Food City 500 News and Notes

Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Kobalt Tools 500 Edition

Love him or hate him, Kyle Busch has been the talk of the NASCAR community in the first month of the 2008 season. The 22-year-old Las Vegas native has suddenly become Sprint Cup’s most electrifying star, earning his stripes as one of the most mesmerizing phenoms in all of sports. Leading both the Craftsman Truck and Sprint Cup series points, in addition to placing third in the Nationwide standings, Busch picked up the first win for Toyota this weekend, as well as his first win for Joe Gibbs Racing and crew chief Steve Addington’s first win as a Cup series crew chief.

There is no doubting that the younger Busch is one of the hottest drivers right now, but his JGR teammate Tony Stewart is also just as hot — under the collar. After Sunday’s race, Stewart blasted Goodyear for bringing such a hard tire to Atlanta, a tire which in his view left cars uncontrollably loose. Due to those comments, supported by several other drivers, Goodyear earns its debut spot on the Who’s Hot / Who’s Not list, while for the first time ever we have a driver on both the “Hot” and “Cold” list at the same time.

Who might that driver be? Check the list below to find out, as well as the other comers and goers in this week’s edition of Who’s Hot / Who’s Not In Sprint Cup.

HOT

Kyle Busch: The outspoken young star turned a lot of people off with his immaturity last year, but on the track, Busch has earned respect from anybody who watches the sport. With his win at Atlanta, Busch extended his points lead to 73 over Greg Biffle after recording three Top 10s in the first four races. Expect that string of success to continue this week at Bristol, too; Busch hasn’t finished outside of the Top 10 there in his past four races, and is the defending champ of what was NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow debut last March.

Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle have been the top-performing cars out of the Roush Fenway stable to start 2008.

Carl Edwards: Arguably the only driver as Hot as Kyle Busch, Edwards was a transmission problem away from potentially winning his third straight race. With Hendrick Motorsports struggling (if you can call it that) and Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon outside of the Top 12, Edwards, along with teammates Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth, is showing that Roush Fenway Racing is one of the teams to beat in ’08.

Greg Biffle: Biffle could have won this weekend had he not burned off his tires racing Tony Stewart for second down the stretch. Instead, Biffle was forced to settle for fourth, which was still a fine accomplishment; it’s his second consecutive Top 5 and third Top 10 in the first four races. That’s a fine streak to have going to Bristol, which was also good to Biffle last season — with finishes of 10th and 5th, and the No. 16 team will look to stay hot again at the half-mile this week.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Junior Nation has a lot to be proud of, as Earnhardt has carried the Hendrick Motorsports banner in the first month of the season. Junior was again the highest running Hendrick car this weekend, finishing third, his second straight Top 5 finish. Now, he heads to one of his best tracks; in his last 12 Bristol starts, Earnhardt has nine top 10s, six top 5s and one win.

OTHERS: Tony Stewart (Top 10 finishes in every race completed this season)

WARM

Brian Vickers: What a difference one year makes. At this point last season, Red Bull Racing was one of the dismal Toyota teams desperately looking for an opportunity to crack the Top 35; but now, Vickers has turned the No. 83 team into one of the surprises of 2008. Vickers hasn’t made a splash all the way at the front quite yet — he has only one Top 10 — but the former Nationwide champion has been a model of consistency. With finishes of 12th, 11th, 13th and 9th, Team Red Bull’s “A” team is well on their way to making some noise.

Mike Skinner: Need a car in the show? Call Mike Skinner. One week after replacing Jacques Villeneuve and putting the No. 27 Bill Davis car in the show, finishing 30th, Skinner was again summoned to help a team in trouble. The second car from Team Red Bull, No. 84, had yet to make a race all year heading to Atlanta; but with Skinner at the helm, things changed in an instant. Temporarily subbing for A.J. Allmendinger, Skinner qualified 34th and finished 27th, once again showing that he can drive more than a truck these days.

COOL

Jimmie Johnson: Sure, 13th in points isn’t disappointing to most teams, but it is for the two-time defending champs. For the second straight week, Johnson was an afterthought; needing the help of two Lucky Dog passes, the No. 48 came home with a shaky 13th place finish, the last car on the lead lap. This comes one week after an embarrassing 29th place finish at Las Vegas that had crew chief Chad Knaus scratching his head and observers wondering if all is well in paradise. Right now, Johnson’s lone Top 10 this season came at California, where he finished 2nd; but since then, this team hasn’t shown themselves capable of running at the front.

Bold Prediction: Johnson will be on the “HOT” list at this time next month and in the Top 5 in points.

Elliott Sadler: Sadler hasn’t run too bad as of late, but a crash at Atlanta dropped the No. 19 car to 20th in points. After a 6th place run in the Daytona 500, Sadler has yet to crack the Top 10 since, with his best finish coming at Las Vegas, where he finished 12th.

COLD

Goodyear: I wasn’t surprised by Tony Stewart’s post-race comments on these tires, since he basically echoed what he had said earlier in the week in the garage during Happy Hour. But what did surprise me was (gasp) he mentioned that both Hoosier and Firestone could do better. Stewart may have been speaking on behalf of the majority of the drivers in the garage when he said the tires were too hard, but NASCAR and Goodyear clearly have different opinions — don’t expect the two to merge anytime soon. Whether Stewart gets fined for his criticisms or not is anyone’s guess; however, 24 hours later it’s clear Goodyear’s credibility took a major hit Sunday with one comment from one of the sport’s biggest names.

Carl Edwards: For the first time ever, a driver is on both the Who’s Hot / Who’s Not “HOT” and “COLD” list. Why? Edwards may have fallen just short of his third straight win this week, but the transmission failure that ended the No. 99’s day at Atlanta resulted in a 42nd place finish. This comes one week after a 100 point penalty following Edwards’ win last week at Las Vegas, both crushing early season blows for a team running this well. Suddenly, the man who was tops in points when the checkered flag flew at Vegas has fallen to 17th in the standings, easily the largest drop in the series over the past week.

frontstretch.com

Food City 500 preview
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

One of the nice things about the NASCAR Cup series is the diversity in tracks. After three straight weeks of fast paced intermediate track racing, the greatest traveling show rolls into Bristol, Tennessee for some good old fashioned short track racing. Bristol just isn’t any ordinary short track like we’re used to seeing for your local Saturday night special races; No, Bristol is a whole new animal unlike any in the world.

The half mile track is banked 36 degrees in the turns and 16 degrees on the straights. It’s basically like a roulette wheel with the cars acting like the spinning white ball. The speed obtained by these cars due to the banking is amazing. At a short track like Martinsville the top qualifying time doesn’t even reach 100 mph because of how flat it is. At Bristol, qualifying speeds reach up past 125 mph.

Even though Bristol is faster than any other short track in the world, the short track still keeps its short track feel which basically means the drivers like to play bumper cars with each other. Because the speeds are slower than most tracks the drivers get a little more aggressive. If drivers know that they really can’t hurt each other too much on the track, they’ll definitely race harder and tougher. Look for lots of pushing and shoving after the race and also look for fines to be levied by NASCAR to a few drivers for their uncontrollable action.

Because this race typically produces the best, most exciting racing of the season, tickets are almost impossible to get. Over 160,000 die-hard NASCAR fans will jam the race track that looks like a massive football stadium right in the middle of the Smokey Mountains. It’s not that they all want to see wrecks, its just that they want to some drivers get into other drivers faces and tell him what he thinks about his poor judgment and decision making during the race. They are never disappointed either.

