissected the numbers and 10-lap averages to offer a suggested lineup worthy of your Fantasy Live consideration as you go to make roster decisions for the eighth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of 2018.

PLAY NOW: Set your Fantasy Live lineup | How the new Fantasy Live works
MORE: Fantasy analysis for Bristol | Driver stats | Full lineup | 10-lap averages

RJ Kraft’s revised Fantasy Live lineup following practices and the lineup being set:
1: Kyle Busch
2: Erik Jones
3: Joey Logano
4: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
5: Chase Elliott
Garage: Kurt Busch

Analysis: From my original lineup, I have taken Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin out and dropped in Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott. I had every intention of saving a Kyle Busch usage and stacking my bonus picks with him, but the results are hard to ignore. He’s on the pole, he topped the 10-lap board in final practice and he is the most recent winner here. I’ll worry about how to make the usage work down the line. Elliott was in the top four for 10-lap averages in both of Saturday’s practice sessions. He was also second on the overall speed charts in final practice and has two straight top-seven finishes here in the spring race. I haven’t used Elliott much, but I like taking that chance here. Bowyer suffered a little damage in final practice and should be fine; I just like the speed Elliott has shown.

Logano, Stenhouse and Jones were part of my original lineup and nothing I have seen in practices has convinced me to make a change. I also have not used these drivers that much thus far. If anything, Jones topping the 10-lap board in second practice reinforced my belief to stay with him. My one wrinkle is that I am sticking with Kurt Busch despite him moving to the rear (from his second-place starting spot) after a late wreck in final practice. The SHR driver has five wins here and has been fast this weekend — second in 10-lap averages in the final session. I will move him to the garage and evaluate where he is at towards the end of Stage 2 and make a decision from there.


Posted on by Staff Report

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Daniel Hemric’s No. 21 Chevrolet failed post-race inspection following Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, but after further review NASCAR ruled that his Dash 4 Cash eligibility for next week’s race at Richmond Raceway was unaffected.

RELATED: Race results | Preece prevails | More on Dash 4 Cash

Hemric’s No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was found to have an issue with mechanical measurement. He initially was ruled out of the Dash 4 Cash field for sixth-place finisher Brandon Jones.

However, after review, NASCAR determined that the failure during post-race inspection at Bristol did not rise to the level of a penalty. That means Hemric, Justin Allgaier, Elliott Sadler and Spencer Gallagher will run for the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash prize in the series’ next race, Friday’s ToyotaCare 250 (7 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) at Richmond Raceway.

No other issues were found during post-race inspection; the winning No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Ryan Preece, as well as Allgaier’s No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet will be returning to the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Ryan Preece is doing everything he can to find a permanent home in a stock car.

At the top of his to-do list is winning, which he did for the second time in seven NASCAR Xfinity Series starts on Saturday when he outran Justin Allgaier to win the Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

With the victory came a $100,000 bonus, courtesy of the Xfinity Dash 4 Cash program. In Victory Lane, Preece was already spending it.

“You know what? I’ll probably do something for my parents; do something for my brothers; do something for my wife and my team,” Preece said. “We’re going to get something to drink later.”

RELATED: Results | Standings | Dash 4 Cash drivers eligible at Richmond 

Preece is the fourth different driver to win a Bristol race for team owner Joe Gibbs, who now has 12 wins at the track. In his seven starts for Gibbs, Preece now has two victories, a runner-up result and an average finish of 3.86.

Had the 11th caution flag of the race not waved on Lap 282 of 300 — when Shane Lee hit the outside wall in Turn 2 — Preece’s teammate Brandon Jones likely would have gotten his first victory in the series. Jones had a lead of nearly two seconds when Lee hit the wall, but when all seven lead-lap cars came to pit road under the yellow, Jones got two tires to four for the rest of the contenders.

That gave Preece the chance to pull ahead of his teammate on the restart with 10 laps left. Ultimately, Preece crossed the finish line .286 seconds ahead of Allgaier, as Jones faded to sixth.

