No Disappointment at Bristol.
“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.” – Unknown
This week 43 of the world’s greatest drivers embarked on a great adventure. This week they found themselves standing at the doors of the last great coliseum of racing. A track that consistently plays host to 160,000 enthusiastic fans. All anxious to see their favorite driver, conquer the 30 degree concrete banks of the jewel of east Tennessee.
This coliseum tests tempers, equipment and the patience of all who run here. But if you are a warrior, if you persist and if the jewel smiles on you – you will join the elite class of champions that have tasted the fine vintage and most sought after of victories in NASCAR. Champions whose names are still synonymous and defining of our sport, names like Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt Sr. Terry Labonte, Darrell Waltrip, to name a few. She is loyal to her chosen champion and he will ultimately earn the title of short track king. Because if you can win here, you have what it takes to win anywhere.
The jewel has yet to pick her new crown prince to replace her favorite son Rusty Wallace. Will it be a veteran driver like, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, or Kyle Busch? Or will it be a new comer like Brad Keselowski or Reed Sorenson? That is a question that only time would answer. The secrets of this jewel are not easily found and they are treasured and guarded once they are. This is what stock car racing is all about. Saturday night, cinch your belts, grab the wheel find your guts and let’s go racing.
You will respect her. You will either give your respect or she will take it. But you will learn to respect the crown jewel of motor sports.
To quote NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. “Victory lane at Bristol! It doesn’t get any better than this.” So welcome folks to the crown jewel of East Tennessee. Welcome to Bristol.
Once again, Bristol did not disappoint. With her graduated banking she provided a multi groove race surface that was not only fast but allowed more competitive racing than we have seen anywhere else on the circuit.
As has been the case many times this season, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson dominated the show. A strong and dominating performance from Jimmie Johnson came up short when on the restart on lap 262 he tangled with Juan Pablo Montoya and found himself in the garage under going repairs to a badly wrecked race car. Returning to the track 26 laps down, Johnson would finish 35th.
Kyle Busch on the other hand was a man on a mission, seeking a three race sweep in a single weekend and avoiding incidental or intentional contact with Brad Keselowski after a slide job gone badly the night before in the Nationwide race. Busch would dominate the race leading the most laps and truly never being challenged for more than a couple of laps on restarts. His dominance gave him a record never before held in NASCAR, the sweep in all 3 national touring series.
This race seemed to bring more questions about the power house teams. What has happened to HMS? One wrecked car. One that would run and could race but couldn’t hold it’s own for a full tire run, one car that continued to struggle bitterly with a driver carrying it on his back to the checkers. And one that just never seemed to be a factor in the competition at all. Although, this is not indicative of the performances we are use to seeing from HMS it appears, at least in the last several races, to be the course for their 2010 season.
RCR, which had shown dominance to this point, was a victim to a fickle Bristol as well, with only Clint Bowyer seeming to find the handle on the concrete princess.
Penske Racing ruled Bristol for 10 years even its flagship car, the Miller Lite Dodge driven by Kurt Busch, could make no headway at Bristol.
Although Kyle Busch was a dominate winner. The same can not be said for the rest of the JGR stable. A struggling Denny Hamlin held on to finish 34th and Joey Logano was a disappointing 18th.
The drama of the 88 and Dale Earnhardt Jr continued with Junior Nation shaking it’s heads in the grandstands over communication or lack there of between the driver and crew chief. After a very successful outing in the Nationwide Series, which saw Earnhardt Jr go a lap down early and then come back for a strong 4th place finish, the 88 Sprint Cup ride struggled the entire day with a loose car. Remembering that listening to scanner communication is literally eves dropping and considering that no one knows the background on the conversations, I am making an observation based strictly on what was heard and it seemed there was friction between driver and crew chief over that performance (Nationwide) when Lance McGrew asked his driver, “Fine, since this is the part of the race when you want to argue with me, What would Pops do?” One has to question at times if Mr. McGrew forgets that Junior Nation is listening and if he is aware that he is not making any fans with those type comments.
