NASCAR at Bristol: Underway after rain delay – USA TODAY
UP NEXT
03
USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Gluck breaks down the race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Food City 500 got started again at 6:50 p.m. ET after a red flag of nearly four hours for rain at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Denny Hamlin did not take the wheel of the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, citing a neck spasm suffered in the opening laps of the race Sunday afternoon.
Erik Jones, who won his first Xfinity Series race, at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend, filled in for Hamlin.
“I just pulled something in my neck, upper back about lap 12. I started going backwards at that point because the pain was bothering me quite a bit. I’m not 100 percent. There’s no way I would have been able to go out there and compete for a win,” said Hamlin, who indicated he had gotten treatment on his neck during the delay.
That gives Jones some Sprint Cup experience. Hamlin will be the driver of record since he started the race Sunday afternoon.
TV coverage of the race now is on Fox Sports 1.
Rain forced the delay of the race originally scheduled for 1:13 p.m. ET.
According to the National Weather Service, rains and storms were expected in the vicinity of the northeastern Tennessee track throughout Sunday, but precipitation chances are forecast to wane tonight.
The race began around 2:30 p.m., but the drivers got just 22 laps in before it was red-flagged for more rain.
Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano got into each other just laps before the stoppage and their teams worked furiously on repairs after the red flag was lifted Sunday night.
Track general manager Jerry Caldwell said via statement that lights would be used in an effort to complete the Food City 500 on Sunday.
The size of the concrete track should help that effort. At just .533 miles, the second-smallest venue on the Sprint Cup circuit (Martinsville Speedway is .526 miles), Bristol can be dried in 45 minutes under optimal temperature and precipitation conditions. Those type of conditions appear unrealistic today, however.
Track spokesperson Becky Cox said eight of NASCAR’s 17 Air Titan units and four jet driers are on site for the effort.
WATCH: How Air Titan 2.0 works
0) { %>
<!–
About Us
Free Shipping
If your order is $35 or more, you may qualify for free shipping. With free shipping, your order will be delivered 5-8 business days.
Join the Nation’s Conversation
To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs