Nascar Race Today

Sprint Cup drivers had to wait through more than five hours of rain delays to finish Sunday's race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Carl Edwards didn't mind.

Edwards came on strong late in the race and held off surprising Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Aric Almirola for his third win at Bristol.

MORE: Bristol results | Hill slams into Kenseth

Edwards beat Almirola on the final restart with 40 laps remaining and pulled away while Almirola and Stenhouse battled for second. Stenhouse held off Almirola for second, followed by Tony Stewart, Marcos Ambrose, Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne.

Edwards had a comfortable lead when the caution lights came on accidentally with three laps remaining. When it immediately started raining again under caution, NASCAR decided to call the race, handing Edwards his 22nd career victory.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who started the season with a win and three top-two finishes, struggled and finished 24th to fall to second in points. Danica Patrick, Stenhouse's girlfriend, had her best finish of the season in 18th.

The race was delayed by more than five hours by rain. The start was delayed by two hours, and the field ran just 117 laps before the race was halted by more rain. It was red-flagged for three hours, 18 minutes before resuming under the lights at 7:17 p.m.

Like the Daytona 500, which was delayed by more than seven hours by rain, the racing was fast and furious after the rain delay, with drivers racing hard side-by-side and bumper-to-bumper.

Edwards was running second to Kevin Harvick when a caution flag flew with 75 laps remaining. While most of the leaders pitted, Edwards stayed out, inheriting the lead and setting him up for the final run to the checkered.

"Aric and those guys at the front, I don't know if I could have gotten by them. That was a gutsy call," Edwards said of crew chief Jimmy Fennig.

An incident with 50 laps to go took out three top contenders, including Harvick, whose car started smoking, causing him to hit the wall.

As he Harvick slowed, Brad Keselowski slammed into the rear of Jamie McMurray's car. McMurray and Keselowski both had run at the front early in the race.

Roush Fenway Racing swept the top two spots, while Ford teams finished first, second, third and fifth. The runnerup finish was the best of Stenhouse's Cup career. Prior to the season, he was reunited with Mike Kelly, who led him to two Nationwide Series championships.

"Mike Kelly got us rolling pretty good," Stenhouse said. "This is a track we were good at in Nationwide, and it's good to have him back and be running up front again. It's a lot of fun coming back here and running in the top five."

The win was Edwards' third at Bristol - all at night, though this one was supposed to be run during the day. He came on strong late in the race after struggling most of the weekend. The victory also locks him into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

"I can't believe we turned it around. It was terrible on Saturday. Jimmy is the man," he said. "We're in the Chase and we're going to win this championship."

Keselowski rallied to finish second - without a hood on his car - after the late wreck and took over the points lead. He leads Earnhardt by 10 points, followed by Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano.

Kenseth made a dramatic comeback after being involved in a wreck shortly after the race went back to green after the rain delay. Kenseth held the lead when the race resumed and was running second when Timmy Hill slammed into him from behind under caution. Cole Whitt spun, knocking Danica Patrick into the wall and causing Kenseth to check up. Hill didn't slow down enough under caution and slammed into Kenseth, damagin the rear of his car.

"I saw the 26 spin, but by the time I got the communication, it was too late," Hill said. "It's on me, really."

After pitting for repairs, Kenseth was 30th on the ensuing restart, but in just 40 laps, he was running seventh. By Lap 275, he was second and passed Kahne to regain the lead on Lap 285.

Kenseth lost the lead on pit road on Lap 396, and then lost several positions on the track when he got loose, scrubbed the wall and nearly wrecked. He finished 13th.

Kyle Busch also had an adventurous race. A five-time winner at Bristol, Busch led early, but got caught on pit road when he had to pit under green and then a caution flag came out. He battled back, but spun on Lap 394 and finished 29th.

His brother, Kurt, also got caught in Kyle's crash, clipping his car and then hitting the wall. He finished 35th.

Jimmie Johnson, who has struggled at Bristol over the years, also had a bad night, suffering a flat tire early in the race that him two laps down. He finished 19th.

An official accidently turned on the caution lights with two laps to go in Sunday's NASCAR race.

With two laps to go in the Food City 500 the caution lights began blinking around Bristol Motor Speedway.

That and of itself is not unusual, as the half-mile oval is one of NASCAR's more treacherous tracks. But, in this instance there was no apparent reason for officials to throw a caution. There was no rain perspiration -- the race had delayed earlier because of heavy rain -- nor was there any debris on the track or stalled cars needing immediate assistance.

"We tried to turn them off, and we realized that the override switch was on and they were hung on caution. It was a stupid error."-NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton

Instead, NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton explained an official in the flagstand inadvertently leaned on the override switch to trigger the caution lights around the 0.533-mile track. Six seconds later the flagman waved the yellow flag, freezing the field as Carl Edwards was leading handily.

Officials were prepared to restart the race using a green-white-checkered finish, but shortly thereafter heavy rain forced NASCAR to call the race.

"Most of the flag stands have a manual override for the caution lights, and due to the weather and due to other things, it wasn't secured properly, and the flag person leaned against the switch and turned the caution lights on," Pemberton said.

"We tried to turn them off, and we realized that the override switch was on and they were hung on caution. It was a stupid error."

Pemberton called the incident a learning experience and said an investigation will take place to determine what can be done to prevent future occurrences.

The person who was most effected was Edwards, who had a sizeable lead at the time the caution lights were illuminated. He assumed, naturally, NASCAR would restart the race and was expecting chaos to unfold.

"I did not want to see that caution," Edwards said. "I did not at all. So I'm glad that the rain came. I think there was some higher powers at work that. That worked out great."

Edwards' teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was running second and would have restarted alongside Edwards on the subsequent restart. Stenhouse, who has never won a Sprint Cup race, admitted afterward he would have used force to pass Edwards for the win if need be.

Luckily for NASCAR and Edwards' sake that did not occur thanks to the rain which prevented a major embarrassment.

"There's two very happy people in this room right now," said Pemberton referencing Edwards, who was awaiting his turn to meet the media for the winner's post-race press conference, "and the next one will be up here in a second."

The Sprint Cup Series will travel to , Calif., this week for the Auto Club 400.

The race at Auto Club Speedway last season was one of the best races of the year. Joey and Denny Hamlin bumped and banged while racing for the lead before had enough and sent Hamlin into the wall. Kyle Busch then raced past both drivers and won the race. Busch was able to win both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races at Auto Club Speedway last year.