I was impressed with the honesty of Chad Knaus after the race when he commented regarding Jimmie Johnson’s problem, that he didn’t know how to set a car up for this track and his driver couldn’t get a handle on this track. Johnson himself stated that the incident with Montoya was “just a product of racing at Bristol. I don’t think it was anything intentional.” Honesty and championship attitude is refreshing. “To admit one’s short coming and build on your strengths is the mark of a championship dynasty.” — Roger Penske.
It had been quite awhile since I had been home. Life has dealt some blows. Some fair some not. Some were of my own making. Some were the result of devious and envious people. There were troubles that were nagging me deeply with questions I couldn’t answer. So when I rounded the bend in the road and saw her sitting there, I was surprised to feel myself sigh deeply. Suddenly there was one word in my heart and in my head. That word was Home. There in front of me. It was close enough to smell it, see it, and I could almost touch it. I was home. And this was Bristol.
____________________________________________________________________________
Many Many congratulations to Kyle Busch on his sweep of NASCAR’s weekend in Bristol. He may not be a fan favorite but there is simply no denying the young man’s talent behind the wheel of a race vehicle. Maturity comes with time and life experience. It will be his someday. Congratulations also to Ryan Newman on his victory in NASCAR’s Whalen Modified Series Race on Wednesday. Incredible competition by all 4 series all weekend long.
And finally to all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you had to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.
Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Irwin Tools Night Race
If NASCAR had to, for some strange reason, pare down the Sprint Cup season to only five races, this weekend’s Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway would be almost certain to make the cut.
The rough-and-tumble racing that Bristol is famous for, under the Saturday night lights in the dog days of summer, provides fans with a powder keg that’s ready to explode at any moment – and frequently does, claiming many contenders along the way. Many fans will never forget Dale Earnhardt punting Terry Labonte out of the way to win the 1999 edition, nor the post-race fireworks between Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch a couple years ago.
So who’s got a shot at surviving the event and driving into victory lane this year?
Bristol is one of Busch’s best tracks, and its tendency to produce interesting and exciting on-track action makes it a perfect fit for him. His 10.1 average finish trumps all other active drivers. Besides this spring’s aberration, Busch hadn’t failed to lead in a Bristol race since his 2005 rookie season. He has three wins at the track, and top-two finishes in three of the past four Bristol events. He’s my pick.
My dark horse pick for this weekend is Marcos Ambrose, who had finishes of 10th and 3rd at Bristol last year but a dismal 33rd this past spring. Now that he and JTG Daugherty Racing have both announced plans for 2011 that don’t involve one another, they might just mail it in until the end of the year. On the other hand, they could both step up their game, showing their new partners (Richard Petty Motorsports for Ambrose, Bobby Labonte for JTG) a commitment to a strong year next year.
Three more, because we can:
Greg Biffle, despite having never won at Bristol in a Sprint Cup car, has the second best average finish of active drivers at the track, a solid 11.0. He’s got six top fives and nine top-10s in 15 starts. His Roush Fenway Racing team is also peaking at the right time, finding victory lane and the front of the pack these past few weeks in the wake of owner Jack Roush’s plane crash. Roush cars won this race each year from 2005 to 2008, and there’s no reason to think they can’t again.
Kevin Harvick is the only driver to have a Chase berth right now. Coming off that clinch, his Michigan victory, and a lucrative sponsorship deal with Budweiser for 2011, Happy’s gotta be living up to his nickname right now, and the momentum can certainly carry into Bristol. Harvick can be Superman at Bristol – while the box score for his 2005 victory at the track says he started 13th, he actually started dead last due to unapproved impound work and passed every car in the field for the victory.
Finally, Kurt Busch has the second-best winning percentage at Bristol of active drivers, behind only brother Kyle. And while four of his five wins came in 2004 or earlier, he showed us all a thing or two about how to race at Bristol this spring, leading a race-high 278 laps and finishing third. While Jimmie Johnson may have used that race to get the Bristol monkey off his back, Busch showed the field that he had his old Bristol magic back.
Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Food City 500
With four races in the books, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will head to Bristol Motor Speedway for this weekend’s Food City 500. Kurt Busch will attempt to follow up his win at Atlanta two weeks ago by winning this race for the fifth time.
