Ricky Stenhouse Jr. dedicates runner-up finish at Bristol to Bryan Clauson

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. dedicated his second-place finish in Sunday’s Bass Pro Shops / NHRA Night Race at Bristol to the memory of his late friend, Bryan Clauson.

Stenhouse has been on an emotional roller coaster since Clauson’s Aug. 6 crash in a USAC Midget race at Belleville, Kansas. Clauson, 27, died the next day, and Stenhouse spent the NASCAR off week comforting Clauson’s family at the Knoxville Nationals in Iowa.

“It’s definitely been tough, but I think going to Knoxville and being with his family, being with his fiancée (Lauren) and being with friends that we all had a great time together, you know, talking about it, talking through things and talking about all the good things that Bryan did and his organ donation really helped a lot of us really feel comforted with what he was still doing after the fact,” Stenhouse said.

Clauson’s memorial service Thursday was “one of the toughest days that I think I had,” Stenhouse said. “But again, just being there and telling stories really I think helped us all get through it.  Lauren has been a rock getting everybody though. You would think it would be the other way around.  She’s really helped a lot of people.”

Lauren Stewart and her parents attended the race at Bristol.

“They came and just hung out all day on Saturday throughout the day around the motor home, and I was like, well, rain delays are good for some things,” Stenhouse said. “We all got to hang out together and spend some more time together, and that definitely has been helping us a lot the last couple weeks.”

In his interview above with NBC Sports, Stenhouse also talked about the significance of doing well and how he just didn’t have quite enough to catch race winner Kevin Harvick.

Stenhouse also talked about Clauson’s plan to compete in a total of 200 races – across a variety of racing platforms including sprint and midget cars, as well as having competed this year in the Indianapolis 500, earning a career-best finish.

“I know Bryan was watching and wanting us to win tonight, and we gave it all we had,” Stenhouse said. “He was trying to run 200 races. Somebody asked me, how do you feel coming to here and racing, and talking with Tim, Bryan’s dad, he was like, ‘Man, I feel like Bryan is probably mad at me right now because I’m not at home working on a midget to get it ready to go racing because Bryan, all he wanted to do was race.’  That’s what he was doing, and leading one of the biggest races of the year.

“If he had to choose a way to go out, I feel like that was the way he wanted.”

BRISTOL ADDS ROSIN TO TRACK BEFORE SPRINT CUP NIGHT RACE

RELATED: Key story lines for Bristol night race

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- NASCAR officials applied 18 more inches of rosin to each of the four corners on the bottom groove after Friday night's XFINITY Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

A sticky substance that allows drivers to stick and run both the top and bottom grooves, rosin was applied to the track in the same manner on Thursday night prior to Friday's XFINITY Series race.

Officials originally hadn't planned to add any more rosin before Saturday's Sprint Cup race. Drivers such as Friday night's XFINITY winner Austin Dillon supported the addition of more rosin.

"It's interesting to have another lane down there on the bottom," said Dillon, who will also be running Saturday night's Sprint Cup race. "Hopefully they can add a little more (rosin) to the bottom and get that bottom lane just to stay a little bit longer."

Saturday's Sprint Cup Series' Bass Pro Shops NRA night race was set to begin at 8 p.m. ET, but weather forced a rescheduling to 1 p.m. ET on Sunday (CNBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Emotions run gamut for Joe Gibbs Racing after ups and downs of Bristol

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Kyle Busch has seen this before. So has Denny Hamlin.

Their performances Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway showed the strength of Joe Gibbs Racing but also raised some questions about the organization’s performance even with two drivers placing in the top 10 — Hamlin was third and Carl Edwards was sixth.

Busch led a race-high 256 laps before a mechanical issue caused him to spin before he was struck by Justin Allgaier’s car. Busch finished 39th, two spots behind fellow teammate Matt Kenseth, caught up in a subsequent crash that involved Kyle’s older brother Kurt, and left upset.

“I’m not sure what our problem is with being able to put together cars that will last here,’’ Busch said. “Our teammates obviously have a strong sense of what to do, but we don’t. I don’t know what’s going on. Guys know how to set (the cars) up and make them quick, but they just don’t last. We’ve got work to do. We’ve got to make sure our stuff can work and last to the end.’’

So what more can he say at Joe Gibbs Racing?

“They already know,’’ he said. “Just by watching the race. It’s frustrating because that’s two or three or four races in a row at Bristol that we’ve had problems. Yeah, maybe a couple of them were my doing. We’ve also had parts failures here. We can’t be having that stuff.’’

BRISTOL, TN – AUGUST 21: Denny Hamlin leads a pack of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
Another issue is mistakes. Hamlin was called for his series-high eighth speeding penalty on pit road this year and he also had to make a green-flag pit stop because of a loose wheel, falling two laps down before recovering for a top-five finish.

