Sprint Cup drivers flock to Food City 250
Last summer's Food City 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway was considered by many to be the best that series had ever produced at the World's Fastest Half-Mile.
The first Nationwide event contested on the new concrete surface at BMS saw plenty of passing and great racing as Sprint Cup star Kasey Kahne claimed his first win at BMS, edging Nationwide regular Jason Leffler.
Once again a number of Cup regulars will be battling for a coveted Bristol win led by Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Elliott Sadler, Greg Biffle, Brian Vickers, Sam Hornish, Jr., Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, David Reutimann and David Ragan. Bowyer captured the Sharpie MINI 300 at BMS in March.
Edwards is coming off a sweep at Michigan last weekend where he won both the Nationwide and Cup races. He is the defending champion of the Sharpie 500 at BMS, so picking up back-to-back wins in the Nationwide Series is a definite possibility.
"There's really no place like it as far as the racing," said Edwards, who also won the 2007 Sharpie MINI 300 in March. "It's a real challenge and the new surface has made it all the better for great racing.
"The wins there last year were huge. Any driver will tell you that a win in Bristol means a lot because it's a real driver's race track. The atmosphere there is awesome. Those wins were really special to me, so hopefully I can come back and win a couple more. That would be something else."
Nationwide Series Notes:
While the goal is always to start up front in any race, starting on the pole in the in the Food City 250 doesn't necessarily translate into a win at Bristol Motor Speedway. In the 26 races contested in August, five have been won from the pole. The first driver to do it was Morgan Shepherd in 1984 while the last to accomplish the feat was Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2004
Morgan Shepherd and Kevin Harvick both have four Nationwide Series wins each at Bristol Motor Speedway to lead all drivers in victories at the half-mile oval. Matt Kenseth is next with three, followed by Brett Bodine, Todd Bodine, Steve Grissom, Mark Martin, Larry Pearson, Jimmy Spencer and Michael Waltrip, all with two apiece.
Three sets of brothers have won Nationwide races at BMS: Michael (1993 and 2003) and Darrell Waltrip (1985), Brett (1985 and '86) and Todd Bodine (1992 and '93) and David (1994) and Jeff Green (2002).
The only father-son combination to win at BMS in the Nationwide Series was Dale Earnhardt (1988) and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (2004).
Kevin Harvick holds the record for starting furthest back in the field for a Nationwide event at BMS, winning after starting 38th in the Sharpie 250 in August, 2005.
Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with Nationwide Series wins at Bristol with 27, including last spring's victory by Clint Bowyer. From August of 1997 through the spring of 2006 Chevrolet won 17 of 18 races.
The only time a driver has swept both the spring and August Nationwide races at BMS was in 1995 when Steve Grissom won both events.
The closest Nationwide race in Bristol history came in August of 2004 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. nipped Matt Kenseth by a scant 0.100 second.
Qualifying for the Food City 250 takes place at 5:05 p.m. Friday with the race slated to get under way at 8 p.m.
wbir.com
Food City "250" Entry List
0 Larry Gunselman
1 Mike Bliss
01 Mike Potter
2 Clint Bowyer
4 Derrike Cope
5 Landon Cassill
05 Burney Lamar
6 David Ragan
7 Mike Wallace
9 Elliott Sadler
09 John Wes Town
10 Brian Vickers
11 Jason Keller
12 Sam Hornish Jr
13 Shelby Howard
16 Greg Biffle
18 Kyle Busch
20 Joey Logano
24 Eric McClure Heft
25 Bobby Hamilton Jr
27 TBA
28 Kenny Wallace
29 Scott Wimmer
30 Stanton Barrett
31 Jeff Green
31 Kenny Hendrick
32 Denny Hamlin
33 Cale Gale
38 Jason Leffler
40 Dario Franchitti
47 Kelly Bires
49 Kertus Davis
52 Brad Teague
59 Marcos Ambrose
60 Carl Edwards
61 Brandon Whitt
64 David Stremme
66 Steve Wallace
70 Mark Green
73 Kevin Lepage
76 Ryan Hackett
81 D J Kennington
84 Mike Harmon
88 Brad Keselowski
89 Morgan Shepherd
90 Johnny Chapman
91 Justin Hobgood
92 Brian Keselowski
99 David Reutimann
Driver to win the Nationwide Food City 250
Kyle Busch +285
Carl Edwards +400
Denny Hamlin +500
Joey Logano +750
Clint Bowyer +750
Greg Biffle +1250
Brian Vickers +1250
Elliot Sadler +2000
David Reutimann +2000
Brad Keselowski +2000
Scott Wimmer +2000
David Ragan +2500
Mike Bliss +2500
Jason Leffler +3000
David Stremme +3000
Field +1200
TheGreek
NASCAR Nationwide Series News & Notes: Bristol Motor Speedway
Bank On It: Bowyer Glad To Be Back At Bristol
Just say the words “Night race at Bristol,” and watch eyes light up from fans to drivers alike.