Hope everybody’s all rested up after the off weekend, but it’s high time that we get into the swing of things and kick this season into full gear. This will be the last race that 2009 owner’s points determine the cars locked into the starting field for this season, so expect some backmarkers to try and push towards the front.
My pick for the weekend stays in the Busch family – I’m picking Kyle to win. Easy, I know. But in his last three Bristol starts, he has accumulated an average finish of 1.3 while leading 861 of a possible 1503 laps. That’s over 57% of his past three Bristol starts. Also keep in mind that Rowdy has led a lap in every Bristol race dating back to the spring of 2006, and has led in double digits in five of those eight events.
My dark horse for the week has to be Marcos Ambrose. Still looking for his first top-10 of the season, mired at 28th in points due to DNFs at Daytona and California, Ambrose has finishes of 10th and 3rd at Bristol in Cup cars. Bristol is known as a track of heavy beating and banging, as are the V8 Supercars that Ambrose drove in Australia before coming stateside.
Three more, as per tradition:
Kurt Busch. I’ve discovered over the years that a solid projection of a driver’s skill at any once track is the amount of top-10s he accumulates. If, over a career of decent length, he finishes in the top 10 about half the time, he is usually judged as a star at that given track. That would be Busch at Bristol… oh, and the five career wins there help too.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been decent at Bristol since joining Hendrick Motorsports, though it was mostly his work with Dale Earnhardt Inc. that currently gives him the sixth best average finish at Bristol of all active drivers. He’s also been fast for much of the year, with an average start of 8.5. Qualifying up front at such a small track gives drivers an inherent advantage, not only because leaders can catch lapped traffic quickly, but also because of their better pit selection – though that mattered more when Bristol separated its backstretch pits from its frontstretch ones.
Finally, let’s not forget that Kevin Harvick has a strong Bristol record. While he only has one win, the current series points leader has 11 top-10s in 18 career starts. Happy’s also in the best equipment he’s had in years, and there’s no reason to expect things to drop off now.
Bristol’s Jeff Byrd takes leave of absence
BRISTOL, Tenn. —Bristol Motor Speedway officials announced today President and General Manager Jeff Byrd has taken a leave of absence to undergo tests and treatment for a recently-discovered medical matter. It will prevent him from involvement in the upcoming Food City 500 weekend.
Byrd recently went through a series of tests and his doctors are encouraged that the condition is limited to one area and is treatable.
“I fully intend to be back on the job as soon as the doctors say it is OK,” said Byrd. “I appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers and will miss being at the track for the Food City 500 weekend. I have said for years I have the best team in motorsports and things are in good hands.”
Byrd and his family have asked for prayers and privacy at this time.
—Bristol Motor Speedway
Lesa France Kennedy says new ticket prices attracting many new buyers
While the economy’s outlook is still bleak on the surface and NASCAR’s attendance is still on a slight drop after the 2009 NASCAR season, the race tracks have spent much of this year, and the offseason, lowering ticket prices, among other things, to help boost attendance and fan interaction.
- Lesa France Kennedy. (Photo by NASCAR)
Lesa France Kennedy, CEO and Vice Chairwoman of the International Speedway Corporation, was a speaker at the inaugural Motor Sport Business Forum North America on Wednesday and addressed the issues that has faced ISC over the past two years and how the company has handled them.
From a company-wide standpoint, France Kennedy said that ISC has re-priced over a million of their race tracks’ tickets for this season. This coupled with a new array of bundles in which to purchase tickets was a somewhat obvious way to deal with an economic downturn. However, it has not only kept attendance in the Sprint Cup Series to a level just under that of years before, it has brought some new fans to the stands. In fact, two out of every three fans that purchased a ticket this year were a new customer to ISC tracks.
“First of all, there’s no doubt that all businesses have been challenged by the economy and we are not immune to it,” France Kennedy said. “Whenever there is a situation like this, it has also provided an opportunity for us. We’ve taken over a half a million of our tickets and re-priced or restructured them. We’ve taken some of the tickets that were previously bundled and created new packages where the bundling wasn’t as prominent. We find that about 2/3 of the people that are buying our newly structured tickets are brand-new buyers.”
