2015 Irwin Tools Night Race

February 2025 NAS Irwin Tools Night Race http://www.nascar.com/content/dam/nascar/download-schedule/2015/nscs_2015_printable_schedule3.pdf 2015 NASCAR Schedule NASCAR Media Group, LLC. August 26, 2014 NASCAR.com August 17, 2015 April 4, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150404031856/http://www.nascar.com/content/dam/nascar/download-schedule/2015/nscs_2015_printable_schedule3.pdf deadhttp://www.nascar.com/en_us/nascar-tracks/bristol-motor-speedway.html Bristol Motor Speedway NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013 NASCAR.com August 17, 2015http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Season-Stats/Statistics.aspx?SubSeriesID=1&YearID=44&RaceID=6805&StatType=Entry+List Entry List Motor Racing Network August 18, 2015 MRN.com August 18, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150822130208/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Season-Stats/Statistics.aspx?SubSeriesID=1&YearID=44&RaceID=6805&StatType=Entry+List August 22, 2015 deadhttp://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Season-Stats/Statistics.aspx?SubSeriesID=1&YearID=44&RaceID=6805&StatType=1st+Practice+Speeds First Practice Results Motor Racing Network August 21, 2015 MRN.com August 22, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150825015131/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Season-Stats/Statistics.aspx?SubSeriesID=1&YearID=44&RaceID=6805&StatType=1st+Practice+Speeds August 25, 2015 deadhttp://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Season-Stats/Statistics.aspx?SubSeriesID=1&YearID=44&RaceID=6805&StatType=Final+Practice+Speeds Final Practice Results Motor Racing Network August 21, 2015 MRN.com August 22, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150824192943/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Season-Stats/Statistics.aspx?SubSeriesID=1&YearID=44&RaceID=6805&StatType=Final+Practice+Speeds August 24, 2015 deadhttp://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Additional-Statistics/2015/08/IRWIN-Tools-Night-Race-Qualifying-Results.aspx Qualifying Results Motor Racing Network August 22, 2015 MRN.com August 22, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150825015125/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Additional-Statistics/2015/08/IRWIN-Tools-Night-Race-Qualifying-Results.aspx August 25, 2015 deadhttp://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Season-Stats/Statistics.aspx?SubSeriesID=1&YearID=44&RaceID=6805&StatType=Race+Results Irwin Tools Night Race Results Motor Racing Network August 22, 2015 MRN.com August 23, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150905104044/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Season-Stats/Statistics.aspx?SubSeriesID=1&YearID=44&RaceID=6805&StatType=Race+Results September 5, 2015 deadhttp://www.jayski.com/stats/2015/pdfs/24bms2015points.pdf Points standings NASCAR Statistics August 22, 2015 Jayski.com August 31, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150905054538/http://www.jayski.com/stats/2015/pdfs/24bms2015points.pdf September 5, 2015 deadhttp://www.jayski.com/stats/2015/pdfs/24bms2015racereport.pdf Manufacturer standings NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications August 24, 2015 Jayski.com August 31, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150905055956/http://www.jayski.com/stats/2015/pdfs/24bms2015racereport.pdf September 5, 2015 dead 2015 08 22 2015 24 36 2015_Irwin_Tools_Night_Race_program_cover.png 2015 Irwin Tools Night Race program cover, with artwork by former NASCAR artist Sam Bass. The painting is called "Over The Rainbow". Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee .533 .858 500 266.5 429 Clear evening skies with a temperature of 78 F C 96.890 mph km/h on Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing 14.602 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 192 22 Joey Logano Team Penske NBCSN Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte 1.9/3 (Overnight)http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2015/08/nascar-ratings-down-bristol-nbcsn-overnights/ Overnights Plunge For NASCAR's Bristol Night Race Paulsen Sports Media Watch August 24, 2015 SportsMediaWatch.com September 1, 20152.1/4 (Final)http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2015/08/nascar-ratings-bristol-least-watched-since-2000-nbcsn/ NASCAR Bristol Night Race Least-Watched in At Least 15 Years Paulsen Sports Media Watch August 25, 2015 SportsMediaWatch.com September 1, 20153.6 Million viewers PRN Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini Rob Albright (Backstretch) The 2015 Irwin Tools Night Race was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on August 22, 2015, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Contested over 500 laps on the .533 mile (.858 km) concrete short track, it was the 24th race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Joey Logano won the race, making this his second consecutive and overall at the track and his third of the season. Kevin Harvick finished second for the tenth time in the season while Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top