NASCAR Cup Series

Kyle Busch: Busch suffered from a loose wheel early in the race before picking his way back into the top 5 at Bristol. But a late pit road speeding penalty cost him a chance at the win, finishing eighth.

For racing fans, the opportunity to tailgate with royalty could be just a bacon strip away. Smithfield announced the start of its "Fuel Up with the King" Sweepstakes, where one lucky fan will win the Grand Prize of an all-inclusive trip for two to the 2016 race in Daytona, a new Ford F-150 and a Smithfield-hosted tailgate with "The King" Richard Petty, Aric Almirola, and the legendary Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 team.

Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) announced today that Winn-Dixie will serve as the primary sponsor for Sam Hornish Jr. and the No. 9 Ford team at the Darlington (S.C.) Raceway The Tradition Returns weekend in September.

Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series at Road America ... In 11 Series starts at the 14-turn road course, RCR has completed 565 laps of the 579 (97.6 percent) they have competed. The Welcome, N.C., organization visited Victory Lane last year with Brendan Gaughan, earning their first win at Road America. RCR has accumulated two top-five and three top-10 finishes, led nine laps and averages a starting position of 14.2 and finishing position of 14.8.

Saturday night at Bristol is behind us, so what have we learned? First, I was reminded how much I love the action broadcast from that track. Second, I like pack racing. I do not need 20 or 30 cars all bunched together, but seeing four or five on the screen battling for position is pretty cool. Hell, it is downright exciting.

With lots of discussion and questions about restarts in the drivers’ meeting prior to the race, here is what was surprising and not surprising after the checkered flag flew on the 55Th Annual Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In his 100th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) start, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. salvaged a 21st-place finish in Saturday night’s IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Greg Biffle battled track position and grip during Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Biffle started 17th in the No. 16 Cheez-It Ford but battled handling over the 500-lap race. Just as luck seemed to be going Biffle’s way with a well-timed caution, an accident on the ensuing restart caused damage to the No. 16. After a few pit stops for repairs Biffle was able to make it to the end to finish 25th.

Richard Childress Racing drivers Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon and Paul Menard finished 10th, 13th and 24th, respectively, in the Bristol Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

It appeared to be smooth sailing for Martin Truex Jr., who drove his backup car to the front, holding down the fifth position when a caution came out at exactly the halfway mark (Lap 250 of 500) of Saturday night’s Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.