Carl Edwards, driver of the #99 Kellogg’s / Frosted Flakes Ford, celebrates with the checkered flag after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 16, 2014
Photo – Daniel Shirey/Getty Images
Rain was the name of the game Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway. It delayed the start of the race and went on to cause much more havoc when it brought the entire day to an end. When the skies opened up with two laps remaining, it was Carl Edwards leading the way after strategy paved his way to victory lane. The No.99 team decided to stay out on a late caution and that move ultimately won them the race.
The wild events of the day commenced early in the going. The third caution was triggered on lap 65 by Parker Kligerman spinning. However, a battery pack fell out of Alex Bowman’s car, sending debris all-over the race track.
When the massive cleanup ended, Jimmie Johnson was pacing the field. A few laps after being passed by Matt Kenseth, Johnson’s day took a turn for the worse as a tire went down, causing Johnson to make an unscheduled pit stop. The issue put the No.48 team too far behind, to be any sort of factor in the race.
Rain drops started falling once again on Lap 118 which prompted a three-hour and 19 minute delay. Once the race resumed at 7:05 PM ET, Kenseth maintained the lead.
Trouble struck for Kenseth on lap 156 when a spin by Cole Whitt forced drivers to check up, to maneuver around the stopped car. As Kenseth checked-up, Timmy Hill didn’t as Hill plowed into the back of the No.20 car. Kenseth suffered damage to the back of his machine, but the damage didn’t keep him down as he was able to stay in contention for most of the night.
Carl Edwards began to show his nose toward the front of the field when he restarted fifth on lap 285. He slowly moved forward from that point. He exited pit road second during the ninth caution of the race, right behind Kevin Harvick.
Just like last week in Las Vegas, Harvick’s problems didn’t start until he held the top spot. Smoke began trailing out of the back of the No.4 car two laps before his motor let go and Harvick slammed into the wall.
Harvick laid down some oil on the track, which made it difficult for other drivers to slow up, to avoid his ailing car. Keselowski couldn’t as his tires slid through the oil and he plowed into the back of Jamie McMurray, causing extensive damage to both cars.
Edwards held the lead on the ensuing restart. He opened up a commanding two second advantage over teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr, then cruised to the finish.
The checkered flag did not end the race, however. A mysterious caution came out with two laps to go. At the time, the reason for the caution was unknown, but after the race, Robin Pemberton said that a flagman accidentally leaned on the caution switch. When he realized what happened, he flew the yellow caution flag. Pemberton, said they will continue to investigate the incident and they will work to secure the switch for the future. Video was used to determine the finishing order.
A few seconds after the caution lights came on, rain returned to the speedway, bringing a fitting end to the race. Edwards was still out front at that point and he proceeded to cross the finish line under the yellow flag to claim victory.
The victory is his first of the season and will likely earn him a spot in the Chase. He joins Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Brad Keselowski as drivers with likely guaranteed Chase positions.
“We’re in the Chase. We’re gonna win this championship” a very confident Edwards said in victory lane. The No.99 team now has 22 weeks to prepare for a title run as they no longer has to pursue victories to earn a Chase spot.
Results via ESPN.com
| POS | DRIVER | CAR | MANUFACTURER | LAPS | MONEY | START | LED | PTS | BONUS | PENALTY |
| 1 | Carl Edwards |  |
Ford | 503 | 12 | 78 | 47 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |  |
Ford | 503 | 21 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Aric Almirola |  |
Ford | 503 | 23 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Tony Stewart |  |
Chevrolet | 503 | 37 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | Marcos Ambrose |  |
Ford | 503 | 5 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | Denny Hamlin |  |
Toyota | 503 | 1 | 4 | 39 | 1 | 0 | |
| 7 | Jeff Gordon |  |
Chevrolet | 503 | 6 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | Kasey Kahne |  |
Chevrolet | 503 | 10 | 16 | 37 | 1 | 0 | |
| 9 | Brian Vickers |  |
Toyota | 503 | 38 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | Kyle Larson |  |
Chevrolet | 503 | 20 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 0 | |
| 11 | Austin Dillon |  |
Chevrolet | 503 | 26 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | Greg Biffle |  |
Ford | 503 | 8 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 0 | |
| 13 | Matt Kenseth |  |
Toyota | 503 | 3 | 165 | 33 | 2 | 0 | |
| 14 | Brad Keselowski |  |
Ford | 503 | 2 | 40 | 31 | 1 | 0 | |
| 15 | Clint Bowyer |  |
Toyota | 503 | 15 | 5 | 30 | 1 | 0 | |
| 16 | Ryan Newman |  |
Chevrolet | 503 | 9 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 0 | |
| 17 | Justin Allgaier |  |
Chevrolet | 502 | 30 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 0 | |
| 18 | Danica Patrick |  |
Chevrolet | 502 | 36 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 0 | |
| 19 | Jimmie Johnson |  |
Chevrolet | 501 | 11 | 44 | 26 | 1 | 0 | |
| 20 | Joey Logano |  |
Ford | 500 | 4 | 12 | 25 | 1 | 0 | |
| 21 | Paul Menard |  |
Chevrolet | 500 | 28 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | |
| 22 | David Gilliland |  |
Ford | 500 | 16 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | |
| 23 | Josh Wise |  |
Chevrolet | 499 | 32 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | |
| 24 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |  |
Chevrolet | 499 | 14 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | |
| 25 | AJ Allmendinger |  |
Chevrolet | 498 | 22 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | |
| 26 | Michael Annett |  |
Chevrolet | 497 | 34 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | |
| 27 | Casey Mears |  |
Chevrolet | 497 | 25 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | |
| 28 | Reed Sorenson |  |
Chevrolet | 497 | 35 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | |
| 29 | Kyle Busch |  |
Toyota | 496 | 7 | 73 | 16 | 1 | 0 | |
| 30 | Landon Cassill |  |
Chevrolet | 496 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 31 | David Ragan |  |
Ford | 495 | 19 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | |
| 32 | Alex Bowman |  |
Toyota | 493 | 33 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | |
| 33 | Travis Kvapil |  |
Ford | 491 | 39 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | |
| 34 | Parker Kligerman |  |
Toyota | 487 | 41 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
| 35 | Kurt Busch |  |
Chevrolet | 473 | 13 | 28 | 10 | 1 | 0 | |
| 36 | Martin Truex Jr. |  |
Chevrolet | 471 | 29 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | |
| 37 | Michael McDowell |  |
Ford | 469 | 24 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| 38 | Jamie McMurray |  |
Chevrolet | 453 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | |
| 39 | Kevin Harvick |  |
Chevrolet | 450 | 27 | 28 | 6 | 1 | 0 | |
| 40 | Cole Whitt |  |
Toyota | 430 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| 41 | Joe Nemechek |  |
Toyota | 322 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 42 | Ryan Truex |  |
Toyota | 271 | 40 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 43 | Timmy Hill |  |
Chevrolet | 160 | 43 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |