Rain forces postponement of Food City 500 until Monday

BRISTOL, TN - APRIL 21: A detailed view of the Monster Energy logo as it rains during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 21, 2017 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

BRISTOL, Tenn. – With steady rain falling at Bristol Motor Speedway, and no abatement in the forecast, NASCAR and Bristol officials opted to postpone Sunday’s Food City 500 until Monday.

The eighth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season will be contested at 1 p.m. ET and broadcast on FOX.

With Friday’s knockout qualifying session also canceled because of inclement weather, series leader Kyle Larson will lead the field to the green flag when the race is run, with second-place Chase Elliott beside him on the front row.

Larson, however, scraped the wall with his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet in Saturday’s first practice session and was 26th fastest in final practice later that day after repairs to the cosmetic damage to his car.

But as the top groove began to rubber in, Larson led 180 laps in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race before a cut tire and subsequent commitment line violation cost him a chance to win.

Six different drivers, including Larson, have won races this season. The only two-time winner is Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski, who has a pair of victories at Bristol to his credit. With the field ordered according to owner points, Keselowski will start fourth on Monday next to third-place Martin Truex Jr.

In the last 13 races at the .533-mile high-banked short track, Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have combined to win 10 of them. But Kevin Harvick is the most recent winner at the track, having taken the checkered flag in last year’s Night Race.

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.