Rain cancels Cup qualifying at Bristol
Fri 14th, March 2008
Bristol, TN (Sports Network) - Showers arrived at about 1:30 p.m., and never left, forcing the cancellation of Sprint Cup qualifying at the famed Bristol Motor Speedway. By rule, the Sprint Cup starting grid for Sunday's Food City 500 will be set by 2007 owner points. Beginning next week any rain out will use 2008 owner points.
Hendrick Motorsport No.48 Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson will start on the pole with teammate Jeff Gordon on the outside of the first row.
Clint Bowyer and Matt Kenseth will start in row two.
Other drivers of note and their starting positions: Casey Mears (5th), Tony Stewart (6th), Jeff Burton (8th), Carl Edwards (9th), Kevin Harvick (10th), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (15th) and points leader Kyle Busch (22nd).
After four races on high-speed tracks, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to its roots at the historic Bristol Motor Speedway short track. It is likely to be another knock-down-drag-out fight with bent sheetmetal galore and frustrated and angry drivers.
Right now, the hottest driver in NASCAR is Busch. In his first year with Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota, Busch is putting on quite a display.
The No.18 JGR Toyota leads the Sprint Cup Series by 73 points. At Daytona he and teammate Stewart were the dominant cars on the track leading 102 of 200 laps. Busch led 86 of those and after the final pit stop was ninth on the restart. He charged through the field and was fourth with eight laps to go. Busch was second with three laps to go, but when Stewart dropped to the bottom of the track to team with the No.18, it opened a lane for Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch to charge around the outside for the win.
Kyle Busch was also a dominant force in Las Vegas, winning the pole and leading 56 laps before finishing 11th. Add in the fact that he is third in the Nationwide Series and leads the Craftsman Truck Series and you have a driver that is currently the best on the track.
We will see if the domination continues on a short track this week.
The weather forecast doesn't look good for Saturday's Nationwide Series race, but Sunday's weather looks good to go for the Sprint Cup Series. The green flag is scheduled to drop at 2 p.m. (et) on Sunday.
Tire talk dominates Bristol
March 14, 2008
BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) -It took just one quick practice session for Tony Stewart to assess the tires Goodyear brought to Bristol Motor Speedway.
``I thought it was good,'' Stewart said after Friday's rain-shortened practice.
It was the first positive remark Stewart has had about tires since his blistering rant against Goodyear following Sunday's race in Atlanta. The two-time series champion hasn't softened his stance, continuing to rail against the tire choice every day since his second-place finish.
But he's happy with the tire compound at Bristol, where he had no issues navigating the 0.533-mile bullring.
``Anytime that you can take your car and go from the top to the bottom of the track and back, you obviously have the grip you need to go where you want to go,'' he said. ``Having that flexibility is what we're all looking for.''
That Stewart had something kind to say about the company he assailed surprised Goodyear officials, who would have liked to have heard it directly from the driver.
``It would have been nice if he could have come over here and told us that,'' said Greg Stucker, director of race tire sales.
Tensions were still high Friday between Stewart and Goodyear, and company officials have yet to speak to the driver directly about his concerns. Stewart - like many drivers in Sunday's race - was unhappy that the hard compound Goodyear selected for Atlanta lacked the grip needed to race around the abrasive surface.
But that shouldn't be an issue at Bristol, where the concrete surface is more forgiving and the speeds are much slower than most of the tracks NASCAR races on. And with 30-degree banking, the lateral loads that Goodyear has apparently struggled with this season are not as severe.
Stucker is hopeful a successful race Sunday can give Goodyear a respite from the scrutiny it has been under all week.
``We like it when nobody talks about tires at all,'' he said. ``Typically, if tires aren't an issue, nobody mentions it. And when somebody does have an issue and brings it up, it becomes a big story.''
And it still was a story in Bristol, where even though drivers are comfortable with the current tire, they still want Goodyear to take a hard look at the problems that plagued Atlanta.
``It wasn't Goodyear's finest outing. There's no question,'' Jeff Burton said.
