>>> great coliseum is the last mile. >> what does 12 wins get you? legendary status. >> and home to some of the sports greatestsports. >>> one of the most violent ones i have everseen. fenders and tempers comply here at bristol. you'd better leave your tempers outside. >> today will be the day they got for a chancefor fame and glory. >> who will be the last one standing?
>>> well, as you take a look at the startlineup after qualifying was washed out on friday, kyle larson and chase elliott on thefront row. >> let's dial up our pole sitter kyle larsonand find out which lane he's going to choose. kyle larson, jeff up in the fox sports booth,you got me? >> yeah, i got you. >> we have seen every kind of condition. it's changing constantly here, bristol thisweekend. you got a chance to run the xfinity race onsaturday. now it's pouring down rain.
what do you expect in the early laps of thisrace? >> i think we lost him. >> uh-oh. >> that question was too hard. >> have to ask him something easier. >> i see him pushing the button. >> he's trying to talk to us. >> should we try him again? >> sure.
>> i think he's still going. >> it's going to be one of these days. >> we'll start being able to move around,so it will be a lot of fun. i love this place. the chevy has been fast all weekend. so we can keep it up front. try to get sorted. >> all right, good luck. pretty sure you're going to choose that outsidelane.
thanks for talking to us. we might be talking to you again after stageone. >> yeah, thanks. definitely taking the top. >> definitely taking the top. we got that out of it. >> all right. well, our pit reporters have dried out fromyesterday, and they have some late-breaking stories.
let's begin with matt yocum. >> mike, bristol is one of the most demandingtracks on the schedule. so much so, kurt busch had his interior specialistsaturday after the race was rained out practice-wise here, he went back to the hotel and workedon the headrest insert. adding about a quarter inch softer density. trying to make it a much smoother ride fromyour head taking all that pounding for 500 laps here at bristol. he's got five wins. he's chasing a sixth.
chris neville. >> matt, we've had six different winners thisyear, and surprisingly, kyle busch is not on the list. this time last year, he already had two wins. he's the talk of the town and the garage thisweekend. his only concern is he practiced only on thelow line. he still had a car to beat. vince. >> it's been 4 1/2 years since clint bowyerlast won, but don't be surprised if he's in
the mix today. crew chiefs down here say you're going tohave to manage the race. avoid the big mistake. keep your nose clean. no penalty. well, that's been the strength of this 14team this season. bowyer believes that he is off to one of thebest starts of his career and a return trip to victory lane may be as close today. jamie little.
>> well, vince, teams have had their workcut out for them this morning. because bristol does not have garages, thecars were out in the rain for over 24 hours. sure they had covers on them, but teams likekevin harvick came out to find that the inside of their race car was very damp. well, they were able to put some fans insideto dry the seat and the headset, all in an effort to get their driver comfortable todayand back to victory lane. larry? >> yeah, jamie, it's a long, grueling 500laps. but those first two stages, short.
125 laps. i think we start getting cautions towardsthe end of those two stages, strategy will be all over the place. now, let's take a look at the weather. the best thing i can tell you about the weather,no rain right there in the mid-60s right now the track temp 74 degrees, partly cloudy. race analysis, i mentioned it, 500 laps, firsttwo stages, 125 laps, final stage, 250. pit road speed, 30. pure window, 150, 160 laps.
the grip level in the grip strip, three tofour, you get outside, is probably about a one. a competition caution, which could also leadto some interesting strategy around lap 60. and, mike, i think you mentioned it. buescher with the backup car. >> no fueling before that occurs scheduledfor lap 60. well, friday, after practice, in my fantasyleague, if i had one, i was going to pick the drivers who were doing double duty andcompeting in both races. but now with a whole day of rain and griptraction compound added, i think it's anybody's
ball game. >> yeah, i still think it's an advantage toget those laps. you still have a pretty good idea of how longit takes for that bottom group to come in. it might take a little longer here becauseof the rain that's washed some of it away and how cold the tires are. i think it's going to take a few laps everyrestart, so that bottom groove versus top groove is going to be a big, big deal today. and then when will the very top groove, ifit's going to come in, when will it come in? >> let's look at our ford performance trackfacts for today.
fireball roberts was the first ford winnerat bristol in 1963. team penske has a win here in four of thelast six seasons. have you ever seen a racetrack with variablegrooves that you knew the track was going to change? one groove would be good, then it warmthsup, then the other groove. what is happening? >> well, i don't think there's many tracksi can think of in my cal rear, jeff, maybe you can agree, where we've put the grip stripin and had this kind of a situation. it's an unknown for different reasons.
>> when bristol redid this racetrack, thelast time they did concrete, that top groove came in so much, multiple grooves. they said let's get back to old school bristoland create a bottom groove. there is a much more bottom groove. >> and here we go, off into the unknown. >> i don't think any of us know what to expect. including those that are about to take thegreen. >> 500 laps here, you just never know. one thing we do know is going to happen, they'regetting ready to drop that green flag and
boogety, boogety, boogety, we're going togo racing on a monday, boys! >> very orderly, no contact through one andtwo. same for three and four. >> yeah, i don't see anything real weird happening. that extra substance they put on the trackthis morning doesn't seem to have affected it much at all. the guys are getting right through it withoutany problem. >> i think if anything, it has a lot moregroove than a lot of drivers are expecting. we saw chase elliott really make some groundup on kyle larson through that first corner.
kyle larson was a little bit cautious. then he saw in his mirror how much he wasgaining. he moved to the bottom. >> you saw truex get a better drive off thebottom of turn two. than blaney did off the top. then jimmie johnson was three wide for a minute. he's kind of backing up everyone down in oneand two. >> yeah. that 48 car is loose as a goose.
he's all over the place. he's got cars all around him that are wantingto get by. >> cars that seem to be really good here onthe long runs are those that turn the middle really good. you saw the change for third place. truex, fast race car. >> hooking the bottom. >> that's the key, mike. that is the key.
you've got to goat right down next to theapron. we see mcmurray trying to make a move to theinside. >> mcmurray's looking there. going. >> he's got him. >> that's by ryan blaney. >> fifth place. >> i think that bottom's going to be the wayto go for a while, but it doesn't take well before you wear that sustenance off and it'sgoing to be to the top.
>> also, d.w., as it lays rubber, you startskipping on top of that rubber. there's grip and then there's no grip. that's where, again, the variables that havebeen plagued here at bristol for these drivers and teams are going to continue. >> by now, seven laps in, the bottom is trulythe preferred groove. we see erik jones, jimmie johnson, aric almirolabacking up in the high side. >> one thing you saw in practice and i thinkyou're going to see in this race, once you've got a little heat in the tires, they reallyadhered to that substance they put down. it is the grip strip.
i think that's what we're seeing, heat inthe tires, get down there and go. >> it's been a long time since i've been tobristol. and i've seen every single car right againstthe apron. i mean, this truly is old school bristol. what's kyle larson going to do when he finallycatches the tail end of this field? >> i know what he did on saturday. he had a car to beat. he started on the post. set a new track record on saturday for thexfinity car.
>> sorry, d.w. 22 of logano got real loose,lost several positions. >> that's the thing about this joints jeff. you can see every car all the time. >> let's have a look. and what happened to joey logano getting intothree on the right side of your screen. >> hard to say. looked like he just drove in there prettydeep behind trevor bayne, and i don't know if he lost the back of the car, but that'swhat i would be an it is paid right there. we see the change for second place here, martintruex jr.
going by chase elliott. >> got by elliott. larson's way out there, but that 78's fast! >> truex, fastest car on the racetrack. logano recovers. drops in, just in front of trevor bayne. now it's kasey kahne on the right side. now he's got to battle erik jones. >> if your car is real good right now, i don'tknow if that's a good thing or not.
>> i don't think it is. this track is going to change a lot throughoutthis run and throughout this race. >> now, clint bowyer in the 14 just gave upa spot to his teammate kurt busch. but that car just doesn't have a lot of driveup off the corner. and up in the high groove. he's going to give up a couple more. >> well, i think what jeff is saying and whatwe know from past experience here is the rubber builds up in that lower lain and the carsare going to tighten up. you want a car to be a little free.
the crew chief always says it will come toyou. well, just don't wreck until it does. >> what they saw xfinity race on saturdaywas that bottom groove was only there for a period of time. and then the top groove came in. so to be good on the top, you've got to havethe car turning really good up there. they're anticipating that top coming in, butit has not come in yet. snoop chase elliott is third, but he had difficultylapping reed sorenson. the lap cars have kind of moved up high.
jimmy hill and reed sorenson. but down in the corner, they want some ofthat grip too. so they're going to drop down. there you see ryan blaney making the moveon sorensen. here comes kyle busch. as long as those lap cars are looking in themirrors, there should not be a problem. chris buescher had the start in the back withthe backup car. he's picked up 11 positions. >> mike, here's where you get into troublehere.
the 42 car of larson, he's caught the backof the field. that's going to slow him down. that's going to allow truex and all theseother cars to catch up to him. that's what you fight here, lap cars, loseyour momentum, and here comes somebody from way, way back that you got to deal with. >> just as you say that, d.w., look at that. kyle larson realized it's going to be challengingto get by the lap cars following him, i've got to move up top. he moved up top and checked it out down atthree, four, he moved right back to the bottom
in the next corner. >> there's a line of six cars in front ofhim. they're all bomb feeders. larson to lap them is going to have to stayup high. >> in practice remember on friday and saturday,larson was the only guy that would venture to the top. he was trying to get that top groove to comein for him, for himself. >> he shows the way to the rest of the field. he's the first one up there.
look at the momentum he gets of the cornerby using that top groove. >> i think it's going to go fine until hegets to landon cassill in 30th place. cassill's running the high line. that might be a time for him to drop downlow unless danica patrick catches cassill. >> larson when he was up running the highline said, well, he's going to go down swinging. >> kyle larson, your leader in bristol. ahhhh...you do know the experts at midas willtell you what needs fixing now and what can wait, right? like...i don't know...brakes.
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>> sean: we are under caution at bristol,lap 54. curt bush, first car to>>> ouch, we are under caution at bristol. lap 54. kurt busch, the first car to go around. not sure if he got tagged, but he has damageagainst the inside wall. he ran the back of that 15 car. they slowed down for the wreck down thereand the 37, yeah, the 37 got in the back of him. i think he may have wheel hopped trying toslow down.
a little bit of contact. kurt busch trying to get underneath trevorbayne i believe that was. the car comes around. well, there's a lot of grip in the corners. there's not a lot of grip once you get offthat traction strip. and then later, yeah, comes along later. >> you see kurt spinning. >> that's a.j. allmendinger.
>> allmendinger goes by, back behind him. and here's kurt busch. >> i'm so sorry. i thought i was taking it so easy. my bad. probably all done. >> so apparently no contact between he andkasey kahne. >> i heard kurt busch say that at martinsvillethree or four years ago. he came back and won the race.
>> i was going to say, i think that's fixable. i don't know to win the race, but it's fixable. >> chris buescher after piling into the backof reed sorenson, was trying to slow down there. >> i think that was chris buescher, the secondcar. >> yes, that was the backup car. >> he was coming. he made his way pretty well through the field. at one point, he had gained the most positions.
>> one thing i've seen happen here when there'san accident like that and everybody checks up, you a lot of times can get wheel-hop. even here at bristol, you don't think aboutthat, but i've had it happen. once it starts at this fast racetrack, it'sa handful and you lose full control and can't slow the car down. >> we are at lap 56. nascar's decreed this will be considered thecompetition caution. no point in throwing another one at lap 60. so now teams will be able to come in for goodyeartires, race fuel.
this team is determined. now, they're on the five-minute crash clock. they're determined to get kurt busch backout there. >> i think he'll be fine. i think they'll get that thing patched up. he'll be okay. >> very unique pit road here at bristol. martinsville used to be this way a long timeago. where you pitted on both the front side andthe back side.
you must enter the pit in turn two if you'repitting under caution and exit at turn one so that everybody travels the full distanceof both pit roads, and some of those segments are pie shaped, which makes maintaining pitroad time over distance speed a little difficult. if you pit under green, you can enter thepits on your side of the racetrack, wherever you pit is, and exit on the same time. >> mike, i think the best drivers in the world-- >> -- make that mistake every now and then? >> and as if variables here and challengesaren't enough, let's change up the pit road for under green as well.
it is one of the trickiest places to raceat. >> now, the pits are still closed becausethey were removing chris buescher's car from the entrance to the backstretch pits. it came to rest down on the apron in turnnumber two. you saw him go to the ambulance for the mandatorytrip to the care center. and a good bit of safety-kleen oil drive beingput down. >> we have an interesting safety here. remember, we know that this stage will endat lap 125. so you know you're probably going to pit then.
i think we're going to see a lot of differentstrategies here. yeah, i think most of the leaders will gowith four goodyear tires. but if you're in the back fighting for trackposition, maybe roll the dice and try this right side. but no matter what, don't hold my stop upwaiting for fuel. we know we have that end of stage one at lap125. >> it makes a lot of sense to me, larry. there's only two tires, get me out of here. >> kurt busch is rolling.
it's a good thing. not only was he on the five-minute clock,he had 15 seconds of his time taken away because of an improper entry into the pits. so due to our abbreviated prerace, we didn'tget a chance for our aarp keys to the drive. and let's see if they open pit road. if not, we'll go to those. and pit road's open. here they come. chris.
>> jamie mcmurray very happy with his racecar. unlike his teammate, he can only run the bottomlane. in the last few laps, he said the front endof the car is starting to give up. a little further down, kyle busch saying thetrack's very different than it was on saturday. just no grip here today. jamie. >> martin truex jr. said he fired off quickand then it went away. not a terrible balance. pretty happy with it.
four tire stop here and they'll fill him up. >> chase elliott started second pits fromthird. had a little contact in the left rear. so they'll pull the left rear, but no otherchanges. four tires and fuel. ryan blaney had trouble on the green. he was able to legally swap the sticker fora sticker. his car, much on the tight side cutting thecorner and loose late exit. meanwhile, he's loose in the first run, ableto move around, chassis adjustment on the
42. >> boy, 30 miles an hour looks very slow downpit road, doesn't it? everybody has had four tires, too, mike. >> so we're under the first caution of theday for kurt busch. >> larsen goes to the inside group. >> he moved up one time and lost almost twopos >>> larson's chosen the outside groove. can truex take advantage of that here? >> truex has been a bottom feeder all dayso far right down around the track apron.
>> he moved down one time and lost almosttwo positions when he did it. >> should be evenly matched in turn one. let's see how it plays out. green flag. >> start by larson. he's going to be able to pick whatever lanehe wants. >> i think that was his plan, jeff. i think he might be able to get a jump onthat start. >> mcmurray in trouble getting through oneand two at the bottom.
here comes keselowski making it three wide. >> boy, kyle busch was held up by mcmurray. he passed him and went on. >> keselowski was a gentleman. he backed out to allow that to sort out andpaid the price. lost three, now four positions. >> i think that when you've got a good racecar, you know you've got a good race car, you kind of give and take at this point inthe race. >> you know, a little bit of what i was talkingabout, i think this will continue to happen
throughout the race. some drivers just were not able to hold thebottom. more rubber down this time. you see the 21 of blaney get up the racetrack. matt. >> it's been an issue all weekend for blaneyin the 21. he says when he gets in the center of thecorner, he has to get a little bit more oomph turning the wheel because it slows down alittle bit. it's what he's experienced all weekend.
the concern is not high at this juncture. >> he just kind of got outmaneuvered rightthere. the 18 of kyle busch and the 1. took advantage and cut under the 21 of blaneyand was able to make a nice move right there. >> that can be a bit of a common thing, histalking about the power steering pump. this place has so much grip, especially inthe front suspension, that it -- the power steering pump can't handle all the restart. >> watch the 1 of jamie mcmurray. right here.
it looks like he pushed. he was talking about being tight. he pushed up off the bottom. had to check up so he didn't get in to somebodyelse. that created this three-wide situation. >> affect, the power steering situation, jeff,you talk about, i've had that happen on low air pressure. you drop those left-side tire pressures waydown, that box kind of sticks until the pressure builds up.
>> darrell, i liked your analogy about notpressing the issue at this point. nobody's going to win this race at lap 75,but you sure can lose it. you can get yourself into so much trouble,you'll be in the garage if you push it. >> mcmurray loose off two. denny hamlin almost got into him. hamlin says enough of that and moves on. >> mike, remember, these straightaways are650 feet long. that's all they are. so you don't have a lot of straightaway hereto work with.
>> hard to tell if mcmurray struggled withloose or tight. he was talking about being really tight. no front grip on that first run. boy, he's really struggling keeping it onthe bottom. look at this tight squeeze between teammates. he's got erik jones going on the inside ofmartin truex jr. what an incredible run this young man is having. won xfinity race on saturday. stenhouse sticking his nose in, three wide,coming off turn four.
that's not going to work. >> stenhouse says, it worked at martinsville. >> watch him. he was so fast here last august on the restart. he could go anywhere he wanted, but especiallyon the outside. and had a loose race car. but he really was making up spots on the racecar. >> a.j. allmendinger had a lot of success here.
he moves up to tenth. mcmurray goes up to the high side. he's going to lose at least one more spothere. >> boy, jamie mcmurray's car very differentthan the first one. he was very happy with the first one. he said, i don't have any grip at all. the back end is jumping out. >> whoa. >> i think that's bad on the start.
i think these cars are going to tighten up,like we mentioned earlier. i think they're a little loose on the get-go. you don't want to lose that many spots likemcmurray did. that's not a really terrible thing if we gogreen for a long time. the car will lighten up. that will work out of it. >> especially if that top groove every comesin, that will work well for him, but, yeah, he's going to definitely need a long run,like you said, d.w. >> you've got a couple of fords working thattight groove.
you've got blaney, who's been up there a goodpart of the day. >> i don't know if he's up there by choice. >> well, there's that. keselowski. and almirola all trying the top side. here's dale earnhardt jr. running 18th for second place. here comes erik jones. remember, he won saturday's race.
he's passed chase elliott. going to bring truex with him maybe. >> looking really, really good. >> erik jones just might win sunday's race,the way it's going. car looks awesome right now. >> i'd like to see chase elliott think aboutit. he looked in the mirror and maybe saw 22 inthe racetrack. he's stuck on the outside. go ahead and experiment right now.
i know it's a little risky, but there's nogrip in the center of the corner. there's grip down low and there's some gripway up high. now he dives back to the bottom. behind truex. watch logano really working that diamond grooveand line. >> and not just logano. ryan newman has made some moves early. he's coming. he's in sixth place right behind logano.
>> newman's coming up from the bottom. he's making time. i like the way his car looks right now. pretty fast. >> our phoenix winner. talked to richard childress the other night. so pumped up about these teams. thinks they're on the verge of breaking outand winning a lot of races. >> the 48 of jimmie johnson, he just passedkyle busch.
kyle busch has been the best race car hereall weekend long. jimmie's car's looked really, really strongrolling through the center. we heard chad knaus, talking to him earlier. he's going to go the inside of his teammate,chase elliott. that car is glued to the bottom right now. >> jimmie johnson dropped as far back as 19thin the early going. now he's climbed to sixth. this is the big one. the kinda job that demands doin' it right.
two cups secret rub. big ol' brush, drippin with sauce. and now, the right kinda heat. new kingsford long-burning. burns longer, 25% longer. so instead of stoppin' to refuel, you canstoke the good times 'til the sun goes down. start something. >>> 103 laps complete. kyle larson has leth>>> 103 laps complete at bristol.
kyle larson has led them all. second place car is martin truex passing histeammate erik jones. for second place. now working the last car. it has been all kyle larson at the start ofthis. >> guys, i'm getting pretty concerned aboutthe 21 of ryan blaney here. i think it's a lot more here. power steering is becoming an issue. he's dropped way back.
matt, what do you have on that? >> jeff, his day has certainly taken a turnfor the worst. he cannot run the bottom. they have a backup power steering pump intheir pit box. it's not good on the 21. >> i can't even turn. it's like maybe went out. >> it looks like that steering is bindingon him as the pump catches and releases. >> you can see his hands vibrating on wheel.
>> watch where he positions his left hand. he's getting some angle -- look at him openit up. his fingers. he's cramping up. he's putting everything. look at him take another swing on that steeringwheel. he's in big trouble. >> i know we had a day of rest. we didn't get to race yesterday.
but he ran 300 laps here on saturday. but as you get into this race, conditioningis always a factor. >> but d.w., all the rest of the world isnot going to help you with no power steering. >> oh, no. i was just going to say it adds to it. if you had a power steering belt cut, it washarder to steer than if you had manual steering because you have to work against the pumpto be able to steer the car. that is hard. >> yeah, you can run with no power steeringhere if you want to run about 20 second laps.
>> about 250 laps. >> don't ask me how i know. >> let's go back to 17th. let's get a nationwide report from vince. when they came in on that first pit stop,just an air pressure adjustment, fighting a little bit of loose in and bite center off. he only picked up about three spots in theearly going. came in with a little extra boost in theirstep after that fifth place finish at texas, our last race.
finally got something to show for their effort. been a tough start to the season. a big wiggle there from junior coming offthat corner. >> yeah, i expected that 88 car to be reallygood here. it's one of junior's favorite tracks. they got a little momentum coming off of texas. i thought he'd be right up against them, butthey've got work to do so far. >> wow, trevor bayne. thread the needle between clint bowyer andlajoie.
gosh. there wasn't any room there. >> just don't want to give up that position. risk taking and being patient can really challengeyou at this stage of the race. it's a long race. >> i don't like the looks of this. >> ooh, i don't know either. that's maybe a little bit too early to bebattling. >> ooh, contact right there between bowyer.
>> oh, that was contact. >> you know why bowyer didn't like that, becauseblaney was down -- blaney was on his door. he wouldn't give him any room. i think it was aggravating clint bowyer alittle bit. >> as that settles out, another driver who'shad difficult is brad keselowski. he was eighth. he's now 18th. >> that's a shock. didn't see that coming.
>> kyle larson. as he catches faster cars, cars in a higherrunning position. lapping cars gets more and more difficult. >> well, mike, you lose some of the maneuverabilitywhere you can't move the car around like when the tires were fresh. now your car takes a little bit longer forit to do what you want it to do. so you have to be a little more cautious. >> cars have had the opportunity to adjust. they're going to figure out the track a littlebetter.
>> ricky stenhouse got a second place finish. trevor bayne, this is his home track, he wastop ten. >> i've heard stenhouse say this is his favoritetrack. yeah, he's had great finishes here in thepast. actually he scored more points in the lastfour or five racings than anybody. >> just like at how bayne gets out. when he was trying to get by bowyer. he got right down on his door. this time, stenhouse able to get by.
holds that inside. >> looks like there's just five laps to goin this stage. >> there's going to be a lot of urgency withty dillon. he's going to try to stay on the lead lap. that's a tough thing to do today, keep kylelarson behind you. >> i don't think that's going to work. >> i think he'll be in the free pass position. maybe not. depends if larson's able to catch ty's olderbrother austin who's the next car ahead.
>> this is where it's worth taking some bigrisk. that's what dillon's doing. running higher than anybody on the racetrack. trying to find some grip up high. >> have you ever seen kind of -->> ooh, oh. >> 13 car. >> too much risk there. >> he saved it. >> damage to the right side.
>> a little bit. not much. a little bit. >> he did a nice job of hanging on that thing. >> two more laps. ty dillon just got a littletoo high. >> he was trying that top groove. >> he is still the free pass car. >> oh, and left. >> right there.