This will be the first race of the season on a two-mile race track. Auto Club Speedway is unique because drivers will be able to drive their cars low into the corners and slide up the race track to make passes. The cars that can find the balance between speed and handling will be the cars to beat Sunday.

The strategy for Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing this week is to select the drivers who have been running well this season. Momentum is important in and it is a good strategy in fantasy to play the hot hand. The list includes all drivers for Hendrick Motorsports and Racing ( Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Brad and Joey ). Do not forget Kevin Harvick as well. He's had a couple of hiccups, but he's been fast at every race track.

The strategy for Fantasy Live is to pick as many good drivers who start in the back of the field as you can. Some of the top drivers in the sport have yet to figure out the new qualifying procedures. If any of these drivers qualify in the back of the field, you will want to select his (or her) for your team. Some drivers to watch include Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart.

Here are my top 30 drivers for the Auto Club 400, with stats from .com and career stats from Racing-Reference.com.

1. Jimmie Johnson: Never count out Johnson at Auto Club Speedway. He has five wins and 12 top-five finishes in his 19 starts at the race track. Johnson considers Auto Club Speedway his home race track. That just gives him another reason to win this week. He must be getting upset watching other drivers clinch their place in the Chase while he in on the outside looking in. That will change this week when Johnson becomes the fifth member of the 2014 Chase field.

2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick has had a fast race car in every race this season. There is no reason to believe he will not be fast once again Sunday. Harvick won this race in 2011 and has nine top-10 finishes in his 20 starts at the track. This is also his home race track, and he will be extra motivated to win this week.

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: If Johnson is racing for the win Sunday, Earnhardt will be one of the drivers chasing him to the checkered flag. He seems to have figured out how to get around Auto Club Speedway, finishing second last year and third in 2012. He will keep his hot streak going this week in California.

4. Kyle Busch: Busch has to be one of the favorites to win this week at Auto Club Speedway. He is the defending race winner and in the last three races in California, his worst finish was third. Busch has finished seven of his 16 starts at Auto Club Speedway in the top five and 11 in the top 10. He is almost a lock for a top-five finish this week.

5. Carl Edwards: Edwards will ride the momentum from his win this past Sunday at Bristol. He is a driver who always finishes up front at Auto Club Speedway. In his 16 starts at the race track, he has finished half of them in the top five and 13 in the top 10. This is the week to get Edwards on your fantasy team.

The cars have been the fastest cars on the race track this season. Do not be surprised to see start on the pole and lead many laps this week. Last year, he started sixth and led 41 laps on his way to a top-five finish. Expect the same type of results Sunday.

7. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin should have won this race last season. He was racing up front when he began to fight with Joey on the race track. got into the back of Hamlin and sent him into the wall. Hamlin suffered a back injury and was not the same the rest of the season. Look for him to make a statement this week with another top finish at Auto Club Speedway.

8. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth has three wins at Auto Club Speedway and has finished 14 of his 21 starts in the top 10. Last season, he started fifth, led 10 laps and finished seventh in the race. Expect the same type of race from Kenseth this week.

9. Greg Biffle: If you are ever going to use Greg Biffle on your race team, this is the week to do it. Biffle has been one of the best drivers on the two-mile race tracks, though he's a little better at Michigan than he is at Auto Club Speedway. Biffle has finished the last two races in California in the top 10. He will do it again this week.

10. Tony Stewart: Stewart would be much higher on this list in any other season. He has the eighth-best average finishing position of all the active drivers at Auto Club Speedway. He has not found his grove this season with his new crew chief, Chad Johnston, but he is getting closer. A top-15 finish is all fantasy teams can expect from Stewart in California.

11. Jeff Gordon: Gordon is another driver who's having a great start to his 2014 season. He has finished the first four races inside the top 10 for the first time in his career. However, Gordon has not finished in the top 10 at Auto Club Speedway since 2010. Expect him to just miss out on another top-10 finish.

seems to be out to prove that the 2013 season was a fluke. He is off to a great start this season, and there is no reason to believe his momentum will stop this week. Auto Club Speedway is not one of his best race tracks, but he will find a way to finish in the top 15 Sunday.

13. Kasey Kahne: Kahne has been a good racer at Auto Club Speedway when his team gives him a car that handles well. Hendrick Motorsports seems to be on top of its game this season, so Kahne should have the equipment to run well. He will finish just outside the top 10 in California.

14. Ryan Newman: Newman has been one of the surprises of the 2014 season. He has had a fast race car each week and has finished two of the four races in the top 10. Newman will be fast again this week and would make a great sleeper pick for your team.

15. Kurt Busch: Busch has been pretty good in his career at Auto Club Speedway. He has five top-five finishes, 10 top-10 finishes and one win in his 20 starts at the race track. He could be the sleeper driver of the race and finish inside the top 10, but a top-15 finish is more realistic for Busch this week.

has only competed in one race in the Sprint Cup Series at Auto Club Speedway. He started 31st and finished 20th. The Ford Racing teams seemed to have found some speed this last week. Can the speed from Bristol translate to Auto Club Speedway?

17. Paul Menard: Menard is another good sleeper pick this week. The Richard Childress Racing cars have been fast this season and should be fast again Sunday. Last season, Menard started 27th and raced his way to a top-10 finish. However, a top-20 finish is more realistic for Menard this week.

18. Jamie McMurray: McMurray has been average at Auto Club Speedway in his career. His average starting position is 19.7, and his average finishing position is 17.8. He will have a hard time finishing in the top 20 in California.

19. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer's top-10 finish at Bristol was his first top-10 finish of the season. Michael Racing seems to be searching for speed this season, and there is no reason to believe it will be fast this week. Bowyer will improve as the season goes along, but I would wait before using him for your fantasy team.

20. Austin Dillon: Dillon has never competed in the Sprint Cup Series at Auto Club Speedway. Michigan is the race track that's the most similar to Auto Club Speedway, though, and Dillon competed in two races at Michigan, earning one top-15 finish and one top-25 finish. Expect a top-20 finish from Dillon this week.

21. Kyle Larson: Larson has only competed in one race at Auto Club Speedway, and it came in the Nationwide Series. In that race, he started ninth and finished sixth. The competition will be much harder this week. A top-25 finish is all that can be expected from the young driver.

22. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex does not have any top-10 finishes this season, and I would not expect one this week. His average starting position at Auto Club Speedway is 14.2, and his average finishing position is 19.9. Truex will finish near his average this week.

