Matt Kenseth won a 511-lap Bristol race that was delayed three times by rain and finished on a green-white-checker restart.
The 2015 Food City 500 was the eighth race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, held at Bristol Motor Speedway on 19 April 2015. Matt Kenseth won from pole after the race was extended to 511 laps by a green-white-checker restart.
Matt Kenseth won the 2015 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee, on 19 April 2015, ending a winless run of 51 races. Jimmie Johnson took second and Jeff Gordon third, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fourth and Ryan Newman fifth. Gordon had lost two laps earlier but regained one before the end, a recovery that was one of the stories of the race. The race ran 511 laps, five more than scheduled, because it finished on a green-white-checker restart after three red flags for rain.
Who won the 2015 Food City 500?
Kenseth, who had also won the pole, took the victory in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. It was his 32nd Sprint Cup win and his fourth at Bristol, and it was the eighth Bristol win for Joe Gibbs Racing. The result moved Kenseth up to eighth in the points standings.
The victory ended a streak that began with his 2013 Sylvania 300 win. Kenseth said he was glad to finish the race and to have a car that could hold off the field at the end. He called it a crazy night for sure, and said it felt good to be back in victory lane. Johnson described the race as a wild night, praised his team and called Bristol one of the toughest tracks for him as a driver.
Despite the win, Toyota still trailed Chevrolet by 46 points in the manufacturers' standings. Kenseth earned 217,961 dollars for the victory.
Three rain delays and a green-white-checker finish gave Matt Kenseth a win that ended a long drought.
Race summary: leading finishers
| Finish | Driver | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing; 32nd Sprint Cup win; pole sitter |
| Second | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports; ended the race behind Kenseth |
| Third | Jeff Gordon | Regained a lap late in the race |
| Fourth | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Among the top five at the finish |
| Fifth | Ryan Newman | Among the top five at the flag |
Why was the race a special event?
On 10 April the track announced a new title for the event, the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes and Stand Up to Cancer. The change honoured the longtime NASCAR broadcaster Steve Byrnes, who was fighting head and neck cancer. Byrnes died two days after the race.
Earlier in April the track had also announced a safety upgrade. SAFER barriers were installed along the whole circumference of the outer wall, after Kyle Busch suffered a double leg fracture in a crash at Daytona. Before that change, the track had barriers only in the turns. Track general manager Jerry Caldwell said that the safety of fans and competitors remained a focus, and that the track had secured an additional 600 feet of SAFER barrier to finish the outside walls before race weekend.
What is Bristol Motor Speedway like?
Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly Bristol International Raceway, is a short track in Bristol, Tennessee, first built in 1960. It held its first NASCAR race on 30 July 1961. The track has a concrete surface, extremely steep banking, two pit roads and stadium-style seating.
Despite its short length, Bristol ranks among the most popular stops on the NASCAR calendar. The track measures 0.533 miles (0.858 km), and the concrete surface and steep banking make the racing close and physical.
How did the points table look before the race?
Kevin Harvick arrived at Bristol with a 26-point lead over Joey Logano, while Martin Truex Jr. was a further 14 points back in third. Brad Keselowski sat 60 points back in fourth, and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top five, 76 points behind Harvick.
Who was in the field?
The entry list was released on 13 April 2015 and included 45 cars. The only new entry compared with the previous week's race at Texas was Ron Hornaday Jr., who drove the No. 30 Chevrolet for The Motorsports Group. Gaughan and Hornaday failed to qualify for the race.
Denny Hamlin suffered a muscle spasm early in the race, and Erik Jones made his unofficial Sprint Cup debut in the No. 11 car. Jones had raced in the Xfinity Series the previous day and had already flown home when he was told to stand by. He arrived by helicopter five minutes before the restart and finished 26th, which was credited to Hamlin. Hamlin said it was better to have Jones run some laps and learn the Cup cars, because the team already knew where he was headed.
How did practice and qualifying go?
Kasey Kahne was fastest in the first practice at 14.971 seconds, equal to 128.168 mph (206.266 km/h). Kahne led the second practice at 15.129 seconds, and Kurt Busch was quickest in the final session at 15.043 seconds. Those times were set before the qualifying session that decided the grid.