>> now it's austin. >> well, austin's going to fight back though. this might help his brother ty dillon out. >> yeah, and it does. >> one of the hardest things to do. >> larson backed off. >> and so austin dillon stays on the leadlap and his younger brother ty is in the free pass position as we end stage one. kyle larson, your stage one winner over truex,jones, teammates logano and johnson.
stage one in the book is all larson. >>> we're at one quarter distance, stage onecomplete in the 25th anniversary food city 500 at bristol. remember the first one, 1992, allan cowikisat on the pole and drove to victory in what would become his winston cup championshipseason. >> great tradition for bristol motor speedway. started back in 1992. >> kyle larson is our stage winner. he's finished in the top ten in 14 of 15 stagesthis season.
most of any driver. >> remember, mike, in our opening, we sawcars getting in trouble because they missed the grip strip. he was one of them. they repaired that car. that thing has been fast. >> larry, how about ryan blaney and that powersteering problem that he has? is that something they can address here? >> yeah, i mean, they can, mike.
if it is indeed just the belt, they can putanother belt on. it's going to be tough to do that and notgo a lap down. i don't know how he can wrestle that thingfor another 150 laps. we saw the 22 car of joey logano change thewhole pump here a few years ago, lost a few laps, but they had a red flag on the backupcar. we went up to the trailer, rehearsed. when they lifted the red flag, they fixedare the car. brilliant. >> a satellite team of penske so a lot ofthe technology should be available.
>> well, jimmie johnson's car has been reallysolid, and on the last stop, he took an energy bar. he's still hungry, wants another energy bar. you saw the right rear, just a little bitof damage. they don't think there's any rub. should be okay. they'll take a look at it right here. he says it has really nice front grip forthe 48. so it will be four tires.
nd an air pressure adjustment. the 78, really happy, both ends of the racetrack. four tires and an air pressure adjustmentfor martin truex jr. vince. >> the 77 of erik jones coming to pit lane. he won the xfinity race saturday. he looks strong here in the early going today. pitting from the third position. just 20 years old. making his 11th cup start.
it's amazing the job he's done. he says it's a little loose on entry so they'llmake a chassis adjustment to set him up. >> joey logano's 22 similar to the first run. tight landing. they want to work more on the tightness. will make an air pressure adjustment. great stuff by the 42 of larson. he moves around a lot. they don't want to make any changes on his42.
>> race off pit road. larson holds the lead. jimmie johnson moves up a couple of spots. as the lap down cars make their stops. we'll keep an eye on the 21. let's talk to our stage winner. >> let's try it again. >> hey, kyle, this is jeff, up at fox sportsbooth, you got me? >> well, man, that was pretty impressive.
reminds me of what you did saturday in thexfinity race. your car's just capable of going anywhere. a lot of cars a lap down. how's it feel? it feels good. this place is so much fun when you can getin the groove. so having a blast. our car's a little loose on the short run. as i get going, i get better and better.
so hopefully we can get some long runs hereand lap, you know, more cars. >> i know you like that top groove. we're anxious to see if it comes in. last time you won a stage, this first stage,guess what, you went on to win the race. good luck. >> thank you. >> kyle larson has led every lap so far. the hood is up on ryan blaney's car as theytry to make repairs for him. lar son pits, holds the lead.
>>> i'm going to be really curious once theyget some heat in the tires and have to do a restart on hot tires with all that rubberbuilt up. >> joey logano around the outside. >> remember, he's had some difficulty holdingthat bottom in the early stages of the run. his car's pretty good on the long run. been a little bit loose on the shorter runs. chase elliott seems to be pretty good on thatoutside for a few laps as well. battling with truex. truex gets a little bit loose on turn fourthere.
>> right there, chase did a smart thing. he dropped to that bottom, right in frontof truex. that was a good move. >> ricky stenhouse. and they're double-wide. all the rest of the field right behind them. >> mike, i was talking about trevor baynegetting on the door of some of these cars. remember, this lane, this bottom, about acar and a half wide. so you want to keep those left sides whenyou're on the outside.
keep the left side down on the front sevenas much as possible. that makes a lot of sense. >> race battle going on right here for thisposition. stenhouse really working that outside groove. not willing to give that up. he knows if he can just get it, right here,back down to the bottom. >> really slid it in there in turn three. and here's clint bowyer. trevor bayne closing in.
>> well, one thing we always know we're goingto get at bristol, that's close quarter racing. keep an eye on the 14 and the 6. listen to bowyer's radio, not happy with trevorbayne. >> six cars. i mean it now. caution. i'm going to wreck 'em. >> no, not under the caution. >> not under the caution.
i want you to go down. >> we'll get in when it matters. >> well he's got me loose. >> he's getting to repay that favor. now he's pinning him down on his door. >> but it's not losingening up trevor bayne. >> a little. i don't know. give it time.
>> i think bowyer would like to get in behindhim if he could. >> this is where frustration, you know, cansometimes get the best of you. he's battling really hard for that positionright now. because of what happened earlier. and just stays calm right now. >> jeff, i always think here you've got topick your fights. you can't get mad every time somebody doessomething you don't like. got to wait until it's important. >> i say that based on experience.
losing my cool with that 14 car of clint bowyer. >> you know, i can't believe this is erikjones' first cup race here. [ indiscernible ]>> well, okay. that's true. you look out that window and see cars andstreetlights. want to know what he sees? opportunity. it's not how fast you mow, it's how well youmow fast. it's not how fast you mow...
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at bristol, but not at the front because kylelarson has put on a show. he's led every single lap. >> yeah, he's not letting up. watch this move right here. to the bottom. that's pretty risky at this point in thisrace. being the leader. you know what, he's in a rhythm. this is a rhythm track.
you get in a rhythm, you just want to keepit going. that's what's going to put a lot of cars alap down. >> the last time a driver led nearly thismany opening laps at bristol, august 2002. that was dale earnhardt jr. jeff gordon endedup winning the race. >> along those lines, mike, has anybody everled all 500 laps? >> no. turn two, danica slapped the wall, but keptgoing. battle for eighth on the right side of yourscreen. >> they won't today, d.w.
>> no, one time. >> only one. >> yarborough led all 500 laps here one year. >> junior's cars were always really good here. >> here's something i just did not anticipate. both of these cars, keselowski and the 18of kyle busch, i really expected both of these cars to be up front battling. they may. the 18 of kyle busch so strong all weekendlong.
>> look at this battle. that makes it three wide. that puts lajoie up high. stenhouse has to back out. >> stenhouse had the bottom there a littlebit. went up the racetrack. there's no groove, no grip once you get abovethat traction lane. >> i think we've seen stenhouse three widemore than anybody out there. >> the last three laps in turn two, drivershave got outside that upper groove and come
close to the wall. it happened the danica patrick, and it justhappened the ty dillon when he was right next to our leader. >> i think this is something chris talkedabout, yeah, you just got to be so careful. you jump right over there and there's zerogrip. >> you got that grip. >> he's got experience, doesn't he? >> i know what's going to happen. >> logjam here.
>> look at here, the 22's right up on theback bumper of the 42. >> i think larson's car is starting to goaway a little bit on that bottom groove. his car is much better on the top. >> wow, about to be lapped, stayed up high. now larson. here we go. >> the bottom. >> yes, he is. >> cut him off.
>> watch how the 22 closes right up on him. even stays with him on the exit. >> well, i think what joey logano -->> getting a lap car here. >> joey logano, he doesn't want that opportunityto get away. i think he's got him where he wants him ifhe can get around him. >> larson can lap -- you know. >> we know. >> that guy. >> you know what, this is what kept benedettoin the game and in the top ten position here
a year ago. here comes truex to the bottom. >> truex is going up there and working. >> i don't want to go by benedetto. i'm going to scratch him out. jamie? >> the crew chief for the 78 told me theyset this car up so he can run the bottom. now, he hasn't gone up the racetrack one bit. he really likes how the car is performingon the bottom.
so you see him just sit down there. pretty happy with the car. but it's getting a little bit tight in themiddle. he doesn't want to rotate. >> and see, i saw something out of kyle larsonright there. a little more patient getting into turn one. got right down into the apron and hooked thatbottom. he was able to get by. dibenedetto still battling.
>> i give dibenedetto an attaboy. he's trying his darnedest. >> he's a really talented race car driverand it shows at a place like this. >> see dibenedetto go to the bottom. he sees he's coming u on a slower car as well. he's battling for position and trying to getthat free pass. as the caution comes out. >> meanwhile, back here, the 78 is workingevery way you can get around joey logano. you got to put the pumper to him to make ithappen.
>> doing much better than he had been. 's doing, he's dominant in the corner, jeff. he's going in, up high, cutting it down. >> dibenedetto still holding his own. >> oh, spun out! >> he went into the corner. he got a little high on the backhand, snappedaround. >> i thought he was gone. >> you think these drivers aren't on the edgeand working hard.
>> why to you think logano is so wanting tokeep pressure on larson right now? he figures he can force him into a mistake. >> does exactly what we've seen ty dillondo. expected the 43. he went up high. got a little too high. about lost it. >> that was a heck of a save. >> he's not going to give up the lead.
i can tell you. they're going to have to take its away fromhim. >> there's really not a protocol for lappedcars. you don't have to run the bottom or run thetop. i guess what the leaders ask is hold yourline. >> i think that's predictable. >> maybe he eat get up here and give larsona pit. martin truex jr., he just got around joeylogano. he's a little quicker i believe than loganowas.
>> to that point, i think when you get toa place like bristol, there's no real protocol holding your line. if you're the last car trying to stay on thelead lap, you're battling for your own position. you're gong to fight. it's going to frustrate those leaders, butyou have the right to do it. some days, that can be turned around on you. >> you're looking at the ninth place battlein what's been the longest green flag run today. >> stenhouse jr.
having a good run here. the car didn't have any grip the first run. but big changes after the pit stop. the big thing they want to do right now isexecute on pit lane. that last stop, they gave up five spots. 18, kyle busch, just a couple positions back. he's not been happy with that race car allday long. the front is plowing. the front won't turn.
>> that 78, martin truex, looking at thatbottom. he's underneath of the larson car. can't quite pull off the pass but he is there. >> his car's come on strong. larson's going to have to go to the top totry to work that top. >> it's a pretty good drive off turn two onthe top. >> i think martin truex has got him. i think he's got that bottom working now. i think larson's car has fallen off a littlebit.
>> larson will to be real careful jumpingthat cushion down in one and two. >> right in front a little bit, not heavybut you'll start seeing it. >> make sure the switch is where you needit. it's starting to glow, that right front justa little bit here. >> talking about the brakes going into thecorner. >> yeah, talk about switches being turnedon, the blowers. sometimes you'll turn those off early in therun. another battle. you'll turn those blowers off to get moreheat in the tires quicker at the beginning
of the run. once you get it, you turn those switches on. >> jeff, we're seeing what the fans want tosee here. we got cars running high. we got cars running low. larson's holding off. he's running the bottom and comes off thecorner. almost side by side. >> i think what we might see here pretty soonis what the fans really want to see if larson
keeps fighting, the second place runner -->> there he goes. he's got him. gets up front of him. ah. >> great battle here, larry. what are you seeing? >> well, if the air pressure has built upin that 42 car right in front because of that heat, he's probably picked upped a fast push. the car's not turning because of that airpressure not right in front.
>> i don't know about right in front, butthere's a lot of cars in his way and he picked the right lane. martin truex, the new leader. >> the last time a driver led 200 laps here,he led them all, that was cale yarborough. new leader, martin truex jr. >>> kyle busch who finished 39th here lastyear may cut down a right front tire and hit the wall in turn two. we're under cut>>> kyle busch who finished 39th here last year may cut down a right front tire and hitthe wall in turn two.
we're under caution. pit road's open. >> jimmie johnson saying he was getting tighteras he ran up the track, but there at the track he was getting tight at the bottom. are you done yet? does it look like i'm done? shouldn't you be at work? [ mockingly ] "shouldn't you be at work?" todd.
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oh! well... i retire as champion. game hog! champion. >> 35 laps to go go in stage two on the firstever bristol race >>> 35 laps to go in stage two on the firstever bristol race to start on a monday. and, larry, let's take a look at today's libertymutual insurance worry less strategy. >> mike, so far, the way the cautions havebeen fallen, i've not been leaving you out
i mean come and get four fresh tires. but if we stay out under caution, you haveto do what you see these drivers doing. you're trying your best to keep those tirerubber marbles off the tire. because if you don't keep those tires cleanedoff, you go back to restart, jeff, it's caddie katy bar the bar for a lap or two. >> that would not be much fun if you've gotdebris on the tires and you have to push the car as hard as you do on the restarts to makeup positions. >> that was ugly. >> we're going to go green this time.
i believe we've set a new nascar record. we've had three caution flags and one driver. ty dillon has got the free pass in every oneof those. continuing work there on wood brothers car. because it's a mechanical problem, he's notsubject to the five-minute crash clock. they're trying to get the power steering fixedand get blaney back out there. >> it did look like a bead on the 18 car. i was looking at the tire. looking at it in the pits over there.
