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More than 115,000 fans were on their feet Friday night for the final 18 laps of the Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Ray Evernham, co-owner of Gillett Evernham Motorsports, was off his seat from his perch on top of the No. 9 Ragu Dodge Charger pit box. Team director Mike Shiplett and the Ragu crew were shifting their eyes from the track to the big screen in the middle of the infield. The focal point was Kasey Kahne and the No. 9 Ragu Dodge. What everyone was witnessing was a superb driving performance by Kahne and one of the best NASCAR Busch Series finishes ever at the “world’s fastest half-mile track. “
For the first time in more than a decade, cars were two and three wide at the. 533-mile oval which recently received a new concrete surface. In the process, the Bristol myth that you must cover the bottom of the track in the corners to win was replaced by a new image of cars racing side-by-side, two and three wide at the world’s fastest half-mile track.
Kahne was a willing participant in a three-wide excursion. It happened to be for the lead and the win. He emerged the star with strong supporting roles from Ryan Newman and Jason Leffler. Lap 242 will require a full chapter in the track’s history book. Three drivers engaged in a battle for the lead. There was contact naturally, but this time nobody wrecked. The new surface permits such racing.
Here’s how it all unfolded. Kahne was running second with 18 laps remaining. For the next eight circuits, he tried to take the lead from Newman who was maintaining a line in the middle of the track through the corners. That had become the preferred line during the race. Kahne tried to go inside. He could pull his Dodge even with Newman, but could not complete the pass. The battle grew even more intense as Leffler closed in on the pair and was set for a challenge of his own for the lead.
On lap 242, Newman maintained the middle line. Kahne, who had run on the high line with success earlier in the race, elected to go outside. That left Leffler open for the low line. The three raced almost the full lap side-by-side. They bumped a couple of times as Kahne scrubbed the wall for a Darlington-like stripe, but Bristol style. Nobody lifted. At the line, Kahne had the lead.
Although Leffler threatened for the lead over the final eight laps, Kahne held him off for his first win ever at Bristol and his second Busch Series victory of the season.
Kahne had a bit of an obstacle to overcome just to get in position to challenge for the win. Running just inside the top 15, he was involved in a four-car, chain-reaction mishap on the front straight on lap 133. Kahne managed to control a slide and keep his Dodge off the wall, but the incident would require a pit stop for tires. He would restart 19th.
That was the final stop of the night for the Ragu Dodge. Kahne worked his way into the top 10 by lap 170. His march forward continued. He passed on the outside and then on the inside. He took over second on lap 226 and closed in on the leader and set the stage for the final 18 laps.
Shiplett made a minor adjustment during the first pit stop under caution on lap 84. The second stop came after the spin on lap 133. The crew replaced the tires, but there were no adjustments. They weren’t needed as the racecar had the feel Kahne wanted. The victory was the first for Gillett Evernham Motorsports.
“I can’t believe we won at Bristol, “ said Kahne. “It was an awesome battle with Jason and Ryan. It’s fun to race like that. We were disappointed the race ended. We were three wide. I was on the outside, so I was able to keep the momentum up. All three cars were rubbing. I was against the wall; I was rubbing the wall. Nobody wrecked. After I got the lead, Jason raced me clean at the end. Mike and the crew gave me a great car. That made the race a lot of fun. This win means a ton to me. “
