Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway Postponed Due to Inclement Weather After 204 Laps

Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway Postponed Due to Inclement Weather After 204 Laps

Camaro ZL1 Driver, Kyle Larson Leads

BRISTOL, Tenn. – April 15, 2018 – After completing 204 circuits around Bristol Motor Speedway, the remainder of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 has been postponed to Monday, April 16th due to persistent rain.

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver, Kyle Larson, was scored as the leader when the race was suspended. The theme thus far in the eighth race of the 2018 Cup Series season has been stop and go. The start of the Food City 500 was slightly delayed in order to get the track dry from morning rain showers. Three red flag periods, two for weather and one for an on-track multi-car accident, halted the green-flag action for a total of 51 minutes.

When the event restarts Monday at 1:00 p.m., ET, seven Team Chevy drivers will restart in the Top 15 spots. Seven-time Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson, will continue his quest for a third Bristol win from the eighth position. 2018 Daytona 500 winner, Austin Dillon, will pilot his No. 3 Realtree Camaro ZL1 from the 10th spot. Alex Bowman, No. 88 Nationwide Camaro ZL1 will recommence the race from 12th followed by fellow Team Chevy driver Ryan Newman, No. 31 Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s Camaro ZL1 in 13th and Rookie of the Year contender, William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 in 15th.

Live coverage of the remainder of the Food City 500 can been seen at 1:00 p.m., ET on FOX, PRN Radio and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY QUOTES:
KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 MCDONALD’S CAMARO ZL1 – Current Race Leader
CRAZY DAY WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE FOR YOU WITH THE START/STOP OF THIS EVENT?
“Yeah, it’s hard to get a rhythm with all the rain and stuff and then getting out of your car and getting back in. Our McDonald’s Chevy is really fast, I would just like to get some racing going, but then again, I feel like I always do better or do worse once the track gets a bunch of rubber on it. So, if we keep getting all these stops and jet dryers and stuff to take the rubber off the track, maybe it will help us out. But, feeling good about it so far.”

HOW WEIRD HAS THE TRACK BEEN REACTING?
“It’s been really slick everywhere really. There is only a little line there on the bottom that has got some grip. If you get out of it, it’s slick, if you get below it, it’s slick. So, it’s been fun, but it’s kind of hard to guess where you need to position your car there for a little while.”

IF YOU END UP HAVING TO RACE TOMORROW AND IT’S LIKE 15 DEGREES COOLER WILL YOUR CAR BE JUST AS GOOD?
“I think so. Yeah, I mean, maybe better, I don’t know. Maybe a little freer, but all-in-all I think it will be about the same balance.”

IF THIS REMAINS A BOTTOM FEEDER RACE WILL THAT BE OKAY FOR YOU?
“It’s not going to remain a bottom feeder race. We were all just getting ready to move up to the top. You kind of just wait until you get to traffic and then you can move up and everybody’s momentum is bogged down. The bottom is a dominant lane for 30 laps or so and then I don’t really know if there is a dominant lane after that. You can kind of go wherever you want.”