This article is part of our NASCAR Barometer series.
Kyle Busch won his second race of the season after leading 117 laps across two days of racing at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Food City 500. Sunday's running saw intermittent red flags for weather and accident clean up before rain ultimately forced the postponement of the finish to Monday afternoon. Once racing resumed, Kyle Larson had the fastest car, but Busch was more consistent. That consistency gave him the edge needed in the final green-flag run to the finish to make the pass for the win in a hectic two-day saga.
The Monster Energy Cup series teams now have a short turnaround before heading to Richmond Raceway for the second short-track race in as many weeks. The race will be the first night race of the season and can often produce exciting finishes. Joey Logano and Larson visited Victory Lane there last season, and Larson will be hunting for redemption after last week's near miss.
UPGRADE
Kyle Busch – Busch was consistently one of the fastest cars throughout the Food City 500 both Sunday and Monday. He didn't have the pace to match Larson through much of the race but made all the right moves to remain in touch. That proximity was all he needed to grab the trophy from Larson's hands in the final laps as Busch moved the him out of his way on a charge to the front. After that move, he simply held on to claim back-to-back victories and join Kevin Harvick as the only
Kyle Busch won his second race of the season after leading 117 laps across two days of racing at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Food City 500. Sunday's running saw intermittent red flags for weather and accident clean up before rain ultimately forced the postponement of the finish to Monday afternoon. Once racing resumed, Kyle Larson had the fastest car, but Busch was more consistent. That consistency gave him the edge needed in the final green-flag run to the finish to make the pass for the win in a hectic two-day saga.
The Monster Energy Cup series teams now have a short turnaround before heading to Richmond Raceway for the second short-track race in as many weeks. The race will be the first night race of the season and can often produce exciting finishes. Joey Logano and Larson visited Victory Lane there last season, and Larson will be hunting for redemption after last week's near miss.
UPGRADE
Kyle Busch – Busch was consistently one of the fastest cars throughout the Food City 500 both Sunday and Monday. He didn't have the pace to match Larson through much of the race but made all the right moves to remain in touch. That proximity was all he needed to grab the trophy from Larson's hands in the final laps as Busch moved the him out of his way on a charge to the front. After that move, he simply held on to claim back-to-back victories and join Kevin Harvick as the only other multiple-race winner this season. The train is still on track, too. Busch has four Richmond victories along with finishes of 16th and ninth in 2017.
Kyle Larson – Larson did all he could to take an advantage once racing resumed Monday. He led most of the second stage of the race but couldn't hold off the challengers with fresher tires. He was back at the front of the field in the final stage when contact with Ryan Newman knocked him out of the top spot, but he recovered nearly perfectly to return to the front. He regained the top spot within just a few laps of victory only to have Busch to snatch it away for good. It was still an impressive run but he just couldn't hang on at the end. Cheer up, though. Larson won at Richmond last fall and hasn't finished lower than 16th there in any of his eight career starts.
Jimmie Johnson – Johnson appeared truly competitive for the first time in recent memory once racing resumed on Monday. The Hendrick Motorsports driver was a consistent figure in the top five and found himself battling for the lead early in the final segment. He also came on strongly late in the third stage and ultimately clawed his way to third. The top-five was his first of the season and just his second top-10. His resurgence is well timed considering Richmond has been a great venue for him. He has three wins at the circuit and hasn't finished lower than 11th there since 2014. He continues reciting the mantra that he believes the team is better than its results, and Bristol may have proven that.
Darrell Wallace Jr. – For the second week in a row, Wallace impressed anyone who doubted his abilities behind the wheel. He led his first laps in the Cup series on Monday after chasing down and passing Brad Keselowski to get out front. He spent six circuits out front before the extra wear on his tires forced him to relinquish the top spot, and he ultimately slipped back to finish 16th. He has average finishes of 11.3 in three Xfinity races and 11.7 in the Camping World Truck series at Richmond Raceway. His confidence and pace is building, and the results are proving that Richard Petty Motorsports made the right decision to put him behind the wheel. Richmond should be another venue where he can succeed.