>> i agree, i think it was heat related. that was a grueling pace they were running. that car was pretty tight. >> green flag. >> the team that's done a really nice jobin managing this race, that's the 48 team. oh, 88 in the wall. never made it -->> caution is out. >> wow, he hit that hard. >> let's listen in on dale earnhardt jr.'sradio.
he was running 20th. >> we're smoking. >> we just noticewhen you left there was alittle oil in the pit stall. >> that was before, just before the restart,was that radio. >> they had to put some oil on that fronttire and he just lost the front going into turn one. >> it just goes straight up the track. >> yeah, he's already in the wall. it had to be related to that.
that's pretty odd. there's no real chance of that being a tireissue just on the restart. >> he went straight so whatever it was, yousee right there. >> that's definitely fluid underneath theright front, if i had to guess. >> junior finished second here last year. >> here he is right here. let's watch him get off in the corner here. the car starts to go down the back and thecar just goes straight. >> yeah, no chance of making that first turn.
>> oh, he's leaving a snail's trail of somefluid as he goes to i assume the garage. (brakes squeal) ahhhh...you do know the expertsat midas will tell you what needs fixing now and what can wait, right? dale earnhardt jr. short bit on short tracks this year. at martinsville. he busted the radiator and was out of therace. >>> dale earnhardt jr. snake-bit on shorttracks this year at martinsville. here, they have lost the oil cooler and themechanical damage they can repair behind the
pit walls as long as they don't work on anydamaged body work. they could try to repair it mechanically toget him back out there, but here's look at the 88. >> you would think by the oil cooler or it'sin the radiator area, he would have knocked, something would have hit that, puncture it. but i don't know, d.w. this place takes a beating. that concrete racetrack. the amount of force as well as the vibrations.
you're putting these parts and pieces andthings through a lot. i'm just wondering if possibly something wascracked or broke. that the oil line was attached to. >> could have. we're told he is out of the race. they have retired the car with mechanicaldamage. he's going to the care center. >> brings an iron man to his knees. i know the car takes a pounding just likethe driver does.
>> vince. >> yeah, i'm with junior now. i know, junior, they're trying to addresswhat damage was done before the incident and what damage was done after you hit the wall. but did you have any idea at all that therewas a problem? >> when i came out of the pit, we had someoil in the pit staal. i noticed when i was getting lined up, itwas smoking. i don't know why. but it's got oil all over the engine compartment.
so at the corner, i just went straight inthe wall. i don't know what broke, but i think that'sthe end of the day. >> per nascar rules, you have to to the medicalcenter. do you feel okay? >> i feel good. we'll get in here and find out. >> mike. >> thank you, vince. that's only his third dnf ever from bristol.
the previous ones were all the result of accidents. now let's look at some of the repair goingon for kyle busch. >> kyle busch also snake bit here at bristolthe last year. he had a tire failure in the spring rate lastyear. a suspension failure in the fall race. a failure here today. listening to his crew chief, he said we'renot sure why we had the bead failure. temperature on the wheel was not extreme. the team is looking at that twice now andeverything looks good.
>> clean-up continues down in turn numberone from dale erin earnhardt jr., and we'll stay under caution. why do we make grills? for being part of your life... all of your life. for taking the guesswork out of grilling. for quality... beyond words. the genesis ii comes with gs4 weber4s newhigh performance grilling engine.
why do we grill? for living life with the people that fillyou with life. >> you can hear the drivers. you can kind of play with that throttle. give it gas, give it gas. short straightaway. well, denny hamlin, ricky stenhouse, chaseelliott, brad keselowski, and clint bowyer, and paul menard all trying to make that outsidework. all lead lap cars.
>> i think kyle busch's car is okay. didn't look like it hit the wall. bad enough the damage for the car where hewouldn't be able to keep going. i think he may be okay. >> i think what's going to be on his mind,if we get another 90-lap run, is there something in the setup or air pressure weiss that maybecontributed to the brakes? gets loose, number three. contact with hamlin. >> as good as it was in the beginning, itjust has gone away.
that's not his fault. that's not the car's fault. the track changes. you got to anticipate. that's what makes jimmie johnson and someof these guys run out front right now. that's what makes them great here. they anticipate what the thing's going todo and they're ready for it. >> larson making contact with denny hamlinas he tries to catch that car up. i think larson got caught on the bottom onthe restart.
the car really just wasn't quite there fora few laps. it actually started coming back to him. he got inside the 11 and moved him up theracetrack. then larson drove in a little too deep, gotloose. >> three laps to go. david ragan got into the wall. it was just casual contact. >> i talked to wheels, mike wheeler, the crewchief for denny hamlin. he said denny is as happy as he's been allyear long with this race car.
really like how it handled at the bottom andon the top in practice. today has been good but as he runs he getstighter. as he battles for his first top five of theyear. >> on the left rear -->> he might be happy with the race car but he's not happy with trevor bayne, i can tellyou that. rolled. >> he's got a lot of smoke. in fact, i think the cockpit's probably filledwith smoke. >> yes, it is.
>> i'm sure it is. that's something similar to what we saw happenwith dale earnhardt junior jr., or is that millimeter completely different? >> he's coming to the pit. >> well, we only got ten to go here in thisstage, guys. battling for stage points. as martin truex puts danica patrick two lapsdown. logano and johnson trying to close. here's the big battle for stage points.
trevor bayne is ninth. 24, elliott, tenth. and stenhouse wants a part of this. >> mike, trevor bayne having a great run here. he says it's been a little tight on the lastrun though. he said it started backing up the corner,using less brakes. guess, what guys? it's working. >> if you do that, you can really free thecar up and get it through the center really
good. the reason why you have to back up the entryis because if you free that car up, it's going to get really loose as it transitions intothe corner. >> that's kind of the magic to this. you just can't overdrive these corners. if you charge in the corner, the car won'tturn. get off a little early, get back a littlequicker. >> the 33 made a quick stop and go, he's backout there. what happened?
>> they're not sure if it was a big issueor not, so he came down here. he had a tire rub, left rear. he had contact with the 15 prior to that. they got that tire off in record time. no harm, no foul on the 43. >> great battle here for ninth in the finalstage points. elliott cannot clear trevor bayne. and now here comes stenhouse. and first time we mentioned matt kenseth today.
>> the 6 and the 24, the 17, mine they'rebattling hard for that tenth and final stage point. >> stenhouse, inside of chase elliott rightthere. we saw this out of trevor bayne earlier. he leaves that bottom groove open. he did this with clint bowyer. he wasn't too happy. he leaves that bottom open. chase elliott's able to get there.
he just can't quite complete the pass. that's going to open the door for stenhouse. >> i know one thing. i wouldn't cut down in front of stenhousebecause i saw what he did to kyle busch in martinsville. he wants the points here. >> bayne's got really good drive on the cornerfrom the top. now elliott has to go to the top to get paststenhouse again. >> been so quiet, that's matt kenseth.
>> just remember, this is 500 laps. and matt kenseth knows that better than mostof these guys. >> right now have the last two point positions. one to go for martin truex. they'll wave the stage flag after the tenthplace car crosses the line. and who will that be? it looks like stenhouse right now. >> i hope they respect each other becausewe know they've had a little issue. >> here comes kenseth to
the back bumper of stenhouse. he's not going to get there. ninth and tenth. >> kenseth certainly was trying. think of the start of the season he's had. he wanted one of those stage points. >> martin truex gets his fifth stage win. he leads all drivers in that category. and we're halfway in bristol.
>>> it's definitely been a lot more fun theselast few seasons. i think those things i learned when i wasstruggling gave me a good perspective and made me appreciate what is going on now. >> martin truex, five stage wins. that leads the league. let's see what happens here on pit stops. as they got the sweepers working, turn oneand turn >>> martin truex, five stage wins. as they got the sweepers working, turn oneand turn three.
trying to get those marbles. truex leads them on to pit road. >> he got that big win at texas, punched histickets to the playoffs and went to celebrate in mexico. they picked up right where they left off. really happy with the car. loose on the restart. they want that front grip, better rear grip. martin truex so happy to win that stage.
never won a race here at bristol. they're hoping to get that done today. four-tire start. let's go to vince. >> erik jones bringing it to pit road. this kid has done another great job againtoday. hanging around the top five. pitting from sixth place this time. says the car's not too bad.
they just burned up the tires. slight air pressure adjustment. matt? >> joey logano, on pit road. says his car, he needs it to be a little tighter. it's too free on entry and exit. he's tried brakes and the track bar adjustor. it just accelerates his issue. >> two tires for denny hamlin.
put him out front. and cole whitt is the only car one lap down. he will get the free pass on this cautionflag. the fifth one of the day. >> what you say we talk to martin truex, thestage winner? >> that would be a good idea. >> hey, martin truex jr., it's d.w. you got me buddy? >> hey, d.w.
what's happening? >> you are, man, you are. has the car gotten better or has the trackchanged to suit your car now? because you are awesome right now. >> yeah, i think a little bit of both. i think we made some small adjustments. i think the track has changed a little bit. so car's really good around the bottom rightnow. pretty happy about that.
so we'll just see what happens here. but the guys have all done a good job on thetoyota today and all weekend. we'll see what we can do from here on out. >> all right, my friend. they gave you a good car today. you're driving the wheels off of it. good luck, buddy. >> aw, appreciate that, it's been a lot offun so far. thanks, guys.
>> martin truex, stage winner. in fact, the first five finishers of stagetwo were all different teams led by this guy. martin truex. blue the dog here for propane. you know, i'm just a humble dog. i didn't attend the elite boarding kennels,but i do know that nothing beats the freedom of living out here with propane, people canlive where they want, and just as cozy as they want. whether it's a hot bath (no thank you), awarm bedroom, or a perfectly grilled steak.
drop it, drop it, drop it proudly independent. proudly american. proudly propane >> took the wave around at 217 and pittedseven laps later. he stayed out under this caution. to put that little locomotive in the lead. as he starts next to denny>>> cassill took the wave around at 217 and pitted seven laps later. as he starts next to denny hamlin.
to the geico restart zone. whoa. >> almost three-wide. look at martin truex jr. with all that momentum on the outside, fourtires. keep an eye on kevin harvick. he's been creeping into this picture. he won the last time we were here at bristol. really fast on that outside lane.
look at larson also coming back. >> kyle larson is back. now that he's got tired. that's a brand-new race car again. >> i think they finally made some adjustmentsto that car to go with the track conditions. he got off the last middle part of the runthe last time by. >> he's going to take a look to the outside. maybe the 4, harvick. he's there.
>> i'd give him some room, buddy. soo if he has the drive-off that he needs. yes. not quite clear. >> jamie. >> remember when he won here in august, they'rein a different manufacturer now, ford. a lot of changes. a lot differences. been a little bit tougher for them this weekend.
they adjusted air pressure on the last stop. >> keven harvick in the 4, currently second. >> yeah, he was able to fend off the challengeby the number 42 car. it surprised me. i thought 42 had the momentum on the outside. keven dug down and got right by him. >> i think we're at the stage in the racenow where the outside groove is really good for about two laps. and you better make your moves early and quick.
and then get right back down to the bottom. >> let's mention ryan blaney is back in therace after 47 laps behind the wall repairing power steering. >> mike, just a couple laps to go. he's got tires. quiet on the radio now. boy, the short tracks this year not kind tojamie mcmurray. >> remember in martinsville, he had a flattire going, tried to ride it out, he ended up in the wall.
