Bowyer wins rain-shortened Sharpie Mini 300
Bristol, TN (Sports Network) - Clint Bowyer won Saturday afternoon's Sharpie Mini 300 at the Bristol Motor Speedway after rain halted the race 171 laps into the 300-lap event. Bowyer was leading Kasey Kahne by less than half-a- second when the caution flags came out.
The victory was Bowyer's first of the season and sixth of his Nationwide career.
"I'll take it any way I can get it," said Bowyer after being declared the winner. "Kasey Kahne raced me clean, he had the best car, but it's not always the best car that wins."
After a nearly two-hour rain delay, the race finally got underway with Scott Wimmer leading the field to the green flag. But right from the start, Denny Hamlin jumped on Wimmer and grabbed the lead from the No.29, who fell to third place.
Hamlin led the first 37 laps before yielding to Bowyer, who led to the second caution flag at lap 45. Bowyer was still leading when Hamlin, in second, suddenly slowed with a right-front tire puncture. The green stayed out and Hamlin lost three laps, his chance for the win over.
Bowyer's lead was half-a-second after 75 laps and the dark clouds were starting to accumulate in the distance. Harvick, who inherited second place after Hamlin fell off the pace, began to reel Bowyer in. By lap 90 Harvick was right on his "Cup" teammate's rear bumper.
With rain about 15-20 minutes away, Wimmer, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle stayed out when Dario Franchitti spun. Bowyer was the first car out with fuel and four new tires.
By lap 106 Bowyer was back in the lead, with the newest tires and a full tank of fuel. It appeared as he was in complete control of the race if the rains came. His biggest threat was Kahne who was charging through the field. The No.9 Dodge was third at lap 128, behind Bowyer and pole sitter Wimmer. Two laps later Kahne got around Wimmer and closed in on Bowyer.
They were bumper to bumper on lap 135 working their way through lapped traffic. Kahne was trying his favorite high side, while Bowyer was working the bottom of the track. The bottom was the right move and Bowyer rebuilt the lead to four lengths. But back came Kahne.
They passed the halfway point with Bowyer leading Kahne. Still no rain, but it was getting ever closer. Kahne was trying high and low, but the lapped traffic was making his job impossible.
Then the flagman pulled the yellow flag out on lap 163 as the first drops began. They were still making laps and the leaders stayed on the track, while some drivers further back came down pit road.
Finally on lap 171, NASCAR brought out the red flag and pulled the cars onto pit lane.
"I think I should be leading, I should have pressed the issue more," said Kahne, while waiting in his car to get restarted.
The rains let up, then got heavier. NASCAR lost the track and determined that the race could not be restarted.
David Reutimann, Brad Keselowski and Mike Bliss completed the top-five. Points leader Kevin Harvick finished seventh and holds a 49-point lead over Bowyer. However, Harvick is not scheduled to run the next race and will give up his Nationwide Series lead.
The next race in the series is a stand-alone event at the Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, March 22nd.
Hamilton wins after mistake-free race
Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - Lewis Hamilton won Formula One's 2008 season opener at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Australia. The No.22 McLaren-Mercedes crossed the finish line 5.478 seconds ahead of BMW's Nick Heidfeld.
The victory was Hamilton's first of the season and fifth of his F1 career and was a drive without incident in a race with many incidents.
"We got away to a really good start and I just paced myself the rest of the way." said Hamilton. "It was a good challenge but we did a great job...The car was phenomenal."
The second-year Hamilton continued to build on what he did in his rookie season, winning the pole for the first race of 2008.
He got off to a good start with Robert Kubica right on Hamilton's tail, but behind them five cars had problems.
Felipe Massa damaged his front nose after being involved in the incident and out of the race were: Sebastien Vettel, hometown favorite Mark Webber, Anthony Davidson and Giancarlo Fisichella.
Meanwhile, the defending champion, Kimi Raikkonen, jumped from 15th to eighth after the first lap.
"People were too aggressive in the first corner," said a disappointed Fisichella.
Hamilton set fastest laps on his fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh circuits to build the lead to 5.3 seconds over the surprisingly strong BMW. Hamilton's teammate Heikki Kovalainen was 7.3 seconds behind.
After a dozen laps, Hamilton was almost out of sight for Kubica as the field readied for the first of two expected pit stops.
