2010 Food City 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 5 of 36 in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
| Date | March 21, 2010 | ||
| Official name | Food City 500 | ||
| Location | Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 0.533 mi (0.857 km) |
||
| Distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (430 km) | ||
| Weather | Isolated thunderstorms with a high around 57; wind out of the NE at 7 mph. Chance of precipitation 20%. | ||
| Average speed | 79.618 miles per hour (128.133 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 15.396 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kurt Busch | Penske Racing | |
| Laps | 278 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Broadcasting Company | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 4.4 | ||
The 2010 Food City 500 was held on March 21, 2010 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee as the fifth race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. This race marked the last appearance of the rear wing on the Car of Tomorrow, with the spoiler returning the following race.
This race also was the first of three in Carl Edwards' probation following his altercation with Brad Keselowski at the previous race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, in which Keselowski went airborne, subsequently crashing on his side door. The race had 39 lead changes among 13 different leaders and 10 cautions.
The race attendance of 138,000 marked the end of a long streak of sellout seats at the track, which has a capacity of 158,000. The race had been a sellout since 1982. Draconian regulations kept intact since the 1970s along with rising ticket prices and unexciting restrictor plate races at Talladega and Daytona helped to contribute to the empty seats at NASCAR races in addition to declining TV ratings.
In the first practice, the fastest were Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson, and Kasey Kahne; the practice also had three red flags because Kyle Busch, Bobby Labonte, and Jimmie Johnson spun on the frontstretch. During qualifying, Joey Logano won his first Sprint Cup Series pole position while Kurt Busch, Dave Blaney, Jimmie Johnson, and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-five. There were only two drivers who failed to qualify: Mike Bliss and Max Papis. In the second practice, the fastest were Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Joey Logano. During final practice, the fastest were Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, and Joey Logano.
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