23. : has only one finish inside the top 20 in his career at Auto Club Speedway. Do not expect him to repeat the excellent race he had last week at Bristol.

24. has finished six of his nine races at Auto Club Speedway inside the top 20. Most of those finishes came with much better race teams than -Daugherty Racing. A top-25 finish would be good for this week.

25. Casey Mears: Mears has been fast this season with his new Richard Childress Racing engines. The speed has not always turned into top finishes on the race track, though. He will be fast again, but he'll only be able to finish in the top 25.

26. Marcos Ambrose: Ambrose is not very good at Auto Club Speedway. He only has three top-25 finishes in his eight starts at the race track. There are better options for your fantasy team this week.

27. Danica Patrick: Last season, Patrick started 40th and finished 26th at Auto Club Speedway. She has been showing improvement in her last two races, though, finishing 21st at Vegas and 18th at Bristol. She may be worth a selection for Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing Group C.

28. David Gilliland: Gilliland has been a consistent top-30 driver this season. Expect the same from him Sunday.

has not had very good results with his new team. He will probably qualify near the back and finish in the top 30. That seems to be the trend this season with him.

30. David Ragan: Ragan could be one of the better value picks this week. He has had success at Auto Club Speedway, but it came when he was racing for Racing. Ragan should finish inside the top 30 this week.

Group A: Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Group B: Carl, Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Joey , Tony Stewart

Group C: Austin Dillon, Brian Scott

Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Brian Scott, Reed Sorenson

Captain: Kyle Busch

Driver 2: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Driver 3: Kevin Harvick

Driver 4: Tony Stewart

Driver 5: Carl Edwards

Courtesy: Stewart-Haas Racing

Danica Patrick 's weekend got off to a rough start at the NASCAR Sprint Cup practice on Friday.

The 31-year-old crashed coming out of the second turn, which caused her to have to use her backup car for the remainder of the practice.

Needless to say, the wreck resulted in crucial time lost in practice and understandably rattled her nerves.

Patrick took to Twitter to address the crash with fans, saying, "Luck of the Irish was with me last night after getting wrecked early and only have 4th gear a lot of the race."

She then added, "Happy St. Patricks day!"

Patrick came into the fourth race of the season No. 33 in the Spring Cup points standings.

Just last month, Patrick became the first NASCAR driver to get more than 1 million Twitter followers.

"It just shows what incredible and loyal fans I have," she said, per . "It's pretty humbling that 1 million people are curious about what I have to say and what I'm doing. I really can't thank everyone enough for their passion and interest."

The feat is pretty spectacular considering that the winner of last month's Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt Jr., has roughly half as many Twitter followers.

Carl Edwards overcame the field, the crazy short track at Bristol and Mother Nature's fury to win the Food City 500 on Sunday, setting up a crowded group atop the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings heading into the Auto Club 400 next weekend.

As pointed out by Fox Sports, it was a long day on the track for everyone involved, as the race was delayed multiple times due to heavy rain:

A LONG day of racing, and Carl Edwards takes the checkered at @BMSupdates! #NASCAR http://ift.tt/1iWw6sB

The wet track led to multiple accidents, and it would be a lot quicker to list the drivers who came away unscathed than it would be to list everyone who ended up getting dinged up on Sunday-or worse.

Matt Kenseth, who led the race for much of the early going, was one of the drivers who suffered a setback due to the crazy weather. He was drilled from behind by Timmy Hill after Danica Patrick and Cole Whitt set off a chain reaction on lap 156.

There were more than a few such crashes during the brutal affair at Bristol, and one of them led to Kevin Harvick's car catching fire, as noted by Stewart-Haas Racing, and his subsequent failure to finish the race:

Harvick's race goes up in smoke. Literally. Car caught fire. He's out. Fire is out.

In the end, Edwards managed to keep his car in one piece, navigating the dangerous track with skill to claim his first victory of the season and vault three spots in the Sprint Cup standings to No. 3 overall. The win almost guarantees he'll earn a spot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship, per NASCAR Stats:

Edwards is now virtually guaranteed a spot in the Chase for the #NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

He credited the win to the "gutsy" decision by his team to keep his car on the track with 75 laps to go after the caution flag went up once again.

"Aric [Almirola] and those guys were really fast. I don't know if I could've gotten by them [without the call]," Edwards said to Fox Sports after the race, via Chris Estrada of MotorsportTalk.com. "That was a gutsy call."

As usual, despite the rain, Edwards showed off for the remaining fans with his customary victory backflip, as shown by NASCAR News:

A classic Carl Edwards victory backflip! http://ift.tt/1kDCB17

Here's a look at the updated standings after the race at Bristol, followed by a list of upcoming races as the season continues to rumble along.

Clearly, there's a bit of a logjam at the top of the standings, with four drivers within 11 points of one another, with Brad Keselowski hanging tight to a 10-point lead after he finished in 14th place at Bristol.

He, like many, had to overcome some difficulties to finish the race, as shown by Sunoco Racing:

Damage control for @keselowski's @Team_Penske crew after incident. Business picking up as we close in to the finish! http://ift.tt/1iWw6sF

After running hot for the past few races, Dale Earnhardt Jr. cooled off a bit with a 24th-place finish, but he's still clinging to second place in the standings, thanks to his top finishes at Daytona and Phoenix.

Earnhardt's recent success has resulted in an uptick in Daytona 500 merchandise sales at NASCAR.com, according to Nate Ryan of USA Today Sports.

"These are important signs, and in totality, it does tell the story," NASCAR chief marketing officer Steve Phelps said recently, as relayed by Ryan. "It's a positive to get Junior Nation out there wanting to show their colors; that's great for NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sponsors."

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Coming in right behind Dale Jr. are Edwards and Jeff Gordon, and last year's champion, Jimmie Johnson, isn't far behind.

Up next for Edwards and the rest of NASCAR's elite is a trip to sunny California for the Auto Club 400 at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.

Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Kyle Busch comes in as the defending champion, but nobody should count out three-time champion Matt Kenseth, who won the race before it was shortened from 500 miles to 400.

If any of the three at the top of the standings manages to win another race, then they'll have a clear-cut advantage over the field. Contrarily, if someone else wins in Fontana, then the standings will be even more bunched up at the top.

The season is still young, and there is plenty of racing yet to be done before the championship arrives in September. If the first four races of this new season are any indicator of what we can expect the rest of the way, then NASCAR fans are in for a real treat.

A happy Tony Stewart left Bristol with a much-needed fourth-place finish.