Kubica was the first of the leaders to pit and a quick 8.5-second stop kept him near the top of the charts. But the bad news was that he obviously had less fuel than Hamilton and still couldn't keep pace with the McLaren driver.
Hamilton stopped two laps later and after a nine-second stop would still be the leader after all the drivers had cycled through their first stop.
After 25 laps it was Hamilton, Kovalainen and Raikkonen, although the Ferrari had yet to make a stop. Kubica was a distant fourth. On the same lap, Massa was trying to overtake veteran David Coulthard and they came together. Massa continued, but Coulthard was done for the day.
The incident was a break for Raikkonen, who could now pit under the safety car. But for some reason, Ferrari chose not to pit. On the lap 30 restart Raikkonen tried to get around Kovalainen, overcooked the corner and slid into the gravel stop. He managed to keep the F2008 going and got out of the gravel, but fell way behind the two McLarens.
Raikkonen finally pitted and took enough fuel to reach the checkered flag, but he returned 15 seconds behind Timo Glock for 11th place. Hamilton was four seconds ahead of Kovalainen with Nick Heidfeld in third. After two safety car situations, Hamilton once again built his lead. It was 5.5 seconds on lap 37.
Meanwhile, the best racing on the track was between F1 rookie Sebastien Bourdais, Kubica and Fernando Alonso for sixth through eighth place.
Hamilton made his final stop on lap 43, just as we saw Raikkonen spin out for the second time. Kovalainen and Heidfeld inherited the lead, although they still had final stops to make.
Heidfeld pitted on the next lap, no problems and a seven-second stop. But with 14 laps to go, Glock lost it in the fast turn 12 corner and spread debris everywhere to bring out the safety car one more time.
With the safety on the track, Rubens Barrichello made a "rookie" mistake and pitted before he was allowed. The result is a drive-thru penalty and officials correctly applied the ruling ending his chance to win the opener.
Kovalainen made his stop with 12 laps to go, giving Hamilton a clear run to the checkered flag.
It was Hamilton, Heidfeld and Nico Rosberg with 10 laps to go and just seven cars still on the track after more incidents. The defending World Champion, Raikkonen, pulled an ill-sounding car off the road with four laps to go and Ferrari was shut out of the points.
One lap later Bourdais was in line for five championship points, when the engine gave a puff of smoke and he was done after a great first run. He was credited with an eighth-place finish and still scored his first championship point.
Hamilton made no errors, there were no mechanical problems and he drove to his first win of 2008. It was his 13th podium in just 18 F1 starts.
Rosberg, Alonso, Kovalainen, Barrichello, Kazuki Nakajima and Bourdais completed the points-scoring positions.
The second race of the season is set for the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia on Sunday, March 23rd.
Burton leads RCR sweep at Bristol
Bristol, TN (Sports Network) - Jeff Burton was sitting in second place when Denny Hamlin suddenly slowed and Burton took advantage to capture Sunday's Food City 500 at the famed Bristol Motor Speedway. The No.31 Richard Childress Racing driver crossed the finish line 0.588 seconds ahead of teammates Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer.
"That's pretty cool," said Richard Childress noting the first-ever sweep by his team.
The victory was Burton's first of the season and 20th of his Sprint Cup career.
"We weren't the best car all day, but we kept ourselves in position," said Burton.
Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr. completed the top-five.
Other drivers of note and their finish positions: Kasey Kahne (7th), Matt Kenseth (10th), Jeff Gordon (11th), Kurt Busch (12th), Tony Stewart (14th), Kyle Busch (17th) and Jimmie Johnson (18th).
After rain cancelled qualifying, 2007 Sprint Cup Series champion Johnson brought the field to the green flag for 500 laps of short track racing. But Bristol has never been a great place for the No.48 Chevrolet and Johnson.
Johnson led the first 14 laps before Bowyer slid underneath him for the lead. The 43 drivers were showing some patience and early on we saw a long green flag run (for Bristol) which spread the field over the entire track.
Bowyer began lapping cars by lap 24 as he built a one-second lead on Johnson and Gordon. Two cars moving up quickly were Stewart and Kyle Busch.
Stewart passed Gordon for third on lap 45 and Kyle Busch, who started 21st, was ready to crack the top-10 by lap 48. A caution flag on lap 50 slowed the field temporarily.