To be successful at Bristol, it definitely takes a special driver. Only the best of the best win at Bristol. Look at the history of Bristol winners and you’ll see one Cup Champion after another all the way down from Petty to Yarbrough to Waltrip. That tells me it takes a smart driver who stays out of trouble and it also tells me that it takes a driver full of confidence who can muscle his way through the field. The one exception through history of winners was Elliott Sadler in 2001 which only happened because of a hard experimental tire that Goodyear was trying out and made it possible to run almost an entire race with a single set of tires.

In recent history at Bristol, the brashest drivers on the circuit have been winners. Kurt Busch always races like he has a chip on his shoulder and its carried him to five Bristol wins. Kevin Harvick has toned his act down lately but Bristol is the type of track that can give us a glimpse of the old Harvick, like the one that jumped over cars after a Bristol race to put Greg Biffle in a choke hold.

Toyota finally got their first win in NASCAR last week thanks to Kyle Busch taking Atlanta and they just might be poised to win again this week. Kyle Busch won this race last season driving a Hendrick Chevy and his teammates, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin, are two of the best short track drivers in NASCAR. Stewart hasn’t won at Bristol since 2001, but he always seems to be near or close to the front. So far we have seen the Gibbs trio run very strong at a plate race and three intermediate tracks, but we haven’t seen them run the Toyota’s on a short track. Last season Hendrick was by far the best in the COT program with Roush and Childress getting stronger as time went by. It’s likely that Gibbs will be just as strong as they have been everywhere.

In this race last season the top two lap leaders of the day were Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. In the fall night race, Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne combined to lead 487 of the 500 laps. In Stewart and Hamlin’s case they finished 35th and 14th respectfully. However, for Edwards and Kahne, things went a little better for them as they came in 1-2.

Kasey Kahne took his lumps early at Bristol beginning with his first race there as a Cup rookie in 2004 where he finished 40th. Over the last couple Bristol starts Kahne has looked much better on the track and he’s kept his car out of trouble. This season, Kahne looks smarter than ever. He’s running great races without having a great race car. He’s got three top 10 finishes in the first four races and it’s been good enough to place him 7th in points. Kahne points to being able to run the high groove effectively on the new resurfaced concrete. Since the track was re-surfaced, Kahne has won a Busch race and finished 2nd leading the most laps in the Cup race. Not Bad at all!

On top of Kahne and the Gibbs drivers, we’ll look for Childress to run strong again this week with all three of his drivers making the top 10. Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer, and Harvick all finished in the top 8 during this race last season with Bowyer also finishing 3rd in the fall. Bowyer will be a nice payout of over 25 to 1 if he comes in.

A glaring omission from discussion about this race and candidates to win is the Hendrick team. This team absolutely dominated the field with the COT last season. They were light years ahead of everyone. How can we even think about not including Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, or Dale Earnhardt Jr as a top candidate to win? Johnson certainly wouldn’t call Bristol his top track but he’s run well there before with a couple top 5’s. Jeff Gordon is a 5 time winner at Bristol with the last coming in 2002. He finished 3rd behind Kyle Busch in this race last season and then there’s Junior who has a win at Bristol as well. The reason I can think of not to choose them despite all their greatness is that the team is reeling right now. With the exception of Junior, they collectively look ragged. Casey Mears is in a whole new level of bad that we won’t even get into.

The Roush Ford’s should have a good run at Bristol also. Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, and Carl Edwards will all be tough to beat. There are just so many quality cars to choose from, but I must stay with Childress for this race.

TOP 5 Finish Prediction:

1) #07 Clint Bowyer (25/1)
2) #18 Kyle Busch (8/1)
3) #29 Kevin Harvick (12/1)
4) #9 Kasey Kahne (25/1)
5) #99 Carl Edwards (8/1)

Driver Highlights - Bristol
VegasInsider.com

Note: All driver statistics that follow are from Bristol Motor Speedway. The Loop Data statistics – Driver Rating, Average Running Position, etc. – in this release, however, cover the last six races at Bristol. NASCAR’s scoring loops began collecting data for statistical purposes in 2005.

Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford) 10/1

# Three top fives, six top 10s
# Average finish of 10.3
# Average Running Position of 11.2, third-best
# Driver Rating of 102.7, third-best
# 169 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
# 202 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most
# Average Green Flag Speed of 114.575 mph, second-fastest
# 2,203 Laps in the Top 15 (73.3%), fifth-most
# 112 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), fourth-most

Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet) 18/1

# Seven top fives, 11 top 10s
# Average finish of 18.3
# Average Running Position of 14.0, seventh-best
# Driver Rating of 90.5, 10th-best
# 118 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
# 193 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most
# 1,802 Laps in the Top 15 (60.0%), eighth-most
# 105 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota) 8/1

# One win, two top fives, four top 10s
# Average finish of 13.5
# Average Running Position of 17.2, 13th-best
# Driver Rating of 90.0, 11th-best
# 113 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
# 196 Green Flag Passes, fifth-most
# 108 Quality Passes, tied for fifth-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP/National Guard Chevrolet) 8/1

# One win, six top fives, nine top 10s
# Average finish of 11.7
# Average Running Position of 11.6, fifth-best
# Driver Rating of 97.5, sixth-best
# Series-high 234 Green Flag Passes
# Average Green Flag Speed of 114.351 mph, seventh-fastest
# 2,248 Laps in the Top 15 (74.8%), third-most
# 122 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), second-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) 8/1

# Five wins, 12 top fives, 18 top 10s; five poles
# Average finish of 11.7
# Average Running Position of 8.5, second-best
# Driver Rating of 103.1, second-best
# 120 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
# 2,454 Laps in the Top 15 (81.7%), second-most
# Series-high 124 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green)

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet) 12/1

# One win, seven top fives, nine top 10s
# Average finish of 10.5
# Average Running Position of 11.4, fourth-best
# Driver Rating of 99.2, fourth-best
# 112 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most
# 209 Green Flag Passes, third-most
# Average Green Flag Speed of 114.500 mph, third-fastest
# 2,237 Laps in the Top 15 (74.5%), fourth-most
# 121 Quality Passes, third-most

Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge) 25/1

# One top five, two top 10s; one pole
# Average finish of 20.0
# Driver Rating of 94.2, seventh-best
# 106 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
# 1,770 Laps in the Top 15 (58.9%), 11th-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford) 10/1

# Two wins, seven top fives, nine top 10s
# Average finish of 12.5
# Series-best Average Running Position of 6.8
# Series-best Driver Rating of 111.4
# Series-high 212 Fastest Laps Run
# Series-fastest Average Green Flag Speed of 114.606
# Series-high 2,759 Laps in the Top 15 (91.8%)

Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota) 9/1

# One win, five top fives, six top 10s
# Average finish of 16.9
# Average Running Position of 13.1, sixth-best
# Driver Rating of 97.7, fifth-best
# 137 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
# 1,777 Laps in the Top 15 (59.2%), 10th-most
# 108 Quality Passes, tied for fifth-most

RacingOne Power Rankings
Racingone.com

Kyle Busch is hot on the NASCAR scene and in RacingOne's Power Rankings as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway. RacingOne's rankings are based on a combination of season-to-date loop data, season standings and staff selections.

1. Kyle Busch: If he can eliminate boneheaded deals like the last lap scuffle with Dale Jarrett, there may be no stopping Shrub this year.

Last Week's Rank: Second

Bristol Motor Speedway Fact: Busch won this race last year, in the first ever NASCAR COT race. He has posted four top-10 finishes at Bristol in six starts.

2. Greg Biffle: Roush resurgence on display with Biffle's return to prominence.

Last Week's Rank: Fourth

Bristol Motor Speedway Fact: Biffle has best average finish of all active drivers at Bristol, with an average finish of 10.3 in 10 starts.

3. Kevin Harvick: Quietly on a nice streak and definitely a contender in Bristol this week.

Last Week's Rank: Fifth

Bristol Motor Speedway Fact: Harvick has one win and nine top-10 finishes in 14 starts at BMS. He has the second highest average finish among active drivers of 10.5.

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr: Looked like the car to beat early in Atlanta but team did a nice job reeling things back in when it went away.

Last Week's Rank: Seventh

Bristol Motor Speedway Fact: Earnhardt Jr. has won one race at BMS in 16 starts and has posted six top-five and nine top-10 finishes.

5. Tony Stewart: Speaking his mind should be applauded but making it personal goes over the line.

Last Week's Rank: 11th

Bristol Motor Speedway Fact: Stewart has had mixed success at Bristol, having won there in the fall of 2001. But he has just as many finishes outside the top 15 as he has within the top 15. In total, Stewart has six top-10s in 18 starts.

6. Jeff Gordon: Has been a factor in every race but can't seal the deal.

Last Week's Rank: Sixth

Bristol Motor Speedway Fact: Gordon has won five races at Bristol, which ties him with Kurt Busch for the most active driver wins at the track. In 30 starts, he's posted a total of 18 top-10 finishes.

7. Jeff Burton: Off to another sneaky and solid start.

Last Week's Rank: 12th

Bristol Motor Speedway Fact: Burton has made 28 starts at Bristol, with 11 top-10 and seven top-five finishes.

8. Ryan Newman: Hasn't faded after Daytona win like some predicted.

Last Week's Rank: Eighth

Bristol Motor Speedway Fact: Newman has qualified on the pole twice at Bristol but has only posted one top-five finish and six top 10s in 12 starts.

9. Matt Kenseth: Where did he come from Sunday in Atlanta to post a top-10 finish?

Last Week's Rank: 10th

Bristol Motor Speedway Fact: Kenseth leads all drivers with a 111.4 driver rating at Bristol. He's won two races and posted seven top fives and nine top 10s.

10. Kasey Kahne: Ruined a hot start to the season with a big mistake in Atlanta.

Last Week's Rank: Third

Bristol Motor Speedway Fact: Kahne posted his best Bristol finish in the fall race last year, a second-place finish from the pole. Prior to that, Kahne had finished 10th once.

11. Brian Vickers: The JGR Toyota halo effect has been beneficial to Vickers and Team Red Bull.

Last Week's Rank: N/R

Bristol Motor Speedway Fact: In seven starts at BMS, Vickers has two top-15 finishes and an average finish of 24.6.

12. Jimmie Johnson: So far off early in Atlanta but adjustments throughout the day salvaged a decent finish.

Last Week's Rank: Ninth

Bristol Motor Speedway Fact: Johnson has posted two top-five finishes and six top 10s in 12 starts. The fall COT race at Bristol in 2007 was his worst COT finish last year (21st). The spring Bristol result of 16th was his third-worst COT finish in 2007.

13. Clint Bowyer: Looked like his old dirt tracking ways would pay off in slippery Atlanta.

Last Week's Rank: N/R

Bristol Motor Speedway Fact: Bowyer posted his best Bristol finish in the fall there last year of third. His other top-10 finish in four starts there came in the spring of 2007 (eighth).

14. Kurt Busch: Lost in the shadow of his little brother.

Last Week's Rank: N/R

Bristol Motor Speedway Fact: Busch has won five Bristol Cup races in 14 starts. He is tied with Jeff Gordon for the most active driver wins at Bristol, a track where he has also posted four other top-10 finishes.

15. Martin Truex Jr: Only four races in but the "new" DEI looking much like the old model.

Last Week's Rank: 13th

Bristol Motor Speedway Fact: In four starts at BMS, Truex Jr. hasn't yet finished in the top 10 although he came close in the fall last year with an 11th-place finish.

Food City 500 PreQ

The start of the 2008 season could not be going any better for Kyle Busch and his new #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Busch provided Toyota with the manufacturer’s first point’s win at the Cup level at Atlanta. He has basically dominated the last three races while recording a win, two top 5s, and an 11th place finish in four races this season. Busch heads into the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway as the No. 1 driver on the PreQ forecast. Busch should be considered a contender for a second straight win as he is the defending race champion while averaging a 5th place finish over the last four races at the track. The #18 M&Ms Toyota is on a roll and fantasy players need to jump on the bandwagon.

While Dale Earnhardt Jr. has run well in taking Busch’s position with Hendrick Motorsports Busch has been running better up to this point in the season. Junior, however, is one of the best short track drivers in the series averaging an 11th place finish in the last 24 short tracks starts with three wins and 12 top 10s. He has run exceptionally well at Bristol since the 2002 season (12 starts) posting a win to go with nine top 10s while finishing each race in the top 20. Junior could easily get his first win of the season for his new #88 Mountain Dew Chevrolet team.

Greg Biffle has started off the 2008 season with a bang. Currently he sits in the second position in the point standings after posting back-to-back top 5 finishes. He has finished every race in the top 15 with three top 10s. Biffle is not that bad of a short track driver either averaging a 16th place finish with 11 top 10s in the last 24 starts. Biffle does not have a short track win in that frame but he should be a contender for a top 10 finish if not a top 5 finish. Keep the hot #16 3M/Dish Network Ford in mind when setting your lineup this weekend.

For the second straight week we’re going to recommend that fantasy players avoid taking Casey Mears. Mears didn’t have a bad race last weekend finishing the day in the 17th position. At Bristol, however, Mears has not had a very good record. In 10 starts he has failed to finish in the top 20 eight times with an average finish of 27th place. In the last 24 short track starts Mears has just two top 10s with an average finish of 25th place. Only look to Mears when the series visits the high-banked superspeedways – avoid him for short track racing.

Elliott Sadler was off to a good start this season before the trip to Atlanta. He created three cautions before finally hitting the wall hard and calling it a day. He finished the day in the 43 position dropping from 9th in the point standings to 20th in the point standings. Sadler could be in for a similar fate at Bristol where he is averaging a 23rd place finish in his career. He is averaging just a 27th place finish in the last four races at the track with three finishes coming outside the top 25. Sadler does have a win at the track but that was back in the 2001 season. Don’t expect great results out of the #19 Best Buy Dodge in the Food City 500.

ProFantasySports.com

Food City 500 Preview

Kyle Busch and his Toyota hold down the Sprint Cup points lead as NASCAR's top series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend to compete in the Food City 500.

Busch gave Toyota its first win last weekend, holding off teammate Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to take the checkered flag in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The win kept Busch atop the driver standings for another week; he's 73 points up on second-place Greg Biffle, and 91 points ahead of third-place Kevin Harvick.

Biffle ended up in fourth place in Atlanta, while Jeff Gordon rounded out the day's Top 5 finishers. Clint Bowyer, Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers, and Jeff Burton also picked up Top-10 results, with Kurt Busch just outside those top drivers in 11th position.

Jimmie Johnson was unable to crack the Top 10 once again on Sunday; he wound up in 13th place, just ahead of Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin. Martin Truex Jr. was 21st, Mark Martin was 22nd, and Robby Gordon was 24th. Rookie Sam Hornish Jr. ended up in 25th place, while fellow freshman Dario Franchitti was back of the pack in 33rd spot.

Carl Edwards was looking to win his third race in a row on Sunday, but he had to leave the event early with transmission problems and ended up in 42nd place. Edwards didn't have a good week overall - he was also hit with a 100-point fine for driving with a missing oil tank lid in the previous race, which knocked him out of first in the standings.

