Edwards rolls at Bristol with surprises in top 10

As the Food City 500 got under way Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway, I was hardly surprised to see some social media posts bemoaning the lack of fans at the half-mile track that calls itself “The Last Great Colosseum.”

For those who weren’t there in person or didn’t see the race on TV, it was one tremendous show that had a multitude of reasons to pay attention.
The headline exhibit was Carl Edwards, who defied the negative statistics and led 276 of the 500 laps in picking up his fourth win at Bristol – his second spring race win in three years to go with fall race victories in 2007 and 2008. As much as his closest challengers tried to get by the No. 19 Comcast Business Toyota, Edwards was simply too good on the restarts and left everyone else eating his brake dust.
Edwards’ margin over runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr. was just over three-fourths of a second, but that’s only a small sample of how some of the top 10 came together.
Earnhardt had qualified 20th, but ran into a battery issue with the race less than 20 laps old. He fell two laps down at one point, but rallied back.
Kurt Busch started 26th and got by Edwards for a time late in the race, leading 41 laps before finishing third.
Chase Elliott had the best finish of his Sprint Cup career, coming home fourth after qualifying 19th, his second-worst starting position of the season.
After an average finish of 21.7 in the first seven races, Trevor Bayne wheeled his No. 6 Advocare Ford Fusion to fifth, his best run since winning the 2011 Daytona 500.
Easily the best finish of the day belonged to Matt DiBenedetto, who qualified 30th. Driving the No. 83 for BK Racing, he steadily worked his way up the field, stayed out of trouble, and crossed the line in sixth. DiBenedetto let out plenty of emotion in his post-race radio interview and couldn’t remember several sponsors.
When you haven’t gotten so much as a smell of the exhaust fumes of the top 10, any forgetfulness can definitely be excused.
Several of DiBenedetto’s supporters were so giddy after the race, they doused him and his car with silly string as he made his way out of the race track. The moment is on YouTube and very cool to watch.
While Edwards was winning, the rest of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates struggled mightily on the day. Denny Hamlin finished on the lead lap in 20th, but Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch ran into trouble, had to go to the garage for repairs, and finished 36th and 38th, respectively.
It was Busch’s worst run of the season – his second outside the top five (25th at Fontana) – and he vented in angry terms, as is his custom.
Busch said he was “sick and tired” of Bristol Motor Speedway ever since the half-mile track’s banking was reduced, and let his feelings be known in a story published on foxsports.com.
“This track has sucked for me ever since the grinding,” Busch told reporters after coming in a winner of the past two Cup races at Martinsville and Texas. “I'm about sick and tired of coming here since it sucks to race."
Busch hasn’t won at Bristol since the 2011 spring race. In nine visits since, he has one top-5, three top-10s, and an average finish of 19.5.
You can’t win them all, but Busch apparently believes it’s the track’s fault he isn’t doing it at Bristol. Adding to the bad vibes, Busch failed to win the XFINITY race, ending up second to teammate Erik Jones.
On the good news side of the ledger, Busch won’t be racing on Saturday again until Pocono in June. Those who can’t stand the bad attitude won’t have to deal with it for a while.
One thing is for certain with this week’s races. The storylines were plentiful, and the emotions were wide-ranging. Things may not always be perfect and drama may get in the way, but when drivers do well, they’re always worth celebrating.

Twitter followers are always welcome @Tomzsports. Contact him by email at tominator19@yahoo.com.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Richmond International Raceway (.75-mile oval), Richmond, Virginia

-SPRINT CUP: Toyota Owners 400, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, Fox. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 400 laps, 300 miles.

2015 champion: Kurt Busch

-XFINITY SERIES: ToyotaCare 250, Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 250 laps, 187.5 miles.

2015 champion: Denny Hamlin.

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Off until May 6 for the Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway.