Bristol, Tenn. - Benny Gordon wasn't crowned the Northern Division champion for the first time in four years this season, but his win in Wednesday night's Food City 150 presented by Naturally Fresh at Bristol Motor Speedway surely eased his pain.

Gordon took the lead when race-leader Wade Day bounced off the wall on Lap 86 and fought off Chase Pistone on a green-white-checkered finish en route to his third win of the season and the 24th of his career.

"We've always run well here over the years, but we've never been able to win," said Gordon, driver of the No. 66n Samuel Metals Ford. "It's really cool to be the first person to win on the new surface here. I don't know that we had the best car here. But once we got out front, our car was really good."

Chase Pistone's car was pretty good, too. Pistone, driver of the No. 54 C&C Boiler Chevrolet, took a shot at Gordon on the final restart, but he came up .300 of a second shy of his second victory of the year. Pistone's second-place finish was his first top-five finish since his third-place effort at Peachstate (Ga.) Speedway five races ago.

"This was really important for our team," said Pistone, who dropped from first to seventh in points during the mid-season slump. "Hopefully, this will get everybody pumped up heading into Mansfield for the Championship Series."

Trevor Bayne, driver of the No. 29 Chevy Racing/DEI Chevrolet, continued his recent upswing by finishing third on Wednesday night. Bayne marched from 23rd to finish second in the 150-lap affair. Bayne's podium finish solidified his second-place seed going into the Championship Series.

"We had an awesome run here tonight," said Bayne, who finished the regular season with four top-five finishes, including his first win. "I really wanted the win tonight, especially after leading laps here last year. We had an early draw in qualifying, and that hurt us. But we were able to fight back from 23rd to finish third. I think we kept second in the points, so it was a good night all around."

While Bayne held onto second in points with his solid run, several of the other top drivers didn't have such good nights in the Food City 150.

Michael Ritch, driver of the No. 28 Naturally Fresh/Jackaroo Ford, started from the pole and led the first six circuits before coming to pit under the first caution. Ritch lost two laps while making his stop and had to settle for 19th at the end of the night. Even with his mid-pack finish, Ritch clinched the Aaron's Southern Division title.

Mark McFarland, driver of the No. 81 Knight's Companies Chevrolet, took over the lead after Ritch's misfortune. But his time out front was just as short as Ritch's. As McFarland attempted to come to pit road on Lap 13, his car stalled and never refired, dropping him to 36th at the finish after leading six laps.

Rookie Eric Humphries, driver of the No. 33 American Metals Ford, elected not to pit early in the event and inherited the lead when McFarland stalled. After leading 17 laps in his first Pro Cup start, Humphries lost the lead to Wade Day on Lap 30.

Day, driver of the No. 96 Lopez Wealth Management Ford, was able to pull away from the field after taking the lead, but he would be the third leader of the night to suffer problems. Coming off Turn 2, Day's car shot up the track and tagged the wall, ending his chances at victory and the Miller Lite Rookie of the Year for the Southern Division.

Matt Hawkins, driver of the No. 2 H&H Electric Ford, appeared to be en route to the rookie title early in the race, but he was caught up in an accident on Lap 46 and limped home 22nd.

Rookie Richard Boswell, driver of the No. 88 Champion Chevrolet, took advantage of his fellow rookie's struggles by finishing eighth and clinching the $10,000 bonus for being the top rookie during the Southern Division regular season.

Shelby Howard and Bobby Gill completed the top five.

The Food City 150 featured four lead changes among four drivers and was slowed 11 times for 53 laps of caution.

Unofficial Results

1. Benny Gordon
2. Chase Pistone
3. Trevor Bayne
4. Shelby Howard
5. Bobby Gill
6. Shane Wallace
7. Billy Bigley Jr.
8. Richard Boswell
9. Jeff Agnew
10. Dusty Williams
11. Jay Fogleman
12. Mike Garvey
13. Eric Humphries
14. Carl Long
15. James Buescher
16. Gary Helton
17. Steven Davis
18. Derrick Kelley
19. Michael Ritch
20. Dange Hanniford
21. Clay Jones
22. Matt Hawkins
23. Caleb Holman
24. Bill Plemons Jr.
25. Woody Howard
26. Justin Wakefield
27. Tom Hessert
28. Danny O'Quinn Jr.
29. Frank Deiny Jr.
30. Wade Day
31. Kirk Leone
32. Joey Coulter
33. Andy Lally
34. Brian Scott
35. Mart Nesibtt
36. Mark McFarland
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