Kurt Busch has no regrets over decision to pit late

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Nascar

Stewart-Haas Racing driver led 98 laps at Bristol

BRISTOL, Tenn. – There was no second-guessing the decision to pit late in Sunday’s race from Kurt Busch or his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing team.

Busch led six times for 98 laps in the Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes and Stand Up to Cancer at Bristol Motor Speedway. But when the caution flew for a five-car incident on Lap 482, the 2004 Sprint Cup Series champion headed for pit road. Most of the others up front at that point in the race – Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Austin Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – did not.

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"We had 100 laps on our tires," Busch said of the call to pit road. "I thought we needed to pit. (John) Klausmeier (engineer) thought we needed to pit. Then I was thinking this is the Bristol of old, we might be able to get away with staying out."

Klausmeier, along with help from SHR Vice President of Competition director Greg Zipadelli, was calling the shots for the team after crew chief Tony Gibson had to exit due to a kidney stone.

Busch restarted the race sixth, and immediately radioed his team to confirm that it was the right call to pit.

WATCH: Edwards spins while battling Gordon

Barely a dozen laps later, however, Busch was collected in an accident when Edwards’ No. 19 Toyota slipped while running side-by-side with Gordon. Busch, trailing the two, was unable to avoid contact with Edwards, and the result was heavy damage to the right front of his Chevrolet.

"We had fresh tires coming up through (traffic)," Busch said. "Edwards pushed the cushion. He hit some ice, I hit the same stuff or he was throwing the marbles out on the track and I just got sucked right in there. I was like ‘I’m avoiding the wreck,’ but I couldn’t do anything to avoid them. We salvaged 15th. The car could have won."

WATCH: Busch, Johnson spin after restart

Gordon, who finished third behind race winner Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson, said he was surprised to see Busch hit pit road with the lead late in the race and rain in the area.

But it was clear that Busch had a car capable of winning, he said.

"To me Kurt, on old tires or on newer tires, he had the dominant car," said Gordon. "I was behind him a lot tonight, and I watched him do things that I didn’t see anybody else do. I mean, I saw Jimmie pretty good on the bottom, Carl decent at times, but the 41 would drive by five cars in the middle of the race track to the bottom on restarts and then pull back up in line and go to work on the rest of them. He was incredibly fast."

In the end, the opportunity to try and reel in Kenseth never surfaced.

Since returning from missing the season’s first three races while serving a NASCAR suspension, Busch has finished no worse than Sunday night’s 15th-place result. Twice, at Phoenix and Auto Club, he finished in the top five.

"We had a very eventful day," he said. "I don’t even know how to describe it. This is a good sign. We had good long run speed and that is the most positive thing to take from the last couple of weeks where we didn’t have that long run speed. …

"We will get it. We are not going to get one win. We are going to get many wins."

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Posted on April 20, 2015 by Staff Report

A stats-based look ahead to the ninth race of the Sprint Cup season

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 20, 2015) – Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia going into the Toyota Owners 400 on April 25.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

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Clint Bowyer (No. 15 AAA Insurance Toyota)

· Two wins, four top fives, 10 top 10s

· Average finish of 11.5

· Average Running Position of 10.5, fourth-best

· Driver Rating of 99.6, fourth-best

· 210 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.176 mph, sixth-fastest

· 5,632 Laps in the Top 15 (78.0%), fifth-most

· 499 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), fourth-most

Kurt Busch (No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet)

· One win, five top fives, 10 top 10s

· Average finish of 17.1

· Average Running Position of 14.4, ninth-best

· Driver Rating of 91.5, ninth-best

· 379 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.156 mph, seventh-fastest

· 4,779 Laps in the Top 15 (59.6%), eighth-most

· 477 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet)

· Three wins, nine top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 13.5

· Average Running Position of 14.5, 10th-best

· Driver Rating of 86.9, 12th-best

· 347 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most

· 1,026 Green Flag Passes, fifth-most

· 4,515 Laps in the Top 15 (56.3%), 12th-most

· 454 Quality Passes, 11th-most

Carl Edwards (No. 19 ARRIS Toyota)

· One win, four top fives, 11 top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 13.9

· Average Running Position of 15.1, 11th-best

· Driver Rating of 89.1, 10th-best

· 299 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most

· 1,031 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.026 mph, 11th-fastest

· 4,634 Laps in the Top 15 (57.8%), 10th-most

· 472 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet)

· Two wins, 18 top fives, 28 top 10s; six poles

· Average finish of 13.6

· Average Running Position of 12.8, seventh-best

· Driver Rating of 99.3, fifth-best

· 461 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.237 mph, fourth-fastest

· 5,283 Laps in the Top 15 (65.9%), sixth-most

· 470 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota)

· Two wins, seven top fives, nine top 10s; two poles

· Average finish of 10.4

· Average Running Position of 7.5, second-best

· Series-best Driver Rating of 110.7

· Series-high 598 Fastest Laps Run

· Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 116.498 mph

· 5,821 Laps in the Top 15 (85.5%), fourth-most

· 448 Quality Passes, 12th-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet)

· Three wins, eight top fives, 17 top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 11.0

· Series-best Average Running Position of 7.5

· Driver Rating of 110.3, second-best

· 511 Fastest Laps Run, third-most

· 903 Green Flag Passes, 12th-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.466 mph, third-fastest

· Series-high 7,415 Laps in the Top 15 (92.5%)

· Series-high 657 Quality Passes

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Pro Services Chevrolet)

· Three wins, five top fives, nine top 10s; two poles

· Average finish of 17.5

· Average Running Position of 15.7, 12th-best

· Driver Rating of 88.8, 11th-best

· 291 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.030 mph, 10th-fastest

· 4,662 Laps in the Top 15 (58.2%), ninth-most

Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford)

· One win, two top fives, four top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 16.9

· Average Running Position of 13.6, eighth-best

· Driver Rating of 91.6, eighth-best

· 252 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.016 mph, 12th-fastest

Ryan Newman (No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet)

· One win, six top fives, 16 top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 11.2

· Average Running Position of 11.4, fifth-best

· Driver Rating of 92.5, seventh-best

· 1,017 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.118 mph, eighth-fastest

· 6,137 Laps in the Top 15 (76.6%), third-most

· 625 Quality Passes, second-most

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet)

· Three wins, 11 top fives, 19 top 10s

· Average finish of 11.2

· Average Running Position of 12.8, sixth-best

· Driver Rating of 94.0, sixth-best

· 281 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most

· 945 Green Flag Passes, ninth-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.224 mph, fifth-fastest

· 5,067 Laps in the Top 15 (66.5%), seventh-most

· 492 Quality Passes, fifth-most

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2015 Top 16 at Richmond International Raceway

Rank	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
Rank	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Kevin Harvick	28	1	3	8	17	0	11.0	110.3
2	Joey Logano	12	0	1	3	4	1	15.4	80.2
3	Martin Truex Jr.	18	0	0	1	4	3	22.1	79.6
4	Jimmie Johnson	26	2	3	5	9	1	17.5	88.8
5	Brad Keselowski	11	1	1	2	4	1	16.9	91.6
6	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	31	1	3	9	13	1	13.5	86.9
7	Kasey Kahne	22	1	1	4	7	2	17.7	86.7
8	Matt Kenseth	30	1	1	5	13	1	16.3	85.0
9	Jeff Gordon	44	6	2	18	28	7	13.6	99.3
10	Aric Almirola	6	0	0	0	2	0	17.8	73.1
11	Denny Hamlin	17	2	2	7	9	0	10.4	110.7
12	Jamie McMurray	24	0	0	2	5	4	21.3	76.7
13	Danica Patrick	4	0	0	0	0	0	27.3	48.4
14	Paul Menard	16	0	0	1	1	0	24.1	59.5
15	Carl Edwards	21	1	1	4	11	1	13.9	89.1
16	Ryan Newman	26	1	1	6	16	0	11.2	92.5

* – Based on last 20 races at Richmond International Raceway. *2015 Chase Grid Outlook*
Pos.	Drivers	Wins	Points	Chase Bonus Pts
1	Kevin Harvick	2	314	6
2	Jimmie Johnson	2	258	6
3	Joey Logano	1	284	3
4	Brad Keselowski	1	255	3
5	Matt Kenseth	1	236	3
6	Denny Hamlin	1	223	3
7	Martin Truex Jr.	0	281	0
8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	0	241	0
9	Kasey Kahne	0	237	0
10	Jeff Gordon	0	227	0
11	Aric Almirola	0	226	0
12	Jamie McMurray	0	223	0
13	Danica Patrick	0	211	0
14	Paul Menard	0	210	0
15	Carl Edwards	0	203	0
16	Ryan Newman	0	201	0
*Outside Looking In*
17	Clint Bowyer	0	200	0
18	David Ragan	0	197	0
19	Casey Mears	0	186	0
20	Greg Biffle	0	180	0
21	Austin Dillon	0	177	0
22	Kurt Busch	0	174	0
23	Kyle Larson	0	173	0
24	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	0	172	0
25	Aj Allmendinger	0	171	0
26	David Gilliland	0	162	0
27	Trevor Bayne	0	154	0
28	Tony Stewart	0	145	0
29	Justin Allgaier	0	145	0
30	Brett Moffitt	0	136	0
	Green = Locked into the Chase, provided they attempt to qualify for the remaining regular season races
	Orange = No wins, Inside the current Chase Grid’s top 16 – Currently in the Chase, not locked in
	Red = Inside the current top 30 in points, outside of the Chase cutoff

Richmond International Raceway Data

Season Race #: 9 of 36 (04-25-15)

Track Size: 0.75-miles

Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 14 degrees

Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 14 degrees

Banking/Frontstretch: 8 degrees

Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees

Frontstretch Length: 1,290 feet

Backstretch Length: 860 feet

Race Length: 400 laps / 300 miles

Top nine Driver Ratings at Richmond

Denny Hamlin………………………. 110.7

Kevin Harvick………………………. 110.3

Clint Bowyer…………………………. 99.6

Jeff Gordon………………………….. 99.3

Tony Stewart…………………………. 94.0

Ryan Newman……………………….. 92.5

Brad Keselowski……………………. 91.6

Kurt Busch……………………………. 91.5

Carl Edwards………………………… 89.1

Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2014 races (20 total) among active drivers at Richmond International Raceway.

Qualifying/Race Data

2014 pole winner:

None – Due To Inclement Weather

2014 race winner:

Joey Logano, Ford

93.369 mph, (03:12:47), 04-26-14

Track qualifying record:

Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet

130.599 mph, 20.674 secs. 09-04-13

Track race record:

Dale Jarrett, Ford

109.047 mph, (02:45:04), 09-06-97

At Richmond International Raceway:

History

· Originally known as the Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds, Richmond International Raceway held its first race in 1946 as a half-mile dirt track.

· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was April 19, 1953 won by Lee Petty.

· The spring 1964 race was run on a Tuesday night under temporary lighting.

· The track name changed to Virginia State Fairgrounds in 1967.

· The track surface was changed from dirt to asphalt between races in 1968.

· The track name changed to Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway in 1969.

· The track was re-measured to .542-mile for 1970.

· The track was rebuilt as a three-quarters-mile D-shaped oval following the Feb. 21, 1988 race.

· The first race under permanent lights was Sept. 7, 1991.

· The first season with both races as night races was 1999.

Notebook

· There have been 117 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond International Raceway, one NSCS event from 1953 – 1958 and two races per year since 1959.

· 477 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond; 313 in more than one.

· NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Richmond with 63. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 44 starts.

· Buck Baker won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Richmond in 1953 with a speed of 48.465 mph.

· 53 drivers have Coors Light poles at Richmond, led by Richard Petty and Bobby Allison with eight each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with six.

· Seven drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Richmond. Bobby Allison holds the record for most consecutive Coors Light poles at Richmond with five (1972 – 1974).

· Youngest Richmond pole winner: Brian Vickers (05/15/2004 – 20 years, 6 months, 21 days).