From there, the tracks rely on the hope, and research, that if you go to one NASCAR event you have to go to another one. However, the challenge is getting a fan to that first event.
“Our history tells us that if we can get them to that one event, that the product sells itself,” France Kennedy said. “Our challenge is getting them to that first event, and then it goes from there. We’re accomplishing that through different opportunities and value pricing.”
Prices aren’t the only way these tracks are trying to attract a new breed of fan. Things such as social networking and creating a “green” initiative around the track and the sport are cause for keeping attendance just below average even in these rough economic times.
Many of the ISC tracks have accounts across the most popular social networks in the United States, such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. With tracks placing more interest on the younger demographic, social content has become a key marketing strategy and a cause for their overall success.
“People are consuming our sport in different ways now, like NASCAR.com for instance,” France Kennedy said. “Social media, I know especially for the younger folks, that is how they communicate. All of our tracks now have social media outlets where they communicate with potential fans and new fans, as well as the younger audience. We always have to be refilling the pipeline.”
A Chinook helicopter flies in the pace car driven by Lt. Col. Doug Hurley during prerace ceremonies prior to the start of the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 8, 2009. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
It’s not just ISC tracks that are making these changes, however. Speedway Motorsports Inc. tracks have to keep up as well. While SMI and ISC have both done similar things, Texas Motor Speedway’s Eddie Gossage, who was also at the motorsports forum on Wednesday, said that while track promoters can’t guarantee the race will always be a nail-bitter, they have to ensure their events are surrounded with activity, such as pre-race festivities at the track.
“The race is the race, and it could be an extremely close nail-biter,” Gossage said. “Or it could be a runaway and it falls on us as promoters to make the day exciting before the green flag drops and perhaps for awhile after the checkered flag drops. We try to do those kinds of things, our pre-race show for our Cup race was an hour-long concert by ZZ Top, we had a Chinook helicopter land on the front straightaway and in the pace car was a season ticket holder who was also the pilot of the Space Shuttle back in July. The fans loved that. So it’s giving them the ‘wow’ factor long before the green flag drops.”
ZZ Top performs prior to the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 8, 2009. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey)
With the recent approval of a casino being built near to Kansas Speedway, the ISC is looking forward to new chances to raise ticket sales within their company. Nonetheless, France Kennedy and the ISC knows it’s going to be a slow process to get back where they were pre-recession period.
“We’re going to be braced for a slow recovery but we’re also looking at some new opportunities,” France Kennedy said. “At Kansas, next to the Kansas Speedway, we’re looking at building a casino and a hotel with our gaming partner. It’s a little bit of a departure from our core business, but it’s also an enhancement if you look at the fans coming to the Kansas Speedway and extending their stay. It becomes more of a destination, bringing more tourists in than it already does. We’re doing the same in Daytona, where we’re looking at some other guest amenities across the street that would be complementary to the track. Over time we would like to develop some retail and dining.”
Regardless of the roughly nine-percent attendance drop this season, NASCAR is still considered America’s No. 1 spectator sport, with many events drawing upwards of a 120,000 people or more. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events claim 17 of the nation’s top-20 most attended events every year.
The ISC operates Auto Club Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Daytona International Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Phoenix International Speedway, Richmond International Raceway, Talladega Superspeedway and Watkins Glen International. SMI owns eight tracks: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Infineon Raceway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.
Sprint Cup Series Events Moving To Earlier, Uniform Start Times For 2010 Season
NASCAR PR
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Continuing the sport’s “back to basics” approach, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) and its television broadcast partners today announced earlier, uniform start times for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in 2010.
NASCAR worked closely with FOX, Turner, ESPN/ABC and the tracks on this project for the fans. The race start times for NASCAR Sprint Cup races in 2010 in the Eastern and Central regions of the country will begin at 1 p.m. ET, West Coast events will begin at 3 p.m. ET, and night races will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET. (The one exception is NASCAR’s longest night race, the Coca-Cola 600, which will have the same 5:45 p.m. ET start time.) Following the invocation and national anthem, the green flag will drop at approximately 15-20 minutes past the hour after each listed race start time.