In fact, Edwards is now sitting in 17th place in the driver standings despite having a series-leading two victories on the season. Newman and Burton round out the Top 5 of the points race, with Earnhardt Jr. up to sixth and Kasey Kahne falling to seventh. Stewart, Vickers, Kurt Busch, Truex Jr. and Kenseth fill out the rest of the Top 12. Johnson is just back of that group in 13th place, while Gordon moved up to 15th spot.

Not only is Kyle Busch coming off a victory in last week's race in Atlanta, but he's also the defending Food City 500 champion. Burton and Gordon finished second and third, respectively, in that event, while Harvick and Biffle rounded out the Top 5. Johnson struggled in that Bristol race in 2007; he ended up in 16th place after starting out sixth.

Edwards won the Sharpie 500 at Bristol in 2007, and Kenseth took the checkered flag in that event in both 2006 and 2005. Kurt Busch is a five-time winner at Bristol; he won the Food City 500 in 2006, and four other times on that track between 2002 and 2004. Gordon has also had Bristol success; he's won five events there, but none since 2002.

Other past Bristol winners include Harvick (2005), Earnhardt Jr. (2004), Stewart (2001), Elliott Sadler (2001), Martin (1998 and 1993), and Dale Jarrett (1997). So who is the Vegas favorite to get the win this weekend? It's currently a four-way tie atop that list - each of Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Edwards, and Kyle Busch are pegged as 8/1 favorites.

Stewart is just back of that group at 9/1 odds to race to victory at Bristol, followed by Johnson, Biffle, and Kenseth at 10/1 odds. Kurt Busch and Harvick are at 11/1 odds, with Hamlin at 12/1, Kahne at 17/1, Burton at 18/1, and Bowyer sitting behind at 20/1.

Edwards and Johnson remain tied at 5/1 odds to win the Sprint Cup Championship this season, with Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. at 6/1, and Stewart at 7/1. Kenseth is pegged at 9/1 odds to finish atop the driver standings, with Kyle Busch at 11/1, and Kurt Busch at 15/1. Hamlin (16/1) and Harvick (22/1) are the final drivers in the top tier of contenders.

After racing at Bristol the drivers of the Nextel Cup Series will take a one-week break before returning for the Goody's Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway on March 30. From there the Sprint Cup will head to stops in Texas, Phoenix, and then Talladega.

Johnson off to unusually slow start in Sprint Cup
March 12, 2008

Jimmie Johnson is off to a terrible start - for Jimmie Johnson, that is.

The two-time reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion simply isn't used to being ordinary.

He heads to Bristol this week a mediocre 13th in the standings after the first four races of the season and is already 198 points behind the series leader, former Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Busch.

That really doesn't sound so bad with 22 races to go until the start of the 12-man Chase for the Championship, in which Johnson hopes to go for the first three-peat since Cale Yarborough in 1976-78. But it isn't the kind of start that Johnson and his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team expect.

``We knew that this year we were going to have challenges with the Car of Tomorrow on larger tracks, and we're not where we want to be, but we're working very, very hard to get on top of things,'' Johnson said. ``I wouldn't expect us to have a poor performance much longer.''

Nobody else does, either.

In his first six full seasons in Cup, Johnson has never been worse than 10th after the first four races. Twice, he has been leading the points and two other times he was fourth.

But it isn't just the fact that he is lagging a bit this year - it's the way he has raced at times that is worrisome.

Two weeks ago, in Las Vegas, the combination of driver Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus had one of its worst days ever, without being involved in a crash. The No. 48 Chevy started the race bad and never got much better on the way to a 29th-place finish.

That just isn't like the team that prides itself on in-race adjustments that take Johnson to the front.

Last Sunday, in Atlanta wasn't quite as bad. But it wasn't great, either.

Johnson was twice knocked a lap down by the leaders and saved a lead-lap, 13th-place finish only by being the ``Lucky Dog,'' the first driver a lap down, each time.

Team owner Rick Hendrick says it's too soon to be concerned about Johnson, who had seemed almost automatic in spending more time in the top 10 since he arrived in the sport full-time in 2002 than any other driver.

Last year, the season was split between the old-style cars that had been racing for more than two decades and NASCAR's new CoT, which ran 16 times in 2007, mostly on short tracks.

This year, it's all CoT, and that might be the rub.

Hendrick pointed out last week that his team spent an inordinate amount of time and effort building the old car as Johnson and teammate Jeff Gordon slugged it out for the title. The Hendrick team also won nine of the 16 CoT events last year after testing heavily for those short-track events.

``I think Chad said this, 'If you think back, we did all of our CoT testing on short and flat tracks,''' Hendrick noted. ``We built, I can't tell you how many, but I think three or four new editions of the old cars in the last three or four years.

``We were building cars we knew we wouldn't even run at more than one place. We knew we were not going to use that car again, but with Jimmie racing for a championship, and Jeff right there on him, we had to do that.''

That hard work and planning may be costing Hendrick's elite team a little now.

After winning 18 of 36 races a year ago, and replacing Busch with highly regarded Dale Earnhardt Jr. over the winter, Hendrick Motorsports is 0-4 so far this season.

``All that work building cars we knew we'd never use again, it paid off and won us a championship,'' Hendrick said. ``But how did it affect us this year? We're good on short tracks and flat tracks, but a little behind on the intermediates.''

Johnson agreed with his boss this week.

``Coming into this season, we didn't spend any time testing on any of the big tracks,'' Johnson said. ``We've been on track. We've been learning. We've been making improvements, if you look at Vegas and Atlanta. We still have a very loose race car, but we made up a lot of ground (at Atlanta).

``It wasn't the day that we wanted, but we're definitely going down the right road.''

Now it's back to the short tracks at Bristol and Martinsville for the next two Cup races - a chance to get the Hendrick ship righted and re-establish the team's dominance.

``We're excited to get on the short tracks,'' Johnson said. ``Bristol isn't my best short track; we all know that. But when we get to Martinsville and Richmond and some of the other tracks where we've been strong with the CoT, we hope to be right back where we were.

``We're just learning the 1.5-mile stuff. My teammates have shown well. I ran well at California. But even with those runs, we weren't the best car. And that's what we're trying to find as a company, and what we're trying to find in the No. 48 car is how we can be the best car.''

It certainly would be a big surprise if they don't figure that out.

Cup rookies face tough qualifying without good race at Bristol
March 12, 2008

The latest crop of NASCAR Sprint Cup rookies is collectively in need of a big day heading into Sunday's race at Bristol.

None of the four drivers in the competition for Raybestos Rookie of the Year is currently in the top 35 in owners points, with just one more race to get there or face another hurdle.

Under current NASCAR rules, cars in the top 35 are guaranteed a starting spot each week, while everyone else has to attempt to qualify on time for the few remaining starting positions.

The first five races each season use the previous year's final top 35, but the race this weekend is race No. 5 for 2008, and that puts rookie leader Sam Hornish Jr. (36th), Dario Franchitti (38th), Regan Smith (39th) and Patrick Carpentier (46th) all in danger of being ``go or go-home'' guys when the Cup series reaches Martinsville after next week's Easter break.

Franchitti began the season with the top 35 points accumulated last year by David Stremme at Chip Ganassi Racing, while fellow open-wheel star Hornish was the beneficiary of Penske Racing teammate Kurt Busch giving up his top 35 points, with NASCAR's permission. Busch was still guaranteed to start each of the first five races, thanks to his status as the most recent former series champion not in the top 35.

Smith, now driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc., was inside the top 35 at the end of last season, thanks to sharing a ride with Mark Martin at Ginn Racing, which was merged into DEI late last year.

Carpentier, farthest from becoming a guaranteed qualifier, has already had a good taste of having to make it on speed.

