Flashback Friday 5 Stages of Analysis: Irwin Jr. Takes the Lead with Two to Go and Cruises to His First Career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Win

(Author’s Note: In my Flashback Friday articles the past few weeks, I have devoted my analysis to a race from the past at the track where the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series is competing. However, instead of doing an article about a race from the past at Kentucky Speedway, I decided to do something different. Today marks the seventeenth anniversary of Kenny Irwin Jr.’s fatal crash at the New Hampshire International Speedway. Irwin Jr. was practicing for the 2000 thatlook.com 300 when his #42 SABCO Racing Pontiac, which was in the process of becoming Chip Ganassi Racing, slammed violently into the outside wall and rolled over, which left him with fatal injuries. The crash took one of NASCAR’s rising stars before he was even at the peak of his Cup career. To honor Irwin Jr., we will analyze the first win of his NASCAR career. The win came in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Florida Dodge Dealers 400k at the Homestead Motorsports Complex in the third race of the 1997 season. As I chose to do this race for today’s article, I realized this race itself featured a tragic moment in the history of the sport. Late in the event, John Nemechek, the younger brother of Joe Nemechek and uncle of John Hunter Nemechek, slammed the wall hard in turn 1 with his driver’s side door. The crash left Nemechek with massive head trauma and he succumbed to his injuries five days after the conclusion of the race. I always write my Flashback Friday articles as if the races just happened so stage 2 of this analysis will cover Nemechek’s crash as a display of NASCAR’s increased safety protocol. Of course, I know the crash took Nemechek’s life and it wasn’t the ultimate example of how NASCAR has improved its safety procedures. However, on the day the race finished, it appeared both Nemechek and Jay Sauter, who crashed in a similar manner, would be okay thanks to the prompt work of the medical crews. Unfortunately, Nemechek lost his life and it is important for us to remember him twenty years later as we discuss this race. With that introduction, let’s hop into this analysis of Kenny Irwin Jr.’s first NASCAR win and take a moment to reflect on John Nemechek’s tragic accident.)

        After 167 laps filled with caution flags and intense racing throughout the field, Kenny Irwin Jr. emerged in victory lane after passing Jack Sprague in turn 2 with two laps to go to take his first career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory. The race was the second run at the Homestead Motorsports Complex for the NCTS and it was nothing short of spectacular. From the start, the lead was hotly contested as Joe Ruttman started on the pole and a field of contenders looked for the top position. As early cautions began to wave, it looked like attrition would decide the winner. As lap 50 approached, though, it looked like strategy would change the entire trend of the race. For the first time ever, truck teams completed green flag pit stops and, amazingly, they worked to perfection. However, positions were jumbled up and drivers quickly found out that pitting under green can lead to problems. Mike Skinner, who inherited the lead after the green flag stops, was forced to pit under the third caution on lap 63 after his team didn’t fill up his truck with fuel. Later, Mike Bliss ran out of fuel on track while leading and brought out the fifth caution on lap 81, which led to the halfway break in the event. At halfway, it looked like anyone’s race. After the restart following the fifth caution, several drivers cycled to the front and looked to gain a win in the third race of the season. Late in the race, it looked to be Skinner’s race as he was leading when the tenth caution waved on lap 143. Yet, when the race restarted, a hard charging Irwin Jr. took the lead on the frontstretch after battling three-wide with Skinner and Jay Sauter. When Sauter crashed hard on lap 156, a final dash to the checkered flag was set-up with Irwin Jr. leading and the field behind him. On what would be the final restart, Jack Sprague shot past the rookie driver for the lead, but the Indiana kid wasn’t going to settle for second. He passed Sprague in turn 2 with two laps to go and from there, he drove away from the drivers behind him to take an impressive win in his eighth career NCTS start. Today’s race epitomizes why fans have become so excited about the prospects of the NCTS in its third full year of competition. While the event featured two incredibly violent crashes that require prayers and thoughts for the drivers involved, the tight racing, historic moments, and comeback drives made this race one of the most exciting in the young history of the NCTS.


Stage 1:
Clutch Closer: Irwin Jr. Passes Sprague with Two to Go to Take the Victory

        This year is the first full season for Kenny Irwin Jr. in NASCAR and he has already proven he belongs in the top levels of the sport. After running five races in the NCTS last year where he grabbed the pole at Richmond International Raceway, Irwin Jr. signed a full-time deal to run with Liberty Racing this year, which is co-owned by former NBA star Brad Daugherty. The team grabbed two Top 15’s to start the season, but the determined organization came into Homestead wanting a little more. Irwin Jr. rolled off in the fifth place and in the early runs of the race, he stayed consistently in the Top 5 through restarts, green flag pit stops, and the halfway break after the fifth caution. When halftime was over, though, Irwin Jr. made his move towards the top spot. He moved into the Top 3 and after a couple of cautions waved, he restarted the race second after the eighth caution. The restart turned out to be chaotic as Mike Bliss looked to get his second lap back from Jack Sprague, who was leading. The two drivers made contact and Irwin Jr. shot to the lead. However, he only led two laps before Sprague took the lead back. In addition to the melee between Bliss and Sprague, Irwin Jr. received some damage to the left front of his nose, but he didn’t let the damage affect him. He stayed near the front of the pack and even when strategy shook up the leaders following the ninth caution, he remained in the Top 5 with his eyes on the lead. Following the tenth caution on lap 143 and the subsequent restart, Irwin Jr. decided to make his final move towards the front for the win. He restarted the race third and in just a couple of laps, he made a bold three-wide pass on Mike Skinner and Jay Sauter to take first with only 14 laps to go. When the eleventh and final caution waved two laps later, Irwin Jr. was still holding the lead with only a final restart to contend with. When the green flag waved, Sprague immediately shot to the front in turn 1, but Irwin Jr. remained close to his back bumper. He stayed with the leader and with three laps to go, he began to battle for the lead again. The two battled side by side and on lap 166, Irwin Jr. took the lead with only two laps to finish. He ran away from the field and despite a late run from Mike Bliss, the Indiana driver took the victory thanks to hard driving on the final two restarts. To take his first win, Kenny Irwin Jr. drove clutch in the last twenty laps to close out today’s NCTS race with his first career win and momentum for his rookie campaign. 