“If that caution didn’t come out, (Jones) had it in the bag,” Preece said. “He’s going to get there soon enough.”

Allgaier earned eligibility for next week’s Dash 4 Cash bonus at Richmond Raceway, as did Daniel Hemric, Elliott Sadler and Spencer Gallagher, who finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Preece, who is running a limited schedule, is not entered in the series’ next race, Friday’s ToyotaCare 250 (7 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) at Richmond.

MORE: Learn more about Dash 4 Cash | WATCH: Bell sideswipes pair of cars

“I’m just going to prepare for my next race, which is in two months at Daytona,” said Preece, who risked his own money last year to secure two races with Gibbs and finished second and first in his first two starts. “That’s my next one.”

Preece’s success earned three more starts last year, and he has made the most of every opportunity in Gibbs equipment.

“I’ve got to thank everybody last year for helping me make this all possible,” Preece said. “Without last year, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now. I wouldn’t be sitting in Bristol Victory Lane in an Xfinity Series car with Joe Gibbs Racing. I’m kind of at a loss for words…

“I’m 27 years old and I’m not getting any younger. I’m looking for opportunities. We did it last year at Iowa, and now we did it here at Bristol. I hope I don’t get labeled as a short track racer. I want to win on mile-and-a-halves soon. Nothing beats winning.”

Dash 4 Cash driver Christopher Bell had a rollercoaster day that ended in a brutal crash on Lap 141. Much earlier, on the fifth lap of the race, Bell scraped the outside wall exiting Turn 4 and dropped to 28th for a restart on Lap 18.

By Lap 55 he was running fourth, and on Lap 66, Bell assumed the lead with a two-tire pit stop and held the top spot through the end of the first 85-lap stage.

He was running third on Lap 141 when the No. 01 Chevrolet of Vinnie Miller spun into the path of the No. 74 Dodge of Cody Ware. With the track blocked ahead of him, Bell stood on the brakes, slid sideways and plowed into the wreck with the right-side door of his No. 20 Toyota. All three cars were eliminated.

“I don’t know, that’s the second time this weekend that I’ve crashed from guys going seconds off the pace,” Bell said after leaving the infield care center. “Can’t slow down whenever they spin out, and it’s frustrating.

“We had a really fast GameStop Camry and, I don’t know, just trying to get the top (lane worked) in pretty much all race long. That was our worst run of the day, handling wise, and we were still up there. Unfortunate.”

The race was slowed by 13 caution periods, the most for an Xfinity Series event at the .533-mile Tennessee track since 2006.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by

BRISTOL, Tenn. — No. 20 crew chief Chris Gayle prompted an important conversation with his driver Erik Jones during the offseason.

They talked face-to-face, putting everything from 2017 on the table — and it was good, he said.

“We sat down in the offseason and had a real good talk about what the deficiencies were between he, me,” Gayle told NASCAR.com on Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway. “We both kind of laid it all on the line, here’s where we both need to get better. And I think we’re doing that so far, so if we can just continue down that path we’ll be OK.

“Not that it was bad or controversial or not that anyone felt bad about it, but it was just an honest conversation (that said), ‘Hey, I’m willing to take it on the chin. I make plenty of mistakes, you make plenty of mistakes, but we want to minimize both of these and we’ll all be better.'”

RELATED: ‘New Kids’ banner at Texas stokes generational debate

That conversation paved the way for a more consistent start to the 2018 season for Jones, who joined the Joe Gibbs Racing fleet this season after spending his rookie season with JGR affiliate Furniture Row Racing. Currently ranked 11th in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings, the 21-year-old boasts an average finish of 9.33 in the past six races; last week at Texas Motor Speedway, he led 64 laps and notched his first top five of the season after starting 21st in the field.

Jones called it a “big step up” during his post-race interview at Texas on April 8.