“NASCAR fans have been asking for earlier and more consistent start times, and we are making this change for our fans, beginning with the Daytona 500 next February,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. “We are revisiting our sport’s tradition of earlier green flags, and the added consistency will make it easier for fans to know exactly when the races are being televised. Additionally, the new start times will help track operators get fans in and out of the track earlier in the evening. Many fans heading home from the race earlier will be able to eliminate the costs of an extra travel day.”
A total of 28 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in 2010 will be held at an earlier time compared to 2009, with 20 races moved to 1 p.m. ET, including the Daytona 500. Moving up the start of “The Great American Race” two-and-a-half hours will produce the earliest start time for the Daytona 500 since 2003, when the race was also scheduled for 1 p.m. Five races move earlier to a 3 p.m. ET start and three races start earlier at 7:30 p.m. ET.
In making the decision for earlier, more uniform start times, NASCAR consulted its Fan Council, comprised of 12,000 avid fans who serve as a sounding board on important topics. Half of NASCAR avid fans said they are often unclear about what time NASCAR races actually start. When given the chance to choose a start time, more than two-thirds of avid NASCAR fans preferred early Sunday afternoon.
“It’s become clear to us that traditional, early Sunday afternoon, start times are favored by NASCAR fans who both attend races and watch on television,” said FOX Sports Chairman David Hill. “NASCAR, perhaps more than any other sport, belongs to the generations of fans who have passed on their passion, father to son, mother to daughter, so whatever we can do to make them feel better connected to the sport they love should be done.”
“Many fans have been interested in standard start times for NASCAR’s television partners. In the long term, we believe this change will make the viewing experience better for everyone,” said David Levy, president of Turner Broadcasting’s distribution, sales and sports. “NASCAR races continue to deliver solid, consistent ratings for TNT. When you combine TV ratings with the number of people who visit NASCAR.COM, the sport clearly remains very healthy and popular.”
“We enthusiastically support consistent start times and are happy to have worked with NASCAR on this move,” said John Skipper, ESPN’s executive vice president, content. “We are thrilled about our position with NASCAR and bullish about the long-term prospects.”
“An earlier starting time for the Daytona 500 is great news for our race fans,” Daytona International Speedway President Robin Braig said. “In recent years, race fans made their desire very clear for an earlier starting time. With the help of our partners in the sport at NASCAR and FOX Sports, we’re proud to deliver an earlier starting time for the 2010 Daytona 500.”
“This is a very positive move for our fans,” said Jerry Gappens, executive vice president and general manager for New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “For example, it allows us another hour of daylight to run our races and to get traffic out before nightfall. Based on the letters I receive from fans, I know they will appreciate NASCAR making this change. For years, the NFL has been very successful with its standardized start times of 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. You never have to guess when their games start on Sunday. I think that same template will help our sport as well.”
“We believe this will be well-received by NASCAR fans who attend races in Dover, especially those traveling long distances,” said Denis McGlynn, president and CEO of Dover Motorsports, Inc. “A large percentage of our fans come from the Northeast, and some drive great distances to get here. Consistent, earlier start times is great news for both fans headed to the track and those watching at home.”
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races will be seen on either FOX, TNT, ESPN or ABC. The 2010 television schedule for points races is below.