But drivers stopped short of calling for competition for Goodyear, which as the exclusive tire provider in NASCAR, can't be challenged by another company during the life of its contract that runs through 2012.
NASCAR is adamantly against more than one tire company participating in the sport because of the safety concerns that can arise if one manufacturer takes shortcuts in an effort to produce a faster tire that teams will select. NASCAR has not had a ``tire war'' since 1994, when Hoosier challenged Goodyear for one season.
``I have lived through the tire war ... we saw more failures because the manufacturers were forced to put more emphasis on making the cars drive a certain way,'' Burton said. ``I drove on Hoosiers. By no means is it my opinion that we would make Goodyear step up and do a better job if we had two manufacturers here.
``I'm in complete opposition of that.''
The Atlanta debacle wasn't the only issue Goodyear is facing. The manufacturer is still searching for a suitable tire to bring to Darlington, where speeds in a two-day test earlier this week inched toward 200 mph.
As with Atlanta, when Goodyear elected for durability over grip, the tires will again have to be hard enough to withstand the loads. To make sure the company gets it right, they will again bring Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet), Greg Biffle (Ford) and Ryan Newman (Dodge) back to the track to test different models.
``It's extremely fast - too fast for that size of a race track,'' Biffle said. ``It's just astronomically fast. You just won't be able to race at that speed and, on top of that, the tire wouldn't survive that kind of loading.
``Goodyear is going back to the drawing board.''
That's how NASCAR wants the tire company to react, and prefers Goodyear errs on the side of safety.
``The direction is to not have a safety issue with the tires,'' said Robin Pemberton, director of competition for NASCAR. ``That's the number one deal. Bar none.''
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: Junior Rising
by: Brian Gabrielle
Last Week: We didn't post a head-to-head play in Atlanta, so we were relying entirely on our straight-up selections to give us a fourth straight winning week to begin the year. And bingo, Kyle Busch came through with a victory at +925. For the week, we managed a profit of 1.21 units on 0.5 units wagered, a return of 242%. For the season, that's four-for-four in winning weeks, and we stand at a profit of 3.58 units on 5 units wagered, a return of 71.6%. (Note that if you'd eschewed the relatively conservative betting pattern we outline below, and simply bet one unit per wager we recommend, last week you'd have profited 7.25 units on 3 units wagered, a return of 233.3%; for the season, that would put you at a profit of 17.96 units on 15 units wagered, a return of 119.7%. But there's clearly a bit more risk associated with that strategy.)
Take Dale Earnhardt Jr. (+900), 1/6th unit. This week's race is at the short track in Bristol, where qualifying was rained out Friday, so drivers will begin in the order of last year's final standings. Little-E is usually a driver to watch at this historic venue, and I don't think Sunday will be any exception. He won here in the Fall of '04, and it's been 12 Bristol races since he finished outside the top 11 in Thunder Valley. Junior was also fifth and seventh here in the Car of Tomorrow last season. Given how well Earnhardt Jr. has run so far in '08, and given what I still think could be some residual advantages for Hendrick Motorsports in the CoT, I'm going with Little-E to take his first race in '08.
Take Carl Edwards (+550), 1/6th unit. And if it's not Junior, it might well be Mr. Edwards. Barring a blown transmission late in last week's Atlanta race, Edwards would be riding a three-race win streak heading into a track whose most recent event he won, last August. In fact, Edwards had the best finishing average in CoT races at high-banked tracks in '07 (that includes Bristol, Dover and Darlington), and that was before Roush did all of the off-season R&D which apparently has them sitting in the catbird's seat here in '08. It's hard not to see why the No. 99 is the favorite Sunday.