· Oldest Richmond pole winner: Mark Martin (04/28/2012 – 53 years, 3 months, 19 days).

· 50 different drivers have won at Richmond International Raceway, led by Richard Petty with 13. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart lead all active drivers in wins at RIR with three each (*Kyle Busch who is inactive has four).

· Petty Enterprises has the most wins at Richmond in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 15; followed by Hendrick Motorsports with 10, Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing each have nine.

· Nine different manufacturers have won at Richmond. Chevrolet leads the series in wins at Richmond with 36 victories; followed by Ford with 31 and Toyota with seven.

· 23 of the 117 (19.6%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from the Coors Light pole. Only four active drivers have been able to accomplish the feat: Kasey Kahne (2005), Jimmie Johnson (2007), Kyle Busch (2010) and Brad Keselowski (2014).

· The pole starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners than any other starting position at Richmond (23).

· 36 of the 117 (30.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond have been won from the front row: 23 from the pole and 13 from second-place.

· 91 of the 117 (77.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from a top-10 starting position.

· 13 of the 117 (11.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond International Raceway have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Richmond International Raceway was 31st, by Clint Bowyer in the spring of 2008.

· Youngest Richmond winner: Richard Petty (04/23/1961 – 23 years, 9 months, 21 days).

· Oldest Richmond winner: Harry Gant (09/07/1991 – 51 years, 7 months, 28 days).

· Bobby Allison and Richard Petty are tied for the lead in runner-up finishes at Richmond with nine each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with eight.

· Richard Petty leads the series in top-five finishes at Richmond with 34; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 18.

· Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Richmond with 41. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 28.

· Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Richmond International Raceway with a 7.909.

· Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Richmond International Raceway with a 10.412.

· There have been two NSCS races resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Richmond International Raceway: spring of 2008 (400/410) and spring of 2013 (400/406).

· Only four of the 115 races at Richmond International Raceway have been shortened due to weather conditions: spring of 1962, spring of 1977, spring of 1982 and spring of 2003.

· Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Richmond International Raceway seven times; most recently the fall of 2014.

· Bobby Labonte (09/11/1993) and Brian Vickers (05/15/2004) posted their first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light pole at Richmond.

· Tony Stewart (09/11/1999) and Kasey Kahne (05/14/2005) posted their first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win at Richmond.

· Eight drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series have posted consecutive wins at Richmond International Raceway. Richard Petty leads the series in consecutive wins at Richmond after posting seven consecutive wins from the fall of 1970 – 1973. Jimmie Johnson (2007 sweep) is the only active driver with consecutive wins at Richmond.

· All of the 15 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Richmond International Raceway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart won at Richmond in their second appearance.

· Joe Nemechek competed at Richmond International Raceway 18 times before winning in 1994; the longest span of any the 15 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.

· Greg Biffle leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Richmond without visiting Victory Lane at 25.

· Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Richmond International Raceway was the (09/12/1998) race won by Jeff Burton with a MOV of 0.051 second.

· Two female drivers have competed at Richmond in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:

Driver	Starting Position	Finishing Position	Date
Danica Patrick	13	16	9/6/2014
Danica Patrick	35	34	4/26/2014
Danica Patrick	36	30	9/7/2013
Danica Patrick	30	29	4/27/2013
Janet Guthrie	14	12	9/11/1977
Janet Guthrie	13	12	2/27/1977

NASCAR in Virginia

· There have been 287 NASCAR Sprint Cup races among nine tracks in Virginia.

Track Name	City	NSCS
Martinsville Speedway	Martinsville	133
Richmond International Raceway	Richmond	117
South Boston Speedway	South Boston	10
Langley Field Speedway	Hampton	9
Old Dominion Speedway	Manassas	7
Southside Speedway	Richmond	4
Starkey Speedway	Roanoke	4
Norfolk Speedway	Norfolk	2
Princess Anne Speedway	Norfolk	1

· 173 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Virginia.

· 127 of the 173 (73.4%) drivers with their home state as Virginia have made at least one start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series; led by Ricky Rudd with 906 starts.