Stage 2:
Safety Showcase: Nemechek and Sauter Crash Hard and Show NASCAR’s Advancements in Safety

        Potential tragedy is something that NASCAR and other auto racing series will always have to face. Cars running at high speeds with walls surrounding them will constantly create potentially fatal incidents. Yet, in recent years, NASCAR has worked to limit the injuries and fatalities in every series. In fact, since Neil Bonnett and Rodney Orr tragically lost their lives in separate practices for the 1994 Daytona 500, no drivers have died from fatal crashes in any of the three top divisions in NASCAR. Today’s race offered NASCAR a chance to prove that the sport’s sanctioning body has worked to improve the safety features at tracks and in race vehicles because of two rough crashes. The first crash involved John Nemechek, who is the younger brother of 1992 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series champion Joe Nemechek. The younger Nemechek started today’s race in ninth and he was consistently in the Top 10 throughout the race, except for when he dropped back during green flag pit stops. Yet, he rebounded from the stop to move back into the Top 10 with his unsponsored Chevrolet. Just before his accident, he dropped into the eleventh place, but his run was still exceptional. Then, the wreck came. Nemechek drove into turn 1 and his truck either broke loose or suffered a problem. Either way, the truck immediately spun around and without slowing down much, he slammed into the outside wall with his driver’s side door. His truck came to a stop and quickly, medical personnel arrived at the scene to treat the Florida driver. After several minutes of checking his condition, the safety crews cut off the roof of his truck and he was lifted out to be taken by helicopter to a local medical center. When the race restarted, another driver was faced with a very similar situation. Jay Sauter stayed out after the ninth caution on lap 124 and that put him out front for the first time all day. In the successive restarts, though, he dropped a few positions as drivers with better trucks passed him. By lap 156, he was sitting in fifth place when his race went completely downhill. Tobey Butler bumped him in turn 1 and Sauter immediately spun up the race track. He slammed into the outside wall with his driver’s door and came to a stop with a destroyed truck just like Nemechek’s as Butler also slammed the wall with his nose. Medical crews again arrived on the scene in a short time and they cut off the roof of Sauter’s truck to safely remove him. He was also flown to a local medical center for treatment. As violent as the crashes were, NASCAR showed how far along safety has come. Doctors and EMTs were on the accident scene in just a few seconds, which gave them the best opportunity to help the two drivers from getting hurt worse. Plus, NASCAR has made improvements to the race vehicles with improved roll cages and driver support systems. However, the sport really needs to work on a potential solution to the hard-concrete walls at most facilities to protect drivers even more. While the broadcast stated Sauter was okay, Mike Joy and Buddy Baker seemed a little more hesitant to speak on Nemechek’s condition. As the days progress, thoughts and prayers need to be directed to the Nemechek family as they look to support and help John recover. NASCAR has improved many of its safety procedures dramatically, but more work needs to be done to keep the sport even safer.

Stage 3:
Comeback of the Race: Bliss Comes from Two Laps Down and a Spin to Finish Second

        Mike Bliss brought his Jim Smith owned truck home in the second place today, but the story of his race to finish there is the ultimate example of a comeback. He started the race in the sixth position and he took the lead for the first time on lap 39 from Joe Ruttman, who led the first 38 laps. Shortly after Bliss took the lead, the first round of green flag pit stops in NCTS history began as he looked to cycle back to the lead. Bliss ultimately cycled back into second place after taking one can of fuel with Mike Skinner in front of him. When the third caution waved on lap 63, Skinner pitted since his team wasn’t sure he could make it to the halfway break on fuel. That handed the lead to Bliss once again and he held it through two restarts before a crucial mistake cost him. Following the restart after the fourth caution, Bliss began to slow in turn 4 with an apparent problem. The problem turned out to be no fuel as the team had miscalculated its fuel mileage leading up to the halfway break. Bliss ended up stopping in turn 2 and brought out the fifth caution. In the time before the caution waved and the amount of time it took for him to get a push back to pit road, he lost two laps to the field after just being the leader. To make it back onto the lead lap, Bliss would have to use the restarts to pass the leader and hope for a caution two times to make it back to the front. However, Bliss had a fast truck and he began to prove it quickly. On the restart following the sixth caution, he made up his first lap and he only needed to make up one more to contend for the lead again. He was unsuccessful following the seventh caution, but he was prepared on the next restart. Yet, another mistake cost the Oregon driver. He bumped the leader, Sprague, exiting turn 2 on lap 115 and the contact cost Bliss a lot of momentum. He dropped behind first and second with Chuck Bown, the third-place driver, right on his bumper. Driving into turn 3 on the same lap, Bown bumped him and sent him spinning up the track. In a stroke of good luck, Bliss stayed off the outside wall and drove away, which allowed for him to remain only one lap down. The ninth caution waved just a few laps later and he was still in position to make it back onto the lead lap. On the restart following the ninth caution, Bliss powered past Dan Press and Jay Sauter, who had stayed on track instead of pitting, to make it onto the tail end of the lead lap. He remained there and when the tenth caution waved on lap 143, he made it back to the battle for the win as the 12th positioned driver. On the subsequent restart, he moved all the way up to fifth when the eleventh caution waved on lap 156. On the final restart, Bliss made quick work of Bown to slide into fourth. When Irwin Jr. took the lead in turn 2 on lap 166, Bliss made a three-wide move on Sprague and Skinner on the backstretch to shoot into second. He made a final effort to take the win, but he came up short as he crossed the line in second place. It was disappointing to wind up second for the team, but Bliss fought back from adversity to grab his best finish of the young season. 

