It’s the little team that could in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Parker Kligerman and the No. 75 Henderson Motorsports team run when they can and when they do, they run up front and sometimes have a shot at the win. Bristol looked like the place where it could happen.
With a sixth-place qualifying effort, Kligerman ran there for most of the UNOH 200 race at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing sixth in both stages. After the first stage, he, along with race leader John Hunter Nemechek, stayed out to keep track position and to see what their tires were like on the long run.
At the end of the day, Kligerman and the Henderson Motorsports team finished in the fourth position for his first top five of the year.
“We had a lot of lap traffic,” Kligerman said. “This is huge for Henderson Motorsports and Country USA. This is a real local team, a local effort, they’re from Abingdon, Virginia. My crew chief, Chris Carrier is from here. I mean, this is the Super Bowl to them.
“So, to have a good run is cool, but man, we were just too tight to battle for the front, the lead. And I gave up two positions at the end of Stage 2, and that just killed me, where I was never able to get that back. I feel like an idiot because I was trying to make the top work, but it just didn’t work. It’s so funny because I come here every time and I’m a top three truck if the top comes in, or a car, whatever I drive. But I suck on the bottom. This year, I came focused on getting better at the bottom and I was never able to run it, and the only place I could run was the bottom. So, I don’t know. I suck, I guess.”
“It’s the final countdown!” as the band Europe would sing.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series makes their final stop at Bristol Motor Speedway before the playoffs begin next weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. While one driver will be crowned regular season champion, three other drivers currently sit on the bubble of making/not making the playoffs.
Currently, there are 38 drivers entered on the preliminary entry list that will make up the 32 truck field Thursday night at Bristol.
Here’s a look at what to expect and who might end up in the UNOH 200.
John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek has competed in the past four starts at Bristol. He and the No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports team have collected two top fives and four top-10 finishes. Nemechek has an average start of 12.5 and an average finish of 5.0. In the past five races, he finished third twice, eighth, and sixth. He has competed in the Truck Series event since 2014 and has completed 100 percent of the laps. Nemechek scored the victory at Martinsville this past April which is another short track, somewhat similar to Bristol. He finished 10th in Stage 2 in the 2017 race.
Christopher Bell – Last year’s Truck Series champion returns to the field Thursday night at Bristol driving the No. 51 Hunt Brothers Pizza Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Bell has competed in two races at Bristol earning a seventh-place finish twice after starting fifth and second. He finished fourth and fifth respectively in both stages last year. KBM, however, has won here three times with Kyle Busch, who will not be able to compete in this year’s race due to restrictions. Harrison Burton was scheduled to drive the No. 51 but had to withdraw due to illness. Bell will fill in for Burton and will be tough to beat Thursday night at Bristol driving the famed No. 51.
Johnny Sauter – Sauter will be crowned regular season champion just by starting the race. Even though he knows he’ll be the regular season champion, he’ll still be hungry for that first Bristol win. It will be his first win since Texas in June if he can pull it off. Sauter has competed in 10 races at the famous Bristol Motor Speedway. His first start came back in 2003 driving the No. 9 for Christopher Beckington but failed to finish that year due to an engine issue. However, Sauter returned to a Truck back in 2009 driving for Mike Curb until 2015. In the past two races, he has competed for GMS Racing. For Sauter, however, it’s been a mixed bag of results at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile.” He has four top fives and six top-10 finishes, along with seven laps led and one DNF. With those stats, he has an average start of 12.4 and an average finish of 9.6. His best finish at Bristol was second back in 2011 after starting 12th. In the previous race, he finished eighth and seventh respectively in both stages.
Parker Kligerman – If someone could upset this weekend, it could very well be the No. 75 Henderson Motorsports team of Parker Kligerman. Kligerman has four starts at Bristol with a best finish of second coming in 2012 for Red Horse Motorsports. In last year’s race, however, driving the No. 75, he finished eighth. During the span of his four starts, Kligerman has earned one top five and three top-10 finishes. For Charlie Henderson’s team, the No. 75 has competed at Bristol every year since 2012 with Caleb Holman as the driver until 2016. Their best finish came with Kligerman last year by finishing eighth. They currently have one win in the series which came last fall at Talladega. Their other best finish came this year at Charlotte, where he finished seventh.