“I knew I sped when I did it,’’ he said. “In the playoffs, I’m not going to be that aggressive. Out here trying to get a win, win-or-nothing attitude in the regular season, that’s when I push it.’’

While Joe Gibbs Racing has had some quality control issues in the past — Busch’s frustrations can be traced to previous years when mechanical issues sidelined championship hopes in the Chase — Sunday still was a step forward for the organization compared to the spring race.

Although Edwards won at Bristol in the spring, Busch, Hamlin and Matt Kenseth each had tire issues with Busch placing 38th, Kenseth 36th and Hamlin 20th that day.

“We knew we had issues with the right front and we had to come here and correct it and that’s what we did,’’ Hamlin said. “We changed a lot of things to try to help with that right front tire.’’

One issue solved. More issues to fix. Three races before the playoffs begin.

KEVIN HARVICK WINS RAIN-DELAYED BRISTOL RACE

Kevin Harvick won the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race on Sunday evening at Bristol Motor Speedway, one day after the race was postponed due to inclement weather.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., in the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, finished in second place, 1.9 seconds behind the 2014 Sprint Cup Series champion.

Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon and Chris Buescher rounded out the top five.

Scheduled for a green-flag time of 1 p.m. ET, persistent rain delayed the start for nearly four hours.

Kyle Busch led 256 laps, but was involved in a four-car wreck on Lap 357. His car spun due to what the driver said was a broken part, and Justin Allgaier drilled his No. 18 Toyota.

Shortly thereafter, an 11-car wreck -- triggered when Kurt Busch got loose and collected Brad Keselowski -- thinned the field further.

The Sprint Cup Series returns to the track on Sunday, Aug. 28 for the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). There are now just three races remaining in the regular season.

This story will be updated.

WEATHER DELAYS RE-START OF BRISTOL SPRINT CUP RACE

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- The start of Sunday's rain-delayed Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, postponed from Saturday night, is currently on hold as morning showers have delayed the event's scheduled 1 p.m. re-start.

Teams completed 48 laps before rain halted Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event, forcing officials to reschedule the continuation of the race for Sunday. Morning rain in northeast Tennessee kept NASCAR and track officials busy trying to dry the track between frequent cloud bursts.

The race, when it does resume, can be seen on CNBC while radio networks PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR are also providing coverage.

Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota) will restart today's race out front, with Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports) and Ryan Blaney (Wood Brothers Racing) in second and third.

JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth complete the top five.

Records indicate this is the first time the annual night race at BMS has been run the following day since the track moved the event under the lights in 1978. NASCAR Hall of Fame member Cale Yarborough won that event, then known as the Volunteer 500.

It is the third time this season a race has been delayed one day due to rain, with the other two both coming at Pocono Raceway.

RUNNING ORDER FOR BRISTOL NIGHT RACE

RELATED: Recap the action so far | Revised race-day schedule

With 48 of 500 laps complete at Bristol, here is a look at the running order heading into Sunday's resumption of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the 0.533-mile track.

1-Kyle Busch (26 laps led)
2-Chase Elliott (14 laps led)
3-Ryan Blaney
4-Denny Hamlin (8 laps led)
5-Matt Kenseth
6-Martin Truex Jr.
7-Carl Edwards
8-Jeff Gordon
9-Joey Logano
10-Kyle Larson
11-AJ Allmendinger
12-Brad Keselowski
13-Austin Dillon
14-Kasey Kahne
15-Ryan Newman
16-Kevin Harvick
17-Kurt Busch
18-Paul Menard
19-Chris Buescher
20-Jamie McMurray
21-Aric Almirola
22-Matt DiBenedetto
23-Trevor Bayne
24-Michael McDowell
25-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
26-Landon Cassill
27-Danica Patrick
28-David Ragan
29-Jimmie Johnson
30-Brian Scott
31-Tony Stewart
32-Greg Biffle
33-Casey Mears
34-Justin Allgaier
35-Clint Bowyer
36-Regan Smith
37-Cole Whitt
38-Reed Sorenson
39-Josh Wise
40-Jeffrey Earnhardt

Biggest mover: Larson, +13
Biggest dropper: Johnson, -13

JUSTIN ALLGAIER TO FILL IN FOR AILING ANNETT

Justin Allgaier will make his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start of 2016 Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Allgaier will pilot the No. 46 HScott Motorsports Chevrolet in place of Michael Annett, who is experiencing flu-like symptoms, the team announced on Twitter.

Due to flu-like symptoms, Michael Annett won't compete in tonight's event. Justin Allgaier will drive the No. 46 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet.
— HScott Motorsports (@Team_HSM) August 20, 2016

Allgaier drove the No. 51 for HScott Motorsports in 2014 and 2015. He currently drives in the NASCAR XFINITY Series for JR Motorsports.

Allgaier finished second in Friday night's XFINITY Series race, and he's currently third in the series points standings.

In 22 Sprint Cup Series starts this year, Annett's best finish is 20th at Daytona International Speedway in July.