Food City 500 Official Results

Was the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway a crazy kind of race, or what?  We had weather, a "trophy dash," more weather, almost a race, more weather, then racing, with a side of human error on that last lap.

But apparently the human error in triggering the caution lights didn't upset the apple cart too much, with only three drivers getting a position changed.

To be honest, I'd rather have a caution light "oops" rather than a process that takes too long to engage.  And aside from that, how many times have we ever seen errant caution flags?

With that said, Carl Edwards is now, more than likely, in The Chase.  Well, I'd rather see him get in early, than get desperate and start plowing through folks to get a berth in the race-offs.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES OFFICIAL RACE REPORT No. 4
54TH ANNUAL FOOD CITY "500"
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Bristol, TN - March 16, 2014
.533-Mile Oval
500 Laps - 266.50 Miles Purse: $5,630,559

Race Comments: Carl Edwards won the Food City 500, his 22nd NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the green flag to start the event, the following car(s) will drop to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: #27, 30 (Engine Change); #40 (backup car); #98 (pitting before green).

TIME OF RACE:3 hours, 11 minutes, 23 seconds       AVERAGE SPEED:84.051 mph      MARGIN OF VICTORY:Under Caution

COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD:  Denny Hamlin (129.991 mph. 14.761 secs.)

3M LAP LEADER:  Matt Kenseth (165 Laps)

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				Fin	Bon.
Pos	No	Driver	Laps	Pts	Pts	Status	Laps Led
1	99	Carl Edwards	503	47	4	Running	78
2	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	503	42	0	Running
3	43	Aric Almirola	503	41	0	Running
4	14	Tony Stewart	503	40	0	Running
5	9	Marcos Ambrose	503	39	0	Running
6	11	Denny Hamlin	503	39	1	Running	4
7	24	Jeff Gordon	503	37	0	Running
8	5	Kasey Kahne	503	37	1	Running	16
9	55	Brian Vickers	503	35	0	Running
10	42	Kyle Larson #	503	34	0	Running
11	3	Austin Dillon #	503	33	0	Running
12	16	Greg Biffle	503	32	0	Running
13	20	Matt Kenseth	503	33	2	Running	165
14	2	Brad Keselowski	503	31	1	Running	40
15	15	Clint Bowyer	503	30	1	Running	5
16	31	Ryan Newman	503	28	0	Running
17	51	Justin Allgaier #	502	27	0	Running
18	10	Danica Patrick	502	26	0	Running
19	48	Jimmie Johnson	501	26	1	Running	44
20	22	Joey Logano	500	25	1	Running	12
21	27	Paul Menard	500	23	0	Running
22	38	David Gilliland	500	22	0	Running
23	98	Josh Wise	499	21	0	Running
24	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr	499	20	0	Running
25	47	AJ Allmendinger	498	19	0	Running
26	7	Michael Annett #	497	18	0	Running
27	13	Casey Mears	497	17	0	Running
28	36	Reed Sorenson	497	16	0	Running
29	18	Kyle Busch	496	16	1	Running	73
30	40	Landon Cassill	496	0	0	Running
31	34	David Ragan	495	13	0	Running
32	23	Alex Bowman #	493	12	0	Running
33	32	Travis Kvapil	491	11	0	Running
34	30	Parker Kligerman #	487	10	0	Running
35	41	Kurt Busch	473	10	1	Running	28
36	78	Martin Truex Jr	471	8	0	Running
37	95	Michael McDowell	469	7	0	Running
38	1	Jamie McMurray	453	7	1	Accident	10
39	4	Kevin Harvick	450	6	1	Accident	28
40	26	Cole Whitt #	430	4	0	Running
41	66	Joe Nemechek	322	0	0	Rear Gear
42	83	Ryan Truex #	271	2	0	Accident
43	33	Timmy Hill	160	1	0	Accident

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Caution Flags: 12 cautions for 95 laps. [Beneficiary in Brackets]
52-57 (Competition [36]);
61-64 (Debris Turn 2 [7]);
67-75 (Debris Backstretch [98]);
119-136 (Precipitation [Red Flag: Lap 125, 3:18:58] [22]);
157-166 (Car #10, 26 Accident Turn 1 [16]);
188-192 (Competition [98]);
277-284 (Car #83 Accident Backstretch [16]);
333-338 (Car #34, 95 Accident Frontstretch [41]);
395-403 (Car #18 Accident Turn 4 [9]);
424-429 (Car #78 Accident Turn 2 [3]);
452-461 (Car #4 Accident Turn 1 [15]);
500-503 (Track Caution Lights Triggered [31]).

Lap Leaders:  20 lead changes among 12 drivers.
Hamlin 1,
Keselowski 2-41,
Logano 42-53,
Johnson 54-97,
Kenseth 98-119,
Ku. Busch 120,
Kenseth 121-152,
Ku. Busch 153-178,
McMurray 179-188,
Ku. Busch 189,
Bowyer 190-194,
Ky. Busch 195-267,
Kahne 268-277,
Hamlin 278,
Kahne 279-284,
Kenseth 285-333,
Hamlin 334,
Kenseth 335-396,
Hamlin 397,
Harvick 398-425,
Edwards 426-503.