Ben Rhodes – Rhodes has three starts at Thunder Valley. His best finish came last year where he finished fifth. In total, Rhodes has one top five and two top-10 finishes with one lap led. He has an average start of 7.3 and an average finish of 14.7. He finished seventh and fourth in both stages in 2017. Look for Rhodes to be up front and contend for the win.
Playoff Bubble Drivers
Grant Enfinger – Enfinger has one start which came in the 2017 race. He started seventh and finished fourth giving him his first top five at the track. If he continues to win stages or perhaps wins the race, he’ll be good to go for the Playoffs.
Stewart Friesen- Like Enfinger, Friesen has been running somewhat consistently and is having his best year to date. He sits seventh in the Playoff standings with five Playoff points. He should be fine if there are no new winners. However, Friesen’s track stats don’t look all that great. He has two races, but no finishes inside the top 10. In 2017, he failed to finish due to an overheating problem and wound up 29th. In 2016, Friesen finished 16th. He can’t afford to have any of these issues during the race or he’ll be in jeopardy of missing the Playoffs.
Matt Crafton – Crafton is the most experienced driver in the field. He’s competed at Bristol since 2003 and has 15 starts. During that span, he’s earned four top fives and nine top-10 finishes, along with 129 laps led and one DNF. His best finish came in 2017 and 2009, where he finished second. In 2016, he failed to finish with an engine problem. If Crafton can avoid any issues in Thursday’s night race and have no mechanical problems, he’ll also be locked in on points and be able to chase for his third championship.
Outside Looking In
Myatt Snider- Snider will be making his first ever Bristol start in the Truck Series driving the No. 13 Carolina Nut Company Ford. However, he has competed at Bristol before driving in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour Series. In fact, he won last year’s race at Bristol after starting on the pole and leading 80 laps. Snider also competed in this year’s Tour Series event at Bristol and finished third. He could very well end up in victory lane tomorrow night and solidify himself in the playoffs picture, possibly knocking out his teammate, Matt Crafton.
Cody Coughlin – Coughlin has competed in one race here but did not finish in the top-10.
Dalton Sargeant – It will be Sargeant’s first race back at Bristol since 2015, where he finished 10th after starting 18th. He has one NASCAR K&N Pro Series East start but finished 26th due to a crash.
Todd Gilliland – Perhaps one driver who could spoil the spotlight is the No. 4 KBM driver, Todd Gilliland. He’ll be making his first Truck Series start at Bristol, but does have previous experience at the track. Gilliland has competed at Bristol in the K&N Pro Series East three times. During those three starts, he finished ninth, eighth, and won the event in 2018 after leading 64 laps.
The Truck Series has competed at Bristol Motor Speedway since 1995. In those twenty starts, there have been 15 different race winners. Those winners include Joe Ruttman, Rick Carelli, Ron Hornaday, Jack Sprague, Travis Kvapil, Carl Edwards, Mike Skinner, Mark Martin, Johnny Benson, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Timothy Peters, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney and Ben Kennedy.
Of those drivers, two have been able to repeat. These include Kyle Busch and Ron Hornaday with Busch having the most wins at five, and he is also the previous race winner.
The lowest a driver has ever started to win the race is 12th back in 2003 by Travis Kvapil. The highest a driver has ever come from to win was the pole and that has been done five times by Ron Hornaday (twice), Kyle Busch (twice) and Mark Martin.
The field of 38 that will turn into a field of 32 will have an all-day event Thursday.
Two practice sessions will start the day for the truckers. First practice is scheduled for 9:05 a.m. ET while final practice takes place at 11:05 a.m. ET, both on Fox Sports 1. Qualifying is slated later in the afternoon at 4:10 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.
Race coverage begins on FOX and MRN Radio at 8:30 p.m. ET with the approximate green flag at 8:45 p.m. ET.
BRISTOL, Tenn. — In a display of her sense of humor, Angie Skinner tweeted a picture of her standing in front of a Port-A-Potty to sum up the night of her husband, Mike Skinner.
“It’s raining. We crashed. I felt this pic near the shitter was appropriate…but b4 all the crap my baby @MSTheGunslinger was bad ass!”
For most of the 100-lap JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Pro Late Model A-Feature of the Rusty Wallace Automotive Group Short Track U.S. Nationals, “The Gunslinger” was the driver to beat. With over 20 years of racing experience at Bristol Motor Speedway, he navigated his way through the Top-Five and passed defending race winner Cole Williams exiting Turn 2 to take the lead.