After the stop, it was still Bowyer, Johnson and Stewart. Within 10 laps of the restart, Stewart had gotten around Johnson and was closing on Bowyer. With slow traffic everywhere, Stewart caught Bowyer, but didn't have any room to make a pass. There were just 32 cars on the lead lap when caution flag No.3 slowed the field.
Bowyer's crew made no changes for the second time as the driver was happy with his Chevrolet. Traffic on pit lane slowed the No.07's exit and he came out sixth. Waltrip was the new leader, he didn't pit, with Stewart, Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Hamlin between Bowyer and the leader.
The top-five cars, led by Stewart, pretty much stayed in line as the field approached the 190-lap mark. Behind them Busch and Carl Edwards were joining the fray.
On lap 191 Dario Franchitti and Jamie McMurray get together and block the track. Collecting some damage were Ken Schrader, Paul Menard, Ryan Newman, Bobby Labonte and Casey Mears.
Everyone pitted for fuel and tires with Stewart winning the race off pit road. Hamlin, Johnson and Bowyer followed him to the restart line. Stewart didn't get a good restart, climbed the race track and Hamlin, Johnson and Bowyer all slipped underneath him.
The pace set by the leaders had left just 20 cars on the lead lap through 200 laps. Stewart slowly worked his way back to Hamlin's bumper and the JGR teammates were one-two at the mid-point of the race. Harvick, Bowyer and Jeff Burton completed the top-five.
Hamlin, Stewart and Harvick were lapping still more drivers, putting J.J. Yeley, David Reutimann, Kasey Kahne and Casey Mears down a lap.
Harvick got around Stewart for second, but he was more than one second behind Hamlin when Paul Menard knocked Franchitti into the outside wall. It was a good time for a caution as many cars were struggling with grip on the almost 100-lap old tires.
Kyle Busch won the race off pit road gaining four positions in the pits, thanks to his No.18 M&Ms team. Hamlin suffered damage in the incident from Juan Pablo Montoya and made a second pit stop coming out 16th - last on the lead lap.
On lap 291 the points and race leader, Busch, suddenly spun, hitting the inside wall. "The steering stuck," he yelled to his pit crew over the radio.
His Toyota suffered heavy rear end damage. Stewart inherited the lead with Burton, Harvick, Johnson and Bowyer behind him and 200 laps remaining to run.
Harvick slid past his teammate Burton for second place and took up the chase for Stewart. He caught him on lap 344 and passed him on the next lap, his first time leading of the day. Stewart re-took the lead on lap 350. Hamlin was on the move having come back from earlier problems to eighth place with 140 laps to go.
Johnson spun on lap 375, dropping Johnson from third place to sixth place.
Stewart again won the race off pit road, possibly the final one of the day. Behind him were Harvick, Burton, Johnson, Biffle and Bowyer. Harvick again got around Stewart as the field crossed the 400-lap mark. The two leaders had about a one-second gap on Burton and Bowyer who were climbing the charts.
Using the top of the track, Stewart powered around the outside of Harvick on lap 414. Meanwhile, Hamlin was still on the move, passing Bowyer for fourth with 76 laps remaining. He was one mile-per-hour faster than the leaders if he could just get near them. So was Dale Earnhardt Jr. who suddenly awoke and was working his way through the top-10.
Hamlin got third place from Burton with still 60 laps of racing to go. Harvick was only about eight lengths ahead of him as he continued to post fast laps. At the same time "Junior" caught Bowyer to crack the top-five.
Fifty laps to go and it was Stewart, Harvick, Hamlin, Burton and Earnhardt Jr.
Stewart and Harvick were half-a-second apart with Hamlin just over one second behind as they started to reach lapped traffic. Harvick would close as they approached a corner, but Stewart was quicker off to maintain the lead.
Then with 11 laps to go the caution flag for a Brian Vickers crash slowed the race and setup a shootout for the win. Stewart, Hamlin and Earnhardt Jr. stayed out, while Harvick, Biffle, Burton and Bowyer came in for tires.
Stewart got a fantastic jump, but then slowed and Hamlin flew around the outside for the lead. Harvick got around "Junior" for third place and was even with Stewart with two laps to go. Harvick and Stewart collided and the No.20 spun to bring out a caution flag. Just before the flag came out, Burton slid underneath both of them and was in second place.
The race would be settled with a green-white-checker finish.
