2010 Food City 500

The 2010 Food City 500 was held on March 21, 2010 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee as the fifth race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. This race marked the last appearance of the rear wing on the Car of Tomorrow, with the spoiler returning the following race.[4]

2010 Food City 500

Race details[1][2]
Race 5 of 36 in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date	March 21, 2010 (2010-March-21)
Official name	Food City 500
Location	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.533 mi (0.857 km)
Distance	500 laps, 266.5 mi (430 km)
Weather	Isolated thunderstorms with a high around 57; wind out of the NE at 7 mph. Chance of precipitation 20%.
Average speed	79.618 miles per hour (128.133 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Joey Logano	Joe Gibbs Racing
Time	15.396
Most laps led
Driver	Kurt Busch	Penske Racing
Laps	278
Winner
No. 48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers	Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds
Nielsen Ratings	4.4[3]

This race also was the first of three in Carl Edwards' probation following his altercation with Brad Keselowski at the previous race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, in which Keselowski went airborne, subsequently crashing on his side door.[5] The race had 39 lead changes among 13 different leaders and 10 cautions.[6][7][8]

The race attendance of 138,000 marked the end of a long streak of sellout seats at the track, which has a capacity of 158,000.[9] The race had been a sellout since 1982.[10] Draconian regulations kept intact since the 1970s along with rising ticket prices and unexciting restrictor plate races at Talladega and Daytona helped to contribute to the empty seats at NASCAR races in addition to declining TV ratings.[11]

Race report

Practices and qualifying

Joey Logano won the pole for the race.

In the first practice, the fastest were Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson, and Kasey Kahne; the practice also had three red flags because Kyle Busch, Bobby Labonte, and Jimmie Johnson spun on the frontstretch.[12][13] During qualifying, Joey Logano won his first Sprint Cup Series pole position while Kurt Busch, Dave Blaney, Jimmie Johnson, and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-five.[14] There were only two drivers who failed to qualify: Mike Bliss and Max Papis.[14] In the second practice, the fastest were Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Joey Logano.[15] During final practice, the fastest were Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, and Joey Logano.[16]

Race summary

For pre-race concerts, the musical group 4TROOPS, a military band, and Lee Greenwood performed for the fans. Afterward, 4TROOPS performed the National Anthem, and Rev. Mike Rife, of Vansant Church of Christ, gave the Invocation. Steve Austin gave the command "Gentlemen, start your engines!".[17] Before the race, Terry Cook moved to the back of the field because he missed driver introductions.[18] For the first time in his young career, Joey Logano led the field for the green flag.[19] Immediately after the start, Kurt Busch passed him for the lead. On lap 6, Jimmie Johnson passed Busch for the lead. While Logano fell back, Johnson continued to lead until lap 30; Busch passed him in heavy traffic. Busch kept the lead until lap 40, at the first caution. The caution came out when Dave Blaney had a flat tire. Brad Keselowski stayed out while other drivers came in to change tires and add gasoline which resulted him getting the lead. On lap 46, the green flag came out again. Keselowski kept the lead until lap 53 when Jimmie Johnson passed him. Five laps later, the second caution came out because Clint Bowyer slammed into the wall from a blown engine. Few drivers went to change tires and add gasoline on this caution; Johnson led the field to the green flag on lap 62. Johnson kept the lead until lap 99 when Busch passed him in traffic.[17] After Kurt Busch led for seventeen laps, the third caution came out because Denny Hamlin hit the wall in turn two. Most drivers went to pit road to change their tires, but Busch was first off pit road and led them to the green flag on lap 123. Busch's lead would not continue for long as Greg Biffle passed him on lap 124. Three laps later, the fourth caution came out because of rain. With the few rain drops at the track, NASCAR decided to keep the cars on the track to help make sure the track would stay dry. After a sixteen lap caution period, the race resumed on lap 143 with Biffle as the leader. On lap 158, Jimmie Johnson attempted to get the lead but Biffle remained the leader. On lap 191 he was passed by Juan Pablo Montoya for the lead, but four laps later Biffle retook it.[17]

Race winner Jimmie Johnson in 2015.

Nine laps later, on lap 204, Biffle was still the leader, but the fifth caution flag came out because Kasey Kahne hit the wall. On lap 210 the green flag came out with Juan Pablo Montoya the leader. After some switching positions on lap 223 Kurt Busch took the lead. Soon after the lead change, there was a green flag run until lap 263 when the sixth yellow came out because Kyle Busch slammed the outside wall. The race resumed on lap 271 with Kurt Busch the leader.[17]

At lap 300, the top three drivers were Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, and Jimmie Johnson. Then on lap 323 the seventh caution flag waved because Regan Smith had tire troubles. Kurt Busch won the race out of pit road to lead the field to the green flag on lap 331. Ten laps later, on lap 342, the eighth caution came out because of a large wreck. The wreck started with Mark Martin and Greg Biffle colliding; thirteen more cars were involved.[20] On lap 358, the green flag came out with Kurt Busch the leader. By lap 370, the top three positions were occupied by Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, and Jamie McMurray. Rain brought out the ninth caution twenty laps later.[17]

