Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Mother Nature wasn’t going to rain on Jimmie Johnson’s parade today as the seven-time Champion brought home the checkered flag today in Bristol. Johnson had to hold off a hungry Clint Bowyer to gain his second straight victory of the season. Bowyer’s teammate Kevin Harvick finished third while Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano rounded out the top-five.
Some hard racing, a red flag, and domination by Kyle Larson was what we saw in the first stage of the Food City 500. Larson shot off from the pole and led all 125 laps of Stage 1.
At Lap 56, Kurt Busch got tagged by Kasey Kahne sending him into the inside wall on the frontstretch, and then he shot back up the track causing Reed Sorenson to have to check up. Chris Buescher couldn’t stop in time and nailed the rear of Sorenson, ending Buescher’s day early.
When the first stage was said and done; Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott, Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin, A.J. Allmendinger and Kyle Busch all found their way in the top-10 to gain points.
Stage 2 consisted of two accidents involving contenders Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. At Lap 211, Busch cut a tire, and found the wall. Shortly after the restart, Earnhardt went up in smoke and behind the wall, ending his day.
Martin Truex Jr. would cross the finish line winning stage two. Truex, Logano, Johnson, Harvick, McMurray, Jones, Larson, Hamlin, Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. gained points in Stage 2.
In Stage 3, things began to pick up. Crucial speeding penalties late in the race hurt Larson and Truex, which at the time wouldn’t eliminate them from victory, but wouldn’t help them in the long run either.
The final stage featured four cautions. The first caution came at Lap 325 when Danica Patrick and David Ragan both spun and made contact with the outside wall. Contact with the wall would end Patrick’s day would be over also.
At Lap 385, Kyle Busch had another tire blow. He went hard into the outside wall and went straight to the garage, ending the five-time Bristol winners chance at winning his sixth.
On Lap 422, the Erik Jones and A.J. Allmendinger made contact damaging both cars severely, but both would be able to continue.
With less than 40 laps to go, the final caution of the day would come out as Kasey Kahne and Paul Menard made contact sending Menard’s No. 27 around.
During the final run, Clint Bowyer, who hadn’t won in over 150 races, began creeping closer to Jimmie Johnson, but time would eventually run out, and Johnson would cross the finish to win his 82nd career race.
