In a race delayed and interrupted by rain that ended in overtime, Matt Kenseth broke a drought of more than a year’s standing in Sunday’s Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes at Bristol Motor Speedway.
In a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race that went 11 laps past its scheduled distance of 500 laps—making it the longest race in the history of the .533-mile short track—Kenseth crossed the finish line .287 seconds ahead of Jimmie Johnson, who recovered from a succession of issues to claim the runner-up finish.
Kenseth, who inherited the top spot when Kurt Busch pitted from the lead under the ninth caution on Lap 477, stayed out front the rest of the way. He was three car lengths ahead of third-place finisher Jeff Gordon when Carl Edwards got loose underneath Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet and ignited the wreck that brought out caution No. 11.
After a brief delay because of a late shower, a far cry from the 3 hour 58 minute hiatus that came after the first 22 laps, Kenseth pulled away on a green-white-checkered-flag restart and was unchallenged to the finish, as Johnson got past Gordon for second.
The victory was Kenseth’s fourth at Bristol, his most at any track, and the 32nd of his career. Kenseth broke a 51-race winless streak dating to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire in September 2013. The victory all but locks up Kenseth’s spot in this year's Chase.