RELATED: Jones earns season-best finish at Texas

“I knew we had a good race car and you know we showed that,” Jones said on his Texas run.  “… That was the first day we’ve been up in the top five. We led some laps. That’s a good builder … It’s something I’ve been wanting to do here with this group and … we did a good job of it this weekend.”

The laps out in front of the field were especially significant for Gayle.

“We didn’t lead any laps on intermediates last year,” Gayle said. “We were competitive, but we didn’t lead laps. Last week we led some laps and could have been in position to win the race with some circumstances … I think we’re getting better in every category, it’s just a matter of building that consistency.”

RELATED: Erik Jones’ career statistics

The 2017 Monster Energy Series season was one of change for Jones. He was beginning his Monster Energy Series career with a new team that was based in Colorado, meaning that the North Carolina-based Jones couldn’t be at the shop for face-to-face conversations with Gayle. On a personal level, he was starting a new season without his father — who passed away from lung cancer in June 2016 — for the first time in his racing career.

“The last year for him has been tough,” Gayle said. “He’s had to become a little bit of the man of the house and I think that throws some stuff on your plate that maybe you don’t deserve …

“And you have to grow up a little bit though all of that.”

RELATED: Jones opens up about his late father

Jones’ maturity is something that Gayle appreciates about him. He doesn’t wreck race cars often and his laidback personality lends itself to a sense of that maturity. But there was still plenty to learn for the up-and-coming driver in his first year in the Monster Energy Series.

“I think the first 10 races, he kind of had this wake-up call where ‘I’m in the Cup Series, I thought this was going to be a little easier than what it was,’ ” Gayle said. “I know we had some conversations like that, I don’t know if he’ll admit to that totally, but it was definitely a wake-up call … And so I think it was kind of a ‘I’ve been really successful and haven’t had to do a whole lot of work to be successful to this point, but now natural talent alone isn’t enough to get it done.’ So, I think that was probably the first third of the year. And then there were lots of conversations about, ‘OK, now that I’ve realized that, what should I do?’ “

Gayle encouraged him to talk to other drivers for advice and Jones began to prepare better during the week heading into the race.

RELATED: 10 facts you may not know about Erik Jones

At some point in the season, something “clicked” for Jones; he rattled off six straight top 10s from Pocono to Richmond, nearly winning Bristol’s famed night race in August.

“We never finished out of the top 10,” Gayle said of the stretch. “I think he looked at that (six)-race stretch and his average finish was like the second or third-best in the Cup Series during that … It clicked for him and it clicked for me that we can do this, he can do this. It’s just a matter of getting that consistency all the time …

“I think he really saw how good he could be and he could be at more than just one or two race tracks that he’s really good at.”

Gayle wasn’t the only one who has noticed a change in Jones this year; Kyle Busch, Jones’ longtime mentor and former team owner, joked that he doesn’t hear from his JGR teammate as much as he did when he was starting out.

RELATED: Busch interrupts Jones’ presser with a ‘call’

Their relationship now more resembles equal teammates than one of a teacher and student.

 “I don’t know if he thinks he knows everything or he doesn’t trust me,” he said with a smile. “Erik’s been obviously a student of the game … We all lean on each other and we all pick each other’s brain all the time – I’ve asked Jones questions in some of our debriefs and such …

“But as far as Jones calling me during the week or talking to me much about going to particular race tracks and stuff like that, I think he’s probably been around long enough that he’s comfortable with what he knows and what he’s doing and what he’s got going on with his own team that he doesn’t pick my brain as much.”

Teacher and student will go head to head this weekend, as Busch starts on the pole and Bristol is a track where Jones has always thrived. After a tire test last September, Jones told Gayle that he could run laps around Tennessee short track all day. 

He paced Friday’s opening practice session with Ryan Blaney and topped the 10-lap average charts in the first and second practices. Last August, Jones led 260 laps after starting on the pole in the night race, battling none other than his mentor Busch in the final laps. His No. 20 Toyota looks strong again this weekend and Jones hopes redemption is in the cards for him this weekend.