Hamlin would get off to a good start, but suddenly slowed and Burton flew past him as Hamlin pulled down low. Harvick and Bowyer followed him around and the trio of RCR took the checkered flag one-two-three.
"This team won this race today," said Burton. "Pit stops and a great call there at the end, I was just lucky to be driving it."
"We had a fuel pickup problem," said Hamlin after the race.
In his 668th and final regular season race, Dale Jarrett finished 37th.
After a week off, the series returns to the track at the Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, March 30th.
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Food City 500
Matt McLaughlin
The Key Moment: Denny Hamlin’s car sputtered on the final restart, allowing Jeff Burton to storm into the lead.
In a Nutshell: Let’s see what all the folks that said last year the new banking configuration ruined Bristol have to say now. Bristol is Bristol.
Dramatic Moment: Those final five laps had fans on their feet, and featured more plot twists then a good mystery novel.
What They’ll Be Talking About Around the Water Cooler This Week
So maybe this new track configuration at Bristol is going to work out OK, after all?
I guess gas prices are finally hitting NASCAR fans hard in the wallet, too. At Bristol, it seemed that there were a lot less RVs on the grounds around the track than in years past. But at eight miles per gallon for a class A truck, it’s no wonder. Fans looking to economize with the current price of gas might want to wait until Charlotte in May to attend a race. Why? The track is offering an 89 dollar ticket package that gets a fan into qualifying, the Nationwide Race, and the World 600. That one has Humpy Wheeler’s fingerprints all over it; 89 bucks is still 89 bucks, but it’s a lot better than most ticket prices I’ve seen this year, and I just spent that much on a new carb for my new rat rod sand rail (which rewarded me by promptly setting itself on fire… which is why I won’t be at Charlotte this year).
What an unexpected treat for race fans! Darrell Waltrip had laryngitis, and surely, it was no coincidence the race broadcast was far less annoying than the normal FOX coverage.
On the other hand, obviously there were computer scoring problems at Bristol that had those announcers who were able to talk spewing a constant barrage of misinformation. I understand some of the mistakes, but some statements like Tony Stewart was leading when Harvick drove into the side of him were obviously wrong to fans watching the race even casually.
Seeing that old ’80s Mountain Dew car just made the new ones look that much worse, didn’t it?
Is NASCAR going to allow teams like Roush Fenway Racing and Petty Engineering to swap points between drivers to get folks like McMurray and Petty a guaranteed slot in the next few races? If so, shame on them, but they opened Pandora’s Box when they allowed Roger Penske to do the same, swapping points between the No. 2 and No. 77 during the off season.
The Car of Tomorrow celebrated its first birthday this weekend. Big whoop; these rolling affronts to common sense deserved to be mechanically aborted before being brought to birth.
OK, maybe it is time to start wondering what’s wrong with the No. 48 team and Johnson this year.
So, Goodyear now says that Tony Stewart won’t be invited to any more tire tests? Given Stewart’s passionate dislike of any sort of testing, this might be the worst punishment since Monty Python’s Comfy Chair.
Rain was a constant for the first half of the weekend at Bristol, washing out Cup qualifying for the second time in five races this season.
Bad weather at a race track is a pain in the butt, and rain once again made a mess of qualifying and the Nationwide race this weekend. But sometimes, you need to keep things in perspective. It was just a week ago we were at Atlanta, and this week a tornado struck downtown in that city. An unthinkable tragedy was narrowly averted when that twister damaged an arena where a basketball playoff game was underway; luckily, the problems were minimal enough to leave the structure standing. Unfortunately, for a lot of folks in Atlanta right now, the weather is more than just an inconvenience; thoughts and prayers go out to the injured and those who lost their homes.
Well, someone slipped one under the noses of the censors. Watch the Matchbox 20 NASCAR promo carefully the next time. When the screen goes into Hollywood Square boxes near the end of the commercial, look at the box that’s the second from the right on the bottom row. That, friends, is Tim Richmond, NASCAR’s forgotten legend; and, in a probably intentional bit of irony, the picture of Tim is replaced by one of the Bill Frances — Senior and Junior.
The Hindenburg Award For Foul Fortune
Denny Hamlin still had a legitimate shot at the win when his car stumbled on the final restart due to a fuel pickup problem. That’s the same issue that cost Hamlin a shot at the win here last year, and caused him problems during the Fall Atlanta race as well.