five. Hamlin won the pole for the race and led 54 laps on his way to a third-place finish. Kyle Busch led a race high of 192 laps on his way to an eighth-place finish. The race had 14 lead changes among five different drivers, as well as eight caution flag periods for 52 laps. This was the 11th career victory for Joey Logano, third of the season, second at Bristol Motor Speedway and 12th at the track for Team Penske. Despite winning the race, he left Bristol trailing Kevin Harvick by 43-points in the drivers points standings. Ford left Bristol trailing Toyota by one-point for second in the manufacturer standings and Chevrolet by 71 for the points lead. The Irwin Tools Nights Race was carried by NBC Sports on the cable/satellite NBCSN network for the American television audience. The radio broadcast for the race was carried by the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Report Background thumb|left|Bristol Motor Speedway, the track where the race will be held. Bristol Motor Speedway is a 0.533 mi km on oval short track in Bristol, Tennessee. Kevin Harvick entered Bristol with a 48–point lead over Joey Logano. Dale Earnhardt Jr. entered 82 back. Martin Truex Jr. entered 111 back. Brad Keselowski entered 112 back. Entry list The entry list for the Irwin Tools Night Race was released on Monday, August 17 at 11:17 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-six cars were entered for the race. All but two cars were entered in the previous week's race at Michigan. The only driver change for this race was the No. 33 Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet which was driven by Mike Bliss. No. Car number Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski (PC3) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick (PC1) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Tony Stewart (PC4) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Matt Kenseth (PC6) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Ryan Blaney (i) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 24 Jeff Gordon (PC7) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30 Travis Kvapil (i) The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Josh Wise Go FAS Racing Ford 33 Mike Bliss (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 34 Brett Moffitt (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 41 Kurt Busch (PC5) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson (PC2) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 55 David Ragan Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 62 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 98 Timmy Hill (i) Premium Motorsports FordOfficial initial entry listOfficial final entry list Key Meaning (R) Rookie (i) Ineligible for points (PC#) Past champions provisional Practice First practice thumb|right|Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session. Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 14.779 and a speed of 129.833 mph km/h on.http://nascartalk.nbcsports.com/2015/08/21/kyle-larson-fastest-in-first-sprint-cup-practice-at-bristol/ Kyle Larson fastest in first Sprint Cup practice at Bristol McFadin Daniel NBC Sports August 21, 2015 nascartalk.nbcsports.com August 22, 2015 Towards the tail-end of the session, Martin Truex Jr. blew a right-front tire and slammed the wall exiting turn 2.http://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/larson-tops-eventful-first-practice-at-bristol Larson tops eventful first practice at Bristol Spencer Lee Motorsport.com, Inc. August 21, 2015 Motorsport.com August 22, 2015 The damage done to the left-front control arm forced him to switch to his backup car. Because this change took place prior to qualifying, he won't start the race from the rear of the field. Pos No. Car number Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed MPH 1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 14.779 129.833 2 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.921 128.597 3 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.923 128.580Official first practice results Final practice thumb|right|Kyle Busch was the fastest in the final practice session. Kyle Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 14.631 and a speed of 131.146 mph km/h on.http://nascartalk.nbcsports.com/2015/08/21/kyle-busch-fastest-in-final-sprint-cup-practice-at-bristol/ Kyle Busch fastest in final Sprint Cup practice at Bristol McFadin Daniel NBC Sports August 21, 2015 nascartalk.nbcsports.com August 22, 2015 Pos No. Car number Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed MPH 1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.631 131.146 2 55 David Ragan Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 14.687 130.646 3 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 14.758 130.018Official final practice results Qualifying thumb|right|Denny Hamlin (pictured during qualifying) won the pole for the race. Denny Hamlin won the pole with a new track record time of 14.602 and a speed of 131.407 mph km/h on.http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2015/08/Denny-Hamlin-Wins-the-Pole-for-the-IRWIN-Tools-Night-Race.aspx Hamlin Leads JGR Qualifying Charge Wackerlin