They had to wait 90 minutes past the scheduled start before the Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes and Stand Up to Cancer would get underway. The drivers were barely settled in their cars when, on Lap 22, the skies opened up and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was again on hold. Nearly four hours later, it was finally time to race. But the rain wasn’t done. Three more delays marred the day, including one around the 500-lap point, the race’s scheduled distance, that pushed the Food City 500 into overtime and a green-white-checker finish.
Kenseth said NASCAR’s decision to halt the race and allow the jet dryers to make the track raceable was the right one, despite his anxiety to get the day over and done with.
“I thought it was a good call. I don’t think you can realistically put the jet dryers out there and dry the track with cars running around there, because they are around the whole track,” Kenseth said of the half-mile short track. “At the end of the day, especially if you end up winning, you want to finish all the laps. You’d rather win on the racetrack obviously than win under yellow.”
That’s exactly how NASCAR saw it. It started raining again as the race neared the 500-lap mark. The field was already under yellow-flag conditions due to a accident with eight laps remaining. Officials sent the cars onto pit road as crews worked to dry the track. It wasn’t a long delay, but one could hardly blame Kenseth for being on edge. It had been 51 races since he had last visited Victory Lane.
“Honestly, it wears on you a little bit. We had such a good 2013, we came up a little short of the ultimate prize. Last year, there were some races we had some chances to win and things wouldn’t line up for us. We just couldn’t make it happen,” said Kenseth. “Tonight was kind of the opposite. Everything worked out. We had a good car on the short run, not so good on the last 40 or 50 laps of the run and we had all them cautions and short runs at the end that really benefited us.”
Once again, a poor restart for the final run cost Jeff Gordon. Jimmie Johnson took advantage of the slip and passed his teammate to chase down Kenseth. He couldn’t catch up to the eventual race winner however and crossed the finish line 0.287 seconds behind Kenseth for second place in the Food City 500. Gordon finished third in the race.
Johnson said he was happy with his car early in the race and he and Gordon were able to make their way through the field. As the race wore on, though his car was not handling as well, Johnson managed to stay in touch with the front of the field.
“I had a very fast car and felt like we were going to have a strong night,” Johnson said. “(toward the end) We weren’t as good as we were at the start of the race, but still very competitive. Wild night, but glad to get it in.”
Gordon said finishing in third place made the disappointment of the weekend a little better to endure.
“It certainly wasn’t easy and was filled with ups and downs and emotions. We were very disappointed in the way we qualified. I didn’t get the best out of the car,” he said. “That last restart, (I) was just trying to get momentum and not spin the tires too much. I knew Jimmie, on the outside, was going to be really, really, really hard to hold off and I thought a third would be a great finish. So, I’m very happy with the third. I’m very pleased the way we finished.
Despite a horrendous race and finishing 38th on Sunday after completing only 468 of the total 511 laps, reigning Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick continues to lead the driver standings. He actually was able to pad his lead with another four points and is now in front of Joey Logano by 30 points. Martin Truex Jr. inched a few points closer in the standings and is now just three points behind Logano.
Richmond International Raceway is the next stop on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. The Toyota Owners 400 will be held at the Virginia racetrack on April 25, 2015.