He made all three races in a brief trial with his current Gillett Evernham Motorsports team late last year, but has not been as fortunate so far this year. His cause was set back when he failed to make the field for the season-opening Daytona 500 and again when qualifying at California was rained out and he was not in the lineup.

``It seems like we're not too bad, so far qualifying,'' said Carpentier, who has qualified easily for the last two races. ``So, hopefully, we'll get to make the next races and keep learning. It's those laps that you keep running that really helps you out. That's what we've got to do, and not doing the first few races has kind of cost us a little bit.''

Franchitti, who leads Hornish by two points and Smith by three in the rookie standings, isn't thrilled with the idea of having to qualify, but is ready to deal with it, if necessary, as part of the learning curve.

``Ah, it is what it is,'' the Scot said. ``If we end up out of it, we'll work our way back in. Nothing else we can do.''

Fantasy preview: Food City 500

First off, anyone else enjoying this season more than previous renditions? I attribute much of that to the new/current car, but also to NASCAR's decision to move the first Sprint Cup off weekend of the season back two weeks. As a fan, knowing that the third weekend of the season would be only a Mexico City Nationwide race excited me as much as "Oprah's Big Give."

NASCAR's big give has been far better. We're no longer hitting the brakes at the point of the season where we still want our feet on the accelerator. We want to know more about how these cars perform. We want to hear Tony Stewart's continuous bashing of Goodyear. We want to see how Carl Edwards will perform without crew chief Bob Osborne.

Having that first break fall after Bristol is terrific. It's a little less than one-sixth of the way into the schedule, but you still can make a case for needing/wanting a break. NASCAR always has had its top series off on Easter weekend, and it just so happens that Easter falls next weekend.

From a driver standpoint, the coming off week will be a chance to calm nerves that will be frayed and emotions that will be supercharged after 500 laps at this high-banked half-mile.

Nice job, NASCAR! And it's great to know you and your stock car racing commission have a soul in giving back Robby Gordon his 100 driver and owner points.

Of all the times that Gordon has come out on the short end in his battles with NASCAR, that may be the biggest give of all.

TOP TIER

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Consecutive top-five finishes at Las Vegas and Atlanta is what Junior has been expecting all along. No driver has scored more points at Bristol in the past six races than Junior, and his average finish in that span is 6.5.

Kyle Busch. The winner of the inaugural COT race at this track last year, Busch's worst finish in six short track races in 2007 was 20th. His other five finishes were top-10 runs (four were top fives). Yes, it's still a great time to own Busch.

Matt Kenseth. He is a master of working traffic, and you always find him at the front when winning time comes. His 111.4 Bristol driver rating is best in the series over the past six races, as is the number of laps led in that span (706).

MIDDLE TIER

Kasey Kahne. Kahne let everyone down last week, including the ladies who have a crush on him in those Allstate commercials. But in the second races at Bristol, Richmond and Martinsville last year, Kahne had finishes of second, eighth and 15th respectively.

Bobby Labonte. Labonte hasn't logged a top-10 finish yet, but he has finished 17th or better in three of the first four races. Those playing Sporting News' Fantasy Stock Car Challenge are starting to pay attention. If you're not among them, you should be. Beyond Bristol (where he finished eigth last August), I like this upcoming stretch for Labonte -- Martinsville, where Petty cars have run fairly well in the past, Texas (where Labonte is from), and Phoenix, where he finished 8th in the spring race last year.

BOTTOM TIER

Travis Kvapil. Kvapil was awful last week at Atlanta, but he deserves some consideration this weekend. He has won at Bristol in the truck series, and he also started from the pole in last year's trucks race. If he can keep his car clean, a top 20 finish is entirely possible.

TEMPER, TEMPER

The first short track race of the season brings the first opportunity for drivers to exact revenge on competitors who have wronged them in the past. The reason being is that short tracks are the safest places to send a driver spinning or into the fence because the speeds aren't super high. And when racing real estate is much more at a premium, you may feel like moving a guy is the only way to get around. If you see the following guys tangle, don't be surprised.

Clint Bowyer vs. Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya wrecked Bowyer late in the Daytona 500. Bowyer just happened to be leading the race at the time of contact. Likelihood of contact: VERY HIGH.

Matt Kenseth vs. Jeff Gordon. The two wrecked late at Las Vegas when Gordon's car slid up the track and into Kenseth's 17 car. These two have a history at Bristol (and even at Chicagoland). This makes me reluctant to recommend Gordon this week. Likelihood of contact: HIGH.

Ryan Newman vs. Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya rubbed up against Newman at Atlanta, costing Newman at least a lead-lap finish. Likelihood of contact: MEDIUM.

Jimmie Johnson vs. Sam Hornish. Contact from Hornish ruined Johnson's day at Daytona, where JJ finished 27th. Likelihood of contact: MEDIUM.

Brian Vickers vs. Casey Mears. Mears washed up into Vickers at Las Vegas, forcing Vickers to spin. Likelihood of contact: MEDIUM LOW.

Patrick Carpentier vs. Ryan Newman. Newman pinched Carpentier into the fence at Las Vegas, causing a spin that ended Carpentier's day. Carpentier probably won't go after Newman knowing his goal is just to keep building his lagging owner point total. Likelihood of contact: LOW.

SportingNews.com

In The Loop' At Bristol Motor Speedway
Courtesy NASCAR Media

Competition Up In New Car; Handicapping Bristol

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The first four races of 2008 were a big test for the “new car” that will be used in all 36 races (22 tracks) this NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

The car never raced any of this season’s host tracks – Daytona, California, Las Vegas and Atlanta – in its rollout season of 2007. The numbers show a boost in competition in the first four races this year as compared to last season. Take a look:

First Four Races – 2007 vs. 2008
Green Flag
Year Lead Changes Passes for the Lead
2007 100 126
2008 120 148

There were 20 more lead changes at this point this season at the start/finish line than last year. In terms of Green Flag Passes for the Lead (a Loop Data statistic that tallies the amount of passes for the lead that occur around the entire track), there were 22 more this season than at this point in 2007.

This Sunday, the new car will race at Bristol Motor Speedway for a third time – and figure the competition to be stout once again. Last August, there was a huge jump in passing in the second race on the newly-repaved track – 2,147 in August compared to 991 in March.

As far as who will take the checkered on Sunday, figure on a driver with Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup experience – the last 16 Bristol winners have made at least one Chase.

But then again, it doesn’t have to be a proven winner. Both Kurt Busch (March 2002) and Elliott Sadler (March 2001) earned their first career wins at tricky Bristol. (But it can’t be both. No driver without a win has made a Chase. Clint Bowyer crossed his name of that list with his September win at New Hampshire.)

If the trend of Chasers winning at Bristol continues this weekend, there’s a good chance it’ll be from one of the names below:

• Matt Kenseth ranks first in Bristol Average Running Position with 6.8 and owns a track best in Driver Rating at Bristol (since 2005):

Average Running Position
1. Matt Kenseth 6.8
2. Jeff Gordon 8.599
3. Greg Biffle 11.2

Track Bests in Driver Rating
1. Matt Kenseth 8/05 149.8
2. Kasey Kahne 8/07 141.1
3. Carl Edwards 8/07 134.2

• Jeff Gordon has three consecutive races with a Driver Rating of 103.0 or greater and ranks first in Bristol Speed in Traffic (speed when within one car length of another car) at 113.861 mph.

Last Three Driver Ratings
2/24/2008 Auto Club 126.7
3/02/2008 Las Vegas 103.0
3/09/2008 Atlanta 108.0

Speed in Traffic
1. Jeff Gordon 113.861 mph
2. Greg Biffle 113.856 mph
3. Kevin Harvick 113.812 mph

• Kyle Busch has four consecutive races with a Driver Rating of 113.2 or greater and ranks third in Bristol Green Flag Pass Differential with 73 (196-123).

