Kyle Busch took the Nationwide Series race at Bristol by 0.019 seconds over his teammate, his third straight win at the track.
The 2011 Food City 250 was a Nationwide Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on 26 August 2011. Kyle Busch won from the pole by 0.019 seconds over teammate Joey Logano, the closest finish in the track's Nationwide history, and his third straight win there.
Held at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee on 26 August 2011, the race was the 25th of 34 scheduled Nationwide events that season. Kyle Busch started from the pole and beat his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano by 0.019 seconds, the tightest margin in the track's Nationwide history. Clint Bowyer finished third.
What was the race's setting?
The track is a 0.858 km (0.533-mile) short oval with turns banked between 24 and 30 degrees, while the front and back straights carry six to ten degrees of banking. Kyle Busch arrived as the defending race champion, and Ford led the manufacturers' standings with 142 points.
Before the start, a minister from Vansant Church of Christ gave the invocation, and country singer JT Hodges sang the national anthem. Rain fell around the start, but it soon dissipated.
Before the race, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. topped the Drivers' Championship with 834 points. Elliott Sadler was eight points adrift, Reed Sorenson sat third on 825, Justin Allgaier was fourth with 772 and Aric Almirola fifth on 770.
Joe Gibbs' No. 18 car led the Owners' standings with 912 points, while Jack Roush's No. 60 team held second on 870. Toyota, Chevrolet and Dodge trailed Ford in the manufacturers' table with 141, 134 and 110 points.
A 0.019-second finish at Bristol, with Kyle Busch holding off his own teammate for a third straight win there.
Who took the wheel in place of a regular driver?
Parker Kligerman took over the No. 22 Penske car from Brad Keselowski, who was still recovering from ankle and back injuries sustained during testing at Road Atlanta in early August. Penske had also asked Kurt Busch to fill in, but he turned the offer down to focus on the Sprint Cup title.
How did qualifying and practice go?
Busch claimed his 23rd career pole with a lap of 15.979 seconds, which also made it his second Nationwide pole at Bristol. Logano qualified 0.018 seconds behind him, giving the team both front-row spots, and that result came from Busch's quickest lap of the session.
49 cars tried to qualify, and forty-three were allowed to race. Sadler took third, Kenny Wallace fourth and Leffler fifth, while Edwards, Bayne, Allgaier, Bowyer and Stenhouse completed the top ten. Six drivers failed to qualify, including J. J. Yeley and Jennifer Jo Cobb.
A single 120-minute practice session took place that morning, and Sadler set the fastest time at 16.02 seconds. T. J. Bell backed up on pit road and drove over the pelvis of his crew chief, Cory Howe.
Howe was flown to hospital, and he was conscious throughout. Tests for any severe injuries came back negative, which made the incident a sobering start to the weekend.
How did the early laps unfold?
Busch held the lead from the start, with Logano right behind him. He had built a margin of more than 2.6 seconds before the first caution, which came on lap 35 after Kasey Kahne hit David Reutimann from behind. That caution wiped out Busch's advantage, and several drivers chose to pit during it.
Trouble came early for Bowyer, who ran into the back of Stenhouse on lap four while trying to slot between two Roush Fenway cars. By lap nine Logano was 1.3 seconds adrift. Sadler went after Kenny Wallace for third from lap 13 and got past him seven laps later.
How did the lead change hands in the middle?
Busch was back in front at the lap 42 restart, and Logano re-took second from Sadler on the 47th lap. By lap 68 Busch had stretched his advantage to about 1.2 seconds over his teammate, and Bowyer slipped past Logano for second three laps later.
Bowyer kept pressing. On lap 110 he was right on Busch's bumper, and on the 113th lap he dove through between turns three and four to take the lead. Busch soon reported that his car was handling tightly, and the second caution came on lap 125 when Jeremy Clements' tire failed. Busch pitted under that caution on the 127th lap, while Bowyer kept the lead at the lap 132 restart.
Kenny Wallace's tire failed four laps after the lap 132 restart and brought the third caution, and Parker Kligerman spun on lap 145 for the fourth. Bowyer led the restart on lap 151, but Busch got back in front on lap 163 by going around the outside at the start/finish stripe.
How did the closing laps decide the race?
Bowyer re-took the lead from Busch on lap 185 and held it briefly, but Busch answered on lap 189. The fifth and final caution came two laps after lap 189, when Starr's tire blew and the right side of his car hit the turn two wall.
Every leader pitted under that yellow, and green-flag racing resumed on lap 198 with Logano at the front. Busch challenged him almost at once and got by on the 206th lap. Logano then tried to get by his teammate over the final 34 laps, but could not complete the move.
Logano took the inside line into turn four, but Busch carried the speed on the outside down the frontstretch and won by 0.019 seconds. That margin ranks as the seventh-closest finish in the sport since electronic timing began in 1993.
Six lead changes among three drivers took place during the race, and Busch led 186 laps, more than anyone else.
What did the win mean for Busch?
It was Busch's third consecutive Bristol victory, a first in Nationwide Series history, and his 12th win at the track. The win was also his 50th in the division, which broke Mark Martin's 1997 record for the most series victories.
Busch collected $46,575, and a crowd of 108,000 saw him celebrate in Victory Lane. His crew chief, Jason Ratcliff, said Busch had the potential to win 100 Nationwide races, and Busch himself said he was pleased to break Martin's achievement.
How did the other drivers react?
Logano admitted he had tried every option short of wrecking his teammate to make the pass. He said it was frustrating to finish so close, but he also described it as a strong day for the team. The two Gibbs cars had run side by side over the final two laps.
Bowyer praised Busch's driving and said his team wanted to beat him, while Edwards was frustrated after a pit road penalty made his afternoon tougher. He had hoped for a shot at the win late in the race, but the penalty cost him track position and a real chance.
How did the top four finish?
Busch won by 0.019 seconds from Logano, with Bowyer third and Carl Edwards fourth after a pit road penalty cost him a better result. Busch's 186 laps led were the most in the race, and the top four are summarised below.
| Position | Driver | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pole, 186 laps led, $46,575 |
| Second | Joey Logano | Joe Gibbs Racing | 0.019 seconds behind |
| Third | Clint Bowyer | Kevin Harvick Incorporated | Passed Logano for second three laps after lap 68 |
| Fourth | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | Penalized for a pit road violation |
How did the points standings move?
Stenhouse kept the Drivers' lead with 867 points, five ahead of Sadler, and Sorenson stayed five points further back in third. Almirola moved up to fourth and Allgaier fell to fifth. Within the top five the gaps stayed narrow after the race.
Gibbs' No. 18 team kept the Owners' lead, 50 points ahead of Roush's No. 60 team. Toyota took the manufacturers' lead with 150 points, ahead of Ford on 146, Chevrolet on 140 and Dodge on 114.