Jeff Motor Racing Network August 21, 2015 MRN.com August 22, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150822232328/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2015/08/Denny-Hamlin-Wins-the-Pole-for-the-IRWIN-Tools-Night-Race.aspx August 22, 2015 dead "Our FedEx Ground Camry obviously was very fast that last round and Dave (Rogers, crew chief) made the great adjustments to it to pick up the speed and I think that hopefully we’ll have something that we can race with them tomorrow night,” Hamlin said. “The first round just got loose and that kind of put us behind the whole time," Kevin Harvick said after qualifying seventh. "Other than that the car drove pretty good, really throughout every round. Had a little bit of trouble with all the engine stuff shutting off at the end of the straightaway so that was definitely hurting us." “All of our cars have had good speed today, we just missed the setup there a little bit for qualifying and couldn’t really fix it from the pit box," said Matt Kenseth after qualifying 13th. "We got the best lap we could out of it – wish we could have made it to the last round there. Just didn’t quite have enough in it.” "We didn’t qualify very good here the last time we were here and heck, I think this time we were worse than we were the last time," Jeff Gordon said after qualifying 24th for his final start at Bristol. "But we raced really good. I thought our race runs looked decent today. It’s hard to pass. The groove is up top there, so I was hoping we were going to qualify better than this, especially with this pretty awesome Rainbow paint scheme that Axalta has this weekend for us. But, it just wasn’t meant to be. I don’t know. We were just really struggling when we put it into qualifying trim.” Jeb Burton, Travis Kvapil and Reed Sorenson failed to qualify for the race. Qualifying results Pos No. Car number Driver Team Manufacturer R1 Best time in Round 1 R2 Best time in Round 2 R3 Best time in Round 3 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.760 14.764 14.602 2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.679 14.682 14.618 3 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.849 14.742 14.686 4 55 David Ragan Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 14.682 14.788 14.708 5 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 14.897 14.780 14.721 6 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 14.773 14.781 14.723 7 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 14.864 14.770 14.726 8 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 14.831 14.781 14.746 9 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 14.806 14.778 14.754 10 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14.759 14.724 14.766 11 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 14.745 14.641 14.823 12 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 14.880 14.770 14.892 13 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.859 14.797 — 14 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 14.885 14.834 — 15 21 Ryan Blaney (i) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 14.870 14.850 — 16 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 14.877 14.857 — 17 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 14.919 14.895 — 18 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 14.865 14.909 — 19 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14.899 14.920 — 20 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14.899 14.928 — 21 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 14.897 14.960 — 22 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 14.921 14.968 — 23 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 14.902 14.972 — 24 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14.910 14.992 — 25 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 14.925 — — 26 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 14.961 — — 27 34 Brett Moffitt (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 14.970 — — 28 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 15.000 — — 29 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.014 — — 30 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 15.037 — — 31 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 15.042 — — 32 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15.045 — — 33 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 15.054 — — 34 32 Josh Wise Go FAS Racing Ford 15.065 — — 35 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 15.080 — — 36 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 15.084 — — 37 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 15.113 — — 38 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 15.130 — — 39 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 15.151 — — 40 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15.161 — — 41 98 Timmy Hill (i) Premium Motorsports Ford 15.221 — — 42 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 15.278 — — 43 33 Mike Bliss (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 15.293 — —Failed to qualify 44 30 Travis Kvapil (i) The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 15.163 — — 45 