NASCAR at Bristol: Race results, highlights from Kurt Busch's victory

Drew Nantais

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NASCAR at Bristol: Race results, highlights from Kurt Busch's victory image

The NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series continued Saturday from Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn., with the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. Kurt Busch took the checkered flag for his first victory of the season, which put the Stewart-Haas Racing driver into NASCAR's playoffs. 

Kyle Larson, who earned pole position for the third time in 2018, finished second. Chase Elliott started alongside Larson and finished third. Brad Keselowski, the winner of last weekend's Consumers Energy 400, finished 16th. Points leader Kyle Busch finished 20th after wrecking twice during the race.

The last 75 laps of the race were plagued with multiple cautions, including a wreck involving Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and J.J. Yeley. Busch's car bumped the rear of Truex's car, causing Truex' car to spin out and slam into Yeley's car. Busch ended up wrecking with 18 laps to go after a flat tire caused him to spin out.  

MORE: Starting lineup for Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race

Kurt Busch was able to ride out the cautions and hold off Larson and Elliott over the final 10 laps for the victory. 

The victory was Busch’s sixth at the .533-mile short track and the 30th of his career, 26th on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series all-time list. The win was the 10th in 24 races for Stewart-Haas. Kurt and Kyle Busch are the first pair of brothers to reach 30 victories each at NASCAR’s highest level.

"It’s awesome to do it at Bristol,” said Busch, whose crew chief, Billy Scott, picked up his first victory in NASCAR's premier series. "I love this place. We now have won six times here and I have great teams that have always helped me win."

Material from the NASCAR Wire Service was used in this report.

Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race: Results, highlights

Finish (starting position), driver, manufacturer, laps completed
1. (9) Kurt Busch, Ford, 500.
2. (1) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 500.
3. (2) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 500.
4. (19) Joey Logano, Ford, 500.
5. (14) Erik Jones, Toyota, 500.
6. (16) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 500.
7. (10) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 500.
8. (22) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 500.
9. (13) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 500.
10. (6) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 500.
11. (23) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 500.
12. (24) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 500.
13. (18) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 500.
14. (7) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 500.
15. (26) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 500.
16. (11) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 499.
17. (15) David Ragan, Ford, 499.
18. (21) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 499.
19. (28) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 499.
20. (3) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 497.
21. (32) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 496.
22. (29) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 496.
23. (5) William Byron #, Chevrolet, 496.
24. (12) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 495.
25. (39) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 493.
26. (35) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 492.
27. (40) Blake Jones, Toyota, 485.
28. (37) * Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, 481.
29. (20) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 435.
30. (17) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, Accident, 431.
31. (8) Aric Almirola, Ford, 428.
32. (34) * JJ Yeley(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 423.
33. (36) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, Accident, 338.
34. (30) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, Electrical, 234.
35. (33) * Jesse Little(i), Toyota, Accident, 59.
36. (4) Paul Menard, Ford, Accident, 28.
37. (31) Michael McDowell, Ford, Accident, 10.
38. (27) Bubba Wallace #, Chevrolet, Accident, 3.
39. (25) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, Accident, 1.
40. (38) * Gray Gaulding, Chevrolet, Accident, 1.
 
Average speed of race winner: 89.538 mph.

Time of race: 2 hours, 58 minutes, 35 seconds. Margin of victory: 0.367 seconds.
Caution flags: Nine for 70 laps.
Lead changes: 19 among nine drivers.

Lap leaders: K. Larson 1-13; K. Harvick 14-15; K. Larson 16; R. Blaney 17-62; K. Larson 63; R. Blaney 64-130; A. Almirola 131; K. Harvick 132-137; C. Elliott 138-191; R. Blaney 192-199; A. Almirola 200; J. Logano 201-254; K. Larson 255; J. Logano 256-296; C. Elliott 297-354; K. Larson 355; C. Bowyer 356-441; R. Newman 442; C. Bowyer 443-476; Kurt Busch 477-500.

Leaders summary (driver, times led, laps led): R. Blaney three times for 121 laps; C. Bowyer two times for 120 laps; C. Elliott two times for 112 laps; J. Logano two times for 95 laps; Kurt Busch one time for 24 laps; K. Larson five times for 17 laps; K. Harvick two times for eight laps; A. Almirola two times for two laps; R. Newman one time for one lap.

Stage 1 top 10: 12,4,14,9,10,42,41,20,22,48
Stage 2 top 10: 22,9,42,10,12,14,20,48,41,88

# Rookie.
(i) Ineligible for series points.
* Non-charter team.

Sporting News provided live updates and highlights throughout the race (all times Eastern).