But even a veteran driver like Skinner fell victim to racing at Bristol, particularly drivers who don’t have a fraction of his experience at Bristol. While trying to put Tyler Hufford a lap down, the two made contact that ended Skinner’s night.
“I went to pass the guy on the outside and he (Tyler Hufford) washed up, so I had to let off the gas,” Skinner told Speed 51. “I come off of turn four over here, and I got down really low, and he hit me in the corner. I don’t feel like I had enough room, so I just waited and he washed up the track again and I hit the gas and had a clear run on the bottom.” Skinner said.
“Apparently, his spotter told him he was going to give me the outside and he just turned left and just hit us. I feel like an idiot, we had a very fast car. His spotter told my son he was going to give me the high side, and by then I was under him and he tried to pull down and be a nice guy, so I really can’t blame him, it was my own fault.” Skinner added
Skinner finished the night in 13th and the race was won by Josh Reeves.
BRISTOL, Tenn. — The look of disappointment was on the face of Ryan Blaney, as he spoke to Vince Welch of FOX Sports about the wreck that collected him, as he was leading the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. It was even more apparent the frustration he was withholding because everything happened before he could see it.
“I didn’t see much, to be honest with you. By the time I could see anything they were already turned right and there was nowhere to go,” Blaney said. “Seeing the replay, I don’t know, people not cleared clearing themselves and then wrecking and take the leader out, so that’s unfortunate. Our car was pretty good today. We just kind of got held up there and we might not have been as strong at the end of that run, but I thought we could have at least held on for that stage and never got the chance. The positives you look at is that we had a good car and that’s something to hold your head high about.”
While he wasn’t the primary instigator or pinball of the six-car incident in Turn 3 on Lap 120, he was the biggest casualty of it, being both the leader and having led 100 laps.
It started when Chris Buescher got a run past Harrison Rhodes and attempted to pass Trevor Bayne for position.
“First off, our Bush’s Baked Beans Camaro was really good today. Unfortunately, we were in one of the accidents before that and got us back there where we really shouldn’t have been,” Buescher said. “We had three or four of us trying to stay on the lead lap and we were all being held up by the No. 6 (Trevor Bayne). I got a good run on the outside the slower cars and came off the corner and thought we were good, and it just swiped right up the front. By the time you lift, it’s a little too late. It’s really unfortunate. I love this place. It’s my favorite race track that we go to. We had good speed. We’ve just got to get back after it the next time we come here.”
Bayne, however, drifted up into his path and got loose, overcorrected, turned down and hooked Rhodes, sending him into the outside wall (and clipping Buescher and sending him spinning rear-end first into the outside wall) and into the path of Blaney.
“It’s obviously frustrating when lapped cars wreck and take the leader out,” Blaney added. “That’s unfortunate. 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.”
Because his incident occurred so early in the race, Blaney finished a measly 35th. But with the driver and behind in points having bad days, his points blow was mostly softened. He leaves Bristol sixth in points, 98 back of Kyle Busch.
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Photographers and race fans were all lining the catch fence as Kyle Busch did his celebratory burnout, grabbed the checkered flag and bowed to the fans that braced the cold and wintery mixture weather to watch the remainder of the postponed Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“Well, it means a lot, you know, to come to Bristol, a place where everybody expects you to do so well, expects you to win, that we’re able to get one,” Busch said. “I wasn’t sure there late in the going with 50 to go with the vibrations and everything that I was feeling that I was going to be able to have a shot. I wasn’t sure if we were going to go green the rest of the way or what was going to happen.
“But fortunately for us, unfortunately for some others, that caution did come out and we were able to come down pit road and put four tires on that things. We restarted second on that inside lane, and I wanted to stay out of the spray to not get anything on my tires but ended up towards the exit I got down into some of those marbles, and then when Larson launched and took off, I was just spinning the tires. There was just nothing for me to go with.
“So I struggled really bad on the restart. I thought that’s where I lost it. Just put my head down and tried to get back going, just tried to chase those guys back down and do what I could to get there. Larson looked loose. It looked like he was kind of battling it there for a little bit. The 17 kind of got to him first, and then I got to the 17 and was able to get by him and then get back up and catch Larson again. He slipped up a few times and was able to give me that opportunity to get there, and we made the most of it.