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 15.240 — — 46 62 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 15.332 — —Official qualifying results Race First half Start thumb|left|Denny Hamlin led the field to the green flag. thumb|right|Kyle Busch exited pit road with the race lead under the first caution. Under a clear East Tennessee evening sky, Denny Hamlin led the field to the green flag at 7:52 p.m. Starting on the bottom line, which isn't the norm at Bristol, he shot ahead of teammate Kyle Busch to lead the first lap. By lap 15, Hamlin caught the tail-end of the field and completed the short track conveyor belt. By lap 18, Busch ran down his teammate and pressured him for the lead. Eventually, the No. 18 Toyota used the lap traffic to pass the No. 11 and take the lead on lap 28. The lapped traffic allowed Kyle to pull away from Denny in the ensuing laps. A. J. Allmendinger bumped Paul Menard in turn 3 and about sent the No. 27 car spinning in front of the race leader, but he saved his car and the race continued. Debris in turn 3 brought out the first caution of the race on lap 52. Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin swapped the lead on pit road with the former pitting on the backstretch. It was ultimately Busch whom exited pit road with the lead. Ryan Blaney and Danica Patrick were tagged for speeding on pit road and restarted the race from the rear of the field.2015 Irwin Tools Night Race https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofc_NXZQeus September 2, 2015 Sprint Cup Series Sprint Cup Series NBC Sports NBCSN Bristol, Tennessee August 22, 2015 67 7:47 p.m. en thumb|left|Matt Kenseth's day came to an end after losing an engine on lap 111. thumb|right|Kyle Larson slammed the wall in turn 3 on lap 126 after cutting down his left-front tire. The race restarted on lap 58. He shot ahead of Kyle Larson on the outside line and drove away from the field followed closely by teammate Denny Hamlin. He too was caught off by lapped traffic and Busch drove away. Matt Kenseth was running fourth when he blew his engine on lap 111.http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2015/08/Early-Exit-For-Kenseth.aspx Kenseth Exits Bristol Early Pistone Pete Motor Racing Network August 22, 2015 MRN.com August 31, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150826012902/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2015/08/Early-Exit-For-Kenseth.aspx August 26, 2015 dead “It broke in the middle of the straightaway – it had that hop and that noise that it makes when you know you dropped a valve,” Kenseth explained. “Unfortunate, but man these guys at TRD (Toyota Racing Development) have been doing such an awesome job, we’ve had so much power and everything has been really reliable here the last year and a half. Things like this happen every once in a while. It’s a short night. Felt like we were really competitive – we were one or two adjustments away from where we needed to be, but I thought our Dollar General Camry had good speed.” The second caution of the race flew on lap 126 for a single-car wreck in turn 4. Exiting turn 2, Kyle Larson – who changed just right-side tires under the first caution – cut down his left-front tire and slammed the wall in turn 3. Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin swapped the lead on pit road pitting on opposite pit roads. This time, it was Hamlin who beat his teammate off pit road. Kevin Harvick was tagged for his crew being over the wall too soon and restarted the race from the rear of the field. Second quarter thumb|right|A. J. Allmendinger crashed out of the race on lap 146. The race restarted on lap 133. Again deviating from recent Bristol norm, Denny Hamlin restarted on the bottom line and shot ahead of his teammate. The third caution of the race flew on lap 146 for a single-car wreck on the front stretch. Exiting turn 2, A. J. Allmendinger came down across the nose of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., slid down the track and slammed the inside wall. The race restarted on lap 152. Teammate Kyle Busch drove by Denny Hamlin on the top side to take back the lead on lap 156. Hamlin pulled back up to him in the next eight laps, but was unable to get by him. Eventually, Busch began to pull away from the rest of the lead cars. Being caught being the lapped car of Josh Wise allowed Joey Logano to drive up to his outside, but pulled out in front and continued leading. Logano powered underneath Busch after he made slight contact with the wall to take the lead on lap 226.http://nascartalk.nbcsports.com/2015/08/22/joey-logano-in-control-at-halfway-point-of-bristol-night-race/ Joey Logano in control at halfway point of Bristol Night Race Bonkowski Jerry NBC Sports August 22, 2015 nascartalk.nbcsports.com August 31, 2015 Debris in turn 3 brought out the fourth caution of the race on lap 250. Carl Edwards exited pit road with the lead. Justin Allgaier was tagged for speeding on pit road and restarted the race from the rear of the field. Second half Halfway thumb|left|Carl Edwards made an unscheduled stop from the lead on lap 352 for a flat tire. The race restarted on lap 258. Kyle Busch drove outside teammate Edwards to retake