Last Four Driver Ratings
2/17/2008 Daytona 133.1
2/24/2008 Auto Club 113.5
3/02/2008 Las Vegas 113.2
3/09/2008 Atlanta 143.9

Green Flag Pass Differential
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 111
2. Kevin Harvick 97
3. Kyle Busch 73

Food City 500 HOT! Sheet

The change of scenery seems to have done wonders for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The series most popular driver changed teams, changed numbers, changed sponsors, and changed results. After winning both the Budweiser (ironic?) Shootout and the first Duel race, he has gone on to lead at least 12 laps in 3 of the first 4 races of the season. At Vegas, he was right behind the winner and at Atlanta he was right behind the runner-up at the finish line. He has always been good at Bristol so Junior nation should be ready for a good weekend.

A nice surprise occupant in the top 10 in the standings this week is Brian Vickers. He is having a much better start to this season than last when he didn’t even make five races until the middle of May. This weekend he goes for his fifth already in 2008. He hasn’t had very good qualifying runs, starting on average in 35th. But the #83 team has found a way to finish on average in 14th. They even led a lap last week in Atlanta. Keep him in mind for a decent sleeper pick.

It’s kind of weird to say that a former series champion would be a sleeper, but that’s the case for Bobby Labonte. As you can see on our chart below, he has had a fine start to 2008 as well. He has been on the lead lap for all but one lap in the four races so far. That has resulted in an average finish of about 16th. He even led his first lap of the season when he started 5th and finished 12th at Atlanta. Keep him in mind when setting your lineups.

At the other end of the spectrum this week are guys like Dave Blaney who can’t seem to find the right setups. The driver of the #22 car has yet to finish on the lead lap in any of the races. His best result came at Las Vegas when he started and finished in the 26th position. At Bristol he has only 4 top 20s in 14 events with his best showing being 14th a couple of years ago. Until he gets up to speed with some of the other Toyotas, we’d stay away from him.

Not too far away from him on this week’s sheet is Jamie McMurray. He is also way down in the 30s in the standings thanks to some awful results. In the first two events, he did manage to finish on the lead lap but only in 26th and 22nd. An early incident at Vegas forced him to run one lap down in 25th. Trouble then followed him to Atlanta as he was eight laps down in 40th. He’s a driver that may be worth a look at some point this season, but not for now.

profantasysports.com

Food City 500 Odds and Predictions
by Christopher G. Shepard

Sprint Cup points leader Kyle Busch will try to duplicate Toyota's historic win last weekend as NASCAR heads to Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee for the Food City 500 on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. EST.

Boasting 533, 15-second laps and 30-degree high-banked turns it seems like fans, media and drivers love racing the short-track at Bristol Motor Speedway. If last fall's race is any indication (only three lead changes the entire race) don't expect the wild wrecks you have come to expect in the past as BMS resurfaced the track last summer, which means you'll see a whole lot more action and true sided-by-side racing on the half-mile oval.

Who will win the Food City 500?

Kyle Busch is in the record books again as he brought Toyota their first NASCAR victory last week at Atlanta. Busch's name was also written in the record books last year as he took the checkered flag in an exciting green-white-checkered finish against Jeff Burton in the first ever Car of Tomorrow race. Busch's win was also Hendrick Motorsports' 600th win. After the race he was memorable in his comments when he was quoted as saying he still hates the "new car."

Food City 500 defending champion Busch is driving the "new car" better than anyone else, save for Carl Edwards who might have won his third race in a row had his transmission not blown as he led the Kobalt Tools 500. Certainly Busch, currently the Sprint Cup points-leader, is one of the drivers to beat right now, However, I am looking at another Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota driver this weekend, Busch's team-mate, the out-spoken Tony Stewart, to pick up where he left off last year.

Last year's Food City 500 featured 90 laps run under 15 caution flags. Stewart started the race from fourth position and led during a caution with 211 laps to go in the race when his car suffered a fuel pressure malfunction that ended his hopes for a victory and he finished the race in 35th place. This year it seems like Stewart is getting all of his media attention criticizing Goodyear and other drivers rather than for winning Sprint Cup races. While he has wins in the Nationwide series this year so far a Sprint Cup victory lap has eluded Stewart, currently No. 8 in the Cup standings. On Sunday I see Stewart making news with his driving rather than his mouth.

Pick! No. 20, Tony Stewart (10/1)

Food City 500 Solid Gold Picks

Sportsbook.com has listed many matchups on the Food City 500 but here are a few matchups I really like to cash on Sunday. My lone matchup cashed as we went 1-0 as Kyle Busch not only beat out Jeff Gordon but he won the race as a $1.25 dog to the No. 24 car driver. Over the wall I am 4-5 with my NASCAR match-ups to the tune of -3.05 units.

Long Odds Value Pick

Last week's long odds pick, Juan Pablo Montoya, finished the Kobalt Tools 500 in 16th place. This week at Bristol we are going to look at Rousch Fenway Racing and the driver of the No. 26 Ford, Jamie McMurray. Granted, McMurray has struggled this season but in the past at Bristol he has done his best racing. His best result in Tennessee was when he finished third in 2003. Last spring McMurray finished ninth on the short-track in the Car of Tomorrow's debut race. In that race McMurray posted his fourth top 10 finish in 10 starts at BMS. Perhaps another RFR driver will grab the checkered flag on Sunday.

Pick! No. 26, Jamie McMurray (50/1)

Square Tire Pick

Kurt Busch (-1.30)/Kevin Harvick(even)

This match-up has square tire all over it - and it wasn't even hung by Goodyear! Busch, currently 10th place in the Sprint Cup standings has been installed as the favorite over Harvick who is 3rd in the standings. Harvick has been quietly having a very good year as he has been one of the most consistent drivers for Richard Childress Racing. He's on a 48-race streak without a DNF and raced in 87 points races without a wreck; and he does well at Bristol. His 10.5 average finishes at Bristol is better than Busch's at 14.5 and Harvick's average short-track finish is 13.8 to Busch's 17.7. Moreover, Harvick won both Cup races at Bristol in 2005. To me this is another matchup where the oddsmakers are trying to trap you using a marquee name.

Pick! No. 29, Kevin Harvick (even)

docsports.com

Driver Handicaps: Bristol
Racingone.com

This weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for Sunday's Food City 500. To help you make your fantasy racing picks, RacingOne brings you our weekly detailed look at some of the field for the 500-lap event.

Who's HOT at Bristol
# Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch lead all drivers with five wins each.
# Greg Biffle has the best average finish among all drivers at 10.3.
# Dale Earnhardt Jr. has one win and six top 10s in the last seven races.
# Defending race winner Kyle Busch has a 4.0 average finish in his last three starts.

Keep an Eye on at Bristol
# Matt Kenseth led a combined 532 laps en route to wins in the 2005 and 2006 August races.
# Tony Stewart led 257 laps in this event last year up until a fuel pump cable broke.
# Jeff Burton has a 7.7 average finish in his last three starts at Bristol.
# Kevin Harvick has one win and nine top 10s at Bristol.
# Ryan Newman has finished in the top 10 in three of his last four Bristol starts.