Stage 4:
Underdog of the Race: Skinner Takes Unproven Truck Team to a Top 5 Finish

        Mike Skinner might be the 1995 NCTS champion, but he entered today’s race as an underdog compared to the rest of the field. In the past two seasons, Skinner has run the #3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing in the NCTS. However, after two successful years, RCR moved Skinner up to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series to compete for Rookie of the Year honors. That allowed Jay Sauter to take over the #3 in the NCTS and chase another title for RCR. Yet, Skinner still has a desire to compete in the series that gave him his big break. Because of that, he accepted Dana Dorman’s offer to run some races in 1997 with his brand-new truck team. Dorman appears to be focused on success in the series, but today’s race was the first for the truck and they would need to fight for an excellent start to the team’s tenure. With Skinner behind the wheel, the team would be ready to compete at the front. Skinner rolled off from 18th place and in the first run of the race, he began to move towards the Top 5. When green flag pit stops came around lap 51, Skinner’s team filled the truck with only one can of fuel, which allowed him to inherit the lead after the cycle of stops. However, when the third caution waved on lap 63, his team brought him back down pit road because they were unsure if he could make it to the halfway break on fuel. He was one of the only drivers to pit and that put him at the back of the lead lap. Throughout the next few runs and after halftime, he continued to make his way back up to the front and battle with Sprague, Irwin Jr., Bown, and others. By lap 123, Skinner was back in the lead after battling back from pitting off sequence. A lap after taking the lead, the ninth caution waved and he came back down pit road with all the lead lap drivers. However, Dan Press and Jay Sauter stayed on track, which took Skinner out of the top spot. On the restart, Press and Sauter battled hard for the lead before a hard charging Skinner took the lead in turn 3 on lap 135. Another restart followed and he maintained the lead before Kenny Irwin Jr. took it on lap 154. Yet, Skinner was still determined to take an impressive finish for his new team. A final caution waved on lap 156 and gave the California driver another opportunity to grab a win. He restarted third on the final restart and in the five-lap scramble, he battled hard to take the top spot back. However, he was unable to grab the first position from Sprague or Irwin Jr. and he ended up slotting into the fourth spot when the checkered flag waved. After leading 33 laps, it was disappointing that Skinner and the team didn’t bring home the win, but the brand-new team took home a Top 5 finish in their first NASCAR race.

Stage 5:
Historic Occurrence: Teams Pit Under Green in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for First Time

        Pitting under the green flag in the NWCS and NASCAR Busch Grand National Series is a common occurrence for the entire field. Each of the teams in the Top 2 divisions are prepared to fuel their racecars and put on tires as quickly as possible with drivers running at full speed on the track. However, the stars and teams of the NCTS have never pitted under the green flag. Yet, today’s race changed that as truck teams would have the opportunity to pit under green for the first time. To avoid green flag pit stops in the first two years of competition, NCTS officials scheduled competition cautions on laps where trucks would be within their fuel window. In today’s race, though, there were no competition cautions scheduled, which meant teams would be forced to pit for fuel before the halfway break. Still, with the way caution flags usually fall in races, teams could work out strategy to avoid pitting under green. Two early cautions waved within the first twenty laps, but teams couldn’t make it to the halfway break if they pitted under those cautions. When the race restarted after the second caution, the event seemed to calm down slightly and the laps clicked by without any sign of a caution. As lap 50 approached, teams were preparing to pit under green and make series history. One benefit for the teams was that they wouldn’t have to change tires, but adding fuel to the truck was still a concern with strategy being crucial in the event. On lap 51, Mike Bliss, Joe Ruttman, Kenny Irwin Jr., and others began to lead the green flag charge down pit road. In the next couple of laps, the rest of the field came down and all the stops were surprisingly smooth. No drivers lost a ton of time and each team performed their service to near perfection. As the stops cycled through, Mike Skinner inherited the lead after taking only one can of fuel with Mike Bliss right behind him with only one can of fuel. After the stops, Skinner ending up pitting during a caution since he didn’t have enough fuel and Bliss ran out of gas on track. However, despite those two problems, the first green flag stops in NCTS history went very smoothly and as the series progresses through more seasons, pit stops under the green will become more common. 

        After 400 kilometers of intense truck racing at the Homestead Motorsports Complex, the NCTS heads to the track where the series held its first race: Phoenix International Raceway. Phoenix might be a mile in length, but it is home to fast speeds, short track racing, and even shorter tempers for NASCAR’s tailgate racers. Plus, since it is only the fourth race of the season, drivers won’t be too concerned with racing for points and the battle for the win will only become more intense. Plenty of driver storylines await the series as it heads to the Arizona desert. Kenny Irwin Jr. captured the win today and the rookie driver seems to have control of stock trucks as he looks to take his second consecutive victory. Mike Bliss fought back from endless adversity to finish second today, but he wants a victory as he chases the NCTS championship. Chuck Bown, the 1990 NBGNS champion, continues to look impressive in one of Jack Roush’s trucks and he will look to add a truck win to his career statistics. Finally, Jack Sprague came within a few laps of winning today’s race before falling to fifth, which will increase his motivation as he looks to win his third straight race at PIR. Today’s race at the Homestead Motorsports Complex was exactly what has made NASCAR truck racing so appealing to fans and competitors. Three wide battles for Top 5 positions, pit strategy calls, and impressive saves made the trip to Florida a memorable one for the series. John Nemechek and Jay Sauter’s wrecks were violent and those two drivers still need prayers and thoughts as we go throughout the next couple of weeks. Today’s race delivered some thrilling action for the NCTS and the series will look to deliver throughout the remainder of the season. 
(More Stats Down Below!)




Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 13- Stacy Compton had a tire blow out in turn 3, which caused debris to scatter on the track. 

2nd Caution: Lap 19- Dave Smith slammed into another driver on track in turn 2 after the field stacked up due to a Boris Said spin. Smith’s truck was heavily damaged and he stopped on track.

3rd Caution: Lap 63- Brian Cunningham slammed into the inside wall on the backstretch after spinning on track exiting turn 2.

4th Caution: Lap 70- Bryan Reffner shot up the track in turn 2 and slammed hard into the outside wall with his right front.

5th Caution: Lap 80- Mike Bliss came to a stop on the exit of turn 2 after running out of fuel.

6th Caution: Lap 91- Tammy Jo Kirk spun exiting turn 1 after contact on track.

7th Caution: Lap 105- Michael Dokken’s truck began to smoke in turn 2.

8th Caution: Lap 110- Barry Bodine broke loose in turn 1 and slammed hard into the outside wall.

9th Caution: Lap 124- Jack Sprague had a tire go down in turn 3, which scattered debris on the track.

10th Caution: Lap 143- John Nemechek broke loose in turn 1 and spun up the track. He slammed the outside wall hard with his driver’s side door.

11th Caution: Lap 156- Tobey Butler bumped Jay Sauter entering turn 1, which caused the two drivers to spin up the track. Sauter slammed into the wall hard with his driver’s side door while Butler piled into it with his right front.

Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Kenny Irwin Jr.
2nd: Mike Bliss
3rd: Chuck Bown
4th: Mike Skinner
5th: Jack Sprague

Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Ron Hornaday Jr.
8th: Rick Carelli
11th: Rich Bickle
13th: Jimmy Hensley
18th: Rick Crawford
19th: Jay Sauter
21st: John Nemechek
23rd: Tammy Jo Kirk
28th: Bob Keselowski
34th: Stacy Compton
36th: Dennis Setzer




Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://racing-reference.info/race/1997_Florida_Dodge_Dealers_400K/C
-Image:
https://twitter.com/nascarmemories/status/501519776041033728
-Full Race:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwhA3mxuS88

Carl Edwards Takes the Victory at Bristol After a Questionable Finish and Wacky Race

        Rain delays, hard Bristol racing, tempers flaring, and an extremely questionable finish to the annual Bristol Spring race made this race the best so far this year. Carl Edwards walked away with the victory in the end, but it was almost taken away from him. He was leading with three laps to go and he was two seconds ahead of any other driver, but a few of the caution lights came on around the track. The field slowed down, but there wasn't a problem after all. Edwards was still in the lead, but he would have to survive a green-white-checkered restart to win the race. Well, the race was supposed to restart. As NASCAR began to line up the field, rain began to pour around the facility once again. The track was lost quickly and NASCAR waved the checkered flag along with the yellow flag on lap 503. This handed Carl Edwards his first win of the season in shocking fashion. Behind him, there were some other magnificent finishes for some of the drivers. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. walked away second for his best career finish, Aric Almirola walked away third with his best finish, Tony Stewart proved he is back with a fourth place finish, and Marcos Ambrose rounded out the top five to give Richard Petty Motorsports two top five finishes in one single race. In the back of the field, a few of the notable drivers were stuck with bad finishes due to wrecks and terrible mistakes. Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, and many others finished outside the top fifteen  after their races were going well unto trouble hit them during the event. It was definitely an extremely wild race and one that will remain a key to the championship battle when we come to Richmond.

        Denny Hamlin started on the pole. It was his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole of the season as he looks to make a comeback this year. Before the race could even get started, the rains delayed the event. NASCAR's Air Titan went on track quickly after the scheduled start of the race and the track drying began. The track was quickly dried and the field was ready to go after an hour and a half delay. The cars finally made it onto the speedway and only time would tell if the race finished completely. The race went green and Hamlin was able to lead the first lap. He wouldn't hold it for long as Brad Keselowski took the lead on lap 2. Keselowski began to run away from the field quickly and he hit lap traffic early on in the run. Keselowski looked to be the man to beat, but lap traffic would slow him down. His teammate, Joey Logano, was able to catch him and pass him for the lead on lap 44. Logano held onto the lead until the first caution waved on lap 50. NASCAR waved a competition caution due to the rain before the race. Reed Sorenson received the lucky dog. The stops brought the first pit stops of the race and the first mistake.

        All the drivers hit pit road with Jimmie Johnson deciding to take two tires while the rest of the field took four tires. The first pit road mistake was made by a very good veteran driver. As Jeff Gordon was leaving his pit, David Ragan was making his way to pit right in front of him. Gordon was unaware of Ragan and he bumped into him. Ragan went for a slide and slid into his pit box. Gordon drove away, but both would have to come back in for damage repair. It would be interesting to see if they could make their way back into competition. The race went back green and Jimmie Johnson was able to hold onto the lead with two tires. After a short green flag run, the second caution of the race waved on lap 61. Debris was spotted on the track in turn 2. Michael Annett received the lucky dog. None of the drivers decided to come down pit road and the race went back green. Jimmie Johnson was able to hold onto the lead again, but the race went seconds before the third caution waved on lap 66. Parker Kligerman went into turn 3 and he couldn't get his car to stop. He slid to the apron and locked up his tires. He plowed back onto the race track and nobody hit him. Kligerman avoided the wall and was able to continue on. It turned out that Kligerman actually hit a battery pack that fell on the track out of Alex Bowman's car. The battery pack was supported by some type of battery related paper and the paper spread all over the track. The debris was cleaned up and Kligerman was good to continue on. Josh Wise received the lucky dog. After two quick cautions, the race went back green for a rather long run. 

       On the restart, Jimmie Johnson was able to hold onto the lead. Johnson began to drive away from the leaders, but he had only two fresh tires. He made it into lap traffic once again and the traffic would be a factor in his lead. He was able to negotiate it all right through the early part of the run, but he began to slow down. Matt Kenseth caught up and was able to pass Johnson on lap 98 for the lead. Kenseth began to run away while Johnson began to fall back on old tires. Eventually, the decision to take two tires would unravel literally and figuratively for Johnson. On lap 114, Johnson began to slow down on track. His right front tire was shredding and he was forced to make it down pit road. He made it down and the team worked on changing tires, but a small fire could be seen under Johnson's car. It was put out and Johnson went back on track several laps down just as the fourth caution of the race waved on lap 118. Rain began to drizzle on the track. Joey Logano received the lucky dog. The rain was light at first and this allowed the drivers to come down pit road. All of them came down with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. taking two tires and the rest of the drivers taking four tires. The drivers returned to the track, but the rain began to pour and NASCAR put out the red flag as the field was brought down pit road. Teams covered the cars and drivers headed to their motor coaches for a break. The rain continued to come down, but it stopped pretty quickly. The Air Titans went to drying the track and it was dried pretty quickly. At around five o'clock, the drivers were near their cars and ready to get back going. As drivers were in their cars to go back underway, rain began to pour again. The track became damp again and all the drivers dejectedly returned to another break. The rain lightened up after a short time and the Air Titans returned to the facility. Once again, at around seven fifteen at night, the drivers were back in their cars. This time, rain wouldn't come back for the moment.

       After a three and a half hour delay, drivers were ready to go back to racing. Things had changed, though. Now, the race would be a night race and each team would have to adjust their cars to night conditions. It would be a test, but each team was ready. The race finally went back green and Matt Kenseth was able to hold the lead he earned on the pit stops almost four hours before. Kenseth ran away slightly, but Kurt Busch came charging up to the front. Busch was able to take the lead from Kenseth on lap 153. Kenseth fell into second, but his day would take a turn with the fifth caution on lap 156.

        Cole Whitt and Danica Patrick made contact on the frontstretch. Both drivers hit the wall and Whitt went down the track in turn 1. The field slowed along with Matt Kenseth, who was running second at the time. Timmy Hill didn't slow down in time and he piled into Kenseth. Both had heavy damage along with Whitt, but Kenseth's team made decent repairs and he returned to the race with damage along the back of his car. Greg Biffle received the lucky dog. None of the leaders came in because a competition caution was approaching. The race went back green and Kurt Busch was able to hold onto the lead. Busch drove away slightly, but Jamie McMurray began to charge through the field. McMurray made it to Busch and he took the lead on lap 180. A few laps later, the sixth caution waved on lap 186. NASCAR waved a competition caution due to the rain throughout the afternoon. Josh Wise received the lucky dog. This brought stops for most of the drivers. Clint Bowyer stayed on track while Ryan Newman took fuel only and the rest of the field took four tires. It would be interesting to see how they stacked up against the field on the restart as Bowyer started on point.

        The race went back green and Kyle Busch began to battle hard with Clint Bowyer for the lead. After a few laps, Busch took the lead and Bowyer began to fall back along with Ryan Newman. Busch began to run away and he quickly hit traffic. He negotiated it well as the racing behind him began to pick up. Busch eventually started to slow around the lap traffic as the race became official at halfway. Kasey Kahne began to make a charge through the field and he reached Busch quickly. On lap 269, Kahne took the lead for the first time in the race. Just three laps later on lap 272, Kyle Busch decided he wanted some fresh tires after a rather long green flag run. He came in and the team replaced all four tires. It turned out to be a bad mistake for Busch as the seventh caution waved on lap 275. Ryan Truex lost a tire in turn 1 and went up the track. He piled into the outside wall hard. He was able to pilot his car to pit road, but he had heavy damage on his machine. Greg Biffle received the lucky dog. Because he pitted, Busch was pinned a couple laps down. All the leaders decided to come down pit road. All drivers took four tires and Kasey Kahne returned to the lead. The race went back green and Matt Kenseth was able to take the lead from Kasey Kahne. Kenseth, who had extensive rear end damage, had powered his way back through the field and moved to the front of the field. It would be interesting to see if he could take a win in a beat up race car.

        Kenseth began to drive away early in the run and he hit lap traffic. The race only went a few laps after the restart before the eighth caution waved on lap 331. Michael McDowell bumped David Ragan exiting turn 4. Ragan went for a spin down the frontstretch. He was able to straighten out his car and keep going without damage. Kurt Busch received the lucky dog. The pit stops brought a little strategy. Matt Kenseth came out as the leader after taking two tires while the rest of the field took four tires. It would be interesting to see how Kenseth lasted on just two fresh tires. The race went back green and Matt Kenseth was able to hold onto the lead. Kenseth began to run away from the field even with his two tires. Kenseth hit lap traffic early and he was able to battle it easily. He held onto the lead as the ninth caution of the race waved on lap 394. Kyle Busch got loose in turn 4. His car began to spin and he slid up the track. He hit the wall and slid into the frontstretch. His brother, Kurt, hit him and pounded the outside wall due to the contact. Both Busch brothers had heavy damage and their chances for a win were pretty much gone. Marcos Ambrose received the lucky dog. The caution brought stops once again. All the drivers took four tires with Kevin Harvick coming out as the leader. It would be interesting to see how many more stops the drivers would have to make. 

        The race went back green and Kevin Harvick held onto the lead. He looked extremely fast and he blistered away from the field. Shortly after the restart on lap 408, Matt Kenseth began to have some problems. He picked up some rubber on his tires and he began to get pretty loose. He almost made contact with the outside wall, but he was able to keep his car steady. He fell back to thirteenth, but he still had a car intact and capable of winning. Shortly after Kenseth's troubles, the tenth caution waved on lap 422. Martin Truex Jr.'s tire, which had been rubbing the past few laps, flattened due to the tire rub. He went for a spin in turn 4 and he locked his car down, but it went up the track. He made contact with the wall and came to a stop. He was able to drive away, but he had a good bit of damage. Austin Dillon received the lucky dog. The caution brought the pit stops that changed the outcome of the finishing order.

        Carl Edwards, Aric Almirola, and others decided to stay out while Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, and others took two tires and the rest of the leaders took four tires. It would be interesting to see how this turned out for Edwards and the others. The race went back green and Carl Edwards was able to hold onto the lead. Edwards began to battle a little bit with Aric Almirola, but Edwards drove away as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Tony Stewart began to move towards the front. Edwards was in complete control as the eleventh caution waved on lap 451. Kevin Harvick's car began to smoke heavily as he was running near the front of the field. When he entered turn 1 with fifty to go, the car piled into the outside wall hard.  He left some oil on track and Jamie McMurray slowed behind him. Brad Keselowski piled into McMurray's back bumper due to the oil on track. They all drove away, but Harvick's car burst into flames as he reached the entrance to the garage. He came to a stop and the fire was put out as Harvick climbed out. Harvick was okay, but his night was over.  Keselowski, though, would make it back into the race. Clint Bowyer received the lucky dog. The race brought some drivers down pit road. Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, and others came down while Carl Edwards, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the rest of the top six stayed on track. The race would have a final run and this run would decide a winner.

        The race went back green and Carl Edwards was able to hold onto the lead. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Aric Almirola began to battle with Edwards, but Edwards prevailed. Soon, Edwards was gone as the laps began to click down. Soon, only ten laps remained and Edwards was at the point of seeing the checkered flag. He hit the line for five laps to go and Stenhouse was nowhere near catching him. Edwards passed the line for two laps to go and the thing the team didn't want to see happened. The caution lights came on and NASCAR threw the twelfth and final caution of the race on lap 498. Oddly enough, NASCAR didn't call the caution. A flagman had accidentally mashed the button for the caution lights to come on. Because drivers rely on the lights, NASCAR had no choice, but to wave the caution even though nothing was wrong. Ryan Newman received the lucky dog. The field was lined up for the restart and Carl Edwards would have to fight to win a race he had already locked up. That was before Mother Nature jumped into the battle. As the field was riding around under caution, rain began to pour heavily around the facility. The track was quickly dampened and NASCAR decided they couldn't finish the race in the conditions. The flagman waved the checkered flag and yellow flag as Edwards came across the line on lap 503. This gave him the win in a very odd finish in a very crazy Bristol race. Edwards was happy with the victory and he did a rainy back flip on the frontstretch.