RELATED: Best 10-lap averages at Bristol 

“You’re always motivated when you come to a track to win, especially when you come back to somewhere you feel like that you had a car that could do it and just didn’t close out the deal,” Jones said. 

“Winning my first Cup race is something that I really want to get done. I feel like if we can get one knocked out of the way that more is kind of going to come with that, so we’re going to continue to push this weekend. … It’s good to come back to a place where your team is fast, where you’re comfortable and the car unloads good. We’ve had a good weekend so far, we just need to keep it heading that way.” 

After watching his driver this year, Gayle predicts that coveted first win will come soon for Jones. Perhaps even this weekend; he’ll have to make up 12 spots to get to pole-sitter Busch initially, but Busch’s six wins at Bristol have all come with starting positions of 12th or worse. He won over Jones in August after starting 18th. 

Gayle hopes that trend holds true this weekend, as Jones will roll off the grid 13th.

 “I wish we’d qualified better, but what did Kyle qualify 16th or 18th last fall and won the race?” Gayle said. “It’ll be a little different; last year we were the hunted during this race. Kyle hunted us down and beat us. We’re in reverse roles this year.”

He smiled. “I told Erik to go up and talk to Kyle and make sure he reminds him of that before the race …

 “We’re coming after you.”

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR and track officials have moved up the start time for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway to 1 p.m. ET (FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) because of the threat of inclement weather.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule | Compete starting lineup

The Food City 500 was originally set for a green flag at 2:13 p.m. ET. That start time — and all pre-race ceremonies — have been moved up to one hour earlier.

Officials reached that decision Saturday morning, faced with an 90 percent chance of precipitation in the race-day forecast at the half-mile Tennessee track, according to the National Weather Service.

Kyle Busch will start on the pole for the race while brother Kurt will start next to him on the front row.

Posted on by Staff Report

Take a look at which drivers have the best 10-lap averages this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

FINAL PRACTICE: Results

Pos Car Driver From Lap To Lap Avg Speed
1 18 Kyle Busch 3 12 125.483
2 41 Kurt Busch 5 14 125.327
3 11 Denny Hamlin 4 13 125.321
4 9 Chase Elliott 4 13 125.244
5 34 Michael McDowell 3 12 125.056
6 19 Daniel Suarez 2 11 124.962
7 2 Brad Keselowski 3 12 124.809
8 14 Clint Bowyer 3 12 124.805
9 12 Ryan Blaney 2 11 124.774
10 22 Joey Logano 2 11 124.769
11 48 Jimmie Johnson 62 71 124.667
12 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 4 13 124.559
13 38 David Ragan 1 10 124.511
14 78 Martin Truex Jr. 10 19 124.221
15 3 Austin Dillon 3 12 124.203
16 31 Ryan Newman 9 18 124.191
17 10 Aric Almirola 3 12 124.118
18 20 Erik Jones 5 14 124.030
19 4 Kevin Harvick 31 40 123.755
20 42 Kyle Larson 36 45 123.720
21 88 Alex Bowman 1 10 123.434
22 47 AJ Allmendinger 9 18 123.360
23 43 Darrell Wallace Jr. # 3 12 123.131
24 00 Landon Cassill 1 10 123.030
25 95 Kasey Kahne 37 46 122.735
26 24 William Byron # 20 29 122.617
27 21 Paul Menard 19 28 122.560
28 37 Chris Buescher 33 42 122.478
29 15 Ross Chastain (i) 1 10 122.138
30 1 Jamie McMurray 38 47 122.073
31 96 DJ Kennington 1 10 119.873