>> i don't see any smoke off the car anywhere. he looks pretty clean. >> now, does trevor bayne have a similar issue? we listen in. >> we've got a tire going down for some reason. >> isn't that odd? now, i just wonder if there just was contactthat was made on that last restart. these guys were really getting after him whenthat green flag came out, battling hard for position.
i wonder if a little contact was made. >> i just -- i think it's low air pressure. i think you go back to green here. you got low air pressure. >> raise the track bar if you're worried aboutit. raise it, it will help it. >> now, let's go about half a lap behind therace leader to where brad keselowski languishes in 22nd place, matt. >> mike, we documented the wood brothers 21power steering issue at the end of stage one.
they replaced that. now brad keselowski and team penske number2 says he's having some type of issue with his. the car's free and it's very difficult toturn the wheel back to the right to try to correct it. he is dropping and dropping fast. >> mike, i just think some time on the restartit's low air pressure. keep dropping pressure, dropping pressure. remember, you get inner liners on the right-sidetires so it puts a little strain on that steering
box and pump so the pressure builds up a littlebit. >> yeah, d.w., you know as these races goon, a lot of times these crew chiefs, they'll start evaluating the situation. looking at tires. they start getting a little bit more aggressivewith what their adjustments are as well as >> michael mcdowell and corey lajoie werebattling for position, the 95 and the 83. mcdowell hooked him. lajoie got a piece of the wall. >> that's going to be a tire rub with theright front of 83 if lajoie's not careful.
>> turn two also. he got up in that loose stuff. the third time we've seen him up there. >> same song, third verse. >> that's right. he said he's perfected it, i'll say that. >> 19 laps down. hugging around the apron. >> as the leader goes past.
>> he's been pulling away from kevin harvick. he wants to get as big of a gap as he canpossibly get before he catches lap traffic. that's where the trouble spot's been. it's so hard to navigate through traffic. >> speaking of issues, how about kyle busch,chris? boy, mike. it's been a tough day. you saw the problems with the right fronton that car. now he's reporting it's something that mightbe broke in the back of the car.
boy, just the same problems as back in 2016. >> yeah, last year, they had an issue, somethingwith maybe the trailing arm mound or something broke in that car, put him in the wall whenhe was leading the race. i wonder if -- you know, if he's-- maybe he's just a little nervous. sometimes when you've had an issue in thepast with a broken part, this place put as big load on it, and you get a little nervous. >> we had what we called the concrete car. here and dover. everything on that car was a little strongerthan the cars we ran anywhere else.
we beefed up everything. track bar, mount, spring arm mounts, swaybar mounts, anything we could beep up a little bit we did when we came here. >> kasey kahne. 19. racing a.j. allmendinger for a top five spot. >> casey's another one that loves that highline here at bristol. if it comes in.
watch for him to move forward. and then a.j. allmendinger, he turned into a heck of a shorttrack racer the last couple of years. we've seen that in martinsville. we've also seen him perform really well herein bristol. >> at second place. larson has caught kevin harvick. >> i think they just made the right adjustmentson the 42 car. he's been following back.
this time, they look good. what's he saying down there, buddy? >> d.w., they look almost like shades of thexfinity race on saturday. where stage one was the best run for the 42. the car just kept going more and more free. that's what we were seeing this run here. they made a big swing when he was on pit roadwith the chassis adjustment. he was losing all grip entry to exit. seems like the car has gotten better.
>> yeah, in that top groove. >> you know what, jeff, now he's comfortable. the car is -- he's got the car under controland he can play around a little bit with that groove. >> look at the diamond off the turn four. hits a run. the 4 goes to the both bottom. larson runs high. diamonds to top.
gets the big run. able to carry a lot of speed off turn twoto make that pass. >> they've got that car under him now. now he can play around with the upper groove. he was too loose earlier. now it's under him. he can do something. >> you know, d.w., i'm seeing more cars runup high. i think they're starting to move that grooveup.
get some of those marbles pushed against thewall to find that sweet spot. >> truex and that battle comes back becausecorey lajoie has caught michael mcdowell. they're four laps down now but they're battlingfor position. lajoie makes the pass without incident. >> right in front, hung in there for lajoieafter that contact he made with that outside wall. >> i talked with cory lajoie it from night. he said, what do i need to do, d.w.? i said, run all the laps.
>> there you go. >> just run all the laps. >> it's hard to keep that aggression out ofthose young guys. they want to go. >> let's take a look under a.j. allmendinger's car. front rear suspension cam. >> jeff, you were talking about this. here's a perfectly good example of how roughand how violent and how much vibration goes
into the cars. watch the right rear spring in the right rearcorner of the car. >> look at the deflection in the right rearside wall of the tire. look at that truck arm move up and down. all those vibrations. yeah, the suspension's taking a lot of it. but your body is taking a lot of that forceand that vibration as well. this place is tough on everything. and, guys, his crew chief is ready to makean adjustment.
what that is right there, that is what wecall a spring rubber. they can shove that in that spring and increasethe rate or they can pull it out with that little pull strap there. that takes straightaway from the spring. normally if you're tight, you'll shove thatrubber in. if you're loose on exit, you pull that rubberout. >> first green stop of the day, brad keselowski. >> i think he's got trouble. i don't know what's going on with the 2 car.
maybe we can find out when we get to the fifth. >> way too soon for a scheduled stop. >> he was slow right in front of the leadertoo. tried to get around him. it was close. >> i don't know what, loose wheel or something. >> and that's what he was telling his team. loose wheel. they told him to try to work more on the trackbar.
seeing if that would help. no positive gain on the 2. >> so he rode it out until he was about tobe lapped. as we watch the fifth place battle. and ty dillon has had it with david ragan. gives him a bump and a thump and then a run. as we watch a great battle going on for fifthplace. >> dillon saw the leader coming behind him. he wanted to get by that traffic and get outahead of that leader.
try not to go a lap down. >> we were talking a little earlier in therace what's wrong with the 11 car, not running very good. looks like they get it fixed. i believe this track went through a big change. halfway through this race, the bottom is wornoff. guys who are able to take advantage of thatare guys running good now. >> other than our leader, martin truex jr.,those who struggled a little bit in the beginning with a loose race car seemed to really comeon strong as the run continues to go long.
>> things tighten up for second and for fifth. coming up on 300 laps complete. we'll keep it right here for you. >>> goodyear, official tire of nascar. strike a match. spark the conversation and ignite those appetites. oh yeah, now we're cooking. so come as you are, as long as you come hungry. kingsford.
start something. >>> now, paul wolfe is working here with bradthis weekend because they lost the repeal on suspension but they've appealed -- they'vetaken the final appeal steps. so wolfe can be at the racetrack. the appeal will be held on the 26th, today. paul wolfe's 40th birthday. >> i don't know if it's a right rear tireor not. remember, they had suspension problems, whatwas it, vegas. his right front.
so we find out what they got going on, bud. >> well, they're telling brad keselowski exactlywhere his teammates are waiting for him, behind the wall. they asked a couple different questions. they feel he's got two or three things possiblygoing here on the 2 car. so caution issued for the 2. >> they're pointing at the right rear, matt. something obviously is going on with the rightrear. >> bouncing back and forth down the straightawaylike a broken bar, shaking real bad, and i
can't turn the wheel. >> so keselowski's string of six straighttop six finishes comes to an end here. now they are not on the crash clock becausethey is not crash damage. it's a mechanical problem. they can repair it and go back out. >>> again place, it will break things you'venever . >> again, mike, and we talked yesterday aboutit. vibrations. this place, it will break things you've neverbroken before, you'll break at this racetrack.
it's concrete. it's got those expansions going, bahh, bahh,all day long. >> it really shows how violent that is. you won't see that at any other track. >> clint bowyer trying to hold back rickystenhouse. >> it's been an eventful day for bowyer. they've just been trying to get some gripin the car. that's been his main complaint. hasn't been able to get track position.
but how happy is clint bowyer to be with thisstewart-haas group. his average finishing position is 17 spotsbetter than last year at this time. so to be running in the top ten once againthey're very pleased. >> top ten the last three times we've beenhere. obviously a track he likes. he's getting a pretty good run right now. >> let's get back down behind pit wall tobrad keselowski's car, matt. >> you heard brad keselowski tell paul wolfepossible several different things wrong with the 2.
now, over on the right rear, that wheel isloose again. meanwhile, up under the hood, they're lookingat changing the power steering here on the two. the engine folks are over here. remember, they to do the same thing on thewood brothers 21. >> one car hard in the wall. that is david ragan. >> and danica up here, mike, in the 10 caras well. >> some things just have a way of unfoldingvery predictably and this was one of them.
sixth caution of the day. lap 323. >> see what happened here, guys. i think we know, but let's take a look. >> danica comes up from the bottom. david ragan gets a big run, tries to go tothe center, make it three wide. danica just didn't have any idea that he wasgoing to do that. comes up and makes contact. >> he was trying to go by the 34 car there.
dove under. danica was not -- made contact. >> easy, easy, easy. back it down, back it down, back it down. stay in the middle. cleared all the way back up. >> that's a really risky move to be makingright there. i mean -->> on his teammate. >> -- i understand he had the run and he'sgoing to try to dive inside and go into turn
three and they went back down the back straightaway. you have to anticipate and understand thecar on the inside. danica patrick had no idea he was going todo that. >> a lot of damage. larson just barely squeezed through there. >> remember, they stayed out the last time. everybody had a lot of laps on their tires. so i think we'll see pit road very busy withfour fresh tires. that move worked out for denny hamlin, the11.
they maintain good track position. >> and they're all coming in. you see harvick, his on board camera. giving us a nice shot. jimmie johnson coming in. the 4. that air pressure really helped the rear. he just wants the front to turn a little bitbetter and hang on. the 48, jimmie johnson, really happy withthe car.
you see the chassis adjustment with wedgeright there. happy all day long. air pressure adjustment and four-tire stop. >> the 24, chase elliott, came in into thisrace second in points. hanging around inside the top ten. likes the car on the bottom, but needs a littlesecurity up top. they'll give him a chance for an adjustmentand four tires. >> his car much more consistent. meanwhile, the 42 of larson, his car better,starts out three, especially on the bottom,
and then builds tight. service complete to logano. great stop. >> joey logano winning the race off pit road. he's the leader when we go back to green. kyle larson picks up a spot. and clint bowyer gets the first speeding penaltyof the day. too fast entering pit road. danica patrick, david ragan get together.
patrick out of the race. for igniting togetherness every time you pushthe button. for burners that keep your flame burning strong,year after year. for being able to choose exactly the kindof grill you want. for 2,3,4 and 6 burner grills that fit anyand every lifestyle. the all new genesis ii series featuring gs4,weber4s brand new high performance grilling engine. >>> danica patrick climbs out of her car disappointed. >>> danica patrick climbs out of her car disappointedafter coming up the racetrack and out of the
corner as david ragan dived to the middleof the racetrack. and martin truex's crew helping to clean upa little bit there. i assume that comes from her car, not his. landon cassill able to continue. so does ragan. a bit of damage to the right side. >> mike, we've already heard from danica thisyear. she had not been having a lot of fun thisseason. that fun level just went down another notch.
>> getting ready for the restart. logano outside. truex. and joey gets the jump with kyle larson. >> a little bit of a juky restart, ied mysay. >> ooh, i think logano thought he ought togo up and block 42. turned out all right. did you see the big slide by larson comingoff turn four? he's trying hard to get the lead.
he knows how important this is. he lost that track position earlier. he knows just how important it is. >> joey logano is trying to run right wherehe thinks the 42 wants to go. >> he's running up just a little bit to makeit hard to go high or low. >> and, logano, you know, he's one of thosecars -- oh, a little wiggle by the 42. i don't know if that was a nudge from the78 or not. he got loose. going to get an opportunity.
>> the 78 can work the bottom, i'll tell you. >> nobody is hooking the bottom like truex. >> nobody runs the top line like larson. >> boy, i tell you, there's some racing goingon. 42, 78. here comes the 11 and the 4 and the 5 in hotpursuit, whoo! >> loving this. keep racing, boys. >> jimmie johnson all the way to the top inone and two.
that gives them the drive off to get evenwith jones in three and four. let's try it again. >> boy, you can really sail it in on the outside. hesitate a little in the middle. they get an incredible burst of speed offthe corner. >> johnson drops back in line, fifth. hamlin, seventh. up and out of the groove. kasey kahne takes advantage.