Bristol Rookie Report
Regan Smith is the only rookie candidate that has NASCAR experience at Bristol Motor Speedway. His only start in the Sprint Cup Series came last year when he finished 25th in the No. 01 Chevrolet. Smith also has starts in the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series at BMS. Rookie Standings

Qualifying Tidbits
Since 2002, only six drivers have combined to win the pole at Bristol Motor Speedway. Jeff Gordon leads with five poles in that span. Ryan Newman, the current qualifying record holder, won the pole for the spring event in 2003 and 2004. Elliott Sadler and Matt Kenseth won the poles in 2005. The Dodges of Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne have taken the top spot in the last two races in August. Kenseth is the last driver to win a race from the pole. In the spring of 2006 rain washed out qualifying at Bristol for the first time, giving Tony Stewart the pole. 21 of the 94 events at Bristol have been won from the pole. Past Pole Winners | Starting Positions of Past Winners

RacingOne Staff Picks

Jeff Wackerlin: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Pete Pistone: Kevin Harvick
Rachael West: Matt Kenseth
Kym Opalenik: Kurt Busch

Top 20 Driver Notes - Ordered by Current Standings

1. Kyle Busch: Busch has picked up the pace in his last four starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing eighth, first and ninth, respectively. Busch led 29 laps en route to his win last spring to help lower his overall finishing average at Bristol to 13.5. This weekend Busch will be shooting for consecutive wins after giving Toyota their first Cup victory last weekend at Atlanta.

2. Greg Biffle: Greg Biffle has posted three top fives and six top 10s in 10 starts at Bristol Motor Speedway. Last year he finished fifth and 10th, respectively. Biffle has a 10.3 average finish and has the third best driver rating of 102.7 at BMS. This weekend Biffle will return in the same car (chassis No. RK-508) that finished second at Dover last fall.

3. Kevin Harvick: After finishing second on two previous occasions, Harvick finally reached victory lane at Bristol Motor Speedway in the 2005 spring event. Last year in this event, Harvick started 40th and finished fourth to mark his ninth top 10 in 14 Bristol starts. On Sunday, Harvick will pilot the same chassis (No. 235) that finished fourth at Las Vegas.

4. Ryan Newman: Newman currently holds the qualifying record at Bristol Motor Speedway with a fast lap of 128.709 mph. To go along with two BMS poles, Newman collected three-straight top 10s from August 2003 - 2004. He scored his best finish of second in the 2004 August event. After a DNF in the 2005 August race, Newman bounced back with finishes of ninth and eighth, respectively, in 2006. Last year in this event, Newman recorded his second DNF after a crash took him out of contention. He finished seventh last August in his 12th start at BMS.

5. Jeff Burton: In 28 starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Burton has captured seven top five and 11 top-10 finishes and had led a total of 318 laps. In his seven Bristol races with Richard Childress Racing, Burton has posted an average finish of 14.1. His best finish with the team is a pair of second-place finishes with the most recent coming last March. In the 2006 August event, Burton led a career-high 263 laps at Bristol from the second starting position. This weekend Burton will drive a new chassis (No. 204) in the Food City 500.

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr: In the 2004 August race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Earnhardt Jr. led 295 of 500 laps en route to his only Cup victory at the track. That weekend he also became the first driver to sweep the Busch and Cup events at the .533-mile speedway. Since 2002, Junior has scored nine top 10s and has finished 16th or better and has led 743 laps. This weekend Junior will be driving the same car (chassis No. 88-421) that Casey Mears raced at Phoenix and Richmond last year.

7. Kasey Kahne: Kahne is coming off his first top five (second) at Bristol Motor Speedway after leading 305 laps last August. It was his second top 10 in eight starts. His finishing average of 20.2 is hampered by two DNFs of 40th and 42nd.

8. Tony Stewart: In 18 Bristol starts, Stewart has one victory and five top-five finishes. Since his win in this event in 2001, Stewart has scored three top-10 finishes, including a fourth-place run last summer. He appeared to be on his way to another victory in this event last year when he dominated the first half of the race leading 257 laps up until a fuel pump cable broke. In the end Stewart finished 35th for his worst finish at the track since 2000. This weekend debut chassis No. 192 in the Food City 500. This car has only seen action in the test at Atlanta Motor Speedway last October.

9. Brian Vickers: In seven career starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Vickers has an average finishing position of 24.6. Last year, Vickers scored a 15th-place finish in his first track start with Team Red Bull.

10. Kurt Busch: In only 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup career starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Busch has captured five victories. Despite all his seeming success at the .533-mile track, he had a horrible COT debut there last spring. After qualifying 42nd, Busch finished 29th. This finish came on the heels of a 37th-place finish from the pole position in the 2006 summer race. Busch did rebound to finish sixth last August. For Busch, it seems to be either feast or famine at the short track. He's captured the five wins and an additional four top 10s, but he's also finished 25th or worse in his five other starts.

11. Martin Truex Jr: Martin Truex Jr. hasn't had the best success in the Sprint Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway. In four starts, he's suffered one DNF and failed to break into the top 10. He lowered his overall finishing average to 26.0 with an 11th-place finish last August.

12. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth has been solid at Bristol Motor Speedway in four of his last five starts posting two wins and an average finish of 11.0. his overall finishing average, of 12.5, in 16 starts took a hit last summer when he recorded his third DNF with a 39th-place finish. In 2005, he won his first Bristol race from the pole after dominating the race, leading 415 of the 500 laps. Kenseth's second win in 2006 marked his ninth top 10 at the track. This weekend he will be back in the same car (chassis No. RK-375) that finished 35th after leading 192 at Dover last September.

13. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson has posted an average finish of 22.6 in his last five starts at Bristol Motor Speedway. His best finish in that span was a 10th in the 2006 night race. The finish also marked his sixth top 10 in 12 starts. Prior to his only DNF at BMS in the 2005 August race, Johnson led at least one lap in three races for a combined total of 29 laps. This weekend Johnson will race the same chassis (No. 433) that finished 22nd last August at Bristol.

14. Bobby Labonte: Labonte's most successful finish at Bristol Motor Speedway was third in March of 2003. In this event in 2005, he finished fifth in his first track start with Petty Enterprises. In total, Labonte has posted three top fives and 10 top 10s at the .533-mile track.

15. Jeff Gordon: Gordon has five career victories, including four-straight spring wins from 1995 - 1998, and a stellar starting average of 5.5 in 30 starts at Bristol Motor Speedway. He has started outside the top-eight only six times and his five poles at Bristol have come in the last 12 races. Gordon has led the most laps in an event seven times and has led an overall total of 2,437 laps at BMS. Last year in this event, Gordon started from the pole and led six laps en route to a third-place finish in the inaugural race for the Car of Tomorrow. He finished 19th in the second race in 2007.

16. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer is coming off an eighth and third-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. Those finishes helped lower his finishing average to 19.5 in four starts. This weekend he will be back in the same car (chassis No. 192) that competed in the two races at Bristol in 2007.

17. Carl Edwards: Edwards is coming off his first NASCAR Sprint Cup series victory at Bristol Motor Speedway after leading 182 laps from the sixth starting position. The victory came in a span of four consecutive finishes of 12th or better. Edwards got off to a rough start in his first three starts at BMS, posting an average finish of 27.7. However, he did have a Truck Series win at BMS in 2004, after he came from the back of the field to survive a green-white-checkered. This weekend he will be racing a brand new chassis (No. RK-575) in the Food City 500.

18. Mark Martin: Martin will sit out his first race of the season this weekend. Aric Almirola will step in for Martin in the No. 8 Chevrolet.

19. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin is making his fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup start at Bristol this weekend. Last year in this event, Hamlin led 177 laps before he lost the lead on a late race restart due to a fuel pick-up problem. All he could do was coast to the finish line and settle for a 14th-place finish. Hamlin's finishing average fell to 19.2 after he finished 43rd due to engine problems. This weekend Hamlin will be piloting the same chassis (chassis No. 154) that raced in six events in 2007, including both at Bristol, and finished in the top 10 four times.