· 19 drivers from Virginia have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series; 11 have won in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series; led by Denny Hamlin and Joe Weatherly with 25 each.

Driver	NSCS	NXS	NCWTS
Denny Hamlin	25	11	2
Joe Weatherly	25	0	0
Ricky Rudd	23	1	0
Jeff Burton	21	27	0
Curtis Turner	17	0	0
Ward Burton	5	4	0
Glen Wood	4	0	0
Elliott Sadler	3	10	1
Emanuel Zervakis	2	0	0
Wendell Scott	1	0	0
Lennie Pond	1	0	0
Tommy Ellis	0	22	0
Rick Mast	0	9	0
Jimmy Hensley	0	9	2
Hermie Sadler	0	2	0
Elton Sawyer	0	2	0
Stacy Compton	0	0	2
Jon Wood	0	0	2
Jeb Burton	0	0	1

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Milestones – richmond

DRIVER	HAS	NEEDS	MILESTONE
Dale Earnhardt Jr.	549	1	550th NSCS Start – Earnhardt Jr. is 30th on the all-time NSCS starts list, three starts behind Matt Kenseth in 29th (552).
Paul Menard	299	1	300th NSCS Start – Menard is 87th on the all-time NSCS starts list, three starts behind Tiny Lund in 86th (302).
Matt Kenseth	274	1	275th NSCS Top-10 Finish – Kenseth is 19th on the all-time NSCS Top 10s list, nine starts behind Benny Parsons in 18th (283).
Kasey Kahne	149	1	150th NSCS Top-10 Finish – Kahne is 49th on the all-time NSCS Top 10s list, one top-10 finish behind Dick Brooks in 48th (150).
Jamie McMurray	124	1	125th NSCS Top-10 Finish – McMurray is tied with Ernie Irvan for 56th on the all-time NSCS Top 10s list; three top 10s behind John Sears in 55th (127).
Jeff Gordon	24,778	222	25,000 NSCS Laps Led – Gordon can become the sixth driver in NSCS history to lead 25,000 laps.
Kevin Harvick	950	50	1,000 Laps Led In First Nine Races – Harvick can become the eighth driver in series history to lead 1,000 laps or more in the first nine races of a season.
#43 car	199	1	200 NSCS Wins – The No. 43 car is second on the all-time NSCS wins list, five wins behind the No. 11 car in first (204).

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Posted on April 19, 2015 by

The front-runners collide just 19 laps into rain-delayed race

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Wrecking early in a race is just about as bad of a Sunday a driver can have.

The only way it gets worse? When you wreck your teammate in the process.

Such was the case in Sunday’s Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes and Stand Up to Cancer, when Brad Keselowski got loose in Turn 4 just 19 laps into the rain-delayed event, collecting Team Penske cohort Joey Logano in the wreckage.

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"Don’t know what happened, it just took off on me. Sorry about that," Keselowski told his team over the radio after the incident.

Just after the wreck, the race was red-flagged at Lap 23 as rain began falling again. The official leaderboard has the No. 22 scored 42nd and the No. 2 in 43rd.

Both drivers returned to race after it resumed with Keselowski finishing in 35th, 22 laps down. Logano finished in 40th, 59 laps down and saw his streak of seven top-10 finishes to open the season end.

While it’s hard to say whether the weather conditions played into the mishap at all, the 2012 Sprint Cup Series champion was reticent to completely, as Milli Vanilli once lip-synced, "Blame It on the Rain."

"The rain was coming in and out and the car just took off on me. I would like to blame the rain, but I honestly don’t know," Keselowski said. "Usually when a car gets that far sideways and it’s kind of out of nowhere there’s a reason behind it.

"I hate racing in the rain, but I understand the position that NASCAR is in. They want to get the race going and this is one of those days where it’s gonna just keep raining off and on and we’re trying to get as many laps in at a time as we can to give the fans the best race possible, but we’re racing in the rain to do it and that’s what happens."

Most of all, he hates "that I took out my teammate in the process."