>> that's pretty impressive by erik jones. you would never know this guy is a rookie. he looks like a veteran out there. >> i just think running that race on saturday,and he won it. it's a great confidence booster. plus, you learn so much about the track andthe condition. i think it really is paying off for him today. >> newman and hamlin. side by side.
for ninth. i think hamlin -- larry, i believe hamlinran better when he just had left sides. because he's all the way back here a littlebit. >> yeah, those -- just changing lefts willdefinitely change the handling characteristics of a car, more so if the change is just right. >> meanwhile the lead tightens up. >> and, mike, joey logano told his spottersunder that caution for the first five or six lapping after the green, keep me more aggressive,which lane the cars are behind me are running so i can try to time my move.
after that, because of the momentum from theguy running the top to where logano was on the bottom trying to catch each other on exit. a lot going on in the spotter stand. >> there's a lot going on everywhere rightnow, man. the 6 and the 11 got a heck of a battle goingon here for position. don't know who's going to prevail in thatsituation. man, they've been getting mighty close toeach other. >> i do think hamlin -- ooh, he gets loose. jumped the cushion.
that top groove is not quite ready. that's where hamlin was really good on thatlast run. when that top came in, he was super strong. it's going to take him while to loosen hisposition and get it working here in a few laps. >> i think bayne helped out a little too. hamlin drove a little hard. bayne got the spot. >> here's another guy.
think about this. kyle busch. you know, we thought he had some problems. we didn't know what his situation was. here he is. he's fighting hard to get by bayne right nowfor a top ten. >> look at that car. cut right under him. kyle busch cuts right to the bottom to getinside of trevor bayne.
he might complete this pass. how about it, chris? >> pretty surprising, kyle busch works hisway. getting back into the top ten. he thought he had a problem, something breakingin the rear end of that car. but he's been quiet about that ever since. still saying the car is a little bit too tight. just not coming in the way he is hoping. it is really cool in the last half hour, talkingabout how that is affecting the race car.
>> they pitted five times since bumping thewall. to make repairs back in lap 210. mike, what makes a car cut? his kampfer. what's causing tire problems? >> i thought you were a fan of temperature,darrell. >> that was if it was a bead. if it's shoulder, it's camber. >> just saying he was cutting really good.
maybe too good. >> 152 laps to go in bristol. joey logano. martin truex jr. and kyle larson. i'm becoming my, uh, mother. it's been hard, but some of the stuff he saysis actually pretty helpful. pumpkin, bundling our home and auto insuranceis a good deal! like buying in bulk!
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world war evony. evony: the king's return. download now. >>> we've got our leader joey logano and truexrunning first and second. they're so consistent on pit road. they got a nice pit stall. he's got the lead. he's running really good. logano's so good at working different linesat making adjustments.
i just think that's a great combination. but boy, what a tight battle we've got, second,third, fourth. hold on, did anybody take larson? >> man. >> surprising. because he's working that top. that might come in. >> i surely would not count that young manout. i mean, he loved this track and he loves runninghigh.
i think that high line is starting to comein well for a lot of these guys. >> 141 to go. logano's lead negligible. call it one car length. let's take a look at how joey's spotter hasto lead brought to you by liberty mutual insurance spotter coverage. >> a little bit lower to the center of three. like he's turning in really early. he's keeping that very low entry the sameall the way through.
>> keeping an eye on the competition. and where they're running. >> it helps joey logano worry less. >> the cars are getting to the top lane. starting to use that top line. really starting to work well. logano. even truex. >> truex moved up right there.
i'm pretty sure his spotter told us keep aneye on the 42. we saw this earlier where the bottom of oneand two is working good, the top of three and four. larson was doing that. now larson's taking the top at both ends ofthe racetrack. >> that 42 car willing be the car to beat. he loves riding that wall. it did not take him long to make that passfor second place. he just drives in so hard.
he's back in the throttle and acceleratesso hard off the corner. >> now he's stuck behind the left car of dibenedetto. >> i just watched stenhouse have an issuecoming off turn 4. he completely got out of the groove and sidewaysup in the marbles and into the wall a little bit. >> what a shame because he's running tenthand running very well. he and bayne both. >> see them come in the picture here. >> okay.
so he runs bottom here. must get a little bit loose. uh-oh. he got really tight just up to the wall. now he's trying to make up for it. goes way high, one and two. just gets into the marbles. >> chris. >> mike, they're telling him everything looksokay with that right rear, going after it.
>> one thing i can say about stenhouse andbayne today, they are driving as aggressively as anybody on this racetrack. they've taken no prisoners. >> i don't know if stenhouse needs any encouragementto keep getting after it. man, he's always getting after it. >> i think stenhouse and bayne are just excited. they've got pretty good cars now. this year their cars are better. they're getting some good results.
a couple of guys with a lot of tent. they just needed good cars. >> kyle larson led the first 202 laps of thisrace. second most ever. truex in third. erik jones, fourth. the furniture row teammates running three,four, having a great day, fixing to be in the youtd come of this one. so is jimmie johnson, who's fifth.
dropped back as far as 19th. once they found the handle, towards the front. kevin harvick, sixth. and kasey kahne, this may be the highest kahnehas run all day. he started ninth. fell back towards the outside of the top 20. goes back up for seventh. kyle busch, five pit stops after he bouncedoff the wall. but they've kept digging, and he's in eighthpraise.
>> we thought during practice ryan newmanwould have a good day here at bristol. >> the car looked to handle well, and he hadgood speed up off the corner. right now he's got a mirror full of rickystenhouse. that's your top ten. >> that's a good one too. everybody's car looks pretty darn good rightnow. most of the guys have kind of worked theirway to the top of the racetrack. that seems to be working fine. >> i've never seen conditions change so muchduring a race anywhere as i've seen today.
a lot of credit goes to this racetrack forputting that traction compound down on the bottom groove because that's what's continuedto make these conditions change so much. >> the grip strip's worn off quite a bit. >> you saw the 11th. matt kenseth in the 20 getting past bayne. denny hamlin, 13th. allmendinger, he's had quite a battle theselast ten laps with chase elliott and jamie mcmurray. elliot now 15.
>> i don't know why chase elliott was up inthe top five for a good portion of this race. just steadily been dropping back as theseconditions have been changing. maybe they've had a little bit of a toughtime keeping up with the conditions on the 7. >> mcmurray, now 16th, 11 seconds back ofthe lead. clint bowyer trying to close on him. bowyer in 17th place, and austin dillon, 18th. those are your lead lap cars. this was a lap and a half ago.
>> right against the edge. yeah. that's pretty heavy contact. not the first time he's done that this weekend. >> you're exactly right. >> and he's trying to continue to increasethat groove up. there's a little bit of free speed there. if you can go in a little bit higher, carrythe speed through the center. >> central is caved in.
right rear, but no smoke. >> just right. that sounds like a bristol car to me. >> keep digging, brother. >> good third place battle here. that was threading the needle for jimmie johnsoncoming across the nose of kevin harvick. >> toyota, chev, and a ford battling for third. >> nobody's threading it like that 42 is. he is riding that wall.
>> joey logano has led a total of 58 laps. there's 119 to go in bristol. >>> we're under caution. here's vince. >> boy, when you're the crew chief of the77 of erik jones when he says it's good everywhere. four tires, no chang>>> we are under caution. four tires, no changes, matt. >> logano needs more turn but he can't beany more free. air pressure change.
larson says his car is much better up topand he's giving up more of the bottom. air pressure change on the 42. >> truex picks up a spot, as does jimmie johnson. let's show you why we're under caution. this is the second time for kyle busch today. he was seventh. watch, here he is right here, coming intoview. watch when this thing blows. watch it blow that hood off.
>> that's a piece of the tire coming up thereand popping that -- >> yep. he's got five wins here, but in the last fiveraces, he's had mechanical problems knock him out of four of them. >> he's seen that outside wall in the middleof the corner far too much lately here at bristol. >> last time he won here, 2011. >> and none of his own doing. it's all either been right fronts or suspensionissues.
>> so they are out of the race, joining chrisbuescher, dale earnhardt jr., danica patrick. brad keselowski's back in the race 67 lapsdown. repairing his. blaney, 48 laps down. the speeding police are out again. kind of like they are down the road in pineyflats. this time it's matt kenseth and ryan newmanwho get nabbed. and jeff normally doesn't do things like thatunless he knows -- >> i was going to say -->> -- no, no, not me.
>> you know, a couple years ago, they dida thing in the paper because it's photo radar in piney flats. and they said all these cars that got stoppedwere from california. i didn't know we had so many california racefans come to bristol. well, they were all toyota loaner car os theteam that happened to be registered in california. >> this track could have been in piney flats. it's the first site they thought about puttingthis track. hey julie, i know today's critical, but ireally... ...need a sick day.
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joey logano gets the jump. >> so does jimmie johnson and kasey kahne. larson didn't get up to speed. >> he just did not go. don't know if he spun his tires or wha>> he just did not go. don't know if he spun his tires or what happenedthere. >> it's going to open the door for jimmiejohnson. >> did you say jimmie johnson? >> yes, i did.
>> jimmie johnson is fighting for the lead? wow. >> at bristol. >> it's funny how he just rides around. not ride around obviously but we don't talkmuch about him and here we are with 100 laps to go and man, jimmie johnson. larry, i know you talked about casey kahnetoday. >> you know, shows good speed in practicebut didn't show any speed. this track has went through a substantialchange.
>> logano's really having some trouble gettingoff of turn two. every time he gets over there, he seems tolose some speed. opened the door for jimmie johnson. >> contact! >> he leans on logano. >> wow! >> he's going to complete this pass. >> he's saying, hate, wait a minute. we've still got 107 laps to race.
>> i don't know. those 107 laps go by fast here. you don't ever want give jimmie johnson thelead. >> 107 laps. won't take long. >> let's ride with kyle larson, see if wecan pick up anything that might have happened on that restart to put him back in fifth placenow. >> ready. green, green, green.
now behind the 5. holding. bumper. >> you heard a lot of -->> it looked like logano really brought it down slow and accelerated fast. when larson tried to accelerate, he was makinga move to the outside of kasey kahne above from behind from larson. a lot of wheel spin as he jumped on the throttle. >> wow, three wide.
>> and he makes it work. >> he can get a bit of a gift right there. he could have taken that lane away. >> that kid can make that outside. he zings that thing around the corner. >> completely committed up there. >> he gets that hero or zero attitude, doesn'the? >> a lot of talent and no fear whatsoever. >> i say he's fun to watch.
i mean when we were in practice, he got thereriding the high line when nobody could get close to it. >> harvick also on the outside. larson starting this race off leading 202laps, the most laps that a chip ganassi car has ever led in a cup race. >> i think he's changing the stats for chipganassi every weekend. >> i agree. he comes in here the points leader. starts on the pole for 11th place.
allmendinger, mcmurray. with a.j. topside. >> you know, that's the benefit of havinga teammate watch jamie mcmurray here. they can get the notes of what larson's beengoing through, what adjustments they've been making on that car. it looks like maybe they've improved a littlebit. if they said, what kind of set uphas ha 42car's run, i don't want no part of that. >> you'd have to drive it like that.
>> nobody drives it quite like larson. >> i think that's a big part of it. i think right now we're seeing as close toa two-groove equal racetrack as we've seen for quite a while here in bristol. >> oh, yeah. >> and this is early in this run, mike. the last run it took a while for that outsidegroove. if the groove's coming in this early, watchfor it to only improve as this race gets down to the end.