Tony Stewart finished a season-best fourth in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, and the result couldn't have come at a better time.

Entering the Food City 500, Stewart's year had been full of setbacks and struggles. Not only was he working his way back from injury that sidelined him the final 15 races of 2013, but a series of changes both in personnel at Stewart-Haas Racing as well as to NASCAR's Generation-6 car placed him behind the competition entering the season.

"It's not a win, I know that, but it feels like a win."-Tony Stewart

A blown engine during practice necessitated that he start at the rear of the field for the Daytona 500. Then an issue with fuel pickup during the race itself saw him finish 35th. This preceded an ordinary 16th-place effort the next week at Phoenix. And then came Las Vegas, where Stewart was a nonfactor throughout and finished a dismal four laps behind the leaders in 33rd.

The subpar performances led to questions about Stewart's health and whether he returned from a broken right leg too soon. (He's said repeatedly his leg is only 65 percent healed and won't be close to 100 percent until sometime next year.) There were also doubts about the competitiveness of SHR, where with the exception of Kevin Harvick the organization had lacked overall speed.

As if this wasn't enough, Stewart was also working with a new crew chief in Chad Johnston. And because of his health the pair never had a chance to build rapport with one another during offseason testing because Stewart didn't get back in the car until Daytona speedweeks.

But for the first time in 2014, Stewart looked like his old self Sunday.

"It's not a win, I know that, but it feels like a win," Stewart said.

From the onset Bristol looked like it would be a continuation of the first three races, as Stewart was slow in practice and qualifying and had to take a rare provisional just to make the race. Needing help, Johnston decided to lean on the No. 4 team of Harvick for information, who had one of the better cars before a broken oil line caused him to crash.

The changes took, as Stewart methodically worked his way to front from his 37th starting position.

"It was great," Stewart said. "To start 37th and end up fourth today, I'm pretty excited about that. We had a long way to go from Friday, when we weren't very good and every day we just got better and better. So, I'm really proud of this team."

Stewart acknowledged the lack of testing has affected the chemistry between himself and Johnston, and contributed to the struggles early on. And although the owner/driver found success at Bristol the same couldn't be said of the other SHR cars.

The aforementioned Harvick was contending before his fiery crash, while Kurt Busch broke a wheel hub after hitting the wall to avoid the spinning car of his brother Kyle. As for Danica Patrick, she was involved in a couple of incidents, lost all but fourth gear and finished 18th.

"Obviously it wasn't the day we wanted for our teammates," Stewart said. "It is something I needed for sure. Obviously for Chad and I to work together for the first time and four or five races into the season be able to get a top five at Bristol that is pretty big for us."

BRISTOL, Tenn. - A flagman leaned on the manual override switch for the caution lights, triggering the final caution with less than two laps remaining in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway Sunday.

Once the flagman realized the caution lights were on - but not realizing what had happened - he used his discretion and threw the yellow flag.

MORE: Edwards wins | Stenhouse finishes second | Bristol results | Stewart happy

NASCAR froze the field and expected to return to racing for a green-white-checkered finish but rain forced it to end the race - helping NASCAR avoid the potential embarrassment that an inadvertent caution might have caused had it impacted the outcome of the race.

Carl Edwards had a healthy lead at the time of the caution and won the event.

"There's two very happy people in this room right now," NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton quipped as Edwards prepared to meet with the media.

Pemberton said that six seconds elapsed from the time the lights went on to the time the flagman threw the flag, and the field was frozen about 20 seconds after the flagman waved the yellow flag. NASCAR also used video to determine the final finishing order.

"Most of the flagstands have a manual override for the caution lights, and due to the weather and due to other things, ... it wasn't secured properly, and the flag person leaned against the switch and turned the caution lights on," Pemberton said.

"We tried to turn them off, and we realized that the override switch was on and they were hung on caution. It was a stupid error."

There are three people in the flagstand at the end of the race - two flagmen and a photographer.

"We learn a lot of lessons, and when we learn a lesson like this we'll go in and further investigate some things," Pemberton said.

"All the electronics that we've had and have installed in the trailers for freezing the field and all these other things, there's still ... you still have to integrate into the track facilities, so there's probably some things that we needed to do to better secure that area where the manual override is on the lights."

No one was more frustrated to see the caution than Edwards, who then was as happy to see the rain as Pemberton.

"We're probably going to win this race if a caution doesn't come out," Edwards said. "The caution did come out, and I went, now we're going to have an opportunity to prove we deserve to win this race.

"Honestly it might have been more exciting. With everything like that there's always an opportunity, but yeah, I did not want to see that caution. I did not at all. So I'm glad that the rain came. I think there was some higher powers at work. That worked out great."

A lengthy delay for rain and a usual caution late weren't enough to slow Carl Edwards Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Carl Edwards seemed to be cruising to victory in the final laps of Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

But nothing would come easily this day or night for drivers, fans or track officials in a race delayed more than five hours by rain.

Edwards had opened a lead of more than four seconds when the track's caution lights inexplicably came on with less than three laps remaining. Seconds later, a cloudburst released the hardest rain of the day or night.

The race finished under caution and Edwards did prevail, finishing ahead of his teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Aric Almirola in a 1-2-3 sweep by Fords.

"I did not want to see that caution," Edwards said. "Concern was not a strong enough word. So, I'm glad the rain came. I think there were some higher powers at work there."

NASCAR Vice President of Competition and Racing Development Robin Pemberton attributed the light malfunction to human error; in this case, humans bundled up against the cold in layers of clothing.

"In the flag stand, it appears one of the flag people had leaned on the switch that is the manual override for the caution lights," Pemberton said. "When the flag stand realized this, the flagman threw the caution flag (six seconds later). After that happened, we froze the field from the tower."

Pemberton said that the area around the override switch "wasn't secured properly" and suggested that NASCAR will learn a valuable lesson in guarding against future mishaps.

Of course, mishaps were the order of the day and night in a race delayed close to two hours at the outset, then for 3 hours, 19 minutes 124 laps into the race.

Kevin Harvick, racing fourth with 50 laps remaining, left the track in flames. Matt Kenseth saw his fast car become even faster after his Toyota was rammed from behind and Kyle Busch seemed on his way to continuing his domination at Bristol until tire troubles led to his spin and eventual demise.

Edwards and crew chief Jimmy Fennig made the winning decision on a late-race pit stop, electing to stay on the track and hold off the field for the final 71 laps without the benefit of fresh tires.

