Food City 500 Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor As crew chief Harry Hogge once said in the movie Days of Thunder, “Tires is what wins races,” and that was never truer than in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. For the first time in three years, the spring date on the half-mile high banked oval in East Tennessee was back on its concrete surface and back to the Bristol we all know and love, but this time around the NASCAR Cup Series teams and drivers would have to go into gladiator modeRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service   BRISTOL, Tenn. — How appropriate.  On a day where tire management was the essential element in a NASCAR Cup Series race, three veterans swept the podium positions, with Denny Hamlin winning Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.  In a race that produced 54 lead changes—a record for Cup Series short tracks—Hamlin lost the lead briefly to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps but regained it in traffic and beat Truex to the finish line by 1.083 seconds. Read More

By Jordan Bianchi, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – He may not win all the time, though considering the frequency in which Kyle Busch does visit Victory Lane it certainly creates the impression that the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is omnipresent in the winner’s circle. Busch’s most recent Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory occurred Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Yet unlike so many of Busch’s wins — including his previous two this season — Busch didn’t have the dominant car in the Food City 500. Yes, his Toyota Camry was strong,Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent A mistake-filled day could not stop Daniel Suarez from a top-10 finish in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway. Late-race pit strategy by crew chief Billy Scott put Suarez in the top-five for the final 14-lap run to the finish. The No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang was one of four cars that did not pit on the final caution. With worn tires, Suarez slipped backwards and took the checkered flag in eighth. Prior to the final caution, Suarez hovered aroundRead More

By Kenny Bruce, NASCAR Wire Service Harvick works way back from four laps down to finish 13th BRISTOL, Tenn. – Kevin Harvick finished 13th in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol and on the lead lap and that’s about an amazing of a comeback as you’re likely to see at Bristol Motor Speedway. Making up a lap or perhaps two is difficult. Harvick, at one point, was scored four laps in arrears. Down. Out. Finished. Done. Thanks to an incredibly fast No. 4 Ford Mustang, the 2014 Monster Energy NASCAR CupRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent Late-race pit strategy by crew chief Greg Erwin earned Paul Menard his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series top-10 finish of 2019. Menard was one of just four drivers, including race winner Kyle Busch, that elected not to pit under caution with 20 laps go in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. After running just outside the top-10 prior to the caution in the No. 21 Menards / Sylvania Ford Mustang, he found himself in prime position to attempt an upset. On theRead More

By Kenny Bruce, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Kyle Busch wasn’t the only driver to overcome adversity during Sunday’s running of the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. But he was the only one to end up in victory lane. The race winner was involved in a multi-car crash on the second lap of the 500-lap affair, sustaining damage to the rear of his car. But he patiently worked his way back through the field. He took his first lead at lap 384. The key to the win cameRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Ryan Newman has had the reputable trait of being the hardest competitor to battle in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway was no different as that aggression led to his first top-10 with Roush Fenway Racing after scoring a ninth-place result. “It was a good run for us,” said Newman. “We had a car better than what we finished.” “The Rocket Man” showed strong and consistent pace all afternoon, running inside the top-five for a majority ofRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Chaos ensued in the opening laps of Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, where it collected multiple cars but only one wasn’t able to continue and that’s Aric Almirola’s No. 10 Shazam! Ford Mustang, who’s top-10 streak at six ended and pending on post-race inspection, he’ll take 37th place. Almirola started in sixth and right out of the gate, moving up to third after the first lap. Then coming into Turn 2, Almirola was running the high line and targeted on passingRead More

By Kenny Bruce, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, TENN. – Forget about the superspeedways. Chase Elliott roared to his first pole of the season Friday, capturing the No. 1 starting spot for Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Elliott, driver of the No 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, toured the 0.533-mile, high-banked track with his final round run of 14.568 seconds at 131.713 mph. Prior to Friday’s effort, all four of Elliott’s previous poles had come on what had been the series’ restrictor-plate tracks – three at Daytona International SpeedwayRead More