Take Kyle Busch (+700), 1/6th unit. And for the third straight week, I'm taking the Shrub. Kyle did me proud winning his first career Atlanta race last week, and to be honest, this track is more his style. He won the first-ever CoT event exactly one year ago (in a Hendrick car), and hasn't failed to get inside the top 10 here in four straight races. If he holds his temper in check, look for the No. 18 to be close at the end.
spreadexperts.com
Food City 500 PostQ
A lot of the focus this week has been on Kevin Harvick – and rightfully so. Harvick bounces to the top of the PostQ forecast due the combination of the rainout of qualifying, solid practice times, and a great Driver Rating rank. He has run much better in this race than the night event later in the season finishing 2nd and 4th the last two events. He does have a solid record at Bristol averaging a 10th place finish in 14 career starts with a win and eight top 10s. Harvick is ready to get back to victory lane and has a good chance to do so in the Food City 500.
It has been a great start to the season for Dale Earnhardt Jr. In four starts with his new Hendrick Motorsports #88 Chevrolet team Junior has posted three top 10s. The lone poor finish at California was due to a wreck he was involved while having a good car. He ahs been a contender each week this season and Junior is one of the best short track drivers in the series. He is a must have this week for fantasy players and should not disappoint with yet another solid run.
Kasey Kahne finally had a bad day lat weekend at Atlanta when he ended the day in 28th place. It was the first time this season he had failed to finish in the top 10. You can bet he will turn that around this weekend at Bristol where he has looked solid in the practice sessions. There will be some concern as Kahne will start the race in the middle of the pack as qualifying was rained out. He should, however, be able to quickly race his way to the front if his practice times have anything to say about it as he ranked second on the Speed chart. The #9Budweiser Dodge has looked much better in ’08 than all of last season – jump on the bandwagon.
This will be Dale Jarrett’s final race of the season with the exception of the All-Star race. There will be plenty of fanfare off the track but on the track it is unlikely Jarrett will impress. He has four finishes of 20th place or worse in the last five races at Bristol and has not looked that good this season recording a top finish of 16th place in the season opening Daytona 500. Jarrett sits just 32nd in the point standings and could be in danger of dropping out of the top 35 when he turns the car over to David Reutimann. Don’t expect much out of the #44 UPS Toyota in Jarrett’s final run.
Many fantasy players have been getting plenty of productivity out of Brian Vickers this season. Vickers has just one finish outside the top 12 this season and is currently 9th in the point standings. He could take a bit of a hit this weekend though as he will have to start from the rear of the field due to the lineup being set on last season’s point standings. That means he will be a half of a lap down when the green flag drops and that is a big difference maker on the .5-mile track of Bristol. He will likely go down a lap very quickly as he has not looked that good in the practice sessions sitting 33rd on the Speed chart. Vickers has been valuable this season but is likely to struggle this weekend. It would be a smart move to look in a different direction for this race.
profantasysports.com
Sunday Raceday
Racing fans can park themselves on the couch and stay there all day Sunday, as the new Formula 1 season gets started in Australia and NASCAR heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500.
Kyle Busch heads into Bristol coming off a win at last week’s Kobalt Tools 400, and he’s definitely a favorite to win again this weekend. Busch’s victory last week bumped him up to the top of the points standings, giving him a 73-point edge on second-place Greg Biffle. Busch has been one of the more consistent drivers so far this season and he also happens to be the defending champ of the Food City 500.
Kyle Busch isn’t the only Busch for bettors to keep an eye on this week, as Kyle’s brother Kurt Busch has totally owned this race in the past. Kurt Busch won this race every year from 2002 to 2004 and claimed the checkered flag again in 2006. Kurt Busch also won the Sharpie 500 in 2003, giving him five career victories at Bristol. The only other driver that will be racing at Bristol this weekend with five wins on the track will be Jeff Gordon. Gordon also dominated this race in the 90’s when he won four years in a row from '95 to '98. Gordon’s fifth win at Bristol came in the Sharpie 500 in 2002.
Before NASCAR busts out in Bristol, Formula 1 gets the day started with the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne’s Albert Park. The new F1 season sees a few changes around the circuit, including Fernando Alonso returning to Renault after a tumultuous season with McLaren, while Sebastien Bourdais makes his F1 debut with Scuderia Toro Rosso after winning four consecutive Champ Car titles from 2004-2007.
If last year’s extremely close points finish means anything, the drivers to watch this year will be Alonso along with defending champ Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton. Raikkonen eclipsed both Alonso and Hamilton by only one point to win last year’s championship after taking the final race of the season in Brazil. Raikkonen also took the first race last season in Australia and after turning in the fastest lap in practice earlier in the week, he’ll be the favorite at Albert Park on Sunday.
Alonso may be the wild card for bettors in Sunday’s race. Alonso won in Australia back in 2006 and after returning to Renault - the team with which he won two world championships - he should be out to prove he’s once again the driver to beat on the F1 circuit.
Trading Paint: Food City 500 picks
Welcome to Trading Paint, a weekly entry where a statewide panel of four auto racing "experts" will make picks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup races. This week: Sunday's Food City 500 in Bristol, Tenn.
The rules are simple:
1. A panelist can't pick the same driver in back-to-back weeks.
2. Standings will be calculated each week based on the actual points earned by the drivers each panelist picks to win.
After four weeks, the standings are as follows, with their pick of last week's winner in parentheses:
1. Steve Kaminski (Jeff Gordon) -- 628
2. Mike Pryson (Jeff Gordon) -- 554
3. Jeff Bleiler (Jimmie Johnson) -- 521
4. Antoine Pitts (Kasey Kahne) -- 515
AP PhotoKevin Harvick has had some past success at Bristol.
Jeff Bleiler -- Jackson Citizen Patriot
An ugly week for me at Las Vegas turned worse at Atlanta. You know you're not doing well when your guy's name doesn't make ESPN's top 12 scroll bar on the bottom of the screen after the race. At this rate, I'll be mathematically out of this "Chase" by Mother's Day. Time to turn it around at Bristol, where anything goes.
• Winner -- Kevin Harvick. He's won there before and has seven top-five finishes in 14 starts at Bristol. Considering how quickly fortunes can turn at that little oval, I'm impressed.
• Sleeper -- Jeff Burton. He was oh-so-close to getting his first Bristol win after losing to Kyle Busch by .064 seconds. And, if you haven't noticed -- I didn't -- he's having a decent year so far.
• No chance -- Kurt Busch. The guy's won five times at Bristol? Five times? No way that place is generous enough to give him six.
Steve Kaminski -- The Grand Rapids Press
These guys need help. "NASCAR For Dummies" obviously isn't enough. May I suggest psychicfriendsnetwork.net?
• Winner -- Kurt Busch. The No. 2 car at Bristol, whether it's Busch or Rusty Wallace behind the wheel, always is a favorite.
• Sleeper -- Greg Biffle. His average Bristol finish of 10.3 ranks first with Jeff Gordon among active drivers.
• No chance -- Jimmie Johnson. He won four of NASCAR's six short-track races last year, but he finished only 16th and 21st in the two Bristol races and he's never won there.
Antoine Pitts -- The Ann Arbor News
We're off to one of my favorite tracks, that little band box at Bristol. That 1/2-mile loop doesn't leave much room for error. I'm planning to capitalize on all of your mistakes and move into the top spot on the points list.
• Winner -- Kyle Busch. No choice but to ride the hot hand, especially as the defending champ.
• Sleeper -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. Steadily inching up the points standings, he's due for a win.
• No chance -- Tony Stewart. Instead of winning, he's just been doing too much whining.
Mike Pryson -- Jackson Citizen Patriot
Well, guys, it's nice to be back out of the cellar in this season-long race to nowhere.
Bristol is one of those tracks that Moe Howard (of the Three Stooges, for all you young fans out there) would have loved. Not only is it a circular track, it's a small circular track. As Moe would say, "We ain't getting no place fast."
At Bristol, you can toss around all the stats and trends you want, you just never know who's going to put your guy in the wall. Ah, drivers putting other drivers into the wall. Isn't NASCAR great!
Time to start turning left.
• Winner -- Kyle Busch. It's getting hard to ignore the points leader. This guy and Toyota are obviously clicking right now. Plus, Busch has finished in the top 10 in his last four Bristol starts.