2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule With Start Times (All Times Eastern)
Date Day RaceSite Network Start Time
Feb 14 Sun. Daytona 500 FOX 1:00 PM
Feb 21 Sun. Auto Club Speedway FOX 3:00 PM
Feb 28 Sun. Las Vegas Motor Speedway FOX 3:00 PM
Mar 7 Sun. Atlanta Motor Speedway FOX 1:00 PM
Mar 21 Sun. Bristol Motor Speedway FOX 1:00 PM
Mar 28 Sun. Martinsville Speedway FOX 1:00 PM
Apr 10 Sat. Phoenix International Raceway FOX 7:30 PM
Apr 18 Sun. Texas Motor Speedway FOX 1:00 PM
Apr 25 Sun. Talladega Superspeedway FOX 1:00 PM
May 1 Sat. Richmond International Raceway FOX 7:30 PM
May 8 Sat. Darlington Raceway FOX 7:30 PM
May 16 Sun. Dover International Speedway FOX 1:00 PM
May 30 Sun. Lowe’s Motor Speedway FOX 5:45 PM
Jun 6 Sun. Pocono Raceway TNT 1:00 PM
Jun 13 Sun. Michigan International Speedway TNT 1:00 PM
Jun 20 Sun. Infineon Raceway TNT 3:00 PM
Jun 27 Sun. New Hampshire Motor Speedway TNT 1:00 PM
Jul 3 Sat. Daytona International Speedway TNT 7:30 PM
Jul 10 Sat. Chicagoland Speedway TNT 7:30 PM
Jul 25 Sun. Indianapolis Motor Speedway ESPN 1:00 PM
Aug 1 Sun. Pocono Raceway ESPN 1:00 PM
Aug 8 Sun. Watkins Glen International ESPN 1:00 PM
Aug 15 Sun. Michigan International Speedway ESPN 1:00 PM
Aug 21 Sat. Bristol Motor Speedway ESPN 7:30 PM
Sep 5 Sun. Atlanta Motor Speedway ESPN 7:30 PM
Sep 11 Sat. Richmond International Raceway ABC 7:30 PM
Sep 19 Sun. New Hampshire Motor Speedway ABC 1:00 PM
Sep 26 Sun. Dover International Speedway ABC 1:00 PM
Oct 3 Sun. Kansas Speedway ABC 1:00 PM
Oct 10 Sun. Auto Club Speedway ABC 3:00 PM
Oct 16 Sat. Lowe’s Motor Speedway ABC 7:30 PM
Oct 24 Sun. Martinsville Speedway ABC 1:00 PM
Oct 31 Sun. Talladega Superspeedway ABC 1:00 PM
Nov 7 Sun. Texas Motor Speedway ABC 1:00 PM
Nov 14 Sun. Phoenix International Raceway ABC 3:00 PM
Nov 21 Sun. Homestead-Miami Speedway ABC 1:00 PM
Bristol Sells Out Cup Race, Finally
Bristol Motor Speedway track spokeswoman Lori Worley confirmed Saturday afternoon that the Food City 500 has officially been sold out. The track, which holds nearly 160,000 people has sold its seats much earlier then the scheduled race day for the past 53 years. Even though that track came close to a less then empty grandstand, they will be sold out for the 54th consecutive race.
The lacking ticket sales are mostly from the corporations who were forced to give up their seats, due to the current economy.
Martin in uncharted territory going into Bristol
Mark Martin’s Sprint Cup season is at a crossroads—and it’s only the fifth race of the year.
Going into Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Martin’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet is 35th in owners points. The top 35 cars in the owners standings are guaranteed starting spots each week.
Instead of being a fixture in the top 12 and positioning himself for a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Martin is battling to stay in the top 35.
“The main goal is to get back up on our feet,” said Alan Gustafson, Martin’s crew chief. “I feel that we’ve been kicked down a lot in the beginning of this season, and we have to turn that around. We need to have solid finishes. Well, first we need to finish.”
Martin has two DNFs in his first four races—40th-place finishes at Fontana and Las Vegas.
“Nothing we’re doing—as far as setup, speed, pit stops—has been wrong. We’ve been doing everything right. We just haven’t finished a race due to the two engines and the tire at Atlanta. So it’s hard to say that we need to change what we’re doing, because I don’t believe that’s the truth. We just need to start getting the finishes we deserve.”
Martin finished 31st and was running at the finish at Atlanta, completing 316 of 330 laps. He is off to the worst start of his Cup career, which began in the early ’80s. His recipe for turning his season around is a simple one.
“The first goal is to finish a race—the complete distance on the lead lap. That’s the first one. No matter where we finish,” he said. “Instead of trying to shoot the lights out, we really just need to complete the distance and continue to build our communications with Alan.. Hopefully we’ll start getting consistent finishes and results.”