"We had only 17 laps on our tires," Fennig said. "The weather, at that time, wasn't a factor anymore, once the track became rubbered in. We knew the speed (of our car) was there."

"I knew pretty quickly after restarting that not pitting was the right call," Edwards said. "We ran our fastest lap with 30-40 laps on the tires."

Edwards wasn't sure his team would even be in position to challenge for the victory.

"I can't believe we turned this around," Edwards said. "We were terrible on Saturday. Jimmy told me (our crew) worked until 3 a.m. on simulation stuff. We'd been struggling lately, so for us to come out here and run so well with the number of Fords out of our shop, that was big.

"(Now) we're in the Chase and we're going to go out and win this championship."

Edwards has improved his finish each week this season since opening with a 17th in the Daytona 500. He was eighth at Phoenix and fifth last week at Las Vegas.

As the race wound down, Edwards was most concerned about Harvick, who led 28 laps and would have been restarting behind him on fresh tires.

But Harvick's car began smoking with 50 laps to go. Harvick lost control, pounded the wall and climbed out of the car that was on fire after driving it to the garage. Jamie McMurray, who led 10 laps, took evasive action, suffered damage and finished 38th. Brad Keselowski, who'd led 40 laps, then ran into the back of McMurray and ended up 14th.

Matt Kenseth led the most laps -- 165 -- despite being rear-ended by Timmy Hill as the field was checking up for a caution on Lap 157. Even with extensive damage below the rear spoiler, Kenseth was in contention until his car lost handling on Lap 409. He finished 13th.

Kyle Busch, who won Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series race for his record-setting 16th national touring series victory at Bristol, led 56 of the first 250 laps but fell out of contention after developing tire problems on Lap 275 and finished 29th.

Almirola's third-place finish was the best of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career, but he had visions of victory for Richard Petty Motorsports.

"I saw it, right there at my fingertips on that one restart when I raced side-by-side with Carl," Almirola said. "When you can see it and taste it and you're that close, you wonder what could have went differently. But he had a lot better car than we did tonight."

1. (12) Carl Edwards, Ford, 503, $234225.

2. (21) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 503, $166400.

3. (23) Aric Almirola, Ford, 503, $160161.

4. (37) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 503, $148083.

5. (5) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 503, $131145.

6. (1) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 503, $116865.

7. (6) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 503, $143051.

8. (10) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 503, $114965.

9. (38) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 503, $131440.

10. (20) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 503, $128160.

11. (26) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 503, $143176.

12. (8) Greg Biffle, Ford, 503, $139240.

13. (3) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 503, $153826.

14. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 503, $139398.

15. (15) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 503, $133531.

16. (9) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 503, $104865.

17. (30) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 502, $123273.

18. (36) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 502, $104340.

19. (11) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 501, $146551.

20. (4) Joey Logano, Ford, 500, $138231.

21. (28) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 500, $123629.

22. (16) David Gilliland, Ford, 500, $119598.

23. (32) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 499, $91865.

24. (14) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 499, $102990.

25. (22) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 498, $109448.

26. (34) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 497, $106123.

27. (25) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 497, $111762.

28. (35) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 497, $94065.

29. (7) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 496, $138806.

30. (31) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 496, $92115.

31. (19) David Ragan, Ford, 495, $100315.

32. (33) Alex Bowman, Toyota, 493, $89740.

33. (39) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 491, $89690.

34. (41) Parker Kligerman, Toyota, 487, $89640.

35. (13) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 473, $89590.

36. (29) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 471, $117448.

37. (24) Michael McDowell, Ford, 469, $89479.

38. (17) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, Accident, 453, $121894.

39. (27) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, Accident, 450, $121713.

40. (18) Cole Whitt, Toyota, 430, $76680.

41. (42) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, Rear Gear, 322, $80680.

42. (40) Ryan Truex, Toyota, Accident, 271, $68680.

43. (43) Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, Accident, 160, $65180.

Drier air is working into eastern Tennessee this afternoon. This will help to stop some of the rain but will it be enough to get NASCAR racing today at Bristol Motor Speedway

Good news race fans, it appears that illusive weather window is about to open over Bristol Motor Speedway this afternoon. The question now is how long will this window be open and will any more rain cause problems for NASCAR as it tries to run the Food City 500 this afternoon.

WILL WE RACE TODAY (SUNDAY)? I've increased the odds of racing today to near 40 to 45% as dry air works in over Bristol Motor Speedway. By 2 p.m. we could see the rain end and even some sunshine pop out over the track. This should give NASCAR and track officials at Bristol Motor Speedway a good window to get the track dried and possibly get the race started late this afternoon or evening. Unfortunately I still have some weather concerns as we go through the rest of the afternoon and evening.

When the rain ends this afternoon that will not be the end of the rain for today or tonight. In the image above from 1:30 p.m. EDT as dry air is working into eastern Tennessee, there was an area of showers increasing over the central part of the state near Nashville. This area needs to be monitored as it could spread to the east-northeast. If that happens we might be looking at more rain later this afternoon and evening.

Also there is plenty of moisture in the lower levels of the atmosphere and this could keep drizzle around the track when we aren't seeing rain. While some of the weather conditions are improving there are still other weather factors that will slow drying and possibly work against NASCAR today and tonight.

CAN WE RACE TODAY? It's possible and I am keeping my odds of racing today at around 40 to 45%. The fan in me hopes I am wrong and we can get not only an official race but a full race in. The meteorologist in me is a little more pessimistic as I watch the radar and look over weather data. This will be an ever changing situation for the rest of the day and into the evening. I will keep you updated on the forecast.

WHAT DOES MONDAY'S FORECAST LOOK LIKE? While Monday has a chance of rain -- and yes even some snow -- for Bristol Motor Speedway, most of this activity is expected in the morning. If NASCAR is forced to postpone the race to Monday, then the scheduled start time for the Food City 500 is noon on Monday. Looking at the forecast the threat of rain decreases going into the afternoon and I feel that this would be the earliest time to get all of the race completed.

With wet weather expected today please follow me on Twitter @ NASCAR_WXMAN and like me on Facebook for the latest weather updates.