• Sleeper -- Clint Bowyer. Talk about sleepers. This guy hasn't made any noise this season, yet he's sitting one spot ahead of Carl Edwards in points (you can look it up, as Casey Stengel would say). Bowyer finished third and eighth at Bristol last season and knows how to get around the place.
• No chance -- Sam Hornish Jr. Even though Goodyear probably has a bounty on Tony Stewart this week, I'll go with Hornish Jr. The guy is on the bubble, fighting to get into the top 35 in points. That becomes crucial after this week to drivers who want to continue making races. However, Hornish is in for an adventure in his first NASCAR start in Bristol. This isn't exactly Indy.
mlive.com
Food City 500 Preview and Pick
Predictem.com
Coverage for the Food City 500 begins at 1:30 EST on FOX
Consistency is a key in any sport. Ford and Roush Racing have dominated Bristol for a decade. In the last 19 races here over a 9 1/2 year span, Ford has won 12 and Roush taking 8 of those 12.
Chevrolet has 4 wins, with only 2 being Hendricks. Kyle Busch won last year in the spring and we have to go all the way back to 2002 for the other Hendricks car that won.
Olympic Sportsbook has Greg Biffle +115 against Clint Bowyer -140. Greg is second in the points and IMO a quiet second. Clint who drives the #07 for Richard Childress, is 16th in the points and has an average at this track of 19.5 with only 4 races under his belt. Greg has 10 races with an average finish of 10.3. Consistancy by Biffle over the long run versus a short run by Clint speaks volumes.
Of the larger teams like Hendricks, Roush, Gibbs and Childress, all the drivers can't get the top equipment, management or attention they need to stay competitive. This is true with all teams.
Last year, JJ Yeley took a back seat to Stewart and Hamlin. Hendicks focused more on Gordon and Johnson and left Kyle Bush and Casey Mears to fend for themselves. Kyle made the best of his situation with getting sloppy thirds from Hendricks and still making it to the chase.
Making room for Junior, Hendricks decided to oust Kyle and keep Casey Mears who at best is a never has been.
Two years ago, Jeremy Mayfield publicly announced that Evernham did not give him what he needed to stay competitive, focusing more on Kasey Kayne. This is and has been a big problem with the larger teams and will continue.
Clint Bowyer is last on the list with Childress as Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick are getting all the meat leaving Clint the bone. Same situation for Greg Biffle but like Kyle Busch last year making the best of what was given him, behind Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards, is and has been making the best of his situation as part of that Roush team.
Yomonte's Pick: I took Greg Biffle +115 over Clint Bowyer -140 at Olympic. I see Roush or Childress winning this race.
BRISTOL 500 PICKS
Bettorsworld.com
Newman -105 over Truex - Newman has beaten Truex 3 of the last 4 at this track and has beaten Truex 3 out of 4 this year. At -105, the price is right.
Jeff Burton +110 over Clint Bowyer - As in the above selection, the price is right. Burton Each has beaten the other 2 of the last 4 at Bristol and Burton has taken 3 of 4 from Bowyer this year.
Dale Earnhardt Jr +105 over Jeff Gordon - Dale Jr has finished 5th, 7th, 3rd and 11th here at Bristol ahead of Gordon in 3 of 4. Jr also has finished ahead of Jeff Gordon 3 of 4 this year.
Jimmie Johnson +135 over Tony Stewart - Johnson worth a shot anytime you can get +135 on him. Stewart off to a better start this year but Johnson a very live dog here.
Matt Kenseth +105 over Carl Edwards - Edwards the hot driver this year with two wins AND a win here last year. But Kenseth owns a couple of wins at Bristol and has beaten Edwards 3 of the last 4 here.
Biffle +115 over Harvick - Harvick has been better at Bristol, but not by much, while Biffle has been better this year. Some value on Biffle at +115.
Ryan Newman +135 over Kasey Kahne - Each has beaten the other 2 of the last 4 both at Bristol and in the last 4 races this year. Not much separating these two here. At +135, we have to bite.
These Match Ups can be found at Sportsbetting.com
