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Tag: Food City 500

  • Truex Finishes Eighth After Late Speeding Penalty

    Truex Finishes Eighth After Late Speeding Penalty

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Martin Truex Jr. rallied to an eighth-place finish after being busted for speeding with less than 40 laps remaining in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    A two-car wreck brought out the final caution with 37 laps to go. Kevin Harvick opted not to pit and assumed the lead. Truex exited pit road first and would’ve restarted second, but was penalized for short-cutting the radius of Turns 3 and 4 on the apron, which NASCAR rules as speeding per their time over distance formula, and restarted from the tail-end of the field on the ensuing restart.

    In the final 32 laps, he worked his way up to eighth in the running order and settled for eighth in the final finishing order.

    “We were going for it, I wish we could have had a shot there just to see if we could have won,” said Truex.

    “This is the best run we’ve had here in a long time. It’s bittersweet, I wish we could have seen if we could have beat the 48 (Jimmie Johnson). We were close there before that last caution, but it is what it is and you try to get what you can get and sometimes you cross the line and today we crossed the line. All in all, it was an awesome day and a lot of fun.”

    He was helped by the fact that only 16 cars were on the lead lap for the final restart.

    It was a black mark on an otherwise excellent day for the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota. He led 116 laps, second to Kyle Larson for most in the race, finished second to Larson in the first stage and won the second stage.

    He leaves Bristol third in points, trailing Larson by 37 points, but maintains a three-point advantage over him in playoff point accumulation.

  • Johnson Takes Lead in Closing Laps to Win at Thunder Valley

    Johnson Takes Lead in Closing Laps to Win at Thunder Valley

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Jimmie Johnson passed Kevin Harvick with 21 laps to go and drove on to win the day-late Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Harvick opted not to pit under the final caution of the race with 40 to go and assumed the race lead. Johnson lined up second after Martin Truex Jr., who beat him off pit road, was busted for speeding and sent to the tail-end of the field.

    On the final restart with 32 to go, Harvick got off to a flying start and held off Johnson for a time. But his old tires were no match for Johnson’s four fresh tires and he lost to Johnson with 21 to go.

    “Yeah, it was kind of interesting because when the No. 42 (Kyle Larson) was there, it just created an environment to run the top and I wasn’t as good on the top,” Johnson said. “The No. 42, not being up there and that first couple of cars; the bottom was really where it was at for the short run. This Lowe’s Chevrolet was flying!

    “This track has been difficult over the years and we really hit on something Saturday afternoon in that last practice session around the bottom and honestly, it’s what I’ve been looking for here for 16 years and we finally figured it out. So, I’m very, very happy.”

    It’s Johnson’s 82nd career victory in 551 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts.

    Harvick’s teammate Clint Bowyer came home second and Harvick rounded out the podium in third.

    “We’ve come a long way with this team,” Bowyer said putting it into “perspective,” as he stated. “These guys have worked so hard; it’s a fun group, everybody at Haas. My teammates are awesome. It’s so much fun to work with this group each and every week. Hell yeah, you want to be up there and win it. But the day we had, I got caught speeding on pit road and had to bounce back. The guys kept working on the car. I appreciate the opportunity that Gene Haas and Tony Stewart gave me. Mobil 1, Haas Automation and everyone that’s a part of it.”

    Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano rounded out the top-five.

    Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-10.

    “I’m a little disappointed, but not bad. I’m more disappointed in myself from getting that speeding penalty with 80 (laps) or so to go,” Larson said. “I was just pushing it down pit road and pushed it a little too far. I had a shot there still at the end, but four tires were better than ours.”

    Larson led the field to the green flag at 1:11 p.m. He led the first stage from start to finish and got the playoff point for winning it.

    He dominated most of the second stage but lost the lead when Truex passed him in Turn 2 on lap 202 and Truex won the second stage.

    After losing the lead to Landon Cassill during the caution break, he took it back with ease on the ensuing restart. But on the lap 329 restart, Logano took the lead after Truex chose to restart on the bottom.

    Jimmie Johnson made contact with Logano as he took the lead with 106 to go.

