NASCAR at Bristol 2015 Results: Winner, Standings, Highlights and Reaction

Matt Kenseth went from the pole to Victory Lane in Sunday's Food City 500 at the Bristol Motor Speedway—granted his journey there wasn't exactly straightforward.

Kenseth somehow survived the war of attrition that saw three different weather delays and countless cautions. The No. 20 car only led 47 of the 500 laps, but he found himself in the lead at the right time and capitalized on his luck.

According to NASCAR Stats, it's his first win since 2013:

Although Kenseth didn't lead the most laps, he was always right in the thick of things. He never fell too far back from the leaders and avoided any critical mistakes. In a race like this, sometimes those are the best things a driver can do.

Fox Sports' Chris Myers made note of Kenseth's consistency throughout the race:

Many will argue Kurt Busch threw away a chance to win after pitting on a late caution. He was the only car on the lead lap to head to pit road, and by the time he returned to the track, he had fallen from first to sixth.

Of course, it's worth noting that Busch was without his regular crew chief. Tony Gibson announced he had been in the hospital for kidney stones:

Kenseth took the lead, and a caution almost immediately after the restart on Lap 482 allowed him to consolidate his position. The caution also meant Busch lost laps that were critical to his comeback.

By the time the race got underway, only eight laps remained, and almost as soon as the green flag waved, Carl Edwards got into trouble and skidded into the wall. He took Busch with him, further compounding the No. 41 car's poor finish, per Fox Sports:

The third red flag for rain brought the race to a standstill ahead of the green-white-checkered finish. While that did allow other drivers a chance to overtake Kenseth, he wasn't about to lose the lead in the final two laps.

The victory wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing of Kenseth's career, but he'll take it all the same.

Here's a look at the top 10 from the Food City 500:

Position	Driver	Laps Led
1	Matt Kenseth	47
2	Jimmie Johnson	0
3	Jeff Gordon	0
4	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	0
5	Ryan Newman	0
6	Tony Stewart	0
7	Kyle Larson	90
8	Justin Allgaier	0
9	Danica Patrick	0
10	Austin Dillon	0

The win moves Kenseth into fifth place in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings, per ESPN.com.

Position	Driver	Points	Wins
1	Kevin Harvick	314	2
2	Jimmie Johnson	258	2
3	Joey Logano	284	1
4	Brad Keselowski	255	1
5	Matt Kenseth	236	1
6	Denny Hamlin	223	1
7	Martin Truex Jr.	281	0
8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	241	0
9	Kasey Kahne	237	0
10	Jeff Gordon	227	0
11	Aric Almirola	226	0
12	Jamie McMurray	223	0
13	Danica Patrick	211	0
14	Paul Menard	210	0
15	Carl Edwards	203	0
16	Ryan Newman	201	0

The biggest story from the race by far was the weather. Racing at Bristol is already difficult enough between the tight dimensions and steep banks. The racing gods decided to have some fun with the drivers by throwing rain into the mix.

The first red flag came on Lap 22 as the rain became too much. It wasn't until roughly four hours later that the action got back underway. A second red flag was waved on Lap 274, but this delay only lasted 14 minutes.

The continued threat of rain also lingered over the rest of the night as many were waiting for the heavens to open up again.

The initial delay claimed Denny Hamlin, who decided to bow out after suffering from neck spasms. Erik Jones, just 18 years old, took over in the No. 11 car for the rest of the race, per Myers.

Hamlin ventured that since he didn't have a serious shot at winning the race, Jones might as well pick up some invaluable experience, per Jayski's:

The race itself was what many have come to expect from Bristol. There were a lot of passes, a lot of cautions and a lot of cars off the lead lap.

Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski hardly had time to get settled in before they became complete non-factors in the race. They caused the first caution after getting into an accident on Lap 19.

Brant James of USA Today figured the respective crews at least had plenty of time to figure out everything that was wrong with the cars during the first rain delay:

As bad as things were for Logano and Keselowski, they arguably had better luck than Kevin Harvick. Harvick had led for 184 laps before he wrecked on Lap 311. The accident all but knocked him out of the race.

He apologized to his pit crew following the wreck, per Jenna Fryer of The Associated Press:

The No. 4 car finished in 38th. Luckily for Harvick, he already has two wins this year, so his place in the final Chase is assured.

Harvick was one of three drivers who experienced a blistering start to the season. He, Logano and Martin Truex Jr. finished in the top 10 in the first seven races of the 2015 Sprint Cup season. As NBC Sports' Dustin Long noted, that run ended for the trio:

There's no question that every driver will be leave Bristol behind given all the difficulties Sunday's race presented.

The Sprint Cup circuit will move to the Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia, for the Toyota Owners 400 on April 25. Logano enters as the defending champion, while Jeff Gordon could be a threat after finishing runner-up.

With any luck, rain won't be in the forecast.

Kenseth booked his place into the final Chase with the win. He made the field last year but did so without picking up a checkered flag. This year, he at least has that weight taken off his shoulders.

Meanwhile, the likes of Truex, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne will go into Richmond in search of their first victory in 2015. They have the three highest point totals among winless drivers to start the year.