It Was Bristol, Baby!

If you suffered through the hours of rain delay, you got to see one heck of a race. The race was delayed twice by rain and eventually Carl Edwards won under caution for rain.

The first part of the race saw a different set of race contenders than after the second rain delay. Dale Jr. looked like he had a car that could compete. Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski looked stout. Denny Hamlin had faded from the pole but looked like he had something once the track got more rubber laid down.

And then it rained. Again. And the temperature dropped.

Once the race restarted, it became obvious this was going to be different than what we saw before the rain. Logano lost his power steering. Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch looked to be the class of the field. Even Kurt Busch was up front. Kyle Larson made his way to the front. Kevin Harvick was in the mix. Kasey Kahne decided he wanted to get racy. Brain Vickers found his way to the front.

There was side-by-side, 3 wide racing in and out of nearly every corner on the track. Cars were hitting reach other, tires were shredding. It was mayhem I tell you! And very few people were on hand to see it.

And then– Harvick blew up. The Busch Brothers had tire issues. Johnson had tire issues. Dale, Jr. had handling issues. Truex, Jr. found the wall. Danica found the wall — and other cars. Kenseth got hit. Keselowski got hit. Jeff Gordon got hit. The list goes on and on.

In the end, Edwards got to the front, stayed out when others pitted and drove to the win under caution. Actually, as phantom a caution as you will ever see. The caution light button in the flag stand got leaned on and the caution lights came on with 3 to go. This happened years ago in a truck race and NASCAR said it would move the light controls to the tower. Evidently they moved them back to the stand at some point. Might want o rethink that again.

While everyone wondered just what was going on, a lap later it started pouring again. While the downpour was brief, it wet the track sufficiently that NASCAR, mercifully, ended the race. Carl Edwards was probably going to win anyway and the top three cars, all Fords, looked to have leads they could have held anyway, unless they blew a tire or engine in the final laps. Which is entirely possible. Conspiracies start here.

So what’s next besides California Speedway? This week’s WINNERS is what!

Carl Edwards (1) stole the show and flipped out on the track. How he lands that on the banking I will never know.

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (2) had his best career finish and certainly looks to be making the right strides now.

Aric Almirola (3) and Marcos Ambrose (5) made for a great day for Team Petty.

Smoke (4) had a quiet day and managed a top 5 finish, his first.

Hamlin (6) had the pole but never really threatened much after the 2nd rain break.

Gordon (7) managed to stay near the front even after a minor accident.

Kasey Kahne (8) led some laps and looked like he might have figured some things out.

Brian Vickers (9) came from the back and grabbed his first top 10 of the year.

Kyle Larson (10) showed he knows his way around Bristol, even as a rookie.

Austin Dillon (11) kept his nose clean and just missed a top 10.

Danica Patrick (18) hit just about everything but the pace car (she only had 4th gear near the end of the race) but managed to bring it home when it mattered.

And now, this week’s LOSERS.

Matt Kenseth (13) led a lot of the race, got his rear end mashed and maybe could have improved on his position if not for the mistaken caution.

Joey Logano (20) led laps and looked strong until he lost his power steering. Those sliced bread arms aren’t that strong.

Kevin Harvick (39) blew up and caught fire. But I think he was hotter when he could not get around Danica.

Kyle Busch (29) looked like he could win, until he lost a tire and hit the wall.

Kurt Busch (35) looked like he might break the SHR jinx. Until he lost a tire.

Jamie McMurray (38) looked as good as he has all year until his accident.

Martin Truex, Jr. (36) just isn’t having a great season so far.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (24) looked decent before the 2nd rain delay. Then not so much.

Brad Keselowski (14) looked decent until he wrecked when Harvick blew up.

Jimmie Johnson (19) blew a tire on a bad pit call and never recovered.

Bristol shook the standings up a lot. We’ll see some more movement after California. Can SHR can break the jinx and put at least 3 cars inside the top 20?

What do you think?

For more great articles, be sure to visit MotorSportsNews.net.