“When it comes down to the end, it’s crunch time, you’ve got to go. I wasn’t sure if I made my move too soon. I thought so. But our car was fast enough that Larson never had a shot to get back to us to repay the favor.
“It was a pretty good race, I thought. It was pretty fun. The bottom, the top, all around, everywhere, so hopefully we can continue to develop a good tire here that we can not have those long‑run issues where we keep getting that bounce feel and even put on a better show.”
Busch put the chrome bumper to Kyle Larson twice to retake the lead with six laps to go to score his 45th career victory. It breaks a tie with Bill Elliott for 13th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list.
Larson brought his car home second, after leading a race high of 200 laps.
“I was just checked out there on that long run,” Larson said. “It was really, really good there, and was just hoping it would go green until the end and then we pitted, and I was actually fine with that, too, because I knew we’d leave as the leader and restart on the outside. I just didn’t expect to get that loose that run there. The 17 (Stenhouse) almost got by me, was able to hold him off. I thought the grip was getting better, which it did a little bit, but not nearly good enough.
“Not sure if the track changed a lot there or what, but I lost the balance on the car.”
Jimmie Johnson finished third, his first Top-five of the season and first since Dover last October.
“Yeah, definitely a strong race car,” Johnson said. “We’ve been talking about our cars performing better and driving better and creating speed the last three weeks or so, but to finally back it up with a solid finish is exactly what we needed. And to see my teammates with positive comments about their cars the last few weeks and some good results yielding from all of that, we definitely have it rolling in the right direction.
“And specifically on the 48, last weekend there was a lot of excitement with the speed in our car, but we just had some bad luck on track and on pit road and a variety of things that went on. And to really be so buttoned up on race calling, pit stops, what I did in the car, the whole thing, I really feel like we’re rolling in the right direction now.”
Stenhouse and Alex Bowman rounded out the Top-five.
“The guys brought me a great Sunny D Ford all weekend long,” Stenhouse said. “We were really, really strong and I felt confident coming into the race yesterday and today. We fought adversity. We lost track position multiple times and had to pass a lot of cars to get back to where we were. Brian made a great call coming down pit road and taking tires before that long green flag run that we had. We got into second and I was hoping it would just go green to the end, knowing that we had better tires than the 42, who was the class of the field all day. Then we restarted there at the end. Brian said he didn’t get to really check the stagger on these tires and maybe make an adjustment with it. We didn’t take fuel and that sometimes tightens you up a little bit, but, all in all, a great weekend for us. Hopefully, this will kind of get us going and kick start us into next week and the rest of the season.”
Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman rounded out the Top-10.
RACE SUMMARY
BRISTOL, Tenn. – APRIL 15: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 Mountain Dew Baja Blast Chevrolet, and Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, are involved in an on-track incident during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 15, 2018 in Bristol, Tennessee. Photo: Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Kyle Busch led the field to the green flag at 1:34 p.m. It took only four laps for caution to fly when Michael McDowell got loose, made contact with Daniel Suarez and spun in Turn 4. He also collected Alex Bowman and William Byron, who couldn’t react in time to avoid him. Martin Truex Jr. slammed into the back of Bowman.
“Not much to say, just one of those weekends you want to forget about and turn your focus 100 percent on the next race,” Truex said after the race.
Back to green on Lap 10, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. bogged the inside lane down, allowing Ryan Blaney to move into second. From there, he passed under Busch going into Turn 1 on Lap 16 to take the lead. But with 10 laps to go to the competition caution on Lap 50, rain returned and blanketed the track. Caution flew five laps later. NASCAR brought the field down the backstretch four laps later and displayed the red flag. It was lifted after 25 minutes and 25 seconds.
The race went back to green on Lap 60, but caution flew again in Turn 3 when Erik Jones got loose, made contact with Stenhouse and spun him.
Restarting on Lap 67, the race settled into a long-run rhythm with Blaney working to navigate lap traffic one-by-one in classic Bristol fashion.