Tony Stewart had a shot at the win and a Top 5 finish in the bag until Kevin Harvick drove into the side of him with three laps to go. I wonder if it was the crappy Goodyear tires on the No. 29 that forced Harvick’s Chevy to wash up the track?
Kyle Busch was leading the race when his power steering failed and Busch backed it into the wall. That same issue ended Denny Hamlin’s day last week; all in all, it was a tough day for the Joe Gibbs teams.
Dale Jarrett didn’t exactly cloak himself in glory in his final Cup points race, riding a flat tire and an ill-handling car to a 37th place finish. To newer fans, I promise you Jarrett was a great driver in his era; the death knell came when he signed on as first mate of Michael Waltrip’s sinking ship.
Kenny Schrader was having a solid Top 15 run, and seemed headed to the Top 10 when he got caught up in a wreck not of his making.
You have to imagine how pleased the folks at Sprint were to welcome the AT&T car to Victory Lane.
The “Seven Come Fore Eleven” Award For Fine Fortune
Jeff Burton is lucky there are old school team owners like Richard Childress still willing to put a 40-year-old driver in a competitive ride, rather than some pretty kid or an ex-open wheel star. Burton was also lucky to drive away unscathed after hard contact from the No. 48 car; but he survived, allowing Childress drivers to finish 1-2-3 at Bristol in giving Chevy their first win of the 2008 season.
Aric Almirola scored his first Top 10 finish in just his seventh career Cup start; even better, nobody forced him to get out of the car and turn over the wheel this time.
Kevin Harvick could easily have been eliminated when he tangled with the No. 20, but he was able to get the car straightened out well enough to drive to a second place finish. It also appeared that maybe Stewart was considering wrecking Harvick under caution, but cooled off before he reached the No. 29 car.
Kasey Kahne lost a lap after a penalty for speeding on pit road, but drove back to a solid seventh place finish.
Clint Bowyer had a pretty fair weekend, winning the rain-shortened Nationwide Series race and finishing third on Sunday.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. thought his goose was cooked like a Solex one barrel when yet another miscommunication between him and his crew chief saw the No. 88 car remain on the track during the ninth caution period. But Junior hung on to finish fifth; and, as expected, after the race he got to continue being Dale Earnhardt, Jr. It’s tough to be any luckier than that.
Worth Noting
* The Top 10 finishers drove five Chevys, three Fords, one Dodge, and a lone Toyota.
* Regan Smith was the top finishing driver officially announced as a Rookie of the Year candidate with a 26th place result, though Almirola had a much better finish. If any of the official Rookie of the Year candidates win a race anywhere other than on a road course this season, I’ll eat my “I don’t care who wins as long as he doesn’t drive a Toyota” cap.
* Jeff Burton won for the first time since Texas last Spring.
* Kevin Harvick (2nd) scored his fourth straight Top 10 finish this year. Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Kasey Kahne are the only other drivers with four Top 10 results after five races heading into the Easter Break.
* Clint Bowyer (3rd) enjoyed his best finish since Charlotte last Fall.
* Kyle Busch has led laps in all five Cup races this season, in four of the five Nationwide races, and has won the last two CTS events. Other than that, he’s off to a slow start this season compared to … oh, I don’t know … Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
* Greg Biffle has Top 5 finishes in the last three races.
* Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has Top 10 finishes in the last three races, too. That might appear to be redundant information, but I’ve found that by mentioning Dale Earnhardt, Jr. as often as possible in a column, the volume of positive email I get outstrips the hogwash complaints from Toyota and Robby Gordon fans. Hey, if it works for TV, why not writers?
* Dale Earnhardt, Jr. leads the Most Popular Driver voting.
* Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (4th) has Top 10 finishes in the last four Bristol Cup races. (I don’t care what you heard on TV) Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer have Top 10 finishes in the last three Bristol Cup events.
* Denny Hamlin (6th) has Top 10 finishes in two of the last three races, but has finished behind Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in each of them. (Editor’s Note : All right, Matt, that’s enough of that.)
* Matt Kenseth (10th) has Top 10 finishes in three of the last four races. He was the only former Cup champion to post a Top 10 at Bristol.
* Jimmie Johnson has averaged a 20th place finish in the last three races. Jeff Gordon is averaging just a 19th place finish this season. They are teammates with (Matt, what did I just get done telling you!)