Conditions in Bristol, Tennessee.Click here for Current Weather Conditions - Look at Doppler Radar | Mobile Friendly Site | Mobile Radar

SUNDAY:2 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Mostly cloudy, chance of rain/drizzle - temp: 3 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Mostly cloudy, chance of rain/drizzle - temp: 4 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Mostly cloudy, chance of rain/drizzle - temp: 5 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Mostly cloudy, chance of rain/drizzle - temp: 466 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Mostly cloudy, Scattered rain and drizzle - temp: 7 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Mostly cloudy, Scattered rain and drizzle - temp: 458 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Mostly cloudy, Scattered rain and drizzle - temp: 9 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Mostly cloudy, Scattered rain and drizzle - temp: 4410 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Mostly cloudy, Scattered rain and drizzle - temp:

MONDAY:12 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Cloudy, chance of a shower - temp: 1 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Cloudy, chance of a shower - temp: 432 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Cloudy, chance of a shower - temp: 3 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Cloudy to mostly cloudy - temp: 4 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Cloudy to mostly cloudy - temp: 5 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Cloudy to mostly cloudy - temp: 44

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) -- After two rain delays lasting more than five hours, a slick race track wasn't going to stop Carl Edwards from celebrating his first win of the season.

He pulled his car to the start/finish line at Bristol Motor Speedway, climbed out to his window ledge and prepared for his celebratory backflip.

Then, Edwards had a brief moment of clarity.

''Oh, man, I thought, 'This is stupid. I shouldn't do this ... It's awfully glossy. It might be slick,' '' he said. ''I didn't want to stick it perfectly and have my feet go that way and break my arm on the concrete. That would have been terrible. I was actually really nervous about that.''

But on this rain-soaked Sunday night, Edwards was going for the big finish to another long day for NASCAR.

The start was delayed by almost two hours, racing began and the field got to Lap 124 before the sky opened again, and the race was stropped for another 3 hours, 18 minutes.

Much like the season-opening Daytona 500, which was stopped by rain for almost six hours, the threat of more bad weather bringing a sudden halt to the race forced the drivers to go hard every single lap.

So when a caution with 77 laps remaining sent most of the field to pit road, Edwards' crew chief, Jimmy Fennig, made the call to leave his driver on the track. The move gave Edwards the lead on the restart with 70 laps remaining.

''I thought when Jimmy said we're going to stay out, I thought, 'Well, that's a good idea,' '' Edwards said. ''And then nobody stayed out around us, and I thought, 'Oh boy, that might not be the greatest thing.' It turned out to be perfect.''

He had no trouble pulling out to an easy lead and had victory in sight when the yellow caution lights came out right before the scheduled white flag lap. No one was sure what the caution was for and Fennig even wondered if water damage might have inadvertently caused the lights to turn on.

Then the sky suddenly opened and NASCAR had no choice but to declare the race over.

NASCAR said after the race that someone in the flag-stand accidentally leaned on a switch to trigger the lights. NASCAR was forced to issue a full caution ''because operation of the lights was comprised.''

''No harm, no foul, let's act like it just didn't happen,'' Edwards told NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton.

Edwards led Roush Fenway Racing teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. across the finish line. Aric Almirola from Richard Petty Motorsports was third as Ford drivers swept the top three spots - one day after a Ford team won the Twelve Hours of Sebring sports car race for the first time since 1969.

It was Edwards' 22nd career victory, third at Bristol, but first of the season - and the one that should clinch him a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship under NASCAR's new qualifying format.

''We're in the Chase and we're going to go win this championship,'' said Edwards.

Stenhouse was disappointed he didn't get a shot to race his teammate for the win.

''I was thinking that I would use the bumper if the opportunity was there,'' he said. ''If you get the win, you're in the Chase and you can let the rest take care of itself later. That's what I was really thinking if we went back green. I was thinking about doing whatever I could to win.''

And Almirola also was having trouble accepting the final outcome.

''It's frustrating because I had one shot to race Carl for the lead, and these races are so hard to win,'' he said. ''It was a great day for us, I'm not disappointed at all with third, but when you see it and you can taste it and it's that close, you wonder what could have went different.''

Tony Stewart salvaged a horrific start to the weekend - he qualified 37th - by finishing a season-best fourth.

''I'm pretty excited about that,'' Stewart said. ''Everybody just worked hard all weekend. We had a long way to go from Friday, when we weren't very good and every day we just got better and better. So, I'm really proud of this team.''

Marcos Ambrose was fifth as both of RPM's drivers finished inside the top five.

Pole-sitter Denny Hamlin was sixth in the highest-finishing Toyota and was followed by Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne. Brian Vickers was ninth and rookie Kyle Larson rounded out the top 10.

Another round of rain has worked over Bristol Motor Speedway. How long will this rain last and can they get back to racing?

After getting started late due to rain, the Food City 500 will have to wait out another rain delay as more rain moved over the track this afternoon. The image below is the current radar over Bristol Motor Speedway

CAN WE FINISH THE RACE TODAY? The rain and light drizzle should last until 4:45 p.m. or 5 p.m. EDT. While additional areas of rain and drizzle could form this evening any window should allow NASCAR to at least get to halfway making it an official race.

With wet weather expected today please follow me on Twitter @ NASCAR_WXMAN and like me on Facebook for the latest weather updates.

Conditions in Bristol, Tennessee.Click here for Current Weather Conditions - Look at Doppler Radar | Mobile Friendly Site | Mobile Radar

SUNDAY:5 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Mostly cloudy, chance of rain/drizzle - temp: 466 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Mostly cloudy, Scattered rain and drizzle - temp: 7 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Mostly cloudy, Scattered rain and drizzle - temp: 458 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Mostly cloudy, Scattered rain and drizzle - temp: 9 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Mostly cloudy, Scattered rain and drizzle - temp: 4410 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Mostly cloudy, Scattered rain and drizzle - temp:

MONDAY:12 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Cloudy, chance of a shower - temp: 1 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Cloudy, chance of a shower - temp: 432 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Cloudy, chance of a shower - temp: 3 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Cloudy to mostly cloudy - temp: 4 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Cloudy to mostly cloudy - temp: 5 p.m ETSprint Cup race - Cloudy to mostly cloudy - temp: 44

The first three races of the season are in the books, but the racing action will heat up this week when 43 of the most talented drivers travel to Bristol Motor Speedway for the first of two races on the track in 2014.

Sunday's race is known as the Food City 500.

The event at Bristol puts the track on full display, as its half-mile length, steep banking and stadium-style seating make it one of the most unique battles race fans will experience all season.

With 500 of the fastest laps pushing each driver to his or her limit, there is always potential for chaos on such a short track. In , though, rubbing is racing.

Here is all the vital viewing information for Sunday's Sprint Cup Series race, the full qualifying results and the drivers to watch in the main event.

Where: Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn.