the lead on lap 282. Unfortunately, he was unable to build a gap as he was caught in heavy lap traffic. Carl reeled in Kyle to drive by him and take the lead on lap 304. He pulled to a one-second lead over Joey Logano. As is normal for Bristol, the lapped traffic slowed him down enough to allow Logano to reel in Edwards. David Ragan made contact with Kurt Busch and sent him into the turn 1 wall. Kyle Busch was running third when he made an unscheduled stop on lap 344. Logano ducked underneath Edwards and used the lapped car of Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a pick to take the lead on lap 347. The lapped traffic allowed Carl to return the favor and retake the lead on lap 352. He cut down a tire, hit pit road from the lead and handed it back to Joey Logano.http://nascartalk.nbcsports.com/2015/08/22/nascar-video-carl-edwards-loses-lead-at-bristol-due-to-flat-tire/ NASCAR video: Carl Edwards loses lead at Bristol due to flat tire Bonkowski Jerry NBC Sports August 22, 2015 nascartalk.nbcsports.com August 31, 2015 The fifth caution of the race flew on lap 359 for a single-car wreck on the front stretch. Exiting turn 4, Kyle Larson cut down his right-front tire and slammed the wall hard in turn 4. Kevin Harvick was tagged for speeding on pit road and restarted the race from the rear of the field. The race restarted on lap 368. The sixth caution of the race flew with 130 laps to go for a single-spin on the backstretch.http://www.foxsports.com/nascar/story/bristol-motor-speedway-michael-waltrip-racing-clint-bowyer-david-ragan-jimmie-johnson-082215 Jimmie Johnson, MWR teammates Bowyer, Ragan tangle at Bristol Pennell Jay Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. August 22, 2015 FoxSports.com August 31, 2015 In a classic Bristol accordion effect exiting turn 2, Jimmie Johnson got loose, came down on David Ragan, got turned by Clint Bowyer, sent spinning down the track and slammed the inside wall. "The 48 (Johnson) jumped on my outside and we were really good on the bottom and it kind of surprised me by getting out there and he held me tight coming off of Turn 2 and then I guess the 15 (Bowyer) got a little bit of a run and there just wasn’t enough room for the three of us," Ragan said after the race. "That's the way things happen at Bristol sometimes. It's unfortunate. Our Aaron's Dream Machine was really fast and we had a chance to win. It's uncalled for to get wrecked and to be involved in a wreck like that but all in all just one of those racing things." "You hate to have that good of a car -- have two good cars and the last person you want to get into and have trouble with is your teammate," Bowyer said after the race. "I'm sick to death about that. We had two top-five cars and MWR really needed that run. With that being said we desperately needed a solid run right there. I mean obviously you're hungry for a win with this organization given everything it had and I drove my ass off we just come up short." Fourth quarter The race restarted with 121 laps to go. The seventh caution of the race flew with 117 laps to go for a single-car wreck on the front stretch. Exiting turn 4, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got loose, overcorrected, hit Martin Truex Jr. and hit the outside wall. Greg Biffle was tagged for speeding on pit road and restarted the race from the rear of the field. thumb|left|Jeff Gordon's drive for a sixth career victory at Bristol Motor Speedway came to an end with 93 laps to go for a loose wheel. The race restarted with 110 laps to go. Jeff Gordon was running fifth when he made an unscheduled stop for a loose wheel with 93 laps to go.http://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/gordon-and-others-lose-out-due-to-loose-wheels-at-bristol/?v=2&s=1 Gordon and others lose out due to loose wheels at Bristol Spencer Lee Motorsport.com, Inc. August 23, 2015 Motorsport.com September 1, 2015 Debris on the backstretch brought out the eighth caution of the race with 71 laps to go. Brad Keselowski opted not to pit under the caution and assumed the lead. Kyle Busch was tagged for speeding on the pit road and restarted the race from the rear of the field.http://nascartalk.nbcsports.com/2015/08/23/adam-stevens-on-kyle-buschs-pit-road-speeding-penalty-frustrating/ Adam Stevens on Kyle Busch's pit road speeding penalty: 'Frustrating' Bonkowski Jerry NBC Sports August 22, 2015 nascartalk.nbcsports.com August 31, 2015 “It’s frustrating,” Adam Stevens said. “We put another car on the track that’s capable of winning and it’s tough to do. We’ve been able to do it I don’t know how many weeks in a row. We had a race-winning car at Watkins Glen and Pocono and just keep coming up short. This one’s on us. We made a mistake at Pocono, we weren’t aggressive enough at Watkins Glen and now just make a mistake on pit road. We had a loose wheel and we battled back from that and then you speed on the last stop – you can’t win if you speed on the last stop. That’s all there is to it. (NASCAR) told us that we were speeding in section five – our pit box is in section five. You can’t speed if you’re stopped on pit road. Maybe they meant to say a different number, I don’t know. But there is no