* Juan Pablo Montoya (15th) has Top 20 finishes in the last four races. He was born in a different country than (MATT!)
What’s the Points?
The top three drivers in the standings held serve after Bristol. However, Kyle Busch is now just thirty points ahead of Greg Biffle, with Kevin Harvick three points behind Biffle in third.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. advanced a spot to fifth in the standings, well ahead of his three teammates and only 96 points out of the lead. Let’s put it this way: NASCAR officials and TV network brass are busy doing cartwheels across their plush corporate office suites.
Jeff Burton, Kasey Kahne, and Tony Stewart each advanced a spot to fourth, sixth, and seventh, respectively. And if their last name was Earnhardt, people might care…
Clint Bowyer was the biggest mover; he skyrocketed seven positions to ninth, while Matt Kenseth moved up a spot to 11th. Despite his fuel problems, Denny Hamlin jumped up four spots to 15th.
On the flip side, Ryan Newman tumbled four spots to eighth, and suddenly, the Daytona 500 feels like a long time ago for the No. 12 team. After a tough day, Martin Truex, Jr. fell one spot to 12th, while Brian Vickers had the worst drop of all; he fell eight spots to 17th.
Despite substandard starts to their seasons, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon lurk just outside the Top 12 in 13th and 14th, respectively.
In owner points, Sam Hornish, Jr. and the No. 77 team advanced into the coveted 35th place points position that guarantees them a spot in the race at Martinsville. That means that after finishing dead last at Bristol (43rd), Jamie McMurray’s team lurks four points out of the Top 35, and will have to make the race on speed.
Overall Rating (On a scale of one to six beer cans, with one being a stinker and a six pack an instant classic) We’ll give this one four bottles of icy cold Corona. It wasn’t the best Bristol race ever, but it certainly was the best race of the young 2008 season.
Next Up: The series takes a week off to celebrate the solemnity and joy of Easter. Racing resumes in two weeks’ time at Martinsville, Virginia… Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be there! (And you might not be, Matt…)
frontstretch.com
Nationwide Series Breakdown: Sharpie Mini 300
by Bryan Davis Keith
In a Nutshell: Considered a preseason favorite for the Nationwide Series championship, Clint Bowyer officially established himself as a contender on Saturday. With a little bit of luck and a whole lot of skill, the driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet led 122 of 171 laps run to score the win in the rain-shortened Sharpie Mini 300 at Bristol. A jubilant Bowyer said afterwards, “It feels awesome [to be in Victory Lane]. I’ll take it any way you can get it.”
Well aware of the rain approaching the race track, Bowyer fended off a series of furious charges by Kasey Kahne, who settled for second in his No. 9 Dodge. Kahne caught Bowyer using the high line, but was unable to find the grip he needed to pass Bowyer on the outside. “I should have pressed the issue a little bit, and I’m disappointed I’m in second,” said Kahne. “I should be winning. He shouldn’t be winning. I just let him have it.”
Outside polesitter Denny Hamlin led the opening 37 laps of the race before yielding the lead to Bowyer. Scott Wimmer then took the lead briefly on lap 48 before yielding it back to Bowyer, who held the lead till a caution on Lap 94. After one more brief swap, Bowyer regained the lead from Wimmer on Lap 106 and never looked back. The win leaves him second in the Nationwide Series standings, but first among drivers running for the championship — and that’s the momentum he needs heading to Nashville on Saturday.
Who Should Have Won: Mike Bliss. This pick may be surprising, but as the race wound down nobody on the track had a better handling car than Mike Bliss. Bliss, who spun out on Lap 101, charged from the back of the field and worked his way up to fifth by the time rain started to fall. His No. 22 Dodge was a rocket through the turns, and had this race gone the distance, he would have been a major factor. The enthusiasm Bliss had for the car was evident when interviewed on ABC following the rain delay; excited and hopeful, Bliss was raring to get back to racing. Clint Bowyer should be thankful he didn’t get the opportunity.
