The 2014 Food City 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on March 16, 2014, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Contested over 503 laps – having been extended from the original distance of 500 laps in the prospect of a green–white–checker finish that ultimately did not occur due to weather – on the concrete oval, it was the fourth race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Carl Edwards won the race, his first of the season, while teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished second, while Aric Almirola, Tony Stewart, and Marcos Ambrose rounded out the top five. The top rookies of the race were Kyle Larson (10th), Austin Dillon (11th), and Justin Allgaier (17th).
Previous week's race On the final lap of the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran out of gas exiting turn 2 and Brad Keselowski passed him to take the checkered flag. Keselowski praised his Team Penske organization, stating that they were "just doing everything so well right now", while also stating his pleasure with the victory and the added bonus of being a competitor in the Chase for the Sprint Cup later in the season, stating that he did not "have to hear all that crap all year long about not being in the Chase". Earnhardt Jr. was disappointed with the way that his race finished, describing running out of gas as "tough", while stating that he and his team "have got a good thing going, we've got to be positive. We've got to keep trying to win races. I know my fans are disappointed, but we got to stay positive".
Report
Background
The track, Bristol Motor Speedway, is a four-turn short track oval that is long. The track's turns are banked from twenty-four to thirty degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked from six to ten degrees. The back stretch also has banking from six to ten degrees. The track has a seating capacity of 160,000 people. The race consisted of 500 laps, equivalent to a race distance of . The 2013 winner was Kasey Kahne.
Entry list The entry list for the Food City 500 was released Monday, March 10 at 10:24 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-five drivers were entered for the race.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski (PC2) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Tony Stewart (PC3) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 16 Greg Biffle Roush-Fenway Racing Ford 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush-Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Matt Kenseth (PC5) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 24 Jeff Gordon (PC6) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26 Cole Whitt (R) Swan Racing Toyota 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30 Parker Kligerman (R) Swan Racing Toyota 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Travis Kvapil Go FAS Racing Ford 33 Timmy Hill Circle Sport Chevrolet 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 David Reutimann Front Row Motorsports Ford 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 40 Landon Cassill (i) Circle Sport Chevrolet 41 Kurt Busch (PC4) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson (PC1) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 66 Joe Nemechek (i) Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 77 Dave Blaney Randy Humphrey Racing Ford 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 99 Carl Edwards Roush-Fenway Racing FordOfficial entry list Key Meaning (R) Rookie (i) Ineligible for points (PC#) Past champions provisional
Practice
First practice Kurt Busch was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 14.784 and a speed of . His younger brother Kyle Busch was among four drivers who wrecked their primary cars during the session. Danica Patrick slid, hit the wall in turn 4, ricocheted into Parker Kligerman and sent him into the wall. Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle were involved in a similar situation in the same session, while Justin Allgaier bounced off the turn 1 wall, having believed he had blown a right-front tire.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 14.784 129.789 2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14.826 129.421 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.834 129.351Official first practice results
Qualifying
Denny Hamlin won the pole – the 18th of his Cup career – with a new track record time of 14.761 and a speed of . Hamlin stated that his lap was "faster than I ever imagined going around this track" and that "every new rule change we have just makes these cars go a little bit faster". Brad Keselowski joined Hamlin on the front row, missing out on pole by 0.003 seconds. He started that "if you're fast, you're fast and it shows through", while also praising Hamlin's car as "fast". Championship leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. could only qualify 14th, stating that he was "just too tight" on his opening run in qualifying, and that he also "kind of overshot the track a little bit".
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.850 14.761 2 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 14.908 14.764 3 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.952 14.866 4 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 14.832 14.894 5 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 14.936 14.906 6 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14.842 14.962 7 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.880 14.972 8 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 14.932 14.997 9 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 14.864 15.014 10 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14.941 15.027 11 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14.892 15.063 12 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 14.867 15.100 13 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 14.953 — 14 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14.959 — 15 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 14.962 — 16 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 14.963 — 17 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 14.971 — 18 26 Cole Whitt (R) Swan Racing Toyota 14.999 — 19 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 15.002 — 20 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 15.015 — 21 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 15.028 — 22 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 15.032 — 23 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 15.037 — 24 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 15.037 — 25 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 15.038 — 26 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.046 — 27 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15.056 — 28 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.057 — 29 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 15.067 — 30 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 15.068 — 31 40 Landon Cassill Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 15.087 — 32 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 15.088 — 33 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 15.089 — 34 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 15.121 — 35 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 15.151 — 36 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15.153 — 37 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15.163 — 38 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 15.175 — 39 32 Travis Kvapil Go FAS Racing Ford 15.192 — 40 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 15.306 — 41 30 Parker Kligerman (R) Swan Racing Toyota 15.417 — 42 66 Joe Nemechek Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 15.659 — 43 33 Timmy Hill Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 15.717 —Did not qualify 44 35 David Reutimann Front Row Motorsports Ford 15.154 — 45 77 Dave Blaney Randy Humphrey Racing Ford 15.330 —Official qualifying results
Practice (post-qualifying) Ryan Newman was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 15.099 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.099 127.081 2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15.125 126.863 3 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15.146 126.687Official second practice results
Final practice Casey Mears was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 15.240 and a speed of . Landon Cassill broke the rear-end housing and hit the wall hard during the session. He was forced to roll out his backup car and started from the rear because the change took place after qualifying.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 15.240 125.906 2 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 15.251 125.815 3 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 15.267 125.683Official final practice results
Race
First half
Start The race was scheduled to start at 1:13 p.m. Eastern time, but was delayed for almost two hours by heavy rain. The race finally got underway at 3:00 p.m. when Denny Hamlin led the field to the green flag. Brad Keselowski took the lead on lap two, and it did not take long before he started lapping cars in typical Bristol fashion. Joey Logano used a lapped car as a pick to get ahead of Keselowski for the lead on lap 42, shortly prior to a scheduled competition caution on lap 51 due to the earlier showers. Jimmie Johnson took just two tires and exited pit road as the leader. His teammate Jeff Gordon was exiting his stall when David Ragan was coming into his; Ragan came down across Gordon and got turned around. The race restarted on lap 58, before another caution on lap 60, due to debris in turn 2.
Rain delay The race restarted on lap 65 and Parker Kligerman got loose and turned sideways in turn 3 bringing out the third caution of the race. He apparently ran over a battery pack that came off a car well in front of him, while his hood pins were carrying what appeared to be toilet paper. Alex Bowman stalled on the apron in turn 1 and needed a push from one of the safety trucks to get back to pit road. It was discovered that the battery pack on the track belonged to his car. The race restarted on lap 76 with Johnson still out front. He remained at the head of proceedings until lap 98, when Matt Kenseth took the lead. The right-front tire on Johnson's car started coming apart on lap 114. Unlike other short tracks Martinsville and Richmond, the right-side tires run with an inner-liner at Bristol, to prevent spinning after a tire blowout, and allowing the car to get to pit road to change the tire. As the incident occurred in green flag conditions, Johnson lost several laps. He was somewhat saved by the fourth caution of the race on lap 118 when the rain returned. Joey Logano was the first car one lap down, but pitted several times due to a power steering issue and lost three laps under that caution. Kenseth and Kurt Busch traded the lead on pit road, but Kenseth led off pit road and retook the lead. The rain started off as a light drizzle, but then intensified and the race was red flagged on lap 125. The track was dried enough that the drivers were called back to their cars after an hour and eleven minutes. Unfortunately, the rain picked up again and delayed the race for another hour and 45 minutes.
Restart