BRISTOL, Tenn. – APRIL 15: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 REV Ford, and Harrison Rhodes, driver of the #51 Industrial Construction Experts Inc. Chevrolet, are involved in an on-track incident during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 15, 2018 in Bristol, Tennessee. Photo: Ed Coombs/SpeedwayMedia.com
While Brad Keselowski caught him and battled him for the lead with six laps left in the first stage, however, Chris Buescher turned Trevor Bayne into the wall, who then bounced off and into Buescher, hooking him into the outside wall, triggering a five-car wreck on Lap 120 that took out race leader Blaney.
“I didn’t see much to be honest with you. By the time I could see anything they were already turned right and there was nowhere to go,” Blaney said. “Seeing the replay, I don’t know, people not cleared clearing themselves and then wrecking and take the leader out, so that’s unfortunate. Our car was pretty good today. We just kind of got held up there and we might not have been as strong at the end of that run, but I thought we could have at least held on for that stage and never got the chance. The positives you look at is that we had a good car and that’s something to hold your head high about.”
After a six-minute, 29-second red flag, NASCAR ended the first stage with a one-lap shootout, won by Brad Keselowski.
Kyle Larson exited pit road with the lead and led the field back to green on Lap 135. Chad Finchum spun out in Turn 4, but caution wasn’t thrown. When Trevor Bayne spun out and hit the wall in Turn 4, however, caution was thrown on Lap 155. Jones took over the race lead when he and the Top-six cars chose not to pit.
As the field circled around, waiting to restart, the rain slightly intensified to the point NASCAR brought the field back down pit road and red-flagged the race a third time.
Back to green on Lap 170, Larson pulled away from Denny Hamlin in second and started lapping everyone in his path. This continued until caution flew for the sixth time on Lap 200, once again for rain.
The weather this time was more severe and forced NASCAR to postpone the rest of the race to the following day.
After a slight delay close to the original 1:02 p.m. scheduled restart time, the field rolled off pit road shortly after 1:30. Everyone but Larson opted to pit.
The race restarted at 1:43 p.m. on Lap 217. For the final 33 laps of the second stage, Larson drove away as he did the day before. Keselowski kept chase with him, however, put the chrome bumper to Larson going into Turn 3, took the lead and won the stage.
Denny Hamlin exited pit road with the lead and led the field to green on Lap 263. Hamlin pitted from the lead two laps later with a loose wheel, handing it back to Keselowski.
BRISTOL, Tenn. – APRIL 16: Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 McDonald’s Chevrolet, and Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Skittles Toyota, make contact during the rain delayed Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 16, 2018 in Bristol, Tennessee. Photo: Sean Gardner/Getty Images
He, Larson and Kyle Busch dueled for the lead from Laps 280 to 325, with Larson taking it from 292 to 325 and Busch onwards, after Larson got turned by Ryan Newman exiting Turn 4.
Reed Sorenson brought out the caution with 147 laps to go when he spun out and rear-ended the outside wall in Turn 3. With bad weather approaching and the race past the point of being an “official race,” Daniel Suarez opted to stay out and take the lead.
The gamble failed, and he lost the lead by the time he exited Turn 4 to Keselowski with 134 to go. Darrell Wallace Jr. took a stint out front, passing him going into Turn 1 to take it with 125 to go. Busch passed him in Turn 2 to retake the lead with 120 to go.
The battle came down to him and Larson with less than 80 to go. After close to 20 laps of pressure, Larson put the bumper to Busch going into Turn 1 to take the lead with 63 to go. After Larson cleared the lap traffic, he drove away to a half-straightaway lead over Busch. Keselowski slammed the wall in Turn 2 with 30 to go, bringing out the caution and forcing everyone onto pit road.
Larson exited ahead of Busch and led the field back to green with 22 to go. Busch didn’t get going on the bottom and Stenhouse usurped him for second. While Stenhouse got to Larson’s bumper once, he couldn’t make the pass and got passed by Busch with 15 to go. With six to go, Busch put the chrome bumper to Larson twice, made the pass for the lead going through Turn 3 and drove on to victory.
NUTS & BOLTS
The race lasted three hours, 26 minutes and 25 seconds, at an average speed of 77.465 mph. There were 18 lead changes among eight different drivers, and 13 cautions for 113 laps.
*THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED TO NOTE THAT BRANDON JONES WON’T BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE DASH 4 CASH NEXT WEEK AT RICHMOND RACEWAY, DUE TO NASCAR’S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT DANIEL HEMRIC’S POST-RACE INSPECTION FAILURE DIDN’T RISE TO THE LEVEL WORTHY OF A PENALTY.
