Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr. claim Food City 500 stage wins at Bristol

All the uncertainty with the track conditions at Bristol Motor Speedway haven’t mattered much to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ hottest drivers.

Rain, VHT, racing on Monday? None of that matters if you’re a hot driver with a fast car, and the first two stages of the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway proved that.

Cup Series points leader Kyle Larson got to start up front as the result of the rain canceling Friday qualifying, and that worked out well for him. Larson led every lap in Stage 1 and was rarely challenged, even when he caught and had to deal with lapped traffic.

Larson also managed to get away from the field at the beginning of Stage 2, but not for too long. First he had to fend off a challenge from Joey Logano, and even though he managed to stay in front of the 22, he couldn’t do the same to the hard-charging Martin Truex Jr. The 78 has been fast everywhere so far in 2017, and he claimed his series-leading fifth stage victory.

Truex has never won a race at Bristol Motor Speedway, but with the confidence from a stage win under his belt, he’ll have a great shot at changing that in the closing laps of the Food City 500 — barring calamity, of course, which is always lurking at Bristol.

Next: What is VHT and why are they using it at Bristol?

Here’s a look at all the drivers who claimed stage points this afternoon:

Food City 500 Stage 1 points

Kyle Larson, 10 points, 1 playoff point
Martin Truex Jr., 9 points
Erik Jones, 8 points
Joey Logano, 7 points
Jimmie Johnson, 6 points
Chase Elliott, 5 points
Jamie McMurray, 4 points
Denny Hamlin, 3 points
A.J. Allmendinger, 2 points
Kyle Busch, 1 point

Food City 500 Stage 2 points

Martin Truex Jr., 10 points, one playoff point
Joey Logano, 9 points
Jimmie Johnson, 8 points
Kevin Harvick, 7 points
Jamie McMurray, 6 points
Erik Jones, 5 points
Kyle Larson, 4 points
Denny Hamlin, 3 points
Trevor Bayne, 2 points
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 1 point

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