STARS OF THE SHOW; Kyle Busch wins, and the Car of Tomorrow makes no friends.(Motorsports)(National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing Inc.)

Byline: AL PEARCE

The Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway was a race of firsts. It was this season's first short-track race, a traditional harbinger of spring. It was the year's first Cup start after four consecutive DNQs for Jeremy Mayfield and the first-ever Cup starts for Regan Smith and A.J. Allmendinger. It was the first Cup race since 1987 without Mark Martin on the grid. And, in case you've been asleep, it was the first race for the bedeviling Car of Tomorrow.

The fact that Kyle Busch won is of some note. The Hendrick Motorsports driver started 20th and led twice for 29 of the 504 laps, including the final 16 of regulation and four more in overtime. His first victory this season, fourth of his career and first on a half-mile oval moved him from 14th to sixth in the standings. Predictably, the bullring free-for-all ran under caution 15 times for 90 laps. Incidents sidelined or slowed 20 drivers, leading to only 15 finishers on the lead lap.

Busch took the lead for good when Denny Hamlin inexplicably put himself in a bad position in slower traffic on the backstretch on lap 484. While Hamlin was boxed in, Busch shot high, passed cleanly on the outside and drove away. A late caution created the green-white-checkered finish, but Busch held off Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon to give team owner Rick ...