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Brandon Jones maintained a smile as he spoke to Regan Smith of FOX Sports 1, but the disappointment of such a strong run resulting in a sixth-place finish seeped through as the interview progressed.
“That caution on right there on that long run just killed me and I just put my head down when I saw it ‘cause I knew we were so much better than the 18 (Ryan Preece) up off the corner, but all in all such a phenomenal day for Toyota, for Menards and for everybody at (Joe Gibbs Racing) JGR right now. Also, Turtle Wax is on board with us this weekend as well. Can’t say enough about the guys that support us the most and we are just so close right now. It breaks my heart just to see that, but we had a gamble right there at the end. We had to take the two tires to try to see what we could do. Just too much wheel-spinning on the restart to make anything of it.”
During a nearly 100-lap stretch of green flag racing, from Lap 184 to 27 laps to go (Lap 273), Jones had the Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 in check. While Ryan Preece got within a car length of him around 40 to go, he couldn’t work his way around Jones.
But when Shane Lee hit the wall in Turn 2, everybody ducked onto pit road for fresh tires. Jones opted for strategy and took only left-side tires, while Preece took four.
The end result was rather predictable. When Preece’s tires came up to temperature, he passed Jones going into Turn 1 with 12 laps to go and scored the victory. Jones, meanwhile, sank through the field. But the short amount of laps combined with the field clicking them off in 15-second intervals prevented him from falling further than sixth.
“Well, you have to gamble when you’re leading like that,” Jones said. “Sometimes you have to play a mind game with some of the other guys that are behind you. Our game just didn’t work out too well for us. It was just way too loose on the restart there to make anything of it, but enjoyed racing (Ryan) Preece there at the end. That was pretty cool. I did everything but try to wreck him, so I think that I raced pretty good as a teammate there with him. I just wish that caution wouldn’t have come out. I kind of put my head down when I saw it and was just like man, if this thing would’ve kept going, we’re in the catbird seat really really good. I can’t say enough about the day though. All weekend we were top three in practice throughout the whole day yesterday. Qualified really really well and was getting ready to possibly go to Victory Lane.”
While Jones didn’t earn any stage points, his Top-10 finish moved him up to ninth in points. He also admitted that leading the most laps (106) was a confidence-boost.
“Texas was big for me even though we kind of crashed out early there, we still were really really fast there. I think that’s kind of what led to this,” Jones said. “Myself and Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) have had a lot of conversation of you know, don’t think about it, just do it. That’s kind of the momentum I’m on right now. I’m going to stick to that and it’s going to work out for us eventually.”
The day ended on a bright note for Jones. An hour after the XFINITY Grand National Series race concluded, NASCAR announced that Daniel Hemric failed post-race inspection. As a result, Jones was Dash 4 Cash eligible next weekend at Richmond Raceway. But less than 24 hours later, NASCAR announced that Hemric’s penalty, one side of the rear wheel-toe alignment was off, didn’t rise to the level of a penalty. Because in the XFINITY Grand National Series, both sides of the rear wheel-toe must be off to constitute a violation. As a result, Hemric was put back into the Dash 4 Cash hunt at Richmond.
*THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED TO INCLUDE NASCAR’S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT DANIEL HEMRIC’S POST-RACE INSPECTION FAILURE WON’T RESULT IN A PENALTY.
BRISTOL, Tenn. — The first thing Ryan Preece did after he climbed out of his car in victory lane was grab the oversized novelty check he received for winning the first race of this year’s XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash, which he promptly tossed to his crew standing behind his car.
“First off, this Rheem Toyota TRD Camry JGR car was awesome,” Preece said. “These guys right here, they work hard and they don’t get on TV and I want you all to focus in on them and this guy (Eric Phillips, crew chief) – I have to thank everybody last year for helping me make this all possible. Without last year, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now, I wouldn’t be sitting here in Bristol victory lane in an Xfinity Series car with Joe Gibbs Racing. To win here, it’s unreal. I guess I didn’t make Joey Logano look like a fool today.
“Words can’t even describe. My mom’s super happy, my dad’s super happy – 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. That’s what I told somebody earlier today. They asked me what was the most exciting thing and I said winning – I hate losing more than winning. Today we did it.”
