The pace car led the field to the green flag of the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, marking the start of NASCAR's 2000th race in front of a sell-out crowd of more than 160 thousand. At a track that is hard on drivers and even harder on cars, the race promised to be nothing if not exciting.
Ryan Newman started from the pole, posting a new track record in his qualifying lap, but was unable to hold the lead for even a single lap. Jeff Gordon, who started second, flew past him only seconds into the race, taking the lead and pulling away from the rest of the field.
The first of the day's 17 cautions flew on lap 3, when Kyle Petty spun across the track after making contact with the #31 of Robby Gordon. No other cars were involved, and petty was the only one to head into the pits after the incident. The next caution, however, sent several cars into the garage after Michael Waltrip and Dave Blaney bumped, sending Waltrip spinning into traffic. Dale Jarrett was unable to avoid Waltrip, and hit him as he slid back up the track. Jarrett and Blaney both took their cars behind the wall to the garage area, though both returned to the track later in the race.
A series of short green flag runs and spinning cars defined the first half of the race, and by lap 260, there had been 13 cautions and it appeared certain that the race record of 20 cautions was doomed. Jeff Gordon held the lead for most of the early laps, battling back and forth for the top spot with Jimmy Spencer and Kevin Harvick, who quietly drove his car to the front of the pack after a poor qualifying effort that left him starting 27th. A long green flag run and fading tires after the early succession of cautions saw Gordon's car fading, however, and he slipped back through the field.
Though most of the many cautions were for minor incidents and spinning cars, there were a few tense moments after a on track incident between Jerry Nadeau, then in the top five, and the lapped car of pole sitter Ryan Newman. The pair was battling hard in turn 4 when Newman made a move that forced Nadeau to hit his brakes hard. Brett Bodine, racing behind them, barreled into Nadeau's rear bumper, sending him to the garage for repairs and eliminating him from contention. Furious, Nadeau left his car to his crew and stormed over to Newman's pits to tell Newman to use his head. Nothing more came of the incident, and later both drivers chalked it up to the strain and tension of racing at Bristol.
A long green flag run shuffled the leader board as the race sped on. Dale Earnhardt Jr., running in the top ten for most of the race, overestimated his fuel mileage and ran out of gas as the first green flag pits of the day began, coasting into his pit stall and losing two laps to the leaders as he struggled with getting the engine restarted. The leaders began to come into the pits a few laps later, only to be caught a lap down when the already damaged #88 of Dale Jarrett spun into the wall, bringing out a late caution.
Only six cars remained on the lead lap, including four cars from the troubled Roush racing stable. One of them, Kurt Busch, led the pack on the restart, battling with Kevin Harvick, who was trying to get back onto the lead lap. Busch had the dominant car, though, and Harvick slipped back into traffic.
Three more cautions flew in the last 100 laps, but none of the leaders came into opting to hang onto the track position as the remaining laps dwindled. On the second of those three cautions, Ward Burton and Robby Gordon got together, sending Burton sliding out of control into Kyle Petty. Petty's Dodge spun around and the driver's side slammed into the outside wall hard. Petty required help from the on-track paramedics to get out of the car, and limped slowly to the ambulance for the required ride to the infield care center. Only a few minutes later, he was sent by ambulance to the nearby Bristol Medical Center, where he underwent some precautionary tests and was later released.
As the drivers completed the final laps, Kurt Busch was able to hold to lead, scoring his first win of the season after last week's near miss. Behind him were the lead lap cars of points leader Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Ricky Rudd, rookie Greg Biffle, and Sterling Marlin.
Unofficial Results
- Kurt Busch
- Matt Kenseth
- Bobby Labonte
- Ricky Rudd
- Greg Biffle
- Sterling Marlin
- Kevin Harvick
- Jimmie Johnson
- eff Gordon
- Kenny Wallace
Unofficial Standings
- Matt Kenseth
- Kurt Busch - 138
- Tony Stewart - 147
- Michael Waltrip - 149
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 186
- Jimmie Johnson - 192
- Ricky Craven - 200
- Bobby Labonte - 203
- Ricky Rudd - 240
- Jeff Gordon - 241