        I have been watching NASCAR for close to eleven years and I have never seen a finish like this. It seemed like Carl Edwards was going to have a sure win at Bristol when the caution flag accidentally waved. Then, Mother Nature saved him with rain that handed him the checkered flag. If I was Carl Edwards, I wouldn't complain about rain ever again. Unfortunately for Ricky Stenhouse Jr., he didn't get a chance to battle Carl Edwards for the win during the green-white-checkered. Still, Stenhouse walked away with a very respectable second place finish, which is his career best in NASCAR's highest series. He might build on his momentum from this race to do some great things in his sophomore season. Aric Almirola walked away third for his best finish of his career as well. Tony Stewart continued his comeback trail as he took a fantastic fourth place finish and it looks like Stewart is back after all. Marcos Ambrose walked away fifth to give Richard Petty Motorsports a top five sweep. Others won't hang their hat on this race. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who had finished in the top two all three races before this one, finished twenty fourth after a bad strategy call. Jimmie Johnson walked away nineteenth after his tire failure early in the event. Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick also brought home some bad finishes for Stewart-Haas Racing. Others had bad finishes, but still more had some pretty good finishes. This was another wild card race on the season and it very well could change some things as the series heads to Auto Club Speedway next week for a high speed shootout. Will Kyle Busch repeat at the track, will Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano have another battle, will another fight erupt, or will another driver take the victory in what is sure to be a good race? We will have to wait until Sunday to find this out and a whole lot more.
(More Stats Down Below!)




Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 50- Competition caution due to rain throughout the morning.

2nd Caution: Lap 61- Debris was spotted on track in turn 2.

3rd Caution: Lap 66- Parker Kligerman went for a slide in turn 3 after hitting a piece of debris from Alex Bowman's car.

4th Caution: Lap 118- Rain began to drizzle on track.

5th Caution: Lap 156- Danica Patrick and Cole Whitt hit the wall on the frontstretch and Whitt spun in turn 1. Matt Kenseth and Timmy Hill also got involved.

6th Caution: Lap 186- Competition caution due to rain during a long red flag.

7th Caution: Lap 275- Ryan Truex lost a tire in turn 1 and slammed the outside wall hard.

8th Caution: Lap 331- Michael McDowell bumped David Ragan in turn 4 and Ragan went for a spin down the frontstretch.

9th Caution: Lap 394- Kyle Busch broke loose in turn 4 and went for a spin. Kurt Busch hit his brother and the wall while trying to avoid.

10th Caution: Lap 422- Martin Truex Jr.'s tire blew after a tire rub and he went for a spin in turn 4.

11th Caution: Lap 451- Kevin Harvick slammed the wall hard in turn 1 after an engine problem. Brad Keselowski hit Jamie McMurray in the back after not being able to slow down in the oil on track.

12th Caution: Lap 498- The flagman accidentally cut on the caution lights around the track.

Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: Reed Sorenson
2nd Caution: Michael Annett
3rd Caution: Josh Wise
4th Caution: Joey Logano
5th Caution: Greg Biffle
6th Caution: Josh Wise
7th Caution: Greg Biffle
8th Caution: Kurt Busch
9th Caution: Marcos Ambrose
10th Caution: Austin Dillon
11th Caution: Clint Bowyer
12th Caution: Ryan Newman

Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Carl Edwards
2nd: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
3rd: Aric Almirola
4th: Tony Stewart
5th: Marcos Ambrose

Notables Not in Top 5:
7th: Jeff Gordon 
8th: Kasey Kahne
13th: Matt Kenseth
14th: Brad Keselowski
18th: Danica Patrick
19th: Jimmie Johnson
24th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
35th: Kurt Busch
39th: Kevin Harvick




Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/lapbylap/view-all-laps.html?intid=lapbylap_lapbylapleaderboard_08292013
http://racing-reference.info/race/2014_Food_City_500/W
-Image:
http://media.thestate.com/smedia/2014/03/16/22/11/kWoH4.AuSt.138.jpeg

My Thoughts: 2014 Bristol

        Bristol Motor Speedway. Those three words strike fear into the heart of the world's greatest race car drivers every time they are mentioned. Each race at Bristol is filled with crashes, carnage, fights, great finishes, and great action every single time. Some drivers are better here than others, but it is never easy for any of them. Darrell Waltrip and Rusty Wallace were two of the greatest drivers at the track, but even they had to battle bad races at the track. Plus, Bristol is home to some of the greatest disagreements in the history of NASCAR. Just think about those two incidents Terry Labonte and Dale Earnhardt Sr. had at the track in the late 90s. Think about the battles the NASCAR Busch Series had at the track in the early 00s including a scrum between Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle on pit road. Finally, think of the battle Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano had there just one season ago. The ramifications of that altercation changed the picture of 2013 for both of those drivers. Plus, we always see great finishes to add to great side by side Bristol racing. It is rough and tumble and some feathers will definitely get ruffled today after five hundred laps on the half mile track. I have a lot of interesting topics to talk about today concerning the Food City 500. Topics include a discussion of Kurt Busch, a discussion of Tony Stewart, a discussion of Dale Earnhardt Jr., a discussion on the qualifying changes, and my pick to win this weekend. Well, we shall go ahead and get started with all these great topics surrounding one of the most interesting races of the season.

1. Kurt Busch: Is This His Race to Improve?
        Stewart-Haas Racing has been struggling, to say the least, thus far this season. One of the major drivers struggling for the organization is Kurt Busch. Busch has a best finish of twenty first three races into the season and that was in the Daytona 500 where he spun in the late laps. He lost an engine at Phoenix and his car was lacking terribly at Las Vegas. I just have one single question for Kurt Busch and his team. Is this the race for them to improve? I firmly believe so. For one, Busch was fantastic in practice to start the weekend. He finished first in the first session of the weekend with a fast time, but that isn't the point I want to make. He struggled for the entire session, but his team put the car together and allowed him to run a fast lap. That shows to me they will be able to fix a car throughout a weekend and improve their times. Plus, he was in the top five in both sessions on Saturday with a bunch of other drivers around him. Second and finally, Busch has a great track record at Bristol. He has five Cup victories at the half mile speedway including his first ever win in Cup Series competition in 2002. It has seemed to be a place where he can run great and propel his season well. With a good run today, Busch could very well be on his way to turning his season completely around after a struggling first three races.