Just say “Bristol” to Clint Bowyer (No. 2 BB&T Chevrolet) and he may respond in the same way.
He may also say, “It’s about time.”
Bowyer, the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings leader, has a solid lead of 113 points over reigning series champion Carl Edwards (No. 60 Save-A-Lot Ford). But that advantage has been far from comfortable over the last few weeks for the 29-year-old double-duty driver from Emporia, Kan.
If it’s not Edwards pushing Bowyer with three wins in his last nine races, then its series-only regular Brad Keselowski (No. 88 U.S. NAVY Chevrolet) who has also refused to go away. He comes to Bristol Motor Speedway third in the rankings, 132 points off the lead.
Couple that with a current four-race stretch that, although including two top-10 finishes, also holds finishes of 23rd and 18th, matching his worst span of the season. Bowyer started the year with two top-10 finishes sandwiched between results of 25th and 19th.
But now he’s back at Bristol where he won the rain-shortened event in March and has two top fives to go along with a top-10 finish in his last three overall races there.
He was eighth in this race last year.
“We’ve given up some points over the last few weeks so we need get back to business and work on padding our points lead,” he said.
With 10 Races To Go, Series Title Chase Closest Since 2003
The August race at Bristol marks the 10-races-to-go point in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series season.
It also points to what looks to be a great title chase between three drivers down this final stretch.
Carl Edwards has willed himself back into the race and is 113 points behind Bowyer. He was as many as 254 points behind Bowyer after the event at Chicagoland Speedway.
Bowyer has managed to put some distance on Brad Keselowski, who was as close as 128 points to the top spot prior to last week’s race at Michigan International Speedway. But despite falling back a bit, Keselowski remains in the hunt and is only 19 points behind Edwards heading to Bristol.
Series history shows the deficits are hardly safe.
Not since 2003 when four drivers were within 135 points of Scott Riggs, the leader then with 10 races left, has the championship battle been this close among this many drivers.
In 2003, Riggs was being chased by 1994 series champion David Green, who was 28 points behind in second. Ron Hornaday Jr. was third, 97 points back, while Jason Keller (No. 11 America’s Incredible Pizza Co. Chevrolet) was fourth, 104 points behind, and Brian Vickers was 135 points back in fifth.
Vickers ultimately won the championship, taking Green to the last lap of the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
In The Loop: Series-Only Regulars Defy Logic At Bristol
Logic would suggest that in the Bristol Motor Speedway bullring, the double-duty NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers might use intimidation to ease their path to Victory Lane.
After all, you’d forgive the NASCAR Nationwide Series-only drivers for feeling a little bit in awe of Bristol, with its high-banking and beat-and-bang competition.
Logic would suggest all that.
Logic would be dead wrong.
Four NASCAR Nationwide-only drivers in particular have solid statistics at Bristol, and could be a factor on Friday night: Scott Wimmer (No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet); Jason Leffler (No. 38 Great Clips Toyota); Mike Bliss (No. 1 Miccosukee Resort Chevrolet) and Brad Keselowski.
After capturing the pole, Leffler nearly won this race last year, leading 81 laps and posting a Driver Rating of 131.7. In his past six Bristol starts, Leffler has a Driver Rating of 89.1, an Average Running Position of 14.9 and 58 Fastest Laps Run.
Wimmer has the top Driver Rating (91.4) of any NASCAR Nationwide Series-only regular at Bristol. He boasts an Average Running Position of 12.9 and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 65.9%. In this season’s spring Bristol race, he finished 12th, posting a Driver Rating 110.8.
Bliss has two top fives this season, one of which was at Bristol. In the March race, a fifth-place run, Bliss posted a Driver Rating of 100.0 and an Average Running Position of 11.9. In each of his past three Bristol races, Bliss has posted a Driver Rating of 97.5 or higher.
Keselowski will have the most pressure this weekend. Still very much in the championship hunt, a solid Bristol finish is near-mandatory.
In this season’s March Bristol race, Keselowski had a Driver Rating of 100.7 and an Average Running Position of 9.4 in a fourth-place finish. In this race last season, he had a Driver Rating of 103.0 and an Average Running Position of 10.1 in a seventh-place run.
The Director’s Take: Second Groove May Alter Setups At Bristol
“This is the second time we’re going back to Bristol since the repave,” said Joe Balash, NASCAR Nationwide Series director.
“And based upon our experience in the first race, we found that Bristol now has two good racing grooves and that may change the way the teams develop their strategy for the race.
“The second groove will lead to passing on both the inside and outside. Teams will try to take advantage of this and take a good look at setting their cars to run on the high side of the track.
“Bristol always gives drivers a challenge, especially if it’s their first experience there. A high-banked short track where laps clock at 15 seconds doesn’t give a driver a chance to catch his breath.
“Once the green flag drops they need to be up on the wheel for every lap unlike speedways where they may get a chance to catch their breath down the longer straightaways.
“And there’s the added excitement that this race always brings,” he said. “Short-track racing in front of 100,000 fans under the lights.”