Preece made the winning move driving underneath Brandon Jones going into Turn 1 to take the lead with 12 laps to go, and set sail to his second career victory in 43-career XFINITY Grand National Series starts.
Justin Allgaier, Daniel Hemric, Elliott Sadler and Spencer Gallagher rounded out the Top-five.
Jones, Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer, Ross Chastain and Ryan Truex rounded out the Top-10.
“That caution on right there on that long run just killed me and I just put my head down when I saw it ‘cause I knew we were so much better than the 18 (Ryan Preece) up off the corner, but all in all such a phenomenal day for Toyota, for Menards and for everybody at (Joe Gibbs Racing) JGR right now. Also, Turtle Wax is on board with us this weekend as well. Can’t say enough about the guys that support us the most and we are just so close right now. It breaks my heart just to see that, but we had a gamble right there at the end,” Jones said of the final caution. “We had to take the two tires to try to see what we could do. Just too much wheel-spinning on the restart to make anything of it.”
RACE SUMMARY
Custer led the field to the green flag at 1:15 p.m. Exiting Turn 2, however, Allgaier powered by him with ease to lead the first lap. Coming to the line to start the fifth lap, Christopher Bell shot up the track, a result of a right-front tire failure, and slammed the outside wall. As the field slowed to avoid hitting him, cars slammed into the back of others and the resulting accordion effect swallowed up nine cars.
Back to green on Lap 18, the field settled into a conveyor-belt run to the competition caution at Lap 45. Hemric exited the pits as the race leader, while Justin Allgaier exited third.
A lap after the restart on Lap 55, Bell powered by Hemric on the outside heading into Turn 1 to take the lead and drove on to win the first stage.
Preece exited the pits first and led the field back to green on Lap 99, as well as after he restart on Lap 109 (for a multi-car wreck on the backstretch). On the latter restart, however, Hemric shot past him on the bottom to retake the lead. Preece worked to the inside of Hemric on Lap 163, however, and won the second stage.
Chase Briscoe took the lead after he elected not to pit, along with Jones and Reddick, but had the lead usurped by Jones, who fended off challenges from Preece as the laps clicked away, with less than 60 to go. It was rendered a moot point by Shane Lee, who brought out the caution with 27 to go and set up the run to the finish.
CAUTION SUMMARY
There were four multi-car incidents. The first on Lap 4 (nine cars), Lap 58 (four cars), Lap 100 (seven cars) and Lap 140 (three cars), also brought out red flag for seven minutes and one second.
Four cautions flew for single or two-car incidents.
Three flew for scheduled reasons (competition/stage conclusion).
OTHER NEWS ITEMS
Hemric’s car failed post-race inspection, because one side of the rear wheel-toe alignment was off. However, the failure didn’t rise to the level of a penalty, because both sides of the rear wheel-toe must be off in the XFINITY Grand National Series. So not only won’t he be penalized, but he’ll be eligible for the Dash 4 Cash at Richmond Raceway.
Here is where confusion happened as far as Nascar saying Hemric would be penalized. The Xfinity rule (top) requires both sides to be off (or one if by a certain amount). In Cup, one side off in rear toe is penalty. Hemric car only off a minimal amount on one side so no penalty. pic.twitter.com/IPakxGhKEj
The race lasted two hours, 21 minutes and 57 seconds, at an average speed of 67.857 mph. There were 13 lead changes among eight different drivers, and 12 cautions for 93 laps.
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.
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 a 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.
BRISTOL, Tenn. — David Ragan topped the chart in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford clocked in at a time of 15.051 and a speed of 127.487 mph.
He held the top spot for virtually the entire 50-minute session.
Occupying spots 2-5 were Chase Elliott, who timed in at 15.100 and 127.073 mph, Denny Hamlin, who timed in at 15.109 and 126.997 mph, Kurt Busch, who timed in at 15.164 and 126.537 mph and Michael McDowell, who timed in at 15.193 and 126.295 mph.
AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, Daniel Suarez, Kasey Sahne and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the Top-10.
Kurt Busch comes to a stop on the apron, after his car hit the inside wall on the backstretch in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway. Photo: Tucker White/SpeedwayMedia.com
In the closing minutes of the session, Kurt Busch broke loose exiting Turn 2, spun down the backstretch and hit the inside wall. His team rolled out the backup car, so he’ll start from the rear of the field tomorrow afternoon.