20. Elliott Sadler: Sadler captured his first Sprint Cup Series win at Bristol Motor Speedway in March 2001 after starting from the 38th position, the furthest back of any driver at the half-mile track. In this event in 2005, Sadler captured his first pole at Bristol with a lap of 127.733 mph. He went on to finish second in that event for his fourth top 10, and second consecutive top five. Sadler has competed in three races with his current team, Gillett-Evernham Motorsports, and has posted an average finish of 31.7. This weekend he will pilot the same car (chassis No. 213), which was part of the No. 10 team last year for the spring Phoenix, Martinsville and both road course races at Infineon and Watkins Glen.

Fantasy Picks N Pans: Food City 500

After four weeks of high speed racing, beating and banging will be the name of the game this week as the Sprint Cup series heads to Bristol for the Food City 500. At a track where people are often taken out through no fault of their own, this is definitely a wild card weekend for fantasy owners. But just like at any track, there are drivers who are among the favorites and ones that are among the forgetable. So which drivers will help your fantasy team survive at week at the fastest half mile in racing? Read on to see what the Frontstretch experts have to say in this week’s edition of Picks ‘n’ Pans.

Cami’s Race Rewind:

Last year’s Food City 500 marked the beginning of a new era in NASCAR history with the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow. Coming into the weekend, drivers, teams and fans alike didn’t know what to expect with the new car; but 15 cautions later and a race down to the wire it seemed like any other Bristol race. Kyle Busch etched his name in the record books by claiming the first CoT victory by outrunning Jeff Burton in a green-white-checkered finish. Their duel was similar to the show they put on in the Las Vegas Nationwide race just weeks prior when Busch didn’t force the issue in trying to pass Burton for the win. After Kasey Kahne spun to bring out the final caution of the day, Busch led the field to the three lap shootout with teammate Jeff Gordon between he and Burton. Burton quickly dispensed of Gordon and set his sights on Busch, but was unable to make a clean pass in time. What turned out to be a good day for Hendrick Motorsports, could have been a better day for Joe Gibbs Racing had it not been for a pair of fuel pickup problems. Tony Stewart led a race high 257 laps and Denny Hamlin led 177 laps before finishing 35th and 14th respectively. Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle rounded out the Top 5.

Mike’s Keys to the Race:

Bristol is a great unknown when it comes to fantasy racing. Turning laps in 15 seconds on the highest banking in the sport means that it is incredibly easy for a driver to get caught up in someone else’s accident through no fault of their own. When choosing your line up, consider what teams ran well in 2007—the first year with the new car configuration—and those drivers who consistently run well at the coliseum known as Bristol. Hendrick, Childress, Roush and DEI all ran well during the first race last year, while GEM, Gibbs and Penske joined Roush near the front during the second race. What does that tell us? Anyone can have a strong race at Bristol at any time. Historically, the best drivers at Bristol have been Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch. That covers four of the five manufacturers and five different organizations. Expect at least four of those six drivers to be in the Top 10 by the end of the day.

Mike’s Picks:

Crank ‘em up:

Kevin Harvick is very strong when it comes to racing at Bristol. He has an average finish of 10.5 in 14 races at the mile and a half bullring in the Cup series. He’s also won four times there in the Nationwide series. Add to that, the fact that he finished fourth in this race last year and is the highest ranking Chevrolet in the points at this time, and you can expect Harvick to have another strong showing this weekend.

Kyle Busch is the defending winner of this race. He is also is the current point leader, which means he’s got a pretty good handle on the current car configuration. Busch has an average finish of 13.5 at Bristol in the Cup series, and that includes his first two races where he finished 28th and 33rd. His last four finishes are eighth, second, first and ninth respectively. While Busch’s brother Kurt is usually viewed as the current king of Bristol, Kyle has a far better average finish in the last four races with each of them having one win. Look for Busch, Kyle that is, to continue his strong start to the season this weekend.

Will Kevin be “Happy Harvick” after his trip to Bristol this weekend? Mike Neff thinks so.

Sit ‘em down:

Jamie McMurray appears to be back to his old form this year in the Cup series. His best finish in the first four races of the season is 22nd and his average finish is 28.25. That poor start is compounded when you take into account that McMurray isn’t totally fond of Bristol. While his average finish is 17.8, that includes his first four races where his worst finish was 11th and he had three top eight finishes. Since then, he’s competed in six races with five finishes of 25th or worse. On top of the statistics, McMurray just seems to be cursed when it comes to racing luck since he’s climbed into the No. 26. Don’t expect anything special from MAC again this weekend.

Martin Truex, Jr. is truly hit or miss when it comes to Bristol and his misses have all come in the Spring race. Truex has run four races at Bristol and his two Spring finishes have been 38th and 37th. Truex is certainly running well this year sitting 11th in points, but the team does not seem to have a handle on what it takes to run well in the heat of the day at Bristol. Its best to leave Truex on the bench this weekend and wait until the series comes back in the Fall before you think about running him at Bristol.

Roll the Dice:

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is seldom given the credit he should for being an outstanding short track racer. While he is known as the best restrictor plate racer in the series, he’s also very accomplished at getting around the shortest tracks on the circuit. Earnhardt is fourth among active drivers in average finish at Bristol with an 11.7 average. He’s won at the track and his last three finishes, including both races last year with the current car configuration, were seventh place or better. Outside of his first three finishes at the track, which were 21st or worse, he has not finished lower than 16th and nine of those 13 races have been Top 10 finishes. Expect Junior to continue his strong early season run and have a very good chance of garnering his first win for Hendrick Motorsports.

Cami’s Picks:

Crank ‘em up:

After a roller coaster start to the season, Jeff Gordon needs to get in a rhythm and build some momentum. Following his fifth place finish last weekend at Atlanta, Bristol is just the place where he can finally score two strong finishes in a row this season. In the two Bristol events last year, Gordon finished third in the Spring and ninth in the Fall which adds to his already impressive record at Bristol that includes five career wins and poles.

Carl Edwards hasn’t had trouble putting in back to back good finishes this season. In fact, his 42nd place finish after mechanical problems last week at Atlanta is his only poor finish of the year and he was up front when things went south at Atlanta. Bristol wasn’t a track that treated Edwards well early in his career, but in the last two years his stats have improved, cumulating with a win in the Fall event last year.

Sit ‘em down:

Hendrick Motorsports hasn’t been the powerhouse team we are accustomed to seeing so far this year and Casey Mears’ performance is no exception. In the first four races of the year, his best finish was a 13th place run at Vegas. That isn’t bad, but when it’s coupled with finishes of 35th and 42nd, you can see where he is struggling. This weekend at Bristol isn’t a place where he should be expected to snap out of it either. In ten career starts, he has just one Top 10 finish and a meager average finish of 27th. Not exactly the type of performance that inspires confidence to put him on your team.

Following a sixth place finish at Daytona, things looked up for Elliott Sadler; but the good feelings have been short lived. Coming off a finish of dead last at Atlanta last week, Sadler looks ahead to this weekend and a track that has given him the highest highs and the lowest lows. He scored a win there in 2001 and has a handful of Top 10 finishes; but that does little to mask the poor finishes he’s endured too. In fact, his three most recent finishes haven’t found him inside the Top 25. 2008 might not be turning into the disaster that 2007 was quite yet, but why take the risk?

Roll the Dice:

Last year Greg Biffle came into Bristol looking for his Top 10 finish of the season. This year, Biffle enters this Sunday’s race second in the point standings with three Top 10 finishes on the stat line. Look for that trend to continue this weekend at Bristol where Biffle has an average finish of 10.3. He hasn’t found his way to victory lane there yet, but that could very well change this weekend as Biffle hopes to continue his strong start to the season.

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