As far as the view from the No. 22, Logano mentioned that Keselowski’s car was free "from the beginning" and just got a little too loose. Given that he’s the most recent winner at Bristol, Sunday’s incident has to be all the more frustrating.

"Brad just got loose underneath that lapped car," Logano said. "You start checking up and it looked like he was gonna have it saved and he checked up more than I expected and the next thing you know I’m in the back of him and we’re both headed towards the fence. The last thing you want to see when you’ve got a rain delay here. It’s just such a bummer for both Penske cars."

One might think that where both Penske cars are already virtually locked into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup via wins at Daytona and Auto Club, the sting of Sunday’s early woes might be a little less painful.

But that is not close to the case.

"That doesn’t help anything," Logano said. "I want to win a race."

Logano indicated during the delay that the plan was to get back out and run as many laps as possible.

Not what we wanted for @AutoTrader_com. They are a great sponsor with just 1 race a year. We will fix it and ride around. Man this sucks.

— Joey Logano (@joeylogano) April 19, 2015

Keselowski, meanwhile, summed up his thoughts with the following tweet:

Days like today are times when I wish I knew where to find the poop emoji.

— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) April 19, 2015

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Posted on April 19, 2015 by

Polesitter survives rain delays, cautions and green-white-checkered finish

BRISTOL, Tenn. — In a race delayed and interrupted by rain, and ended in overtime, Matt Kenseth broke a drought of more than a year’s standing in Sunday’s Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race that went 11 laps past its scheduled distance of 500 laps — making it the longest race in the history of the 0.533-mile short track — Kenseth crossed the finish line 0.287 seconds ahead of Jimmie Johnson, who recovered from a succession of issues to claim the runner-up finish.

Kenseth, who inherited the top spot when Kurt Busch pitted from the lead under the ninth caution on Lap 477, stayed out front the rest of the way. He was three car lengths ahead of third-place finisher Jeff Gordon when Carl Edwards got loose underneath Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet and ignited the wreck that brought out caution No. 11 and demolished Busch’s Chevy in the process.

After a brief delay because of a late shower, a far cry from the 3-hour, 58-minute hiatus that came after the first 22 laps, Kenseth pulled away on a green-white-checkered-flag restart and was unchallenged to the finish, as Johnson got past Gordon for second.

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The victory was Kenseth’s fourth at Bristol, his most at any track, and the 32nd of his career. Kenseth broke a 51-race winless streak dating to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September 2013. The win all but locks up Kenseth’s spot in the Chase.

"It feels good to be back here," Kenseth said, sitting at the dais for the winner’s press conference. "Really, honestly, it does, it wears on you a little bit. We had such a good 2013 (seven victories), we came a little short of the ultimate prize there, but we had such a great season, and last year there were some races we had some chances to win and just things wouldn’t line up for us.

"We just couldn’t get it to happen. Tonight was kind of the opposite. Everything worked out. We had a good car on the short run, not so good on the last 40 or 50 laps of the run, and we had all them cautions and short runs at the end that really benefited us."

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ran fourth, followed by Ryan Newman. Danica Patrick was ninth, recording her second top-10 of the year and the sixth of her career, breaking a tie with Janet Guthrie for most ever by a female driver.

Johnson’s second-place finish was an adventure. The driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet survived two wrecks and a lost lap (which he regained as the highest-scored lapped car under caution for debris on Lap 344).

Johnson first sustained damage when Kurt Busch‘s car twitched underneath him in Turn 3 and sent Johnson’s Chevrolet spinning.

"Yeah, the first half of the race or first third of the race I was behind the 24 (Gordon), and we just worked our way up through the field and things went pretty smoothly," said Johnson, who started 28th after a lackluster qualifying effort. "I had a very fast race car and felt like we were going to have a strong night. And then one of the restarts midway through the race, the 41 (Busch) — I don’t know what happened — but he lost control, got into me.

"I went into the outside wall in Turn 3, and a caution came out. We had a fair amount of damage to the right rear quarter panel. I didn’t think I hit that hard, but after I got out of the race car and saw the damage, no wonder it didn’t drive very good after that, and we needed two or three pit stops to get the quarter panel pushed back down so there was some sideforce on the back of the car on corner entry and once we did that, we weren’t as good as we were at the start of the race but still very competitive.