9:48 —  Kurt Busch takes the checkered flag at Bristol. Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Erik Jones follow him across the finish line. 

9:46 —  Five laps to go. Kurt Busch is your leader. Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Erik Jones round out the top five. 

9:44 —  At the restart it's Kurt Busch out in front followed by Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney. Ten laps to go. 

9:40 —  Kyle Busch spins out due to a flat tire bringing out the caution with 18 laps to go. 

9:38 —  Green flag's back out signaling the restart. Kurt Busch takes the lead followed by Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher and Kyle Busch. 20 laps to go. 

9:34 —  Caution's out with 30 laps to go as Brad Keselowski hits the wall. Clint Bowyer is still your leader. Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones and Jimmie Johnson follow close behind. Keselowski's okay stays out on the track.

9:33 —  More from Martin Truex Jr.:

9:29  — The green flag's back out and it's Clint Bowyer in front followed by Kurt Busch, Erik Jones, Jimmie Johnson and Austin Dillon. 

9:28 —  "Sometimes you're the nice guy and you get knocked out of the way. We'll just have to race them a little harder next time," said Martin Truex Jr. after he was released from infield care. 

9:25 —  Martin Truex Jr.'s girlfriend weighs in:

9:24 —  Martin Truex Jr. is not happy, to say the least.

9:16 — Martin Truex Jr. is involved in a wreck with J.J. Yeley after Kyle Busch bumps the corner of his car. That brings out the caution with 69 laps to go. 

9:14 —  Clint Bowyer is still your leader with 75 laps to go. Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Erik Jones and Chase Elliott round out the top five. 

9:07 —  One hundred laps to to. Your leader is Clint Bowyer, followed by Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch.

8:55 —  At the restart, it's Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Austin Dillon in front. 

8:51 —  Reed Sorenson crashes in Turn 4 and brings out the caution.

8:49 —  Just 150 laps left at Bristol. Chase Elliott is still your leader. He's followed by Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Erik Jones and Martin Truex Jr.

8:42 —  With 325 laps down, leader Chase Elliott has pulled away from second-place driver Kurt Busch.

8:40 —  Several drivers are starting to encounter issues with their cars.

8:34 — Two hundred laps to go and Chase Elliott is your new leader. Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer are right behind him. 

8:26 — The green flag is out and the final stage is underway. The leader is Joey Logano, followed by Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Aric Almirola. 

8:15  — Joey Logano takes Stage 2 as Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Aric Almirola and Ryan Blaney follow close behind. With 250 laps down, we're halfway home.

8:03 — Green flag is back out signaling the restart, and Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Chase Eilliott and Aric Almirola are at the front.  

7:59 —  David Ragan wrecks in Turn 3 and that brings out the caution. Just under 200 laps down. Ryan Blaney is your leader. 

7:52 —  At the 175-lap mark, it's Chase Elliott in first, followed by Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Aric Almirola. 

7:45 — One hundred fifty laps in and it's Chase Elliott in front. Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Loey Logano and Clint Bowyer round out the top five.

7:42 — Kevin Harvick jumps out front on the restart, followed by Chase Elliott. 

7:33 — With 125 laps in, that means Stage 1 is done. Ryan Blaney picks up the stage victory. He's followed by Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Chase Elliott and Aric Almirola.

7:26 — One hundred laps in and it's Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Chase Elliott and Aric Almirola in the top five. 

7:23 —  Paul Menard is done for the night as he heads to the garage.

7:15 —  Competiton caution is out. We're 60 laps in. Kyle Larson is your new leader. 

7:10 — Fifty laps in and Ryan Blaney is your leader, followed by Kyle Larson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick.

7:08 —  Paul Menard hits the wall hard, nearly dislodging a tire.

7:00 —  Green flag is back out after a 10-minute caution; looks like some drivers are going to end up with DNFs tonight: 

6:53 —  Looks like Kyle Busch is one of the drivers involved in the pileup. Bubba Wallace, Gray Gaulding and A.J. Allmendinger are among the others involved.

6:51 —  Caution's out on Lap 2. A lot of cars involved in this one.

6:49 —  The green flag is out and we're a go in Bristol!

6:41 —  Quick weather update:

6:10 —  Intros are underway and it looks like the weather is in our favor at the moment.

5:37 —  Looks like Austin Dillon's already having some trouble:

5:33 —  Just under an hour until race time!

Drew Nantais