earthly way that you can speed in the segment that your pit stall is in, it’s not possible.” thumb|right|Joey Logano celebrates winning the Irwin Tools Night Race. The race restarted with 63 laps to go. Joey Logano shot ahead of his teammate to retake the lead. For the final 50 laps, he and Kevin Harvick dueled with one another for the top spot. While Logano was running the bottom line to get away, Harvick continued to ride around the top lane of the track to reel in Logano. Joey began to pull away with 25 laps remaining. However, he began dealing with lapped traffic again in the final 20 laps. It was this lapped traffic that allowed Kevin to reel the lead back to him with 12 laps left in the race. He finally pulled to within a car-length of Logano with four laps to go. Kevin Harvick was unable to catch Joey Logano on the final lap as he went on to score the victory at Bristol.Gluck Jeff Joey Logano wins Bristol night race https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/2015/08/22/joey-logano-wins-bristol-night-race/32218801/ August 31, 2015 USA Today Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. August 22, 2015 Bristol, Tennessee Post-race Driver comments thumb|left|Joey Logano celebrates in victory lane. “It was kind of interesting to watch it in the mirror,” Logano said of Harvick trying to pass him in the closing laps. “I was watching him drive in and I was like, ‘He’s going to get me eventually,’ so I just wanted to make sure I stayed at least three or four car lengths up on him so he didn't get to me.”http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2015/08/Joey-Logano-Wins-IRWIN-Tools-Night-Race-for-Second-Straight-Season.aspx Bristol Belongs to Logano Pistone Pete Motor Racing Network August 22, 2015 MRN.com August 31, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150826012912/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2015/08/Joey-Logano-Wins-IRWIN-Tools-Night-Race-for-Second-Straight-Season.aspx August 26, 2015 dead "He was just one step ahead of me in traffic,” Harvick explained after finishing runner-up for the 10th time this season. “I couldn't get my car to rotate across the center like I needed it to, and every time I tried to force it would snap the back out. He was able to go in really high and before the center of the corner drive down the corner and I was just having to wait just a split second to be able to put the throttle back down, and I couldn't do that, that huge diamond all the way to the bottom like he could, and that was really beneficial for him through traffic, and I kind of had to just part throttle it through the center and grind the tires away through the center to the corner and just hope that they were going to lift, but he was able to get those huge runs up off the exit of the corner and just stayed one step ahead of me through traffic I felt like, and in clean air we probably were a little faster, but it didn't really matter. I had to be in front of him to show that. All in all, he was just one step ahead of me in traffic.”http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2015/08/Harvick-Second-Again.aspx Harvick Second Again Pistone Pete Motor Racing Network August 23, 2015 MRN.com August 31, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150826012907/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2015/08/Harvick-Second-Again.aspx August 26, 2015 dead After finishing fifth, Bowyer said the result was important for the team following a difficult weekend at Michigan. He stated that the performance helped rebuild confidence and momentum ahead of the Chase, where the team hoped to remain competitive and advance through multiple rounds.http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2015/08/Big-Night-For-Bowyer.aspx Big Night For Bowyer Pistone Pete Motor Racing Network August 23, 2015 MRN.com August 31, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150826012846/http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2015/08/Big-Night-For-Bowyer.aspx August 26, 2015 dead Race results Pos No. Car number Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Laps completed Points 1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 500 47 2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 500 42 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 42 4 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 40 5 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 500 39 6 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 500 39 7 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 38 8 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 38 9 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 35 10 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 500 34 11 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 500 33 12 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 500 32 13 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 500 31 14 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 499 30 15 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 498 29 16 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 498 28 17 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 497 27 18 