"(Crew chief) Chad (Knaus) called for two (tires) late in the race. That picked us up a few more spots, and then I think the last two restarts I was in the outside lane, and that helped me out quite a bit. Wild night, but glad to get it in."

If Kenseth’s winless streak ended, so did the productive streaks of three other drivers. Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. all had posted top 10s in each of the first seven Cup races this season, but all three drivers had major issues on Sunday.

Logano slammed into Penske teammate Brad Keselowski after Keselowski lost control on a slick track on Lap 18. After extensive repairs, Logano finished 40th.

Truex’s Chevrolet experienced a bad vibration, then a loose wheel. He finished 29th, seven laps down.

Harvick was unable to avoid the wrecked car of David Ragan after contact between Johnson and Jeb Burton started a melee on lap 310. Harvick, who led 184 laps before the accident, spent 43 laps in the garage for repairs and came home 38th.

Nevertheless, Harvick, Logano and Truex hold the top three positions in the series standings. Harvick leads Logano by 30 points and Truex by 33. Johnson is fourth, 56 points back.

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Posted on April 19, 2015 by Staff Report

Stewart-Haas Racing driver breaks tie with Janet Guthrie

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With a ninth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, Danica Patrick earned a sixth career top-10 finish, most by a female driver in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history.

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Patrick tied Janet Guthrie two races ago at Martinsville Speedway with a seventh-place finish. Guthrie earned five top-10 finishes in 33 starts with four top 10s in 1977 and one in 1978.

"I’m proud of everybody for keeping their heads up and staying positive and these are the things that happen when you work together as a team," Patrick said after notching the record in her 90th career start. "Just keep at it. We had some luck on our side and I really feel like that positivity feeds into getting some luck and being at the right place at the right time. We just were.

"We came out of here with a top 10. I got to tell you I did not think — I was hoping for a top 20 after our weekend. We were like 30 something in practice. Lucked out in qualifying and got 26th, which like I said lucked out. It was a struggle of a weekend, but by all means you take these weekends."

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver earned a top 10 in her first full-time season in 2013 followed by three top 10s last year and has two top-10 results in the first eight races of the season. She’s currently 13th in points and 13th in the provisional Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings.

Sara Christian, who had two top 10s in in the inaugural season of NASCAR’s premier series of 1949, is the only other woman to earn a top-10 finish in the series now known as Sprint Cup.

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Posted on April 19, 2015 by Staff Report

See how the postseason picture looks through eight races

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Staff Report

Jeb Burton and Jimmie Johnson made contact, starting pileup

Kevin Harvick‘s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Chevrolet was fast Sunday as he led 184 laps in the rain-delayed Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes and Stand Up to Cancer, but a wreck on Lap 311 sent him behind the wall.

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Jimmie Johnson‘s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet drifted up into Jeb Burton‘s No. 26 BK Racing Toyota, sparking the wreck that also ruined David Ragan‘s day in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

"When you race back there with the squirrels, sometimes you find the nut," Ragan said. "As soon as my spotter said, ‘They’re wrecking,’ I was all into the No. 48."

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader Harvick was going for his eighth top-10 finish of the season. The only race he has finished outside the top-2 was at Martinsville, where the No. 4 came in eighth. He would return to the track 43 laps down and finished 38th.

"The No. 48 got into us a little bit," Burton said after the accident in his first start at rough-and-tumble Bristol Motor Speedway. "There’s just not a lot of room."

After the incident, Johnson voiced displeasure over his radio at how others had been racing him, but the six-time premier series champion rallied for a second-place finish.

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Posted on April 19, 2015 by Staff Report

Hamlin had neck spasm, prompting driver change in No. 11

NASCAR XFINITY Series standout Erik Jones logged some surprise Sprint Cup Series laps in what became a night race at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes and Stand Up To Cancer.

Jones piloted the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota, replacing Denny Hamlin.

