BRISTOL, Tenn. — Kyle Larson found the speed Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway but he couldn’t stop the rain.
After three red flags, two rain delays and 205 laps in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500, NASCAR decided to postpone the remainder of the event until 1 p.m. Monday.
That call was made at 5 p.m. Sunday, following a steady rain shower that continued throughout the evening.
Before the postponement, Larson led 74 laps and appeared to be cruising to the 250 lap mark where the race would have official.
Track officials applied the sticky traction compound dubbed “Bristol Bite” up to five feet from the bottom of the concrete track before the green flag.
But Larson and his competitors struggled with handling.
“It’s been really slick everywhere really,” Larson said. “There is only a little line there on the bottom that has got some grip. If you get out of it, it’s slick. If you get below it, it’s slick.
“So, it’s been fun, but it’s kind of hard to guess where you need to position your car there for a little while.”
Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard, pole winner Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top five when the race was postponed.
After a rainy morning and a grim weather forecast, the race finally got underway at 1:34 p.m.
Following a 49-lap run controlled by Ryan Blaney, action was halted by a 25-minute rain delay. Kyle Busch dropped back through the field due to handling issues.
Blaney led for 100 laps before he was entangled in a crash on 119 involving Ben Rhodes and Chris Buescher.
“I kind of saw them spinning low, and I thought that top was going to be OK, and then they slid back up and got us,” Blaney said. “That stinks. I thought we had a good car and nothing to show for it.”
The second rain delay came on lap 165 and Erik Jones in the lead. After a 26-minute rain delay, the race resumed with 26 cars on the lead lap.
Building off a flawless restart, Larson grabbed the lead and quickly opened a five-second margin.
“It’s hard to get a rhythm going with all the rain and stuff, getting in the car and getting back in,” Larson said. “Our [car] is really fast. I’d just like to get some racing going.”
Like former Cup regular Dale Earnhardt Jr., Larson prefers to ride in the high lane. With Sunday’s persistent rain wiping off some of the track grip, Larson anticipates that more drivers will experiment with different lanes today.
“It’s not going to remain a bottom-feeder race,” Larson said. “We were all just getting ready to move up to the top. You kind of just wait until you get to traffic, and then you can move up, and everybody’s momentum is bogged down.
“The bottom is the dominant lane for 30 laps or so. I don’t know if there is a dominant lane after that.”