Failed to qualify: (2) #35 David Reutimann; #77 Dave Blaney

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NEXT EVENT: March 23, 2014 - 18th Annual Auto Club 400, Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, CA (400 Miles) (200 Laps)

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Bristol's Goofed Caution Hilights The Hazard of the Chase

Last Sunday's race at Bristol was a whacky one indeed.  From the rain and quickie first round, to the second bout of rain, to that crazy 'caution flag' ending, I think something rather telling took place after the fact.

First off, now Carl Edwards is now in the Chase with his Bristol win, and there's no question that he would have taken the win at Bristol.  But in an MRN article, something came to light that I have been concerned about with the new process for qualifying for The Chase.

Since wins are now what gets a driver in the Chase, I was wondering when it will come down to a bumper being used to get one of those coveted Chase slots?  And to be honest, Carl Edwards was my prime suspect, considering how he used his front bumper liberally a few seasons back.  But I felt a bumper was an inevitable event.

But in a word bite from Ricky Stenhouse Jr., here's that telling quote from the MRN article:

"Stenhouse was ready to make his move on the restart.

“I was thinking that I would use the bumper if the opportunity was there,’’ Stenhouse said, laughing. “If you get the win, you’re in the Chase and you can let the rest take care of itself later. That’s what I was really thinking if we went back to green."

And that's what I am concerned about throughout the rest of this season.  Who will use an opportunity to get themselves into the Chase, and eliminate others from their moment?

Heck, even Edwards felt that neither he or Stenhouse were going to make it to the checkered flag if they had to race back to it.

As it stands, NASCAR is looking at how this simple human mistake that caused the premature caution to fly, can be prevented in the future.  Obviously this wasn't something that happens often (that we know of) but I'm sure it will be heavily addressed this week in the various online and TV and radio telecast shows throughout the upcoming week.

Here's the great article over on MRN.

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NASCAR Nationwide Series Official Race Results from Bristol

via press release

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Before an estimated attendance of 85,000, Joey Logano won the Food City 250, his 15th NASCAR Nationwide Series victory. Prior to the green flag, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: #87 (missed drivers meeting).

NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES OFFICIAL RACE REPORT No. 23
31ST ANNUAL FOOD CITY "250"
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Bristol, TN - August 24, 2012
.533-Mile Oval
250 Laps - 133.25 Miles Purse: $1,226,983

