Long rain delays Saturday night and Sunday afternoon finally came to an end with Kevin Harvick’s early evening finish in the Bass Pro Shops/NRA Night Race. Behind them, Chase Elliott turned Matt Kenseth, who was hard on the brakes, and Ryan Blaney ended up drilling Kenseth. The race resumed at 4:42 p.m. ET after two days of rain delays.
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“I wanted him (Stewart) to go on a Victory Lap with me and say goodbye to his fans one last time, but that was pretty cool doing burnouts with him”, Harvick said of the double burnout with Stewart. And when the race concluded Harvick asked co-owner and teammate Tony Stewart to take a victory lap with him.
Fans make their way underneath the grandstand as severe weather delayed the start of a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016, in Bristol, Tenn. With no lights to allow for night racing and no quick end to the downpour in sight, drying the track in time to get in 101 of the 200 laps to make the race official was not possible. Then just as suddenly Keselowski ran out of gas during the caution – leaving a happily surprised Dillon out front to win the Xfinity race in overtime Friday night.
“It’s been one of those deals where things have just not gone exactly right”, said Harvick, who led 128 laps.
“It’s a shame”, Busch said.
Kyle Busch, who led a race-high 256 laps, detected a problem on his vehicle on Lap 358. Busch, Edwards, and Kenseth have combined for 13 wins at Bristol, and with all three starting in the top five, they are in ideal position to dominate the laps led and fastest laps run categories. “I’m really exhausted of losing races here with [parts failures]”. “We’ve been having parts failures here, so something we’ve got to address and fix”. That’s stupid. So, I don’t know. Quote of the Day: “The person that is the real moron out here is the driver of the No.46 and the spotter of the No.46”, Kyle Busch on Justin Allgaier after their accident knocked both from the race. It is also his second win at the track. Denny Hamlin, meanwhile, took the lead on pit road with a two-tire pit stop but quickly lost it to Hamlin.
GORDON’S FINISH: Jeff Gordon wound up 11th, his best showing in the four races he’s run in the No. 88 auto replacing injured Dale Earnhardt Jr. Three drivers in the race field – Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Gordon – each has five wins at Bristol Motor Speedway. Allgaier was subbing in the No. 46 Chevy for Michael Annett, who sat out the race because of flu-like symptoms.
Any Sprint Cup race has to reach at least the scheduled halfway point to be declared officlal.
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Stewart, who finished 30th in the 500-lap event, has just 12 starts remaining in his final Sprint Cup Series season.
