NASCAR News: Hamlin wins wild Bristol Food City 500

In a race that saw Goodyear tires wearing down to the cords every 40 laps, Denny Hamlin held off his JGR teammate Martin Truex Jr. to win the Food City 500 at Bristol.

Virginia native Hamlin led 13 times for 163 laps to take his first Food City 500 win and fourth victory at Bristol. It is his second win in a row at The Last Great Colosseum, as he won here last September in the opening round of the Playoffs.

The thrilling race set a NASCAR short track record for lead changes at 54 with 16 different drivers holding the lead at some point. The previous record at Bristol for lead changes was 40 in 1991. Only five cars finished on the lead lap.

The race also set the social media world abuzz as racing experts across the media spectrum, including NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr., as well as thousands of vocal fans and others weighed in talking about how exciting the racing was. Earnhardt tweeted that this race was the “…most exciting short track race we’ve had with the Next Gen.”

“That’s what I grew up doing at short tracks all around the mid-Atlantic, once it became a tire-management race, I liked our chances,” said Hamlin of his 52nd career Cup Series victory and first of the season. “This feels so good to win again at Bristol.”

In a return to concrete for the Food City 500 from three consecutive years of dirt racing as NASCAR returned to its roots, the teams were faced with tire management and that fell right into the strengths for Hamlin and his crew chief Chris Gabehart.

Goodyear used the same tire that ran without issue in the Night Race last season but this weekend with 15-degree cooler temps and a new tacky substance on the track, marbles (tiny rubber debris from wearing tires) accumulated all around the track and made racing at the top extremely difficult. With the uncommon wear becoming a factor, Goodyear did issue the teams one more set of tires near mid-race.

“It was challenging, but a different kind of challenge,” Hamlin said. “I ran a certain pace and line and then made adjustments and Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) kept making the car better and giving me info and it allowed me to do my job better. You learned on the fly and just had to keep making adjustments and we kept getting better. It was a lot of fun for me.”

Hamlin led all but one lap over the final 48 laps as he dueled with teammate Martin Truex Jr. through heavy lapped traffic. Truex ultimately finished second, tying his best-career Cup Series finish at Bristol in 34 career starts (also second at 2011 Night Race).

“Apparently, that’s what I need to have happen here at Bristol to have a shot at winning,” Truex said. “I guess this tire management thing fit into my wheelhouse at Bristol. The key was coming out of the pits so close to Denny. We gave it a hell of an effort, but congrats to them. I had a lot of fun tonight.”

Hamlin also had to overcome a hot start from his other teammate, Ty Gibbs, who led 137 laps and won the first two stages of the race. Many had predicted Gibbs as a top contender to win this race and he looked like he was on his way to his first career Cup win this afternoon in his No. 54 Gibbs Racing machine. Ultimately, though, experience proved to be the overriding factor.

“This is the first time the driver played a huge role in a long, long time,” Hamlin said. “It’s a different philosophy than we are used to. Mostly cars on the bottom are running hard all the way around and then today there was driver technique that had to be a major part of it.

“I’m so proud. I feel like I played a huge factor in the result. It’s one of the more-proud races I’ve had in my career.”

Brad Keselowski finished third, followed by Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson in the top five. Last year’s dirt winner Christopher Bell finished 10^th.

Pole winner Ryan Blaney finished 16th. The highest finishing rookie was Josh Berry, who posted a 12th place finish in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing machine.

In a note of interesting track history, Hamlin joins David Pearson (1968), Cale Yarborough (1974) and Kasey Kahne (2013) as winners who have all won at Bristol on St. Patrick’s Day.

Denny Hamlin 

Denny, one of the wildest Bristol races we’ve have ever seen. You find a way to get the job done. Second in a row here at Bristol. How did you manage those tires all day long and still have enough left at the end to hold off your teammate?

DENNY HAMLIN: That’s what I grew up here doing in the short tracks in the Mid Atlantic, South Boston, Martinsville. Once it became a tire management race, I really liked our chances.

Obviously the veteran in Martin, he knew how to do it as well. We just had a great car, great team. The pit crew just did a phenomenal job all day. Can’t say enough about them.

First time Express Oil Change on the car. Appreciate all the Mavis folks as well. FedEx, Coca-Cola, the whole group. Man, it feels so good to win in Bristol.

Martin Truex Jr.

Martin, what was it like for you managing your tires, your equipment for 500 laps?

MARTIN TRUEX JR.: Apparently what’s what I needed to have happen here at Bristol to have a shot at winning.

Yeah, I don’t know. Just really proud of our team, everybody on our Auto Owners Camry, Bass Pro, TRD, all of our partners. James and the guys did a great job this weekend, Jazzy, having a plan coming here.

Yeah, I guess this tire management thing fit into my wheelhouse here at Bristol. Man, the difference was just coming out of the pits so far behind Denny. I had to use mine up more on the last run. The last four, five laps of the race, was cord.

I gave it a hell of an effort. Congrats to them. Man, what a job by everybody at the JGR, TRD. Our Toyotas are working really well right now. Had a lot of fun today. Wish we could have come up one spot. Short on second. Good run for us. It’s been a great season for us.

Experience paid off for @dennyhamlin. pic.twitter.com/ytY3sudfdY

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 17, 2024

Food City 500 Race Results

POS	CAR	DRIVER	MANUF	BEHIND	LAPS
1	11	Denny Hamlin		0.000	500
2	19	Martin Truex Jr.		1.083	500
3	6	Brad Keselowski		7.284	500
4	48	Alex Bowman		14.342	500
5	5	Kyle Larson		15.155	500
6	42	John Hunter Nemechek		-1 Laps	499
7	17	Chris Buescher		-1	499
8	9	Chase Elliott		-1	499
9	54	Ty Gibbs		-1	499
10	20	Christopher Bell		-1	499
11	34	Michael McDowell		-1	499
12	4	Josh Berry #		-1	499
13	14	Chase Briscoe		-2	498
14	41	Ryan Preece		-2	498
15	1	Ross Chastain		-2	498
16	12	Ryan Blaney		-2	498
17	51	Justin Haley		-2	498
18	99	Daniel Suarez		-2	498
19	15	Kaz Grala #		-2	498
20	43	Erik Jones		-2	498
21	7	Corey LaJoie		-2	498
22	22	Joey Logano		-2	498
23	16	AJ Allmendinger(i)		-2	498
24	3	Austin Dillon		-2	498
25	8	Kyle Busch		-2	498
26	38	Todd Gilliland		-3	497
27	77	Carson Hocevar #		-3	497
28	31	Daniel Hemric		-4	496
29	23	Bubba Wallace		-4	496
30	45	Tyler Reddick		-5	495
31	2	Austin Cindric		-5	495
32	21	Harrison Burton		-5	495
33	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.		-5	495
34	10	Noah Gragson		-6	494
35	24	William Byron		-8	492
36	71	Zane Smith #		-308 Laps	192

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