Food City 500 Tag

By Jordan Bianchi, NASCAR Wire Service The speed has been present nearly every race. There is no disputing that, as Ryan Blaney has had a fast car capable of contending in all seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races this season. But while Blaney has had speed and led the third-most laps, that speed has not translated into winning. Instead, happenstance and miscues have contributed to what Blaney acknowledges has been a frustrating season heading into the Food City 500 on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway (2 p.m. ET on FS1,Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Darrell Waltrip is one of only four broadcasters (the others being Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Matt Yocum) that’s been with FOX NASCAR since its inception in 2001. Now after 19 seasons, the NASCAR Hall of Famer announced Thursday that he’ll hang up his headsets for the final time after the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway June 23. Over the past few days, fans and media members alike have been locked into a huge social media battle regarding their views on the three-time Cup SeriesRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After a visit to the Lone Star State, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads back to a short track with this weekend’s stop at Bristol Motor Speedway for the running of the Food City 500. Bristol always brings out the excitement from fans and competitors alike as packing 40 cars into the half-mile high banked bullring can only be explained by the phrase “flying fighter jets in a gymnasium”, which is more accurate than it would seem. Drivers race two and sometimes three wide throughoutRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer BRISTOL, Tenn. – Taking the lead for the first time in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race is almost like a rite of passage. The most recent driver to add his name to the list of drivers to take the lead is Darrell ‘Bubba’ Wallace, Jr. He led briefly in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, but it was memorable. Wallace drove like a veteran as storm clouds rolled in at Bristol. He drove through the top-10, eventually finding himself in theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Everyone knows Kyle Busch as “Rowdy,” but you could also call him “The Postman,” given that neither rain, snow, sleet nor hail could keep him from completing his appointed rounds at Bristol Motor Speedway. Executing a textbook bump-and-run against runner-up Kyle Larson on Lap 495 of 500, Kyle Busch pulled away to win Monday’s weather-delayed Food City 500, claiming his second straight victory of 2018 and his seventh win at Thunder Valley, most among active drivers. In a race delayed by rainRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Brad Keselowski’s bid of scoring his first win of the season went flat after bringing out the 10th and final caution at the two-day Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing 23rd after scoring both stage wins and led 67 of 500 laps. Keselowski led four times in the race, notably putting his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Fusion on top of the leaderboard during the closing laps of both stage one and two. After multiple red flags slowed the race down, Keselowski heldRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Food City 500 was a lengthy race for many Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers, but Kevin Harvick’s was longer than most. Harvick had to start last after crashing in practice and opting not to attempt qualifying. In the end, he managed to finish inside the top-10. On the final restart, Harvick was inside the top-10, one of only 12 cars still on the lead lap. His No. 4 Busch Beer Ford Fusion just didn’t have the speed his primary carRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For the first time since last September, Jimmie Johnson has finished in the top-five in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race after leaving Bristol with a third-place result. In a flashback to last year’s running of the Food City 500, Johnson had his No. 48 Chevrolet up front and hunting for the lead throughout the two-day affair, leading many to believe he may just break his winless streak dating back to June of 2017. After qualifying 17th, Johnson was relegated to a back ofRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer BRISTOL, Tenn. – Few if any Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers had a more eventful weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway than Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Although the Food City 500 was interrupted by the weather on four separate occasions, three resulting in red flags, it went the entire 500-lap distance. Stenhouse looked to be a threat to win late before finishing inside the top five. During the longest green flag run of the day, Stenhouse’s No. 17 SunnyD Ford Fusion was the fastest car onRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer BRISTOL, Tenn. – Based on forecasts prior to the race weekend, many did not think NASCAR would get any laps of the Food City 500 on Sunday, April 15. In an attempt to get the entire race in, NASCAR moved the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race up from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Although there were three red flags for weather, NASCAR was able to get 204 of the 500 laps in at Bristol Motor Speedway, but that was not enoughRead More