When: Sunday, March 16 at 1 p.m. ET

Watch: Fox

Source: NASCAR.com

Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Love him or hate him, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 team have been the picture of consistency to start the 2014 season.

Not only did Earnhardt win the Daytona 500 for the second time in his career, but he managed to finish in second place at both Phoenix and Vegas over the last two weeks. Junior has catapulted to first in the standings.

When asked about possibly tying Richard Petty's record of starting the season with four top-two finishes, Earnhardt told what it meant to him and how he will handle Sunday's race:

Anytime you do anything that Richard has done and you put yourself in the conversation with him to do with any statistic, it's a pretty awesome accomplishment because of everything that he has ever done winning as many races as he has and running as many races as he has. He's been such a fixture in the sport still today.

Yeah, that would be awesome. Just something else we can hang our hat on and we' got a shot at it, man. We really run good here. I like coming here. ... If we can be in a situation to do that and try to capitalize and get another win or another top three or top two or whatever we need to join Richard in that statistic, we'll be going for it.

In 27 starts over his career at Bristol, Earnhardt has totaled an average finish of 11.6, the second-best average for an active driver. While he has only won once, he has 13 top-10 finishes at the track over the course of his career.

With the perfect combination of momentum to start the season and a long history of success at the track, those looking for a driver who can steal the show need to look no further than Junior.

Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

This week's pole-sitter is Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 team after they ran a record-setting time of 14.761 seconds. According to Nate Ryan of USA Today, it was just .003 seconds faster than Brad 's previous Bristol mark:

Denny Hamlin wins the pole at Bristol Motor Speedway with a record lap at 129.991 mph, beats Brad Keselowski by 0.003 seconds. #nascar

Hamlin is starting the Food City 500 heading in the right direction.

After finished the Daytona 500 in second place, Hamlin struggled at Phoenix and eventually finished 19th. The No. 11 car's performance improved in Vegas with a 12th-place finish, and now Hamlin wants to be in the winner's circle.

It is impossible to predict the crashes that can steal away a winning-caliber car's chances at the checkered flag, but Hamlin was finished in the top 10 in seven of his 15 career races at the track and has averaged a finish of 15.3.

If there was ever a chance for Hamlin to earn his second win at Bristol, it would be during Sunday's Food City 500.

With rain moving in across Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, can NASCAR get the Sprint Cup race in or are the looking to race on Monday?

The weather forecast for the Sprint Cup Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway remains as wet as it has been all week. Storm system will spread rain across east Tennessee Sunday morning and keep the rain around for most of the day and even into the afternoon.

The above image is an animated forecast map from 8 a.m. EST Sunday until midnight on Monday. Rain arrives between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. EST and continues through the morning and into the afternoon. Some of the forecast models I've looked at try to break some of the rain up as we go into late afternoon and evening. While some of the showers are possible to become more broken and scattered, I feel there is just too much moisture in place today to see any racing at Bristol, that includes racing at night.

CAN WE RACE SUNDAY? My odds of seeing any racing on the track today at Bristol Motor Speedway continue to hover near 20 to 25 percent. While there are some forecast floating around out there that has the rain drying out late afternoon and into the evening, I just think there are too many things working against NASCAR racing today and even tonight.

It all comes down to if we see any breaks in the rain as we go into the afternoon and evening. If any of these potential windows are large enough for the Air Titan to dry the track and get the cars racing. If by some chance NASCAR manages to get a large window, will it be open long enough after drying to get an official race (making it to halfway or beyond). It feels like too many things have to go right for NASCAR to be able to race today at Bristol Motor Speedway.

BUT BRISTOL HAS LIGHTS, CAN WE RACE AT NIGHT? As I said above, even when I factor in the lights and how quick Air Titan can dry the track, I am just not feeling confident that we get a long enough window to race to halfway or beyond. That's if we see a window to begin with. Even if the steady rain ends in the afternoon and evening there is a good possibility that drizzle will set up in the valleys keeping everything wet for most of the evening and night.

YOU'RE A METEOROLOGIST, YOU CAN BE WRONG: This is very true, my forecast could be wrong. Many meteorologists, including myself, were wrong about the rain we had in Phoenix just two weeks ago. The difference between then and now is the kind of weather system we are going to see. In Phoenix, we had a cold front that was going to spark showers and storms near and around the track. We got lucky that most of the rain formed around the track but never hitting until the second half of the Nationwide race.

I've talked with other meteorologist like my NASCAR weather colleague on Twitter @RaceWeather and looked at the National Weather Service forecast and there is just too much agreement that rain is working against NASCAR racing today and tonight.

SHOULD I GO TO THE RACE SUNDAY OR MONDAY? I get this question a lot in situations like this and I honestly can't tell someone what they should do. A lot of fans will drive two to even four hours, if not more, to see the NASCAR race at Bristol. If it were me and I had a long drive, I'd monitor the weather and radar during the morning. Maybe even drive to a halfway point and see what is going on. I'd wait to see if any decision is made earlier by either NASCAR or meteorologists forecasting the weather.

While I appreciate all those who support my NASCAR weather forecasting, I would tell anyone to also look at other forecasts from reliable sources. Get as much information you can and then make the best informed decision you can.

WHAT DOES MONDAY'S FORECAST LOOK LIKE? While Monday has the chance of rain and yes even some snow for Bristol Motor Speedway on Monday, most of this activity is expected in the morning. If NASCAR is forced to postpone the race to Monday then the scheduled start time for the Food City 500 is noon on Monday. Looking at the forecast the threat of rain decreases going into the afternoon and I feel that this would be the earliest time to get all of the race completed.

With wet weather expected today please follow me on Twitter @ NASCAR_WXMAN and like me on Facebook for the latest weather updates.