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Fin	Str	Car				Series	Bonus	Driver
Pos	Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Points	Points	Rating	Winnings	Status
1	2	18	Joey Logano (i)	Dollar General Toyota	250	0	0	135.2	$43,675	Running
2	5	6	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	NOS Ford	250	43	1	130.4	48,218	Running
3	10	54	Kyle Busch (i)	Monster Energy Toyota	250	0	0	111.5	26,625	Running
4	4	3	Austin Dillon #	American Ethanol Chevrolet	250	40	0	103.4	32,093	Running
5	7	2	Elliott Sadler	OneMain Financial Chevrolet	250	40	1	117.0	27,718	Running
6	19	88	Cole Whitt #	SPY Optic Chevrolet	250	38	0	95.5	29,018	Running
7	12	36	Ryan Blaney	Seal Wrap Chevrolet	250	37	0	94.7	18,710	Running
8	18	43	Michael Annett	Pilot/Flying J Ford	250	36	0	89.9	25,038	Running
9	34	7	Danica Patrick	GoDaddy.com Chevrolet	250	35	0	84.1	24,818	Running
10	9	12	Sam Hornish Jr	Detroit Genuine Parts Dodge	250	34	0	94.9	25,418	Running
11	16	87	Joe Nemechek	AM/FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves/AC Genral Toyota	250	33	0	79.9	24,643	Running
12	23	19	Tayler Malsam	G-Oil/Noah's Light Foundation Toyota	250	32	0	77.0	24,218	Running
13	14	44	Mike Bliss	Bandit Chippers Toyota	250	31	0	83.0	24,118	Running
14	15	38	Kasey Kahne (i)	Great Clips Chevrolet	250	0	0	102.5	17,585	Running
15	13	33	Kevin Harvick (i)	Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet	250	0	0	120.8	20,915	Running
16	1	60	Trevor Bayne	Yourracecar.com Ford	250	28	0	97.7	20,905	Running
17	33	01	Mike Wallace	Tradebank Chevrolet	247	27	0	70.2	23,928	Running
18	26	81	Jason Bowles #	American Majority Dodge	247	26	0	66.6	23,883	Running
19	27	39	Josh Richards	Joy Global Ford	247	25	0	63.7	23,848	Running
20	30	86	Kevin Lepage	Qello Ford	247	24	0	66.9	18,015	Running
21	11	30	Nelson Piquet Jr (i)	Autotrac/Qualcomm Chevrolet	246	0	0	81.8	23,743	Running
22	38	24	Benny Gordon	Big Timber/Horizon Entertainment Toyota	246	22	0	61.8	23,698	Running
23	20	99	John Wes Townley (i)	Zaxby's Toyota	246	0	0	76.3	23,638	Running
24	42	23	Robert Richardson	North Texas Pipe Chevrolet	246	20	0	46.4	23,603	Running
25	28	15	Timmy Hill	Lilly Trucking Chevrolet	245	19	0	49.8	17,350	Running
26	41	4	Brad Teague	SCAG Commercial Mowers Chevrolet	245	18	0	40.5	23,678	Running
27	39	14	Eric McClure	Hefty/Reynolds Wrap Toyota	244	17	0	47.2	23,418	Running
28	36	41	Fain Skinner	Carport Empire Ford	244	16	0	51.0	23,348	Running
29	29	70	Johanna Long #	Foretravel Chevrolet	244	15	0	43.6	23,313	Running
30	6	31	Justin Allgaier	Brandt Chevrolet	242	14	0	45.5	23,568	Running
31	32	52	Joey Gase #	Jimco Windows Chevrolet	239	13	0	44.0	16,760	Running
32	8	22	Brad Keselowski (i)	Discount Tire Dodge	226	0	0	49.2	16,690	Running
33	21	51	Jeremy Clements	stjude.org Chevrolet	213	11	0	40.6	23,138	Running
34	3	11	Brian Scott	Dollar General Toyota	198	10	0	79.0	23,118	Clutch
35	22	40	Erik Darnell	The Motorsports Group Chevrolet	173	9	0	66.6	23,103	Electrical
36	40	74	Rick Crawford (i)	Koma Unwind Chevrolet	55	0	0	44.0	16,615	Overheating
37	43	71	Carl Long	Lilly Trucking Chevrolet	27	7	0	40.1	16,595	Oil Pressure
38	25	75	Scott Riggs (i)	Lilly Trucking Chevrolet	20	0	0	35.7	16,556	Electrical
39	37	50	David Starr (i)	Make Motorsports Chevrolet	19	0	0	37.1	16,455	Engine
40	24	42	Josh Wise (i)	Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet	14	0	0	37.4	16,430	Electrical
41	35	08	Tim Andrews	Randy Hill Racing Ford	11	3	0	33.9	16,405	Brakes
42	17	10	Jeff Green	TriStar Motorsports Toyota	6	2	0	31.4	16,375	Vibration
43	31	46	Chase Miller	The Motorsports Group Chevrolet	2	1	0	30.3	16,330	Ignition

# Sunoco Rookie of the Year Contender.
Bonus Points: includes winner, lap leader & most laps led points
(i) = Ineligible for driver points in this series

Failed to qualify: (3) #89 Morgan Shepherd; #47 Stephen Leicht; #00 Blake Koch

TIME OF RACE: 1 hours, 44 minutes, 26 seconds AVERAGE SPEED: 76.556 mph MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.503 second(s)
COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD: Trevor Bayne (121.19 mph. 15.833 secs.)
3M LAP LEADER: Kevin Harvick (98 Laps )
FEATHERLITE MOST IMPROVED DRIVER: Cole Whitt (27 Places)
MAHLE CLEVITE ENGINE BUILDER OF THE RACE: Joe Gibbs Racing Engines - Mark Cronquist (#18)
MOBIL 1 OIL DRIVER OF THE RACE: Austin Dillon
SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Austin Dillon


Caution Flags: 9 cautions for 59 laps. [Beneficiary in Brackets]
6-10 (Car #31, 3 Accident Turn 3 [None]);
27-31 (Car #22, 4 Accident Turn 2 [23]);
34-39 (Debris Backstretch [4]);
46-53 (Car #81, 01 Accident Frontstretch [31]);
63-68 (Car #11, 54 Accident Backstretch [24]);
115-121 (Car #41 Spin Turn 2 [86]);
173-180 (Car #24 Accident Turn 4 [19]);
227-235 (Car #99 Accident Turn 2 [19]);
244-248 (Car #3, 60, 38 Accident Turns 1 & 2 [33]).

Lap Leaders: 7 lead changes among 4 drivers. Bayne-pole, Logano 1-35, Sadler 36-46, Stenhouse Jr 47-105, Logano 106-116, Stenhouse Jr 117, Harvick 118-215, Logano 216-250.

NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES TOP 10
Driver	Points	Wins
1 - Elliott Sadler	864	(4)
2 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr	845	(3)
3 - Sam Hornish Jr	836	(0)
4 - Austin Dillon	829	(1)
5 - Justin Allgaier	770	(1)
6 - Michael Annett	726	(0)
7 - Cole Whitt	671	(0)
8 - Mike Bliss	640	(0)
9 - Brian Scott	550	(0)
10 - Danica Patrick	539	(0)

NEXT EVENT: September 1, 2012 -
21st Annual NRA American Warrior 300,
Atlanta Motor Speedway,
Hampton, GA (300.3 Miles) (195 Laps) 

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