Busch moves Larson aside to win in Bristol

Kyle Busch has taken his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win in a row after executing a tidy bump and run on Kyle Larson in the final stages of a rain-delayed race at Bristol.

Having been runner-up three times and third once from Rounds 3 to 6, Kyle Busch won in Texas and has now edged Larson by 0.628s in the Food City 500, while Jimmie Johnson (#48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) recorded a season-best third place.

Larson (#42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet) led when the race was suspended on Sunday due to rain with 204 of 500 laps completed, and held that position for another 39 laps.

Brad Keselowski gave Larson a nudge and moved him up the race track to take over top spot on Lap 244, a manoeuvre which yielded a second stage win of the race for the #2 Team Penske Ford driver.

Denny Hamlin (#11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) moved past Keselowski into first position when the final stage began but pitted two laps later with a suspected loose wheel.

Larson reclaimed the lead from Keselowski on Lap 293 but lost it on Lap 324 when he came down on Ryan Newman’s #31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and was spun, triggering a Caution.

That handed the lead to Kyle Busch (#18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota), from Keselowski and Larson, before they pitted under Caution when Reed Sorenson (#55 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet) hit the wall on Lap 353.

Daniel Suarez (#19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) stayed out and led briefly before Keselowski marched back in front, then Darrell Wallace Jnr (#43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet) took over on Lap 375.

Kyle Busch and Larson soon climbed back to first and second respectively before a Caution for rain on Lap 391.

On Lap 439, Larson made the pass and pulled away until Keselowski, by now a lap down due to a reported tyre issue, hit the wall at Turn 2 on Lap 471.

Larson continued to head the field out of the pits while Kyle Busch passed Ricky Stenhouse Jnr (#17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford) for second on Lap 485.

With just over five laps remaining, Larson was on the wrong end of a bump and run yet again and Kyle Busch went on to take his second win in a row at Bristol.

Stenhouse Jnr ended up fourth, from Alex Bowman (#88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet), Aric Almirola (#10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford), Kevin Harvick (#4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford), Clint Bowyer (#14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford), Joey Logano (#22 Team Penske Ford), and Newman.

Kyle Busch continues to lead the series, which continues this weekend with the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway (April 20-21 local time).

Race highlights

Results: Food City 500, Bristol Motor Speedway

Pos	Num	Driver	Make	Laps	Led	Status
1	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	500	117	Running
2	42	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	500	200	Running
3	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	500	0	Running
4	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jnr	Ford	500	0	Running
5	88	Alex Bowman	Chevrolet	500	0	Running
6	10	Aric Almirola	Ford	500	0	Running
7	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	500	0	Running
8	14	Clint Bowyer	Ford	500	0	Running
9	22	Joey Logano	Ford	500	1	Running
10	31	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	500	0	Running
11	19	Daniel Suarez	Toyota	500	5	Running
12	38	David Ragan	Ford	500	0	Running
13	21	Paul Menard	Ford	499	0	Running
14	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	499	4	Running
15	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	499	0	Running
16	43	Darrell Wallace Jnr	Chevrolet	499	6	Running
17	47	AJ Allmendinger	Chevrolet	499	0	Running
18	24	William Byron	Chevrolet	498	0	Running
19	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	498	0	Running
20	00	Landon Cassill	Chevrolet	498	0	Running
21	32	Matt DiBenedetto	Ford	497	0	Running
22	41	Kurt Busch	Ford	496	0	Running
23	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford	495	67	Running
24	6	Trevor Bayne	Ford	495	0	Running
25	72	Corey LaJoie	Chevrolet	494	0	Running
26	20	Erik Jones	Toyota	494	0	Running
27	96	DJ Kennington	Toyota	482	0	Running
28	13	Ty Dillon	Chevrolet	475	0	Running
29	9	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	473	0	Running
30	78	Martin Truex Jnr	Toyota	458	0	Crash
31	23	Gray Gaulding	Toyota	448	0	Running
32	55	Reed Sorenson	Chevrolet	342	0	Crash
33	66	Chad Finchum	Toyota	335	0	Crash
34	95	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	236	0	Steering
35	12	Ryan Blaney	Ford	117	100	Crash
36	37	Chris Buescher	Chevrolet	116	0	Crash
37	51	Harrison Rhodes	Toyota	115	0	Crash
38	34	Michael McDowell	Ford	9	0	Crash
39	15	Ross Chastain	Chevrolet	3	0	Crash

Standings

Pos	Driver	Pts	Gap	Starts	Wins	Pl’off pts
1	Kyle Busch	365		8	2	12
2	Joey Logano	306	-59	8	0	0
3	Kevin Harvick	290	-75	8	3	12
4	Clint Bowyer	286	-79	8	1	5
5	Brad Keselowski	271	-94	8	0	3
6	Ryan Blaney	267	-98	8	0	2
7	Martin Truex Jnr	257	-108	8	1	7
8	Denny Hamlin	252	-113	8	0	1
9	Kyle Larson	249	-116	8	0	0
10	Kurt Busch	241	-124	8	0	2
11	Aric Almirola	211	-154	8	0	0
12	Erik Jones	209	-156	8	0	0
13	Alex Bowman	190	-175	8	0	0
14	Austin Dillon	183	-182	8	1	5
15	Ryan Newman	181	-184	8	0	0
16	Paul Menard	170	-195	8	0	0
17	Jimmie Johnson	169	-196	8	0	0
18	Ricky Stenhouse Jnr	162	-203	8	0	0
19	William Byron	154	-211	8	0	0
20	AJ Allmendinger	150	-215	8	0	0
21	Darrell Wallace Jnr	148	-217	8	0	0
22	Jamie McMurray	140	-225	8	0	0
23	Chase Elliott	136	-229	8	0	0
24	Daniel Suarez	134	-231	8	0	0
25	Chris Buescher	119	-246	8	0	0
26	David Ragan	117	-248	8	0	0
27	Michael McDowell	115	-250	8	0	0
28	Trevor Bayne	110	-255	8	0	0
29	Kasey Kahne	101	-264	8	0	0
30	Ty Dillon	95	-270	8	0	0
31	Matt DiBenedetto	91	-274	8	0	0
32	Cole Whitt	55	-310	5	0	0
33	Gray Gaulding	54	-311	8	0	0
34	DJ Kennington	38	-327	4	0	0
35	Landon Cassill	34	-331	3	0	0
36	Jeffrey Earnhardt	28	-337	5	0	0
37	Harrison Rhodes	22	-343	4	0	0
38	Mark Thompson	15	-350	1	0	0
39	Corey LaJoie	14	-351	3	0	0
40	Reed Sorenson	14	-351	3	0	0
41	Brendan Gaughan	9	-356	1	0	0
42	Danica Patrick	2	-363	1	0	0
43	Justin Marks	0	-365	1	0	0
44	David Gilliland	0	-365	1	0	0
45	Ross Chastain	0	-365	7	0	0
46	Cole Custer	0	-365	1	0	0
47	JJ Yeley	0	-365	1	0	0
48	Joey Gase	0	-365	1	0	0
49	Timmy Hill	0	-365	2	0	0
50	Chad Finchum	0	-365	1	0	0