The 2015 Food City 500 In Support Of Steve Byrnes And Stand Up To Cancer was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on April 19, 2015, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Contested over 511 laps—extended from 500 laps due to a green–white–checker finish—on the concrete short track, it was the eighth race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Matt Kenseth won the race – his first victory since 2013 – while Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon finished second and third. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Newman rounded out the top five.
Kenseth won the pole for the race and led 47 laps. Kevin Harvick led a race high 184 laps before getting caught in a late race wreck and finished outside the top ten for the first time in 2015. The race had 21 lead changes among six different drivers, as well as eleven caution flag periods for 117 laps. The race was also stopped three times, for a total duration of 4 hours and 36 minutes for rain.
Kenseth's victory – his 32nd in Sprint Cup – ended a 51-race winless streak commencing after his victory at the 2013 Sylvania 300. It was his fourth win at Bristol and the eighth at the track for Joe Gibbs Racing. The win moved Kenseth up to eighth in the points standings. Despite the win, Toyota still trailed Chevrolet by 46–points in the manufacturer standings.
The race was carried by Fox Sports on the broadcast Fox network for the American television audience, while the radio broadcast was carried by the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
Report
Background
Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating.
Kevin Harvick entered Bristol with a 26-point lead over Joey Logano, with Martin Truex Jr. a further 14 points in arrears in third place. Brad Keselowski entered 60 back in fourth place, while Kasey Kahne completed the top five in the championship standings, 76 behind Harvick.
Changes to the track In the wake of Kyle Busch's double leg-breaking crash in February's Alert Today Florida 300 at Daytona International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway announced on April 3 that SAFER barriers had been installed along the entire circumference of the outer wall. Previously, the track had barriers only in the turns. Track general manager Jerry Caldwell stated that "the safety of our fans and competitors continues to be a focal point for Bristol Motor Speedway" and that the circuit was "able to secure an additional 600 feet of SAFER barriers and will complete the build out of the front and backstretch outside walls before the Food City 500 race weekend".
Name change On April 10, Bristol Motor Speedway announced that the Food City 500 would be renamed the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes and Stand Up to Cancer. This change was made to honor longtime NASCAR broadcaster Steve Byrnes who was battling head and neck cancer. "We stand with the NASCAR community in being Steve Byrnes Strong," said President and CEO of Food City, Steve Smith. "By banding together, we can drive even more awareness and support for our friend Steve, his family and everyone who Stands Up to Cancer." Byrnes died two days after the race.
Entry list The entry list for the Food City 500 was released on Monday, April 13, 2015, at 11:21 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-five cars were entered for the race. The only new entry that was not entered for the previous week's race at Texas Motor Speedway was Ron Hornaday Jr. in the No. 30 Chevrolet by The Motorsports Group.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski (PC3) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick (PC1) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 9 Sam Hornish Jr. 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 (PC4) 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 David Ragan Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Matt Kenseth (PC6) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 24 Jeff Gordon (PC7) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30 Ron Hornaday Jr. The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Mike Bliss (i) Go FAS Racing Ford 33 Alex Kennedy Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 34 Chris Buescher (i) Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 41 Kurt Busch (PC5) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson (PC2) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 55 Brett Moffitt (R) Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 62 Brendan Gaughan (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing FordOfficial entry list Key Meaning (R) Rookie (i) Ineligible for points (PC#) Past champions' provisional
First practice
Kasey Kahne was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 14.971 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 14.971 128.168 2 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14.972 128.159 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 14.994 127.971Official first practice results
Qualifying
Matt Kenseth won the pole with a time of 14.917 and a speed of . "I got it all that first lap," Kenseth said. "Good job. That was about as good as we were going to get...it was the best we could do with what we got. It was our best lap of the day". Brad Keselowski stated that it was "still very, very early in the weekend and the track is really not indicative of what we're gonna have to race", but joined Kenseth on the front row, 0.022 seconds behind in second place; but Keselowski was looking forward to "a great spot on pit road to help us all day on Sunday". Despite missing out on the top-12 pole shootout in 13th place, Dale Earnhardt Jr. advised that he and his team "will be very good this weekend" and all they had to do was "to improve how the car drives". With 45 entrants, Brendan Gaughan and Ron Hornaday Jr. failed to qualify for the race.
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.928 14.953 14.917 2 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 14.926 15.006 14.939 3 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 15.036 15.026 14.953 4 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15.019 14.978 14.966 5 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 15.109 15.050 15.059 6 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 14.841 14.938 15.071 7 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15.123 14.992 15.124 8 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14.938 15.043 15.129 9 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.068 15.032 15.129 10 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 15.169 15.073 15.155 11 18 David Ragan Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.918 15.083 15.176 12 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 14.998 15.073 15.197 13 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.049 15.099 — 14 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 15.112 15.100 — 15 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 15.054 15.161 — 16 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 15.160 15.168 — 17 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 15.139 15.177 — 18 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.083 15.218 — 19 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 15.139 15.235 — 20 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 15.117 15.236 — 21 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15.068 15.249 — 22 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 15.091 15.253 — 23 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.003 15.276 — 24 55 Brett Moffitt (R) Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 15.052 15.326 — 25 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 15.183 — — 26 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15.189 — — 27 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 15.192 — — 28 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.211 — — 29 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 15.223 — — 30 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 15.250 — — 31 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 15.253 — — 32 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 15.274 — — 33 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 15.283 — — 34 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 15.288 — — 35 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 15.295 — — 36 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 15.331 — — 37 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 15.348 — — 38 34 Chris Buescher (i) Front Row Motorsports Ford 15.348 — — 39 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 15.358 — — 40 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 15.405 — — 41 32 Mike Bliss (i) Go FAS Racing Ford 15.458 — — 42 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 15.468 — — 43 33 Alex Kennedy (R) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 15.523 — —Failed to qualify 44 62 Brendan Gaughan Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 15.470 — — 45 30 Ron Hornaday Jr. The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 15.514 — —Official qualifying results
Practice (post-qualifying)
Second practice
Kasey Kahne was the fastest in the second practice with a time of 15.129 and a speed of . During the session, Tony Stewart tagged the wall with the right-rear corner of his car. The damage was minor and he returned to the track to finish the session. Towards the end of the session, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made contact with Carl Edwards. The damage was also minor and both cars returned to the session.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 15.129 126.829 2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15.181 126.395 3 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 15.212 126.137Official second practice results
Final practice
Kurt Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 15.043 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15.043 127.554 2 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 15.164 126.537 3 18 David Ragan Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 15.168 126.503Official final practice results
Race First-half Start