PRACTICE 2: Results

Pos Car Driver From Lap To Lap Avg Speed
1 20 Erik Jones 2 11 127.292
2 41 Kurt Busch 9 18 127.260
3 38 David Ragan 1 10 127.032
4 9 Chase Elliott 38 47 127.012
5 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 22 31 126.932
6 43 Darrell Wallace Jr. # 3 12 126.743
7 4 Kevin Harvick 11 20 126.590
8 18 Kyle Busch 4 13 126.525
9 31 Ryan Newman 17 26 125.776
10 34 Michael McDowell 28 37 125.731
11 12 Ryan Blaney 2 11 125.727
12 3 Austin Dillon 9 18 125.453
13 42 Kyle Larson 1 10 125.363
14 21 Paul Menard 27 36 125.269
15 2 Brad Keselowski 19 28 125.096
16 1 Jamie McMurray 22 31 124.537
17 13 Ty Dillon 13 22 124.439
18 19 Daniel Suarez 2 11 124.314
19 6 Trevor Bayne 2 11 123.260
20 11 Denny Hamlin 25 34 123.058
21 00 Landon Cassill 18 27 122.851
22 88 Alex Bowman 26 35 122.208
23 95 Kasey Kahne 44 53 120.952
24 96 DJ Kennington 2 11 120.949
25 78 Martin Truex Jr. 31 40 118.970

PRACTICE 1: Results

Pos Car Driver From Lap To Lap Avg Speed
1 20 Erik Jones 6 15 124.148
2 88 Alex Bowman 4 13 123.588
3 42 Kyle Larson 1 10 123.444

* Car must run 10 consecutive laps on the track to be included in the above chart.
# Indicates driver is running for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors
(i) Indicates driver is ineligible for driver points in this series

Posted on by Staff Report

Front Row Motorsports found themselves at the front of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice Saturday morning at Bristol Motor Speedway as David Ragan led the way.

Ragan clocked the fastest lap at 127.487 mph in the No. 38 Ford, turning it on his second lap of the session. Ragan will start 23rd in Sunday’s Food City 500 (1 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Final practice results | Sunday’s start time moved up

Chase Elliott ticked off the second-fastest time at 127.073 mph in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Denny Hamlin finished the session in third at 126.997 mph, followed by Kurt Busch in fourth (126.537 mph).

Michael McDowell backed up Front Row’s effort by completing the top five with the fifth-fastest time at 126.295 mph in the No. 34 Ford.

The final five minutes of the session did not treat Stewart-Haas Racing well, though. Busch, who was slated to start on the outside pole alongside his younger brother, Kyle Busch, lost control of the No. 41 Ford at the exit of Turn 2 and hit the inside wall nose-first. Clint Bowyer also found trouble, running into the left-rear quarter panel of the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford of Trevor Bayne, causing damage to the right-front fender of the No. 14 Ford.

RELATED: Full Bristol schedule | Complete starting lineup

The No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team of Austin Dillon and the No. 00 StarCom Racing team of Landon Cassill served 15-minute practice holds for failing qualifying inspection twice.

Due to an inclement weather forecast, the start time for Sunday’s Monster Energy Series race at Bristol has been moved up to 1 p.m. ET on FOX.

Second Practice Recap

It was Kyle Larson who rocketed to the top of the speed charts in Saturday’s second practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Larson, driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, laid down a lap of 129.004 miles per hour to win the session in preparation for Sunday’s Food City 500 (1 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Practice 2 results | Best 10-lap averages | Full Bristol schedule

Martin Truex Jr. finished second in the session at 128.952 mph in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola notched the third-fastest time (128.943 mph), while pole-sitter Kyle Busch (128.934 mph) and Kasey Kahne (128.830 mph) rounded out the top five.

Defending race winner Jimmie Johnson, who will start last on Sunday after the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team was forced to change tires following Friday’s Busch Pole Award qualifying session, finished out the session in ninth with a lap of 128.563 mph.

The No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team of Austin Dillon served a 15-minute practice hold in this session for unapproved adjustments, while the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing team of Harrison Rhodes and the No. 66 Motorsports Business Management team of Chad Finchum served 15-minute holds for arriving late to qualifying inspection.