Conditions in Bristol, Tennessee.Click here for Current Weather Conditions - Look at Doppler Radar | Mobile Friendly Site | Mobile Radar

SUNDAY:11 a.m EDTSprint Cup pre-race - Rain - temp: 4312 p.m EDTSprint Cup pre-race - Rain - temp: 1 p.m EDTSprint Cup race - Rain - temp: 452 p.m EDTSprint Cup race - Rain - temp: 3 p.m EDTSprint Cup race - Rain - temp: 4 p.m EDTSprint Cup race - Rain - temp: 6 p.m EDTSprint Cup race - Cloudy, Scattered rain and drizzle - temp: 8 p.m EDTSprint Cup race - Cloudy, Scattered rain and drizzle - temp: 10 p.m EDTSprint Cup race - Cloudy, Scattered rain and drizzle - temp:

MONDAY:12 p.m EDTSprint Cup race - Cloudy, chance of a shower - temp: 1 p.m EDTSprint Cup race - Cloudy, chance of a shower - temp: 432 p.m EDTSprint Cup race - Cloudy, chance of a shower - temp: 3 p.m EDTSprint Cup race - Cloudy to mostly cloudy - temp: 4 p.m EDTSprint Cup race - Cloudy to mostly cloudy - temp: 5 p.m EDTSprint Cup race - Cloudy to mostly cloudy - temp: 44

Congrats to @dennyhamlin & @JoeGibbsRacing for winning the pole for Sunday's #NASCAR race at @BMSupdates! http://ift.tt/1oaU4zq

***

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Denny Hamlin said during SpeedWeeks, as he was winning the Sprint Unlimited and a 150-mile qualifying race, that this was all leading up to something. His win in the Sprint Cup season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway the previous season had sent him into the offseason with a burst of momentum after an accident at Auto Club Speedway cost him four races and a berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Hamlin's offseason testing program with Joe Gibbs Racing had left him encouraged. His team, he asserted, would be heard from in the first weeks of the season.

A week before returning to the track where his 2013 unraveled, Hamlin took another step toward making good on his prediction on Friday. Like Brad Keselowski last week, he can complete his redemption campaign before it barely gets started.

Using just one qualifying run in both the 30-minute first session and 10-minute knockout round, Hamlin set a new track record in winning the pole for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hamlin traversed the .533-mile concrete track at 129.991 mph, smashing teammate Kyle Busch's year-old record of 129.535.

"Obviously this is a great start to the weekend at a track where we believe it's a great opportunity for us to get a win and put ourselves in a Chase spot," said Hamlin, who won the Bristol summer race in 2012.

Keselowski, the 2012 champion who missed the Chase last year but won last week at Las Vegas, made a late run to jump from seventh to second at 129.965, followed by Matt Kenseth (129.073), Joey Logano (128.830), and Marcos Ambrose (128.727).

Friday marked the implementation of a tweak to NASCAR's new qualifying format, allowing teams to cool their engines on pit road with mobile units rather than on the race track with low-speed laps. Several drivers had warned of the peril in the old practice, and the sanctioning body relented this week heading to the confines of Bristol.

Drivers unilaterally approved of the change. Points leader Dale Earnhardt Jr., who starts 14th, called it "much better."

"That rule change has made qualifying even better," Keselowski said. "It has removed danger and replaced it with opportunity."

The modification rid the track of traffic-clogging cars but had the ancillary effect of allowing teams qualifying runs with cooling times drastically reduced. Although Hamlin made just one run in each of the two group sessions, most of the rest of the field, including Keselowski made multiple attempts to abscond with the pole.

Hamlin's blistering lap and concise approach held, though. He made just one run in each of the two sessions after undertaking one mock run in practice held. Keselowski, fastest in the first session, was impressed.

"I feel like we did what we were supposed to do to be able to go out there and give it a shot for the pole," Keselowski said. "Really and honestly Denny's car has been a little faster than ours today. I felt like when we won the first session I'm like, 'OK, we found something between practice and qualifying,' so I felt pretty good about it.

"Denny's strategy was pretty good. I think watching what they did in between two runs was pretty impressive to me. It was a huge pickup for them."

A win on Sunday for Hamlin would mark a bigger pick-up, a nearly certain bid in the 16-driver Chase field.

Contributor, espnW.com

With Sunday looking like a rainy day, is there any way NASCAR can get the first Bristol race of 2014 in on it's scheduled day?

The weather forecast for Bristol Motor Speedway remains very wet for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race on Sunday. It appears very that we will get the race in let alone starting on Sunday based on all the forecast data I have looked over. The image below show where the rain could be from 11 a.m. EST on Sunday until 8 p.m. Sunday evening.

As you can see from the image above, rain over Bristol Motor Speedway all day and into the evening.. There are some forecast models out there that start to break the rain up towards early evening. That is possible, especially with the mountain terrain around the track, but at this point I am not confident in that scenario, but it is a possibility.

CAN WE RACE SUNDAY? The likelihood appears very low for racing on Sunday. While there is one scenario where the rain could break up towards evening I am not too optimistic. My biggest concern is that even if there are breaks, the windows won't be long enough to dry the track and get to racing. Getting Sunday's race started on times is out of the question and I don't think we get a window until evening or later. Odds of racing Sunday (including racing under the lights), around 20 percent.

BUT BRISTOL HAS LIGHTS, CAN WE RACE AT NIGHT? As I said above, even when I factor in the lights, I am just not feeling confident that we get a long enough window to race to halfway. That's if we see a window to begin with.

YOU'RE A METEOROLOGIST, YOU CAN BE WRONG: This is very true, my forecast could be wrong but I've talked with other meteorologist like my NASCAR weather colleague on Twitter @RaceWeather and we both feel the same way about this weekend's weather forecast. We should be dry for the Nationwide race Saturday but very wet, with a low probability of racing on Sunday.

SHOULD I GO TO THE RACE SUNDAY OR MONDAY? These questions are the hardest to answer because I can't nor will I tell someone what they should do. If I paid money to go to a race, and as a meteorologist if I saw the smallest glimmer of a window, I'd probably take the risk and go, but that's me. I recommend that if you are trying to decide whether or not to go, don't just use my weather forecast but look at as many reliable weather sources as you can.

WHAT DOES MONDAY'S FORECAST LOOK LIKE? Monday's weather still has areas of rain and even possible morning snow showers in the forecast, but the threat of precipitation diminishes as we head into the afternoon and evening. If NASCAR were to reschedule the Bristol race to Monday afternoon, they would have a much better shot of getting a full race.

With rain in the forecast and expected on radar Sunday morning, please follow me on Twitter @ NASCAR_WXMAN and like me on Facebook for the latest weather updates as this forecast develops going into the weekend.

Conditions in Bristol, Tennessee.Click here for Current Weather Conditions - Look at Doppler Radar | Mobile Friendly Site | Mobile Radar

SATURDAY:Sprint Cup Series practice - Sun and clouds - temp: 44Nationwide Series qualifying - Sun and clouds - temp: 47Sprint Cup Series final practice - Sun and clouds - temp: 532:00 p.m EDT Nationwide Series race - Sun and clouds - temp: 59

MONDAY Weather Forecast:Showers possible in the morning,diminishing in the afternoon. mostly cloudy. - High: 49