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  • Cup Race Postponed to Monday, Complete Schedule

    Cup Race Postponed to Monday, Complete Schedule

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway has been postponed to Monday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX due to rain.

    The forecasts for Sunday called for 100 percent chance of rain all day long. The forecasts for Monday call for a 40 percent chance of rain.

    Kyle Larson will lead the field to the green flag for the Food City 500 Monday afternoon.

    This is the third race in four years at Bristol postponed by rain and the fourth straight year a race at Bristol has been affected by rain. Please check below for the complete schedule.

    Monday, April 24:

    On Track Schedule – Bristol Motor Speedway (All times are Eastern)

    12:20 p.m.: Driver Introductions
    12:53 p.m.: Presentation of Colors: Grundy High School JROTC Color Guard
    12:53 p.m.: Invocation: Mike Rife, Vansant Church of Christ, Vansant, Virgina
    12:54 p.m.: National Anthem: TBD
    12:56 p.m.: Flyover TOT by: (4) T-38s 49th Fighter Training Squadron from Columbus AFB,     Mississippi (Turn 1 to Turn 4)
    12:56 p.m.: Food City Salute Commercial (Colossus TV)
    12:57 p.m.: Bristol August Video (Colossus TV)
    12:58 p.m.: Bristol Motor Speedway Hype Video (Colossus TV)
    1 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr Congratulations Food City Video (on Colossus TV)
    1:01 p.m.: “Drivers, Start Your Engines” command: Kerry Earnhardt and Kelley Earnhardt Miller
    1:07 p.m.: Start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 (500 laps, 266.5 miles), FOX

     

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  • Erik Jones Rallies from Late Speeding Penalty to Win Bristol XFINITY Race

    Erik Jones Rallies from Late Speeding Penalty to Win Bristol XFINITY Race

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Erik Jones rallied back from a late speeding penalty and took the lead in the closing laps to score the victory in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    After being penalized for speeding on pit road during the fifth caution of the race, Jones worked his way back through the field until he restarted second on the penultimate restart with 23 laps to go. Two laps later, he put the chrome bumper to leader Ryan Blaney, took the lead and held him off on a three-lap restart to end the race and win for the eighth time in his career.

    “It was just hard racing,” said Jones. “We ended up racing hard and getting by him. To come back from a pit road penalty like that, it’s a race I won’t forget for a long time — just an awesome day.”

    Blaney finished runner-up and Daniel Suarez rounded out the podium.

    Elliott Sadler and Daniel Hemric round out the top-five.

    Ty Dillon, Kyle Larson, Brennan Poole, Blake Koch and Michael Annett round out the top-five.

    Larson led the field to the green flag at 1:04 p.m. He lost the lead to Jones on lap 20, but took it back five laps later passing him exiting Turn 2 and held it through the end of the stage.

    The race restarted on lap 95 and was stopped twice, for a spin into the Turn 2 wall by Ray Black Jr. and rain delaying the race for over 90 minutes (1:38.52), but won by Daniel Hemric after the leaders opted to short-pit the stage caution as the caution for rain came with eight laps before the end of the stage.

    Blaney cycled to the lead under the stage break caution.

    Larson took the race lead again with 95 to go, but he lost it under the fifth caution with 95 to go and wasn’t a factor in the race win.

    The run to the finish was set up by an incident on the backstretch related to Ross Chastain.

    Justin Allgaier spins out in the closing laps of the Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Photo: Tucker White/SpeedwayMedia.com

    With 95 to go, Black spun out in Turn 4 and his front-end was clipped by David Starr. With 56 to go, Darrell Wallace Jr. tapped Brendan Gaughan and sent him spinning into a head-on collision with the inside wall on the frontstretch. With 45 to go, Wallace spun out and got t-boned by Garrett Smithley, brining out the red flag for five minutes and 10 seconds. The final caution flew with seven laps to go for a two-car incident involving Justin Allgaier and William Byron.

    The race lasted two hours, 21 minutes and 38 seconds at an average speed of 67.738 mph. There were 15 lead changes among seven different drivers and nine cautions for 85 laps.

    Sadler leaves Bristol with a 16-point lead over Byron.

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  • Kyle Busch Fastest in Final Cup Practice at Bristol

    Kyle Busch Fastest in Final Cup Practice at Bristol

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Kyle Busch topped the chart in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 14.925 and a speed of 128.563 mph. Daniel Suarez was second in his No. 19 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 14.960 and a speed of 128.262 mph. Kasey Kahne was third in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 14.961 and a speed of 128.253 mph. Chase Elliott was fourth in his No. 24 Hendrick Chevrolet with a time of 14.969 and a speed of 128.185 mph. Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top-five in his No. 48 HMS Chevrolet with a time of 14.971 and a speed of 128.168 mph.

    Kahne posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 127.482 mph.

    Halfway through the session, Chris Buescher got loose exiting Turn 4 and damaged the right-rear corner of his car. His team opted to roll out the backup.

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  • Larson Takes Bristol XFINITY Pole

    Larson Takes Bristol XFINITY Pole

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Kyle Larson will lead the field to the green flag this afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway after winning the pole for the Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300.

    The driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet scored the pole after posting a new track record time of 14.992 and a speed of 127.988 mph. Austin Dillon will start second in his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 15.043 and a speed of 127.554 mph. Cole Custer will start third in his No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford after posting a time of 15.074 and a speed of 127.292 mph. Erik Jones will start fourth in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after posting a time of 15.104 and a speed of 127.039 mph. Justin Allgaier will round out the top-five starters in his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet after posting a time of 15.128 and a speed of 126.838 mph.

    Ty Dillon, Matt Tifft, Daniel Hemric, Ryan Blaney and Daniel Suarez will round out the top-10 starters.

    Ross Chastain and Brendan Gaughan will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

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  • Kyle Busch Fastest at Bristol in Second Cup Practice

    Kyle Busch Fastest at Bristol in Second Cup Practice

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Kyle Busch topped the chart in second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 14.890 and a speed of 128.865 mph. Erik Jones was second in his No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota with a time of 14.915 and a speed of 128.649 mph. Denny Hamlin was third in his No. 11 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 14.970 and a speed of 128.176 mph. Kevin Harvick was fourth in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet with a time of 14.980 and a speed of 128.091 mph. Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top-five in his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 14.990 and a speed of 128.005 mph.

    Jones posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 127.178 mph.

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  • The Performance of Joe Gibbs Racing Early On

    The Performance of Joe Gibbs Racing Early On

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — When you look at the performance of Joe Gibbs Racing, compared to the last year or two, it’s not hard to understand why one would see a problem.

    The Huntersville, North Carolina racing stable is the deepest into a season without a win from any driver since 2007 when Denny Hamlin broke through with a win at Loudon. Two of their drivers, Matt Kenseth and Daniel Suarez, are outside the top-10 in points as well. All four drivers combined have no more than three top-10 finishes (Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth with three and Hamlin and Daniel Suarez with two) and only Busch and Kenseth have a top-five on the season. Busch has led the second-most laps of any driver this season with 413, but the only other Gibbs driver to lead a lap is Hamlin with 28.

    Busch admitted that the organization hasn’t been strong from the start.

    “I would have to say that obviously, we’re not as strong this year out of the gate, I think last year’s win total was a lot more than this year. I feel as though we’re competitive and we’re close, but we’re not there,” he said.

    Compare their performance to Martin Truex Jr. of JGR affiliate Furniture Row Racing.

    Truex not only has a win and has led almost as many laps as Busch but he has amassed stage wins to rack up the playoff points that come with winning the stages.

    “There’s things we’re seeing other teams doing that we haven’t necessarily ventured off into yet and some of those things, whether they’re better for you or worse for you, it may depend on what the wind tunnel says or what the K & C numbers say and things like that. We’re working on all those things though,” Busch said.