Martin has two wins and 21 top-10 finishes at Bristol in 40 races but has one top-10 finish in his past 12 starts at the .533-mile track. His victories came in 1993 and 1998.
Five to watch
Denny Hamlin, No. 11. Bristol has been a little track of horrors for Hamlin.. Last March, he had the lead for the green-white-checkered restart but a fuel-pickup problem stalled the car as he took the green flag. He finished sixth. In March 2007, Hamlin finished 14th after leading 177 laps before a fuel-pickup problem stalled him on a restart with less than 20 laps to go.
Ryan Newman, No. 39: Newman has struggled mightily this year and is 32nd in points. He has an all-or-nothing record at Bristol. In 14 races, he has six finishes in the 30s and seven finishes in the top 10. His lone top five, a second, was in August 2004.
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48: Johnson has eight short-track wins but none at Bristol, where he has one top 10 in his past seven races (23.4 average finish). He is 13th in points. Only once in his career has Johnson been outside the top 10 after five races, and that was last year (13th).
Brian Vickers, No. 83: Vickers is riding a streak of three straight top 10s that has moved him from 40th after the Daytona 500 to 11th in points. He has yet to master, Bristol, though. In nine races, his best finish was 12th four years ago, and his average finish is 25.7.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88: Junior has a solid record and Bristol and needs to stay the course to continue moving up the points standings (he’s 24th). The last time he finished outside the top 20 at Bristol was eight years ago, and in the 15 races since, he has 10 top 10s, including seven top fives and one win.
Track chatter
Donnie Wingo, crew chief for Jamie McMurray: “It’s all about track position and being able to avoid the wrecks that always seem to take place. You’ll see a lot of teams taking chances on pit road this weekend with two tires or fuel-only stops; basically whatever teams feel they need to do in order to gain track position. You must be up at the front at the end of the race in order to get a decent finish.”
Tony Eury Jr., crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “The spotter is real critical. You’ve got to make moves quick at Bristol—they almost have to be spur of the moment and a lot of times the reaction of your driver, if you wait on your spotter to tell your driver to move, well, most of the time it may be too late. Your driver has to pay good attention, be looking in the mirrors and know his surroundings to try to take care of it. The spotter is just up there for a little bit of help. The biggest thing is to have your driver be aware of what’s going on.”
Kurt Busch, a five-time winner at Bristol: “As far as the strategy behind my success, I learned from the very first race that you have to be around at the finish to do well at Bristol. It really is a situation of surviving the first 400 laps—keeping the fenders on the thing and staying out of the wall. Then, if you’re in good shape after four-fifths of the race, it’s time to really get down to business during the final 100 laps..”
Fast facts
What: Food City 500
Where: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway
When: Sunday, 2 p.m. ET
TV: Fox, 1:30 p.m.
Radio: PRN/Sirius Satellite Ch. 128
Track layout: .533-mile concrete oval
Race distance: 500 laps/266.5 miles
2008 winner: Jeff Burton
2008 polesitter: Jimmie Johnson
Points leaders: 1. Jeff Gordon, 634; 2. Clint Bowyer, 591; 3. Kurt Busch, 588; 4. Carl Edwards, 547; 5. Matt Kenseth, 546; 6. Tony Stewart, 521; 7. Kyle Busch, 514; 8. Kevin Harvick, 511; 9. Kasey Kahne, 484; 10. Greg Biffle, 480; 11. Brian Vickers, 477; 12. David Reutimann, 475.
DW: Patience at Bristol Is Key To Win
Darell Waltrip, retired NASCAR Cup Series drivers and FOX Sports NASCAR broadcast announcer, has had an impressive driving career at Bristol Motor Speedway. Waltrip, dubbed as the “King of Bristol,” has a total of 52 starts at Bristol earning an average finish of 11.3 and holding 12 wins and 32 top-tens with 4 poles and leading 3436 of his 22964 career laps.
Waltrip offered his advice of being patient to the drivers for this weekend’s event.