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 497 26 19 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 497 25 20 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 496 24 21 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 496 23 22 21 Ryan Blaney (i) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 496 0 23 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 496 21 24 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 496 20 25 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 496 19 26 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 495 18 27 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 495 17 28 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 495 16 29 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 495 15 30 34 Brett Moffitt (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 495 14 31 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 495 13 32 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 494 12 33 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 493 11 34 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 492 0 35 32 Josh Wise Go FAS Racing Ford 491 9 36 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 488 8 37 33 Mike Bliss (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 486 0 38 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 480 0 39 98 Timmy Hill (i) Premium Motorsports Ford 476 0 40 55 David Ragan Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 443 4 41 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 356 3 42 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 110 2 43 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 0 1Official Irwin Tools Night Race results Race statistics 14 lead changes among 5 different drivers 8 cautions for 52 laps Time of race: 2 hours, 45 minute, 2 seconds Average speed: 96.890 mph km/h on Joey Logano took home $365,198 in winnings Lap Leaders Laps Leader 1-26 Denny Hamlin 27-52 Kyle Busch 53 Denny Hamlin 54-127 Kyle Busch 128-154 Denny Hamlin 155-224 Kyle Busch 225-252 Joey Logano 253-280 Carl Edwards 281-302 Kyle Busch 303-345 Carl Edwards 346-350 Joey Logano 351-353 Carl Edwards 354-432 Joey Logano 433-436 Brad Keselowski 437-500 Joey LoganoTotal laps led Leader Laps Kyle Busch 192 Joey Logano 176 Carl Edwards 74 Denny Hamlin 54 Brad Keselowski 4 Race awards Coors Light Pole Award: Denny Hamlin (14.602, 131.407 mph km/h on) 3M Lap Leader: Kyle Busch (192 laps) American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Joey Logano Duralast Brakes "Bake In The Race" Award: Kyle Busch Freescale "Wide Open": Kevin Harvick Ingersoll Rand Power Move: Aric Almirola (2 positions) MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Toyota Racing Development #11 Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Joey Logano (137.8 driver rating) Moog Steering and Suspension Problem Solver of The Race: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (crew chief Greg Ives (0.123 seconds)) NASCAR Sprint Cup Leader Bonus: No winner: rolls over to $210,000 at next event Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap: Kyle Busch (Lap 59, 15.293, 125.469 mph km/h on) Sunoco Rookie of The Race: Brett Moffitt Media Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, one–time Bristol winner Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Mike Massaro, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast handled pit road on the television side. NBCSNBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve Letarte Dave BurnsMike MassaroMarty SniderKelli Stavast Radio PRN had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini called the race from the booth when the field was racing down the front stretch. Rob Albright called the race from atop the suites in turn 3 when the field was racing down the backstretch. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Jim Noble and Steve Richards worked pit road on the radio side. PRN Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Doug RiceAnnouncer: Mark GarrowAnnouncer: Wendy Venturini Backstretch: Rob Albright Brad GillieBrett McMillanJim NobleSteve Richards Standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 10px 1 Kevin Harvick 908 10px 2 Joey Logano 865 (–43) 10px 3 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 819 (–89) 10px 1 4 Brad Keselowski 793 (–115) 10px 1 5 Jimmie Johnson 792 (–116) 10px 2 6 Martin Truex Jr. 771 (–137) 10px 7 Matt Kenseth 753 (–155) 10px 8 Kurt Busch 713 (–195) 10px 9 Denny Hamlin 712 (–196) 10px 10 Jamie McMurray 696 (–212) 10px 1 11 Ryan Newman 683 (–225) 10px 1 12 Paul Menard 674 (–234) 10px 13 Jeff Gordon 672 (–236) 10px 14 Carl Edwards 666 (–242) 10px 15 Clint Bowyer 655 (–253) 10px 16 Aric Almirola 620 (–288) thumb|right|Kevin Harvick left Bristol with a 43–point lead over Joey Logano. Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 10px 1 Chevrolet 1,066 10px 2 Toyota 996 (–70) 10px 3 Ford 995 (–71) Note: Only the first sixteen positions are included for the driver standings. References 2 Sprint Cup Series 2015 2015 Pure Michigan 400 2015 Bojangles' Southern 500 Irwin Tools Night Race Irwin Tools Night Race Category:NASCAR races at Bristol Motor Speedway