Food City 500 Race Preview

Bristol Motor Speedway -- 03/22/2009

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Tuesday Mar 17 2009 9:15pm

If you’re wondering what the key to winning at Bristol is, check this out:

Jamie McMurray: “The key to Bristol is track position. If you can qualify well, you have the opportunity to run up front and avoid falling laps down to the race leaders. Another key is to drive smart and avoid wrecks because everything happens so quickly at Bristol. We’ve started out our season with some great cars so I’m looking forward to another strong run for our Crown Royal Ford this weekend. I really enjoy short track racing so Bristol is always a treat for me.`

Donnie Wingo, McMurray’s Crew Chief: `To me the biggest thing about Bristol is that it’s track-position focused. Qualifying is very important for teams because when you have the chance to run up front, you have the opportunity to not fall laps down to the leaders quite as easily. When we go to Bristol, it’s all about track position and being able to avoid the wrecks that always seem to take place. `

Carl Edwards: “We have had a bunch of success there, including two wins, and I am really looking forward to the race. The first key to winning at Bristol is qualifying. You have to qualify well.”

Greg Biffle: “If you have a bad qualifying run or have to start in the back for some other reason, it can be difficult even with a good car to get back through the field.`

Are you getting the idea that qualifying is important at Bristol?

Even though the track was resurfaced a few years ago, making passing easier than in the past, Bristol is still a place where it’s very easy to get lapped – one reason running up front is so critical. By way of comparison, 21% of races at last week’s track (Atlanta) have been won from a starting spot outside the top 10. At Bristol, that number drops to just 17%.

NASCAR has a fairly long history at Bristol, having raced here since 1961 for a total of 96 Cup races. It’s interesting that over the last eight races - two a piece for the last four years - the winners have alternated between Ford and either Chevy or Dodge:

2005 – Kevin Harvick (Chevy)
2005 – Matt Kenseth (Ford)
2006 – Kurt Busch (Dodge)
2006 – Matt Kenseth (Ford)
2007 – Kyle Busch (Chevy)
2007 – Carl Edwards (Ford)
2008 – Jeff Burton (Chevy)
2008 – Carl Edwards (Ford)

It’s also worth noting that four of those eight winners were Roush-Fenway drivers, although all four of their wins were in the second Bristol race of the year, which is a night race. Three of the last four spring Bristol races have been won by GM drivers, and in terms of all-time Bristol wins, Chevy outpaces Ford 41 to 33. Notably, Carl Edwards has won two of the last three outings.

Two drivers stand out among the rest in terms of overall Bristol wins. Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch have five wins a piece, although Gordon’s five came in 32 starts, while Busch’s were in 16 starts. Coming off his dominating performance at Atlanta last race, Busch is heading to his best track – but who finished second to Busch last week? None other than Jeff Gordon.

Mark Martin, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth each have two wins at Bristol, while single-race winners include Dale Earnhardt Jr., Elliott Sadler, Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick.

Harvick leads all drivers in the average finish category at 9.6, followed by Greg Biffle at 9.8. Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth round out the top 5 in the average finish stats. But, in terms of the past five Bristol races (both spring and summer), the driver with the highest points total is Kyle Busch, then Edwards, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr. and Gordon.

In last year’s spring Bristol race, Tony Stewart led 267 laps before getting involved in a collision not of his making, while Denny Hamlin, who led 98 laps, appeared to be headed for victory before having a problem on a late race restart. Jeff Burton, who led just two laps in the green-white-checkered finish, ended up the winner.

Current odds for select drivers for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway:

Kyle Busch +600
Jeff Gordon +650
Carl Edwards +650
Kurt Busch +800
Denny Hamlin +900
Kevin Harvick +1000
Matt Kenseth +1400
Greg Biffle +1400
Jeff Burton +1600
Tony Stewart +1600
Jimmie Johnson +1800
Dale Earnhardt Jr. +1800
Clint Bowyer +1800

Please check back before the race for our practice and qualifying update.

Comment on this article.

(255 chars max)

Username:
(No HTML)

Captcha:

User	Comment
Ted	It was pretty good to see how this went down but like the new reads, it was not a good day for everyone on the track. I am hoping to see more excitement put into the next races coming up though. Might see some others step out and get into the light.
Nacar Groupie	I`m hoping my favorite driver will win this weekend. Kyle Bush is just such a handsome and strong man, who wouldn`t want him to win at every thing he does.
TrafficJam	Track positions are important on any track and sometimes great drivers get saddled with poor positions that under average circumstances will guarantee them a loss no matter how good they are. If anything in Nascar should be changed it is this flaw in the system
Cal	You can out get out what you put into the race and I think everyone knows that. Tons are talking about the positions but sometimes even the one you think would never pull ahead, can.
Karlee	I wonder if Kurt Busch will pull ahead of Kyle or not. I`m a big Edwards fan, but this one might go to Gordon. Like the drivers said, it`s all in the track positions, makes a big difference in Bristol.
junkyard	I think that this race will be dominated by Busch and Gordon based on their recent standings alone. Who`ll win? My guess is Busch will take the win yet again.
2nd Place	We are starting to see a lineup of the probable winners of the Chase this year already and the usual suspects are they baring a single exception, that being Matt Kenseth. Matt`s odds have slipped somewhat in the past few weeks, but he is still middleshot as far as the Chase goes.
FastTrack	Has anyone here been a fan of Nascar for a long time? I became a fan back in the 70`s and boy has the sport changed since then. Things were a lot rougher back then than they are now.
RIRmama	Hmmm... I wonder how important qualifying is in Bristol? lol I remember Stewart`s crash last year. Gordon had better get his act together in qualifying if he wants to win!
brownlee59	My best friend is going to the Bristol race this weekend. I sure wish I could go too. I have a feeling Jeff Gordon is gonna win this one. He seems to be getting better and he does qualify pretty good for position. He holds that position well through out the race too.
jamming	Bristol has always been known for crashes but it could be even worse this year. So far there have already been more crashes than normal so Bristol could be a pretty scary race this season.
brix12	What about Matt Kenseth? He might get lucky if it rains again in Bristol. His car is too good on a wet track and it won’t be slippery for his tires.
jade06	It might be Gordon to win the Bristol race, but I expect Jimmie Johnson to win this time. He has not won a single race this year, hopefully it should be his car to step on the finish lane.
ryder_29	I`ve never been to Bristol before. How I wish I could come there and watch the race live. So far the only track I`ve been to is Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Tetchie	So I have read that Bristol was resurfaced a few years ago. Then it would be easy for the drivers to race in its track, with less laps to go.
OGr8ty8	Agreeing with what`s been said about qualifying position, at Bristol there isn`t much opportunity to move back up once lapped so the closer to the front at the beginning of the race, the better. It would also help for there not to be any crashes to cause front-runners to fall back.
NapaFave55	I hope this is Jeff Gordon`s race to win. I think he can do that if he can hold it all together and be up front for a great part of the race. Of course, he`ll have to cross the finish line first to win! He`s got great momentum going for him. Hopefully, the week off didn`t slow that down.
RaceFan88	I really enjoy Bristol for its location. For me, what I like about Bristol is the same as what I don`t like about Bristol. It`s a small track. As it`s difficult to pass under normal conditions making it difficult to move up in the pack, the drivers have to really work themselves to win.