    During the eighth caution, Hamlin opted not to pit and took the lead. Restarting with 73 to go, he held off Johnson for six laps before Johnson took it.

    A two-car wreck with 40 to go set up the run to the finish.

    Kurt Busch brought out the first caution on lap 54 when he bounced off Trevor Bayne exiting Turn 4, slid down the track and hit the inside wall. Chris Buescher slammed into the back of Reed Sorenson trying to slow down in an attempt to miss Busch.

    Kyle Busch brought out the third caution on lap 210 when he suffered a right-front tire blowout and slammed the wall in Turn 2.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought out the third caution on the lap 217 restart when a right-front tire cut led to him slamming the wall in Turn 1 and rupturing an oil cooler line.

    On lap 323, David Ragan attempted to thread the needle between teammate Cassill and Danica Patrick exiting Turn 2. Patrick bumped into him, sending him into Cassill and sent him spinning into the outside wall in Turn 3.

    Kyle Busch suffered a second right-front tire blowout and slammed the Turn 3 wall with 116 to go, bringing out the sixth caution.

    Erik Jones made contact with Gray Gaulding, cut down his right-front tire and slammed the wall in Turn 3. AJ Allmendinger clipped the left-rear corner of Jones’s car.

    The final caution flew when Kasey Kahne hit the wall in Turn 3 and was rear-ended by Paul Menard with 40 to go.

    The race lasted three hours, four minutes and 29 seconds at an average speed of 86.674 mph. There were 14 lead changes among seven different drivers and nine cautions for 76 laps.

    Larson leaves Bristol with a 27-point lead over Elliott.

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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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  • 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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  • 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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  • 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.

  • Sixth-Place Run Proves DiBenedetto Belongs Behind the Wheel

    Sixth-Place Run Proves DiBenedetto Belongs Behind the Wheel

    We’re eight races into the 2016 Sprint Cup season, and we’ve already got a top nominee for the feel-good story of the year. With BK Racing driver Matt DiBenedetto earning a sixth-place finish for a career-high Sprint Cup run following the Food City 500 at Bristol, fans and competitors all around the garage sang the 24-year-old driver’s praises.

    Race winner Carl Edwards was quick to acknowledge DiBenedetto’s accomplishment, saying, “They finished sixth? Man, that’s unbelievable. That’s probably tougher than what we did. That’s a real testament to them.”

    Denny Hamlin, who finished 20th, came down pit road as well to congratulate DiBenedetto while the driver of the No. 83 was giving an emotional interview for the television crews, echoing Rich Bickle’s tearful interview after he finished fourth at Martinsville in 1998.

    DiBenedetto’s interview just goes to show what’s great about NASCAR. While it may seem like the front is always the same guys day in and day out, and it may seem like old hat for drivers and fans, every so often one of the little guys who will work just as hard as his crew will have a good day. DiBenedetto’s emotions show that he is a guy that’s just happy to be a part of the big show.

    Look at his record in the Sprint Cup Series. Five lead lap finishes in 33 starts with a previous career-best finish of 18th (Talladega, Spring 2015). He didn’t start his rookie campaign in 2015 until the fourth race of the season at Phoenix, following two DNQs.  Driving for BK Racing, DiBenedetto has piloted some severely underpowered Toyotas and has managed to keep his equipment in once piece, which is no small feat in the Sprint Cup Series.

    He was once a development driver for Joe Gibbs Racing in the XFINITY Series. These days that usually means surefire success, but in 2010, due to sponsorship woes, that left DiBenedetto without a ride. So for the better part of four years (until he signed with BK Racing), he was going from ride to ride just to be a part of the sport.

    Still, despite all that, despite all the struggles he’s faced with the No. 83 team in the 33 starts he has made with the team, he has managed to hang on, and now has something to show for his struggles behind the wheel in NASCAR. Taking into consideration the struggles he’s faced while trying to reach the upper echelons of NASCAR, the emotions that he showed in his post-race interview were real.

    DiBenedetto is a talented young driver who has a lot of years left on the clock, and with the improvements made by BK Racing in the off-season, he’s in a position where an underfunded race team could be built around him to at least be a consistent race team. That may take time, but he’s shown that he is more than willing to stick around for awhile.