>> third place. make that second, third, and fourth place,as larson clears denny hamlin, just ahead is joey logano. now hamlin is our top toyota performer infourth. truex, fifth. eric jones in eighth. >> you can see what a smart race car driverjoey logano is. boy, he did an excellent job staying out ofthe wall right there. >> if you just look at our front-runners righthere, joey logano is our leader.
here comes larson, the kid. the 11 car of denny hamlin. here comes the 4 of harvick. bunch of experienced drivers at the frontright now. >> it's been a solid weekend for jimmie johnson. you guys remember back, the final practiceon saturday, he did a 77-lap run. he was so confident in the car. so far today, the best part for jimmie johnsonis the way he's gotten through traffic. the car's been good.
last stop, air pressure adjustment, and nowhe's the leader. >> boy, there's some tough racing going onright now. trevor bayne having a great run. but i think a.j. allmendinger says hey, buddy, don't cut upin front of me. >> a lot of ways to make passes, huh, d.w. >> well, bayne was tenth. top tens have been few and far between forroush fenway racing. thought he had a chance to get one today.
logano coming back on the bottom. >> wow. he's going to make this happen, i believe. >> jimmie johnson makes contact with the lapcar. >> that was -->> and it's a three-horse race again. >> logano, johnson, and martin. >> logano shut the door on larson. he's got that outside groove. and the momentum.
he thought about it. he said no, better not do that. if you shut the door on that boy, he'll justkick it open. >> jimmy did a great job of moving up top. he just hasn't got it figured out. takes a couple laps for your car to come inand figure out that outside lane. he is sliding the car into the corner. >> oh, that was almost another bad move. >> a late late change by johnson trying toget around the 33.
>> i just don't think his car's as good uptop. he doesn't like it quite as much as larsondoes. he's being a little bit cautious up there. >> and jeffrey earnhardt gave way, droppedto the bottom. four leaders. now it's a four-horse race. >> oh, larson, jumped over the edge, got lostin the marshals. lots of momentum. >> he just does that.
he'll get five or six good laps, then losea little ground and gain it all back. >> logano and truex are right there. hamlin and harvick not far behind them. >> but what i like about larson, even whensomething like that happens, he's like, whoa, that's not going to happen, and he just goesright back to it. >> he likes to live on the edge. look how much faster he is than our leaderjimmie johnson off turn two. >> he's being patient right now. he is faster.
>> johnson's spotter is telling him rightwhere larson wants to run and has been running well, and that's the groove that jimmie johnsonhas taken up. >> ooh, jimmy got up too high there for asecond. >> larson's not even going to think aboutgoing to the bottom. >> the only way you'll pass a guy is lap trafficor making a slide job. that's pretty risky. >> it's backing everybody up. jimmie johnson is kind of backing everybodyup because here comes the 78. just closing in.
>> that's a lot of risks to take with still82 laps to go. three on the high side. truex on the bottom. four cars all but under a blanket here atbristol. >> i mean, mike, how could you not love this? these guys are racing their hearts out rightnow going as hard as they can go. we're inside 100 laps. they know it's all on the line. >> did i mention how awesome bristol is?
this is awesome. >> 77 in the wall. >> got in the wall in turn three. caution is out. eighth caution flag of the day. jones was in eighth place. >> got a lot of damage. >> to both sides. right side, left.
got a little damage here on the 47. hmm. >> that's a little more than a little. >> i'll tell you what. when two cars have damage, they probably hadsome contact. >> well, let's see from allmendinger's viewpoint. >> oh. >> ooh, ooh. >> i think that's the 77 of eric jones madecontact with another car.
was his right front down. he had a flat right front tower going intoone. >> definitely had a flat. >> he and the 23 got together. that right front went flat. >> a.j.'s close. almost made it. pit road is open. lots of takers.
>> fast and furious. >> and jimmie johnson listening to him onthe radio, he is out of breath. he was working that car. you see the rear windshield. a wedge adjustment for the 48. the 11 of hamlin. he has been solid today. another four tire stop as well. the 78, four tires.
he hasn't made an adjustment all day, justair pressure. >> logano's guys up on the wall waiting forthe 22 to come down pit road. telling his team the car just takes off. he's on the splitter. the car washes up the racetrack. air pressure change on the 22. the 42 much better this run. no adjustments for larson. we'll see who wins the battle off pit road.
>> hey, larry. when was that 11 car the best? >> two left side tires. that's what he did right there. they had 30 laps on their tires. but with this stop here, everybody only hasone set of goodyears left in the pit. goodyears left in the pit. >> for the fourth time today, ty dillon getsthe free pass. it's big screen entertainment, right in yourhands.
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hamlin takes off. trying to get joe gibbs his first victoryof the year. >> johnson jumps up in front of logano. we heard him talk about being on the splitterat the start of the run. >> like the car's bouncing off that splitter. picking up front wheels just ever so slightly. >> that's one of the issues coming of turntwo as well. we've seen him sort of open up the door forsome others off of turn two. that's what happens a lot of times.
the air pressure's are a little bit low atthe start of these runs. what that does, it allows the splitters toget down closer to the racetrack. if they get too low, get on that splitter,it really takes the car off of the racetrack. >> battle for fifth place right here. casey kahne. what a great run they've had today. good to see him running up front if he canclose the deal. eric jones. after that crash made it back into the race.
allmendinger trying to return. >> jimmie just went straight to the top earlyin this run. hamlin's down at the bottom. he's able to get a lot of momentum off thecorner. oh, did he jump the cushion a little bit? yeah, he did. he had to check up right there. he'll have to try again. >> jimmie johnson just ran his fastest lapof the race.
every one else did that the first ten lapsof the race. >> i think these track conditions, the weather'scooled down. it's cooler than it was. now it's let her go, buddy. >> the intensity level's picked up. >> in the meantime, up there racing each other,here comes martin truex back in the picture as well. we know he's fast. boy, three weeks ago.
was everybody wondering will jimmie johnsonever win? now it's will jimmie johnson ever stop winning? >> we know how great they are. give them a little momentum, a little confidencebuilder, it's what you get. go back to the sixth place battle. kahne, bowyer. >> what a run it's been for boyer. he's recovered from a speeding penalty pastthe halfway mark in this race. the one thing they love about clint bowyer,he never quits.
they set their goal at the beginning of theseason for top 12 finishes. they've already adjusted it to somewhere betweeneight to ten. they might have to adjust it again. he's running seventh. neville. >> a lot of what we've seen this year, runningreally well the second half of the race. he's only scored one point all season, butthe second half, he usually comes alive. casey kahne saying his car, very happy withit, but it's a little tight in the center. >> kyle larson restarted 29th in line.
he just made the pass on ty dylan. trying to get 15th place away from stenhouse. >> what's kind of impressed our leaders, he'sgoing into turn one right here, so he's really maintaining track position pretty good arecoming he's in all that traffic. >> 60 laps to go this time by. kyle larson trying to rebound from 16th. >>> for the lead, martin truex keeps workingthe bottom. he's going to try to use kurt busch as a pickand pin jimmie johnson up there. >> whoa, he got a little loose, on the bottom.
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>> while we were away, kasey kahne made astop, lost two laps, four-tire change under green. >> i haven't seen truex be very good aroundthe top, but, man, he is awesome on the bottom. jimmie decided i have to run the top and makethat work. >> find out where jimmie, you know, maybehad some weaknesses and use that in lap traffic. >> kyle larson, talk about lap traffic. he's been beating on ryan newman, trying toget by. this is for 13th place. and he's running out of time.
46 laps to go. >> let me tell you, you mess with him, youknow what i'm saying, you mess with the bull, you get the horns. i wouldn't mess with ryan newman very much. >> i think ryan newman said, all right, iknow you're a lot better than me, you've been pounding my bumper. >> casey kahne may have had a loose wheel. they're looking at the wheels that came off. we've been watching this great third placebattle.
because bumper to bumper, it's been loganoor harvick for the last eight or nine laps. >> just creates some really unique battles. side by side, up next to them, force themto make a mistake. a lot of fun to watch. >> he gets a little gap. takes a little breather. truex, charging right back. >> has to be careful on the outside groove. we've seen where others have gotten up there,gotten on that edge.
gotten into the wall or gotten in the marbles. i think jimmie's making sure he makes niceconsistent laps, gets in a rhythm. >> i think the lap traffic is going to makethe difference because jimmie is committed to the high line. doing pretty good, top or bottom. we'll see what happens. >> we have a lot of side-by-side battles. kenseth just passed bowyer. kyle larson was right up on the bumper ofaustin dillon.
trying to take over 12th place when this happened. >> larson, that's what i'm talking about. >> trouble, turn four. >> had nowhere to go. >> menard was in ninth place. had a very good run going. let's see what happens here. menard right here. >> the wall.
>> wasn't sure if he slowed down that much. paul menard had nowhere to go. you're carrying so much speed momentum herecoming into the corner. >> what happens. >> ninth caution of the day including thetwo stage ending cautions. larry, what do you want to do here? >> my pen and calculator are smoking. biggest factor, they only have one set offresh tires left in the pits. they've run 34 laps.
15 drivers on the lead lap. i think we'll see guys stay out. i think we'll see guys at the back, why not,come get those four tires. >> i had four tires, i might come and getthem. >> so larson from the back, from 29th in line. didn't get halfway through the field on thisrun. he's up to 12th place now. >> yeah, but let's remember, he started tailend. so he had to get through the lap cars as wellas start making his way through the lead lap
cars. i think he did a pretty nice job. it's going to be difficult for him to getall the way up front. if he comes down pit road with these leaders. >> i did like, i watched him to the leaders. he didn't lose a lot of track position. maybe half a lap but no more than that. >> that's hard to do when you're in the back,trying to work through traffic. >> and maintain some track position.
>> pit road should open this time. >> menard stayed on the racetrack after gettingin the back of casey kahne. he's able to continue. and here they come. >> well, four stayed out. he dove back out. kevin harvick. >> childress just told harvick if it's fastenough, don't come. he stayed on the track.
jimmie johnson, the front end. in one and two. perfect in three and four. will be a four-tire start. martin truex jr. said the nose is just a littleslow but the balance overall pretty good at both ends of the racetrack. definitely been one of the fastest cars allday long. track changing through different segmentstoday of the race. joey logano saying the track just continuedto stay free during that last segment, that
run there. he said he needs to be much tighter to hustlethe race car. he's adjusted with the track bar adjustmentinside the race car. that helps but it also hurts his entry. adjustment on the 22. he's away. >> truex, johnson, larson out first. ryan newman picked up a lot of spots withthe two-tire changes. oh, martin truex.
speeding. >> you know, i saw him go to jimmie johnson,beat him off the back straightaway, pit road. went right to him, passed him. carrying too much speed to make that movehappen. >> unbelievable. >> so jimmy goes by him on the outside. >> i think martin thought because he was downon the inside, jimmie's up on the outside. he was right in that tight radius. and the prosecution rests.
here's an ebay motors race break. we've got 34 laps to go. we've had two different grooves. not the middle. the outside and the bottom side. we've got a lot of different strategies. kevin harvick with two tires, s with four. let's mix it up and see what's going to happenover the last 30 laps. >> it's a short track shootout.
like a saturday night special right here. 30 lapper. the guy who can be the most aggressive isthe guy who's going to win this race. >> i've been holding my breath. i can't imagine what these drivers are goingthrough. this has been an incredible race. a lot of different lead changes, differentcrews, and now we've got different strategies. hold on tight, folks. >> we'll see who can get to the front andwho can stay at the front as we get one to
go. kevin harvick who did not stop alongside dennyhamlin. and here's audio from martin truex. >> outside the 48, that could be why. >> the speeding -- excuse me, speeds are measuredby nascar. time over distance. and they measure the distance around pit road. and if you are around the corner and a smallerpiece of that pie where the distance is less, you really got to watch your speed.
>> i'm anxious to see what kind of speed kevinharvick has with these older tires. >> there's some cars up there that, you know,could be sitting ducks. i've said that before and it worked out forsome of these guys. >> how about that number one pit stall forthe 42 of larson. pretty awesome for him. i know he only took two tires but got greattrack position. >> sure helped to pick up 11 of those 13 spotshe was missing. >> larson, he's out of it. he's got no chance.
now he's back in it with a pretty good chance. >> hamlin with just two tires. logano getting a little impatient with johnson. stenhouse, three wide. tried to use trevor bayne on the back straightawayand skates off into turn three. >> oh, man. he is using that high line. he is going somewhere, boy. this is going to get dicey.