On lap 411, the green flag came back out with Brad Keselowski the leader; Kurt Busch passed him three laps later. By lap 433, Jimmie Johnson caught Kurt Busch. Johnson tried to pass Busch on lap 444, but did not get the lead. During the longest green flag run of the race, Joey Logano hit the turn two wall on lap 479; there was no caution. Three laps later, the tenth caution came out because of debris on the track. During pit stops, Greg Biffle beat everyone out of pit road to lead the field to the green flag on lap 490. Busch and Johnson were fifth and sixth. On lap 492, Tony Stewart took the lead from Biffle; Johnson passed him on the outside a lap later. Jimmie Johnson kept the lead to earn his first career win at Bristol.[21] It was his fiftieth win in his Sprint Cup Series career, and his third win of 2010.[17][21][22]

Race results

Pos	Grid	Car	Driver	Team	Make
1	4	48	Jimmie Johnson[23][24]	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
2	11	14	Tony Stewart	Stewart-Haas Racing	Chevrolet
3	2	2	Kurt Busch	Penske Racing	Dodge
4	25	16	Greg Biffle	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford
5	7	17	Matt Kenseth	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford
6	8	99	Carl Edwards	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford
7	18	88	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
8	17	1	Jamie McMurray	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet
9	38	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
10	14	31	Jeff Burton	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet
11	33	29	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet
12	19	56	Martin Truex, Jr.	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota
13	36	12	Brad Keselowski	Penske Racing	Dodge
14	5	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
15	28	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Racing Team	Toyota
16	21	39	Ryan Newman	Stewart-Haas Racing	Chevrolet
17	23	43	A. J. Allmendinger	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford
18	12	98	Paul Menard	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford
19	15	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
20	37	19	Elliott Sadler	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford
21	43	71	Bobby Labonte	TRG Motorsports	Chevrolet
22	32	7	Robby Gordon	Robby Gordon Motorsports	Toyota
23	16	38	David Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
24	31	26	David Stremme	Latitude 43 Motorsports	Ford
25	41	34	Travis Kvapil	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
26	6	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet
27	1	20	Joey Logano	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
28	42	37	Kevin Conway	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
29	30	6	David Ragan	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford
30	34	90	Casey Mears	Keyed Up Motorsports	Chevrolet
31	29	82	Scott Speed	Red Bull Racing Team	Toyota
32	22	77	Sam Hornish, Jr.	Penske Racing	Dodge
33	9	47	Marcos Ambrose	JTG Daugherty Racing	Toyota
34	24	9	Kasey Kahne	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford
35	13	5	Mark Martin	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
36	20	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Racing	Chevrolet
37	40	46	Terry Cook	Whitney Motorsports	Dodge
38	10	00	David Reutimann	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota
39	27	09	Aric Almirola	Phoenix Racing	Chevrolet
40	26	33	Clint Bowyer	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet
41	39	55	Michael Waltrip	Prism Motorsports	Toyota
42	3	66	Dave Blaney	Prism Motorsports	Toyota
43	35	87	Joe Nemechek	NEMCO Motorsports	Toyota

References

1. Jenna Fryer (March 22, 2010). "Johnson Wins At Bristol". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on March 28, 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
2. Jenna Fryer (March 19, 2010). "Joey Logano Has The Pole". ABC News. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
3. "2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup TV Ratings". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
4. Joe Menzer (March 17, 2010). "New Spoiler; Old Wing". NASCAR. Archived from the original on March 22, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
5. Rodman, Dave (March 9, 2010). "Carl Edward's Probation". NASCAR. Archived from the original on March 11, 2010. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
6. Sporting News (March 21, 2010). "Johnson Wins For First Time at Bristol". YahooSports. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
7. "Race Information". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on March 24, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
8. Associated Press (March 21, 2010). "Johnson Earns 50th Win, but It's His First at Bristol". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
9. "Bristol Race Has Empty Seats". SB Nation. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
10. Jenna Fryer (September 20, 2010). "Bristol Doesn't Have A Sellout Crowd". Yahoo.com. Archived from the original on August 23, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
11. James Lewallen (October 4, 2012). "Protest draconian NASCAR regulations". The Augusta Chronicle. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
12. Ashley McCubbin. "The Practice Sessions". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
13. "Practice 1 Results". NASCAR. Archived from the original on March 22, 2010. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
14. "Starting Positions". NASCAR. Archived from the original on March 22, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
15. "Practice 2 Results". NASCAR. Archived from the original on March 23, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
16. "Happy Hour Results". NASCAR. Archived from the original on March 23, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
17. "Race Summary (Lap By Lap)". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on March 24, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
18. NASCAR (March 22, 2010). "Lap-by-Lap: Bristol". Yahoo.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
19. Al Pearce (March 19, 2010). "Logano Wins Qualifying". AutoWeek. Archived from the original on March 28, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
20. David Caraviello (March 22, 2010). "Martin & Biffle Causes Wreck". NASCAR. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
21. Associated Press (March 22, 2010). "Johnson Wins Third Race of The Year". ESPN. Archived from the original on March 26, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
22. "Winning Bristol one of Johnson's biggest accomplishments". topspeed.com. March 22, 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
23. "Positions". NASCAR. March 21, 2010. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
24. Jenna Fryer (March 22, 2010). "Jimmie Johnson wins for 1st time at Bristol". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2010.

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Sprint Cup Series 2010 season

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