    But the Gibbs drivers go to Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend where they have a combined 10 wins amongst them. Two of the four, Busch and Kenseth, occupied the top-five spots in the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice for the Food City 500 and all but Suarez placed in the top-10 in practice.

    Busch also noted that it’s too early for concern and you should ask the question deeper into the season.

    “I don’t think there’s any reason for cause for concern yet, but ask me that question again in about 10 weeks,” he added.

  • Jones Fastest in First Cup Practice at Bristol

    Jones Fastest in First Cup Practice at Bristol

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Erik Jones topped the chart in first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 15.009 and a speed of 127.843 mph. Kyle Busch was second in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 15.098 and a speed of 127.090 mph. Ryan Blaney was third in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford with a time of 15.110 and a speed of 126.989 mph. Martin Truex Jr. was fourth in his No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota with a time of 15.113 and a speed of 126.964 mph. Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-five in his No. 20 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 15.144 and a speed of 126.704 mph.

    Denny Hamlin, who ran the sixth-fastest single lap, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 125.657 mph.

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  • Allgaier Fastest in Final Bristol XFINITY Practice

    Allgaier Fastest in Final Bristol XFINITY Practice

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Justin Allgaier topped the chart in final NASCAR XFINITY Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet was the fastest with a time of 15.422 and a speed of 124.420 mph. Erik Jones was second in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 15.509 and a speed of 123.722 mph. Kyle Larson was third in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 15.525 and a speed of 123.594 mph. Ryan Blaney was fourth in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford with a time of 15.535 and a speed of 123.515 mph. Austin Dillon rounded out the top-five in his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet with a time of 15.552 and a speed of 123.380 mph.

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  • Qualifying Rained Out at Thunder Valley

    Qualifying Rained Out at Thunder Valley

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway has been canceled due to rain.

    The starting lineup for Sunday’s race will be set by owner’s points and Kyle Larson will lead the field to the green flag on Sunday.

    All on-track activities for Friday weren’t wiped out, however. The NASCAR XFINITY Series will get on the track at 2:00 p.m. for their only practice of the week and the Cup Series hits the track at 3:00, barring further inclement weather.

    Food City 500 Starting Line Up:

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  • Should Non-Variable Banking Return to Bristol?

    Should Non-Variable Banking Return to Bristol?

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Applying VHT to the bottom groove at Bristol has made it the preferred way around once more. It begs the question, however, if digging up what remains of the progressive banking and restoring the steep 36 degree incline would be more effective.

    Following the 2007 Food City 500, the banking was reconfigured with progressive banking to eliminate the one-groove racing. It was successful in that regard, but it came at the cost of cars beating and banging, tempers flaring and declining attendance.

    Last August, Bristol Motor Speedway announced it was treating the bottom lane of the turns with VHT TrackBite, which is a custom formulated resin used to increase traction in racing. The result was largely successful and the preferred groove around the circuit was the bottom, with slight diminishing returns deeper into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.

    So it was little surprise that late last month, Bristol announced that the VHT would be used again.

    “We applied the treatment to the lower groove in the four turns and coming out of the straightaways,” Jerry Caldwell, executive vice-president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway said. “The substance really just helps rubber stick to the track. And then we brought in a tire machine that we used to drag the track for a while to get rubber down and give drivers some grip so they can get down there and hang with that upper groove.”

    But is it more effective than the old steep banking? And since the point of the VHT was to bring the racing groove back to the bottom, why not bring back the steep banking?

    Kurt Busch, who’s no stranger to success at Thunder Valley, said, in short, “you have to adjust….”

    “We’re not just gonna go dig up Augusta, Georgia because the golfers don’t like the new tee boxes. You have to adjust to the millions of dollars that Bristol Motor Speedway invested into the track’s new surface and we’re trying to find that right combination,” he said.