2. Tony Stewart: Did He Come Back Too Quickly?
        I was really hoping this topic didn't come up in my thoughts this year, but it unfortunately has. If you recall, Tony Stewart broke his right leg in two places in a sprint car crash in August of 2013 while racing in Iowa. The road to recovery was long for Stewart, but he made the decision to come back at the start of 2014. Well, it hasn't worked out well at all. Stewart had fuel problems at Daytona and he walked away with a terrible finish. Phoenix brought him a best finish of sixteenth on the season and his entire team struggled at Las Vegas along with Stewart. This weekend hasn't started well either. Stewart ended up qualifying a horrendous thirty seventh and numerous sources reported he was limping badly after qualifying. The question has to be posed by me. Did Stewart come back too quickly after a terrible injury? To me, it is too early to make the call. Yes, I provided all this rock solid evidence, but we haven't hit Tony Stewart's favorite part of the schedule. When we hit the summer months, expect smoke to start flying literally and figuratively. Plus, he has to get used to driving a car again. He went about six months without driving a race car and he really didn't have appropriate recovery time, in my opinion. In a couple more weeks, expect Tony Stewart to be looking back to form and running up at the front with the rest of his fellow competitors.

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Is He Championship Ready?
        This topic is something that has been boiling for the entire year thus far. If you recall, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took a masterful win in the Daytona 500 this year. Then, he went to Phoenix and came home second. Last week, he walked away second at Las Vegas after he was leading the white flag lap when the tank went empty on him. Those are extremely impressive statistics for Earnhardt especially this early in the year. It has raised a single question in my mind for Earnhardt. Is Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally championship ready? I fully believe he is. For one, I have seen a complete attitude change from Earnhardt this season. The past few years, he just hasn't acted like he was in the race at all. I mean, two years ago at Las Vegas if he had finished second, he probably would have sounded depressed because he didn't win the race. This year, he was completely ecstatic about finishing second and keeping his momentum wave going. At Daytona, when he won the 500, you could see it too. He was driving along the frontstretch waving to the fans and he was just happy to be there. That just speaks volumes about the meaning of this season to Junior and the rest of his team. Secondly and finally, Junior has been fast every single week. If there was one thing the team lacked the past few years, it was speed on all types of tracks. They seemed to be one of the worst Hendrick Motorsports teams on some tracks and they would be second or third on others. It just seemed like they were never the best. This year, it has been totally different. They have been the fastest Hendrick car in all three races this season and Junior has the best finish at all three tracks for the historic organization. Whatever it is, they have it figured out in Steve Letarte's last season on top of the box. With the same exact finishes they had to start the year, Junior could be the major contender for the championship come Homestead in a good many months.

4. Qualifying Changes: Did They Work?
        NASCAR made rather significant changes to their new qualifying system this week before the Bristol race. If you recall, NASCAR implemented a new qualifying system this year. The system consists of two or three rounds depending on the track and certain drivers move on after each round to decide who will win the pole. The system was providing a lot of action in qualifying, but it was actually very dangerous because NASCAR didn't let the teams cool the cars on pit road and, thus, drivers were riding slowly on the apron of the track to cool down. NASCAR decided to change that. They allowed two crew members over the wall for each team and each team can use a cooling system plugged into one of the cowl flaps to cool the car. They tried it at Bristol and the thing is this: did it work? It absolutely worked great. I'm going to be honest here. It was really dangerous at Las Vegas one week ago with the cars riding slowly on the apron. I mean, several times it looked like there would be a high speed crash. Luckily, there wasn't and NASCAR was able to fix the system. The main reason this worked is teams were able to make several runs at qualifying. Before hand, teams were making pretty much one run in every session and that was there best chance to make a fast lap. Now, they can make several runs and, depending on tire wear, they can pick up time on their laps. Hopefully, these changes continue to help the budding qualifying system and it still remains a very action packed part of the race weekend.

5. My Pick to Win
         Picking Bristol races is sometimes like picking restrictor plate races. It is nearly impossible to pinpoint one single driver at Bristol. Think about last year's Spring race. Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and others were in the battle for the win, but most of them had a problem on track and fell out. Kasey Kahne ended up walking away with the victory, but there were times when he wasn't the best driver on track. It just goes to show that Bristol races are unpredictable because of the amount of changing variables. Lap traffic, track conditions, strategy, restarts, and so many other things can change the absolute picture of a race. That is why today I am going to give you guys a few drivers to look at as possible winners. Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Brad Keselowski look like drivers to watch today. There are also a few dark horses to look at today. Casey Mears, David Ragan, and David Gilliland have shown a lot of promise this weekend and if they have the opportunity, they could very well take the win. I plan on writing about today's Food City 500, but the weather might be a factor today. Hopefully, the weather stays away and we get another great Bristol race underway. Well, that is all I have for today and until we meet again.




Credits:
-Image:
http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/77/e8/77e83f51328bce4f32d87ad0ca78fdac.jpg?itok=mi4ftMzt

Kyle Busch Holds Off a Late Charge From Kyle Larson To Win at Bristol

        After a stellar race at Bristol, Kyle Busch was able to barely hold off Kyle Larson to win his second NASCAR Nationwide Series race of the year. In this case, barely means barely. The eventual margin of victory was twenty three hundredths of a second. It was the second closest finish in Bristol Nationwide Series History behind the 2011 Food City 250 finish between Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, which had a margin of victory of nineteen hundredths The other story behind the race was the way that lapped cars affected the picture of the race. From causing tremendous battles to occur to causing the leader to have an incident, the lapped cars affected every aspect of the race. If you aren't interested yet, you might want to check your pulse.