Brad Keselowski – Keselowski won the first stage over Newman in Bristol on Sunday. He then doubled up on that effort to chase down and pass Larson late in the second stage once the race restarted on Monday to add another segment win to his tally. He kept that run alive, remaining inside the top 10, until late contact with the wall ended his chances with less than 50 laps remaining. The record books will show a 23rd-place finish for him, but his car was capable of much more. Keselowski won the fall Richmond race from pole in 2014 and finished in the runner-up position in this race last season. His average finish at the track is 14.1 from 17 career starts.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Special mention goes to Stenhouse for his Bristol finish. The Roush Fenway Racing driver has consistently outperformed expectations at the small oval, and last week's fourth-place finish was another example of that. The finish was the first top-10 of the year for the driver known as a restrictor-plate specialist. You can add short tracks to that list from now on. Fantasy owners need to keep Stenhouse in mind at Bristol this fall. His fourth-place finish at Richmond last spring would be a reason for fantasy owners to keep an eye on his practice speed this week, too. In the fall he also qualified eighth before finishing 19th after dealing with an ill-handling car early in the race.
DOWNGRADE
Erik Jones – The No. 20 of Jones was a prerace favorite to win at Bristol. It looked good early but started going south just as weather was closing in on Sunday before taking a bigger turn for the worse Monday. An unscheduled stop put him well behind the leader and then he spent the remainder of the race running deep in the field. He finished 26th, which may siphon away some of the momentum he had after Texas. He had three top-10 finishes in the four races leading up to Bristol but now has to focus on regaining that upward swing. Sunday's Bristol finish was his worst of the season since his DNF to open the year in Daytona.
Ryan Blaney – Blaney had a strong machine Sunday, leading 99 early laps, when he was caught in a crash. The damage to Blaney's car was terminal and ended too early what could have been a very fruitful afternoon. He'll have another chance on a short track this week at Richmond, but his past results there haven't been inspiring. In four career starts his best finish is 18th in the 2017 fall race, and his average finish is 30.2. Now isn't the time he needs to lose momentum, and Bristol's outcome will feel like a punch to the stomach. One bright spot is that Blaney started on the front row at Richmond last spring, and this visit could be a career best at the track.
Martin Truex Jr. – Truex was put behind early Sunday in Bristol when he was collected in Michael McDowell's spin. Truex suffered relatively heavy front-end damage and fell into a deep hole. He persevered until the final stage on Monday afternoon but ultimately had to throw in the towel. The 2017 series champion started smoking while seven laps down to the leaders and drove the car to the garage to officially end his afternoon. He now has a short week to recover this week in Virginia. Truex has two top-fives and eight top-10s from 24 career starts at Richmond, finishing 10th and 20th in the two visits there last season. It was a poor run last week, but this team will fight back.
Chase Elliott – Elliott also was caught in the first accident on Sunday. The damage to his car was severe, and he was multiple laps down before the first red flag as the team scrambled to make repairs. To make things worse, the team was penalized one additional lap for beginning work on the car while the race was still stopped. After that early drama, Elliott was just focused on making as many laps as possible, and spent most of the distance running outside of the top 30. It was quite the contrast to his prior Bristol visits. Richmond has been a challenging venue for Elliott, too. In five career starts, Elliott has just one top-10 finish, which came last season.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Alex Bowman – Bowman has been consistently improving through the past few races and continued that trajectory in Bristol. He was a top-10 racer throughout the distance and has proven himself to be a reliable top-15 driver for fantasy rosters. His fifth-place run last week at Bristol was his best of the season and keeps him well within playoff contention. Bowman has four previous Richmond starts in the Cup series, but his best finish of 28th shouldn't be a reference point for fantasy players as they consider selecting him this week. His average finish prior to Bristol was 16.3, which included a difficult outing at Texas where he was involved in a crash on just the second lap.