Matt Kenseth won the pole at 14.917 seconds, a speed of 128.632 mph (207.013 km/h). Brad Keselowski joined him on the front row, only 0.022 seconds behind. Dale Earnhardt Jr. missed the top-12 shootout and qualified 13th, and he said his team would be strong on Sunday if they could improve how the car drove.
How did the race start and open?
The race was scheduled for 1:13 pm, but inclement weather delayed the start for more than an hour. The track dried enough for the race to begin at 2:31 pm. Kenseth led the first five laps before Harvick took the lead on lap 6.
Keselowski blamed the weather, saying it was a light sprinkle and the track was barely dry. Logano said the crash happened quickly, after a lapped car got loose underneath him.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made contact with the wall exiting turn two but saved the car. The first caution flew on lap 19 after Keselowski and his teammate Joey Logano hit the front-stretch wall, and rain returned to red-flag the race on lap 22.
The field restarted shortly after 7:00 pm on lap 35 with Harvick in the lead. Scoring pylons and digital boards switched to show 24 on lap 24 in honour of Jeff Gordon. A scheduled competition caution for rain came on lap 61, and Kurt Busch took the lead from his teammate Harvick as Harvick pitted on the backstretch.
What were the big moments in the middle?
Kurt Busch led 55 laps from lap 70 on four new tyres, and Harvick took the lead again on lap 126. The race's third caution came on lap 167 for weeper leaks, and Harvick held the lead on the restart on lap 176.
Gordon made an unscheduled stop on lap 205 for a loose, deflating wheel and lost two laps in the process. On the 250th lap the fans and crews stood up holding signs that read I Stand Up For Steve, and the Fox crew went silent for three laps to show their support.
Gordon later regained a lap by passing Harvick on fresher tyres, and Carl Edwards took the lead from Harvick on lap 257. Rain caused the fourth caution on lap 266, and the race was red-flagged a second time on lap 273.
How did the second half unfold?
After a 16-minute delay the race restarted on lap 278, but a fifth caution flew almost at once after Kurt Busch pushed up into Jimmie Johnson in turn four. Busch spun in front of the field, and Alex Bowman spun behind him.
Martin Truex Jr. cut a left-front tyre after contact with Mike Bliss in turn two. The sixth caution flew on lap 310 for a multi-car crash in turn one, which took out Jeb Burton, Johnson, David Ragan and Harvick. Kurt Busch was penalised for an uncontrolled tyre and restarted from the back.
Danica Patrick's dropped metal brought out the seventh caution on lap 344. Larson clipped Cassill's car on lap 367 as the eighth caution came out, and J. J. Yeley crashed into the turn-one wall.
How was the finish decided?
Kenseth caught Larson and the two battled for the lead for about ten laps before Larson pulled away. Larson pitted, and Kenseth took back the lead. Kurt Busch used Truex as a pick to go to the lead with 56 laps to go, and Gordon muscled his way into third with 50 laps left.
The ninth caution flew with 29 laps to go for a multi-car crash in turn four, and Kenseth assumed the lead after Busch was the only driver to pit. The tenth caution came with 19 laps remaining, and the eleventh with six laps to go, bringing the race to a green-white-checker finish.
Rain returned and red-flagged the race for the third time on lap 505. After a delay the field rolled off pit road, and after three laps the race restarted. Kenseth took the win on the green-white-checker finish.
What were the race statistics?
- 21 lead changes among six different drivers
- 11 caution periods covering 117 laps
- Three red flags totalling 4 hours and 36 minutes
- Race time of 3 hours, 37 minutes and 54 seconds
- Average speed of 74.997 mph (120.696 km/h)
Kyle Larson earned the Ingersoll Rand Power Move award for climbing 11 positions. Harvick led a race-high 184 laps and then finished outside the top ten for the first time in 2015, after a late crash. Kenseth also had the fastest lap of the race, 15.028 seconds on lap 385, and Brett Moffitt was named the Sunoco Rookie of the Race. Harvick's 184 laps made him the dominant car by lap count, even though he did not win.
Where could fans watch and listen?
Fox Sports covered its 15th race at Bristol, with Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip in the booth. Waltrip is the all-time wins leader at Bristol with twelve victories. Jamie Little, Chris Neville, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum worked pit road for the television side.
The race was carried on radio by the Performance Racing Network and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini called the action from the booth, and Rob Albright called the action from atop the suites in turn three.