>> watch that 17 car accelerate off the corner. >> whoo! >> contact between the 20 of kenseth and logano. >> made a little contact. >> enis it house is riding a rocket here. >> he did the exact same thing in august. he was flying at the end making all kindsof passes on the restart. >> speaking of passes, second place, larson,ooh. >> what a comeback!
>> i love it. >> he doesn't know when to quit. california kid. he doesn't know when to quit. >> look how fast he is off turn two. >> could do a dive bomb right here. >> coming through. >> coming through the bottom. look out.
crossover move. >> harvick's got to run the bottom. he goes to the top. this start just wasn't as good around thebottom the last time. smart move. >> that 48 is right there. looking to get the lead. >> jimmie's going to takeaway the bottom. >> are we near johnson city?
>> very. >> we may have to move this place to johnsoncity. >> jimmie's doing a great job rolling aroundthe bottom, being very patient. >> he's working that wheel. look at the launch. larson gets off the corner, in the high lane. not that great going in but he's got greatspeed going off. lap car, where he's going to go? it could be a difference.
>> it's a ing chicane. derrike cope now 34 laps down. >> jimmie johnson just barely was able toget behind kevin harvick right there. >> now, to cope's credit, he's been very consistent. he's run the high line all day trying to stayout of the way. >> boy, that's an opportunity right therefor jimmie johnson. it's going to be really hard to complete thistask on the inside. >> kevin harvick is doing a great job of hangingon to the lead. that johnson car is a little quicker.
>> guys, we talked about a mixed bag. kevin harvick stayed out that last stop. jimmie johnson, chad knaus, the 48, four freshtires. johnson and larson, two left sides only. >> keep it up, baby, really good vibe. 20 more. >> and now it's a four-horse race. clint bowyer is right there as well. >> i think jimmie johnson just showed kylelarson the way through there by doing it on
the bottom. i don't know if larson's two tires are goingto be enough to do it but clint's four might be. >> he tried two. he's a little too tight on the bottom lookslike. >> he needs to be even more aggressive. which i don't know how he can be more aggressiveto get by kevin harvick. he got by kevin harvick, i don't know if jimmiejohnson had anything for him up top. martin truex mired in traffic.
he's 13th. can't get any further. right up there behind mcmurray and bayne fightingside by side. >> what with that clint bowyer guy. i mean look where he's at all of a sudden. he's running up here in third place. >> clint bowyer had a speeding penalty backat lap 61. >> if you're going to have one, that's whereyou want to have it. >> larson had one at lap 421.
they're both up there fighting for the topfour. >> boyer did a good job of hooking them. the bottom right there. getting a good lunch off turn two. he can do that again one and two. he'll complete the pass for harvick. >> working on his teammate. >> there it is. >> 16 laps to go, larry.
>> yes, sir. time for larry mcdaddy's race trim. the last caution in the last spring raceshere at bristol. 14 to go. and five out of ten times, overtime. >> larry, i see some guys that are going tocause overtime, i can tell you. they're racing hard all over this racetrack. you talk about this earlier, d.w., that'smatt kenseth. matt kenseth is up there battling for fifthplace right now.
unbelievable. >> clint bowyer in second place. how about that. >> good job. >> better off running wide open. >> understand that. >> really impressive. the crew chief mike bugarewicz. they have really become a good combinationdriver and crew chief.
we're starting to see it. remember, last year, three different driversin the 14 prior to clint coming in this season as a full-time guy. they're still developing their notebook together. once they get it together, i think that 14'sgoing to be a regular up there. >> i tell you right now, the 48 car of jimmiejohnson, if he gets up here, clint bowyer is going to be all over the back of his bumper. >> he is closing in a hurry. >> definitely coming up on some lap traffic.
jimmie's been doing a great job, picking hisway through traffic all day today. no more crucial hit right now. >> ten laps to go. if you give us three minutes, i think we'regoing to give you a heck of a finish here. >> johnson did a nice job -- jimmie did anice job of getting by those two slow cars. that give him a little breathing room betweenhe and clint bowyer. >> about 1.3 seconds. >> now, just ahead of jimmie is the rookiederrike cope again. cory la you is a couple of laps down.
and then erik jones. he's going to have some traffic jones. he's going to have some traffic to negotiatebefore this one's down. he's going to have some traffic to negotiatebefore this one's over. pretty much the 23's on the bottom. 55 around the top. i think it's going to take something prettyserious to hold jimmie up. >> fourth place right here. >> turning into quite the third place race.
larson's been working on the 4 of harvick. he's definitely faster. just can't find a way to get by. the 20 of matt kenseth. where does he come from? he is flying. he's probably the fastest car on the trackright now. >> right behind these guys is martin truex. you've got to give a tip of the hat to him.
he's in the top ten right now. >> three wide down into turn one. kenseth got advantage on both logano and larson. matt kenseth. moves up to fourth. >> martin got a little bit wide that lasttime. >> hamlin hit the wall. >> boy, matt kenseth did an amazing job. >> he may not be done.
he may have a shot at getting up to third. >> four to go. >> i don't want this race to be over. >> not now. >> keep going. >> take a little break. start 'em all over again. >> well, if you listen to larry mack, it'snot over yet. >> boy, you know, all i can think about rightnow, the mistakes that have happened on pit
road between speeding on pit road, how it'scost two individuals a shot nd maybe a win. >> and the white flag waves. one lap to go. sponsored by credit one bank. jimmie johnson to the high side. he's going to come off turn four and win his82nd cup victory. back to back to back again for jimmie johnson. kenseth and logano, the top five. larson, truex, stenhouse, and hamlin.
>> look how excited jimmie johnson is. that's a big, big win at one of the best tracks. >> just think about it. last week at texas, track conditions reallytreacherous. we start the race today. what's the track like? treacherous. and he pulled it off. >> tony stewart, the last time his number14 car finished second was last july, new
hampshire. stewart at the wheel. great run for clint bowyer. finishing second for sturtd stewart has haasievable. stewart-haas in the ford. for the 11th time in his career, jimmie johnsonhas gone back to back. that is just how good he and that 48 teamtruly are. amazing. if you get up early to get more done.
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let your reign begin. evony, the mobile game. download now. >> the man that was chasing jimmy jo .>>> the man that was chasing jimmie johnson to the finish line, that's clint bowyer. how far have you come that you're a littlefrustrated with second place? >> yeah, you have to put it in perspective. you're right, you know. we've come a long way for this team.
you know, all these guys, they work so hard. it's a fun group. everybody at stewart-haas racing. my teammates are awesome. it's so much fun to work with this group eachand every week. hell yeah, you want to be up there and winit, but today we had -- i got caught speeding on pit road, put us in the back. bounced back. the guys kept working on the car.
i appreciate this opportunity that tony stewartgave me. you know, mobil 1, haas automation, everybodythat's a part of that. about had one, you know, monster energy, appreciateeverything you guys do. >> clint bowyer, second place, got a big hugfrom the team owner tony stewart. let's go to jamie. >> kyle larson, 203 laps, you had a speedingpenalty there. you start in the back and you end up finishingsixth. what's your take away from today? >> i don't know if we had the car to beat.
i thought early on in the race, before allthe rubber got laid down really good, middle part of the race, i didn't think we were verygood. there at the end, i got the top going reallygood. then i got that speeding penalty and set usback. you know, we had to gamble there for thatlast stop and take two less. we hadn't done that all day. the balance honestly wasn't all that bad withour credit one bank chevy. four tires just had a little more grip aroundthe bottom for longer than we did. i had to get to the top early.
was just following, making the mistake. i knew i couldn't go to the bottom and getby him. kind of had to ride. another good run for us. another top ten. would have liked to have had a top five. a good saving point for us. we'll go on to richmond, i think, we're atnext. try and do better than we've done in the past.
you know, it's been there. >> with joey logano fifth place today, atthe beginning of the day, we were wondering what kind of race we were going to see. it was pretty crazy. how was it from your seat? >> crazy to say the least. the car had good speed. the track was really rubbered up in the longrun. that's when we were our fastest.
caution, caution, caution at the end. the track, all the tires picked up the rubberand the race changed. we didn't probably have the car as fast asit was when the track was rubbered. that's the first time we scored some stagepoints in two races, so i'm proud of that. i thought we would have position to win itif we can just take off better in the short run and try to hold off that 48. that may have put us in position to win thisthing. just out of control for the first five, sixlaps. >> well done.
joey logano, fifth place. let's go to victory lane with matt yocum. >> took seven years for his second bristolwin. jimmie johnson takes another one at thundervalley. it seemed like you were the guy on that finalrun that found the bottom first. >> yeah, it was kind of interesting, becausewhen the 42 was there, it just created an environment around the top and i wasn't goodaround the top. 42 not being up there and the first coupleof cars, the bottom was really where it was at for the short run.
this chevrolet was flying. so happy to give everybody a good ride thisweekend. we wouldn't be here without support from gatorade,the fans, lowe's, chevrolet. we really hit on something saturday afternoonin that last practice session around the bottom. it's what i've been looking for for 16 years. we finally figured it out. i'm very, very happy. i want to give a shout-out to shany and lydiaat home. wish you girls were with me.
can't wait to see you soon. >> when you scored your seventh championship,tying richard petty and dale earnhardt, you were so humble. now you're one win away from cale yarborough,two from darrell waltrip and bobby allison. >> that's just mind blowing. i wouldn't be here without mr. hendrick'ssupport. just talked to you on the phone, boss. thank you once again for believing in me. jeff gordon for believing in me.
for hendrick motorsports to make this jobkind of a family environment, for all of us to thrive in. it's been a perfect environment for me. chad knaus, this consistent group of guysbehind me for all these years have led to the environment to win 82 races or whateverit is, which is just insane. so truly humbled. excited to win back-to-back races. excited to win at bristol. and i guess we'll be at indy the next sixdays and richmond and try again.
>> jimmie johnson's career, he's won one ofevery seven starts. cup series. here are your points standings. kyle larson retains the points lead. elliott second. truex third. logano, keselowski. johnson in sixth place. >> points are so important, mike.
just like , you get qualifying, rained out. those points are big. has been for kyle larson. >> so hendrick motorsports. 247 cup wins overall. beating clint bowyer by 1.2 seconds in bristol. >>> this come rated telecast may not be reproducedor copied in any form without the approve of nascar. we hope you enjoyed today's broadcast .>>> back to back for jimmie johnson.
on goes the win sticker for the second timein as many races. here's chris neville. >> you were one of the strongest cars allday. you led 116 laps. but the speeding penalty, how disappointingwas that? >> man, we were going for it, you know. wish we could have had a shot to see if wecould have won it. furniture row denver mattress toyota. everybody that helps us make this programright.
toyota, 5-hour, wick, bass pro, just everybody,auto-owners. it's the best run we've had here in a longtime. so, you know, it's bittersweet. wish we could have beaten 48. we were really, really close right there beforethat last caution. so, yeah, it is what it is. you try to get all you can get. sometimes you cross the line, and today wecrossed the line. all in all, awesome day, a lot of fun.
if it had not wore out, we would have reallykilled them. but the top line came in and some guys couldrun that better than i could. all in all, a good day. a lot of fun out there. >> thanks, martin. >> martin truex was really great around thebottom. jimmie johnson in scoring his 82nd win ledthree times today, but he didn't even take the lead until about 100 laps to go. >> i think he and chad knaus, that's kindof their strategy.
think about the 500 mile race, he doesn'treally show much until he gets to the middle or latter part of the race. here today, we didn't see a lot of him, heara lot of him until the latter stage of the race. that's just a veteran driver with a smart crew chief. knows how to manage 500 laps. >> a lot of drivers showed great speed throughoutthe day.
jimmie wasn't one of them. i don't recall a part in the race where hewas so much faster than everybody else. just at the end, he was so much better than everybody else. >> this is just what they do. this is how good they are. they force other teams to push harder andmake mistakes. like what happened with martin truex jr. on pit road.
he knew that was his opportunity to win. pushed it a little too hard on pit road. we saw the speeding opportunity with larsonas well leaving pit road. and that's a lot of it. that's what you do. when you're a great driver for a great time, you don't always go out there
and dominate. you force others to make those kinds of misssteaks. >> fox sports congratulates jimmie johnsonon his 82nd cup here at bristol.
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