“It’s about patience. I’m not talking about driving your race car very cautiously or slow,” said Waltrip. “It’s patience with all the other drivers – that is key. You’ve got to know when you start the race that you’re going to get bumped, pushed, brushed and shoved. There are going to be things that happen that will irritate you. You have to be patient, take your time with everything and not get frustrated or angry.”
Edwards Says Qualifying and Handling Key at Bristol
Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford at Roush Fenway Racing, has the right to claim Bristol Motor Speedway as one of his better tracks. Edwards, who rolls into Bristol fourth in points, says his team is excited about the trip to the short-track known around the world for its hard, competitive racing, and recently side-by-side racing. Bottom line, according to Edwards, its just fun.
“It’s great to be heading to Bristol Motor Speedway with our Aflac Ford Fusion,” said Edwards. “It goes without saying that it’s one of the most exciting race tracks in the world, period. There are 160,000 fans, you know, that turn the place into a coliseum. It’s such a fast half-mile race track and the history of the great finishes and the great races at Bristol is what makes it such a great place. It’s just fun!”
Edwards holds an average finish of 13.8 in nine starts, posting one pole, two wins, three top-fives, four top-tens, and only one DNF. As if that wasn’t enough to solidify Edwards’ status as a favorite this weekend, he and his crew chief, Bob Osbourne, have selected to run the same chassis, RK-596, that started on the pole and the led the most laps on the way to a win last August. Edwards says the method to the madness at Bristol is qualifying well and a good-handling race car on Sunday.
“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. Secondly, your car has to handle well. You don’t want to fight a car for 500 laps at Bristol. It seems in the end to come down to the smallest things like where you restart, a lot of times you end up rubbing on people and they do the same to you. You see a lot of wild finishes like that. Overall, you have to be tough all day with the grind, and you have to be able to deal with it until the end. There’s 450 laps and then there’s the sprint at the finish – hopefully my No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion will be up front at the end.”
“We’re bringing a car capable of winning, the same car we won with there in August,” said Osbourne. “Our goal is unload fast, qualify well, lead laps and win the race – if we can do that, the Bristol day race may become one of my favorites.”
Roush Fenway Racing teams have dominated the small short-track, winning at least one of the two Sprint Cup Series races held at Bristol each year since 2002, for a total of 8 wins in its history. Trailers include Richard Childress Racing, with two wins, with Joe Gibbs Racing, Penske Championship Racing, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing and Hendrick Motorsports with one win each.
Newman, Waltrip Say Resurfaced Bristol Provides Drivers and Fans Better Racing
In 2007, Bristol Motor Speedway resurfaced their track for the first time since 1992 and created not just a one-groove racing surface, but a track capable of holding three grooves for drivers to race on. Drivers now, according to Michael Waltrip, driver of the No. 55 NAPA Toyota and owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, don’t have to worry as much about the old “bump-and-run” maneuver and can race their competitors differently then before at the 0.53-mile short-track.
“Now at Bristol, instead of being that guy that’s pursued and just chopping down and trying to test your luck [and] see how long you can keep them held off without them hitting you,” Waltrip said. “You just roll in and go up a little higher, and you’ve got a groove around the middle you’ve got a groove around the top. For racecar drivers, its way more fun. And I think as the fans have seen us get used to race on that track, it’s a lot more fun for them to watch.”
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army/Haas Automation Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing, agrees with Waltrip and says that new resurfacing makes a better race for the drivers.
“As the race track changed we had to readjust again,” said Newman. “But to me, the racing is at an all-time high at Bristol compared to the way it used to .It used to be you kinda had to root somebody out of the way, and the fans really liked that but from a driver’s standpoint its not the best way to race. You don’t want to be looking in your rearview mirror instead of looking out your front windshield trying to avoid a crash.”
The Food City 500 weekend kicks of Friday with a Sprint Cup Series practice at 12:00PM ET and Sprint Cup qualifying at 3:40 PM ET. There will be two Sprint Cup Series practice sessions on Saturday, preluding to Sunday’s 2:00PM ET race.