        Qualifying had occurred a couple of hours before the race and Justin Allgaier grabbed the pole position. The race began and he was able to lead the first lap. From the drop of the green flag, the top ten were getting very dicey. Brad Keselowski and Austin Dillon traded a little paint early, but it did not affect anything that happened in the race. The first caution of the race came out on lap 27. Mike Harmon, one of the lapped cars who affected the race, was going very slow in turn 3. Sam Hornish Jr. tried to pass him, but Hornish got tapped while he was going by. Hornish saved his car, but he was forced up into Jamie Dick. Jamie spun harmlessly and continued on. Brad Sweet, who was involved in a nasty wreck in practice on Friday, received the lucky dog. The race went back green and continued on until the second caution of the afternoon on lap 59. Brad Sweet got loose in turn 2 and went for a spin. He was able to keep the car from receiving major damage and he continued on. No drivers received the lucky dog. After the caution, one of the contenders to begin the race had trouble.

         When the green flag waved after the second caution, Elliott Sadler had trouble. He began to slow down and he reported to his crew that he had no fuel pressure. This meant that the fuel was not reaching the engine like it should be. This caused the car to run slow and he lost two laps. He was running so slow, in fact, that NASCAR had to black flag him for not reaching the minimum speed. He went into the pits and his crew sent him to the garage, ending his day. Shortly after this, the third caution of the day came out on lap 105. Coming out of turn 4, Brian Vickers had no room and Jamie Dick came down on him. Jamie slid down the frontstretch and slammed in to the inside wall, but the worst was yet to come. Nelson Piquet Jr. was attempting to slow down, but Parker Kligerman bumped him. Piquet slid down the track in turn 1 and plowed into Jamie. Both cars were destroyed beyond repair. Josh Wise received the lucky dog. The race went back green and it continued on until the fourth caution of the day on lap 121. Allen Bestwick and the guys in the booth were talking about Jeremy Clements, who was in twelfth position at the time. As they were talking about him, Clements blew a tire and went into the wall and brought out a caution for debris. Hal Martin received the lucky dog, but his race went bad right after this.

         The race went back green and continued on until the fifth caution on lap 159. Hal Martin went up on Brad Teague, another lapped car who affected the race, coming out of turn 4. Martin slid down the frontstretch and pounded into the inside wall. Martin went up the track and Jeffrey Earnhardt could not avoid. He hit Martin and received a good bit of damage. Reed Sorenson and Austin Dillon also got involved. No drivers received the lucky dog. The race went back green once again and it was a short time before the sixth caution of the day came out on lap 177. Debris was spotted on the track in turn 4. Austin Dillon, who was in the previous wreck, received the lucky dog. The green flag went back out and it got dicey for the leaders on lap 189. Brad Keselowski and Regan Smith were running side by side and they were catching the lapped car of Dexter Stacey. Both drivers were deciding what line to use and when Stacey got close, Smith began to get loose. He was able to save it, but he had to use Keselowski's car to do it. Keselowski began to experience a tire rub and the tire eventually blew out. This resulted in the seventh caution of the day on lap 195 for debris from his tire. John Wes Townley received the lucky dog. The race went green once again and the longest green flag run of the day ended with the eighth and final caution on lap 264. Jason White got loose in turn 2 and went up into the wall. Alex Bowman received the lucky dog. Now, the final dash to the finish was set and it was one for the books.

        Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, and Brian Vickers started out as the top three on the restart. Kyle Larson was able to stay ahead of Vickers and make it a race between him and Busch. The two stayed on the top side just waiting to see what moves they should make. In a flash, the white flag was out and Larson had only two chances to get by Busch. Larson didn't make the move in turn 1, but he got ready for turn 3. But Kyle Busch did something that could have possibly taken the win out of his hands. He moved to the inside line in turn 3 and Larson had the top side, the preferred groove, to make the pass. Little did we know, Kyle Busch knew what he was doing. Two lapped cars, Reed Sorenson and Brad Teague, were battling in front of the two leaders. Sorenson, the faster of the two cars, was on the bottom. Thus, the quicker lane was the bottom. All four drivers shot out of turn 4 and the two Kyles began to beat and bang. It was close, twenty three hundredths to be exact, but Kyle Busch was able to win. It was by far one of the most interesting finishes this season and, like usual, “The World's Fastest Half-Mile” did not disappoint.

        The racing was great and we saw the present and future of the sport battle for a win at one of the most exciting circuits in the sport. You couldn't ask for a better race or a greater finish. Well, unless you wanted Kyle Larson to win, but that is not the point. With this win, Kyle Busch now has two awards from the weekend: the winning trophy from the Nationwide Series and the pole award for tomorrow's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Busch hopes to pull the sweep at Bristol tomorrow and I hope you can tune in to see it. Let me tell you, it won't disappoint and I have never been so sure of that.
(More Stats Down Below!)




Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 27- Sam Hornish got up into Jamie Dick in turn 3 and Jamie spun harmlessly.

2nd Caution: Lap 59- Brad Sweet got loose in turn 2 and spun out.

3rd Caution: Lap 105- Jamie Dick came down on Brian Vickers. Jamie slid down the frontstretch and slammed into the wall. Nelson Piquet Jr. piled into Jamie, destroying both cars.

4th Caution: Lap 121- Jeremy Clements blew a tire and hit the wall, leaving debris on the track.

5th Caution: Lap 159- Hal Martin went up the track on Brad Teague coming out of turn 4. Martin slid down the frontstretch and slammed into the wall. Jeffrey Earnhardt ran into him and received some damage. Reed Sorenson and Austin Dillon also got involved. 

6th Caution: Lap 177- Debris was spotted in turn 4.

7th Caution: Lap 195- Debris from Brad Keselowski's tire was spotted on the track.

8th Caution: Lap 264- Jason White got loose in turn 2 and went up into the wall.

Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: Brad Sweet
2nd Caution: None
3rd Caution: Josh Wise
4th Caution: Hal Martin
5th Caution: None
6th Caution: Austin Dillon
7th Caution: John Wes Townley
8th Caution: Alex Bowman

Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Kyle Busch
2nd: Kyle Larson
3rd: Brian Vickers
4th: Sam Hornish Jr.
5th: Kevin Harvick

Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Regan Smith
11th: Austin Dillon
12th: Trevor Bayne
15th: Brad Keselowski 
16th: Travis Pastrana
36th: Elliott Sadler



Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_Jeff_Foxworthys_Grit_Chips_300/B
-Image:
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/si/dam/assets/130316173322-kyle-busch-single-image-cut.jpg