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Joe Gibbs told pit road reporters that Hamlin had a neck spasm, leading to the change in drivers.

Entering the No. 11 car after a four-hour rain delay in the Bristol race, Jones said, "I’ll do my best. We’ll just make laps and see what we can do."

"I just pulled something in my neck and upper back at about Lap 12," Hamlin said on FOX Sports 1. "You know, I was kind of going backward at that point because the pain bothered me quite a bit. I’m not 100 percent, and with this format, it’s all about winning. There’s no way I’d be able to go compete for a win, so I’d be doing my team a complete injustice to just go out there and run a bunch of laps."

The 18-year-old Jones grabbed the pole in the last three XFINITY races, including the Drive to Stop Diabetes 300 on Saturday at Bristol, in which he finished fourth. Jones’ first XFINITY Series win came a week ago at Texas Motor Speedway.

The points earned in the Food City 500 will be awarded to Hamlin, because he started the race, and the No. 11 recorded a 26th-place finish.

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Posted on April 19, 2015 by Staff Report

Bristol General Manager Jerry Caldwell: ‘If needed, we’ll turn on the lights’

At 8:20 a.m. ET it was not raining at Bristol Motor Speedway, but with weather threatening the Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes and Stand Up to Cancer (FOX), track general manager Jerry Caldwell issued a statement to let fans know his facility was operating as usual on race day.

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"The gates open at 9 a.m., and we’re looking forward to welcoming guests," Caldwell said in the statement issued by the track. "We have a full day of activities in the works. With special appearances in the display area, the AutoTrader Pre-Race Concert with Old Crow Medicine Show and of course, our unrivaled driver introductions hosted by Bill Goldberg, it’s sure to be an amazing day at Bristol Motor Speedway.

"We’re moving forward with events as planned. Should the weather dictate changes to our schedule, fans can find the most up-to-date information at BristolMotorSpeedway.com, Bristol LIVE! radio, Twitter (@BMSUpdates), Facebook; or via our new app for Bristol Motor Speedway available for download on iTunes and Android phones.

"We will make every effort to accomplish the full day of events on the same day as scheduled, and if needed, we’ll turn on the lights. Come on out and join us for a great day at the track."

About two hours after Caldwell’s statement, NASCAR announced there would be a competition caution at Lap 50 of the race. And green flag for Sunday’s race was moved from 1:13 p.m. ET to 1:08 p.m and then to 1:03 p.m. The start of the race ultimately was delayed and after getting underway, a red flag came out after Lap 22 for weather.

Last August, NASCAR and the track announced that Bristol’s sprint race weekend was moved to April after nine seasons in March. For the past decade, weather conditions varied from occasionally warm and spring-like to more often cold and on at least one occasion, snowfall.

Stay tuned to NASCAR.com for updates.

NASCAR.com senior writer Kenny Bruce contributed to this report.

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Posted on April 19, 2015 by Staff Report

Get full lineup of NASCAR programming for the week

RELATED: See the full weekend schedule

All times ET

Monday, April 20
10 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 (re-air), FOX Sports 1
1 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 (re-air), FOX Sports 2
5 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2
8 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Duck Commander 500 (re-air), FOX Sports 1

Tuesday, April 21
10 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Drive to Stop Diabetes 300 (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2

Wednesday, April 22
4:30 p.m., NASCAR America: Scan All 43
5 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2

Thursday, April 23
2:30 a.m., The List: Dale Earnhardt Moments (re-air), NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2
12:30 a.m., NASCAR K&N Series East – Bristol Motor Speedway (tape), NBC Sports Network
1:30 a.m., The List: Greatest Finishes (re-air), NBC Sports Network

Friday, April 24
11 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1
1 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, FOX Sports 1
3:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: XFINITY, FOX Sports 1
7:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series: ToyotaCare 250, FOX Sports 1

Saturday, April 25
3 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice (re-air), FOX Sports 1
4:30 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (re-air), FOX Sports 1
10 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series: ToyotaCare 250 (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: FOX Sports 2

Sunday, April 26
1 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Toyota Owners 400, FOX

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