Worth Noting:
Brad Keselowski turned heads at Bristol last Spring by qualifying 12th for the underfunded Keith Coleman Racing team, his career-best qualifying effort at that point. Boy, how things have changed. Saturday, Keselowski methodically worked his way around the treacherous Bristol bullring, staying out of trouble and scoring a career-best fourth place finish for Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Dario Franchitti may have finished one lap down in 22nd place, but he gets a shoutout for running an admirable debut at Bristol. After starting 22nd, Franchitti ran in or around the Top 15 for nearly 100 laps without incident or damage. It was only Lap 94 when Franchitti found trouble, a victim of Kasey Kahne flat out dumping the No. 40. Nonetheless, Franchitti was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race, and did a solid job for a first event at the half mile. Franchitti also maintained his lead in the Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year standings, keeping himself in contention to win the award for both that and Cup.
Overall, the short track was kind to Nationwide Series regulars, many of whom scored their best performance of the season to date. They took five of the Top 10 finishing positions: Brad Keselowski finished fourth, Mike Bliss fifth, Jason Leffler sixth, David Stremme ninth, and Mike Wallace tenth.
Better Luck Next Time:
Denny Hamlin led the first 37 laps of the race and continued a string of strong runs for the JGR No. 20, until, surprise, a flat tire took him and the team out of contention. Hamlin finished four laps down in 26th.
Kyle Busch suffered through his third wreck not of his making in as many weeks. Busch and his No. 32 lasted only 12 laps after getting slammed into the wall by a spinning Martin Truex, Jr. It’s a shame, for Busch’s troubles in recent weeks have seen him tumble from second to tenth in the Nationwide Series standings.
Underdog Performer of the Race:
Jason Keller scored his fourth consecutive Top-20 finish in the CJM Racing No. 11, but a lot of credit also needs to go to Kevin Lepage and his No. 61 Specialty Racing team for their 18th place finish. Lepage stayed on the lead lap for the majority of the race, and more importantly has his No. 61 team in the Top 30 in owner points and thus locked into the Nationwide Series field for the foreseeable future. Not bad for a team that failed to qualify at Daytona…
“Purse Snatcher”
12 of 43 starting positions in the Sharpie Mini 300 went to Sprint Cup regulars.
70 of the 215 starting positions in the Nationwide Series have gone to Sprint Cup regulars this season.
5 Sprint Cup drivers have finished in the Top 10 of the Sharpie Mini 300.
5 of 5 Nationwide Series races have been won by Sprint Cup regulars this season.
6 of the Top 10 drivers in the Nationwide Series points are Sprint Cup regulars.
Dario Franchitti was none too happy with Kasey Kahne after this midrace wreck left his car in tough shape bodywise the rest of the event.
Quotables:
“A lot of guys have been racing me cleanly. I’ve been racing guys cleanly, and you get guys like Kasey Kahne that do stupid stuff running into the back of you for no reason. I don’t know what he was doing. I was trying to give the leaders room, and he wrecked me going into one there … but everyone else has been fine.” – Dario Franchitti on racing at Bristol
“I feel bad for those guys. I wanted to do a good job for them. I feel pretty stupid running 10 laps and wrecking.” – Martin Truex, Jr. after his first start with the JR Motorsports No. 5 team
Up Next: The Nationwide Series heads to the Nashville Superspeedway for the Pepsi 300. Coverage from the Music City begins at 2 PM on ESPN2 and 3 PM on MRN.
frontstretch.com
RacingOne Rewind: Bristol
RacingOne.com
A look back at Jeff Burton's 20th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win in Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway including news, notes and observations by the RacingOne Staff.
Inside Line
Jeff Burton outran his Richard Childress racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer to the finish line to win Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Keys to Victory Lane
Burton took the lead from Denny Hamlin on a green-white-checkered finish when the No. 11 had a fuel pick-up problem and sped to his first win since Texas in 2007.
Zero to Hero
David Gilliland started 32nd and drove the Robert Yates Racing Ford home ninth.
Hero to Zero
Hamlin looked like he had the race locked up until the same fuel pick-up problem that plagued him at Bristol last year thwarted his hopes of finding victory lane.
Rookie of the Race
Although he's not officially a Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate, Aric Armirola piloted the DEI No. 8 to an eighth-place finish in his seventh Sprint Cup start. Regan Smith was officially the rookie of the race in 26th.
Notables
Kurt Busch started 36th and brought the Miller Lite Dodge home 12th. David Reutiman led Friday's practice session but started the day 39th when the field was set by last year's points. He finished 20th.
Food City 500 Loop Data Leaders
# Average Running Position: Tony Stewart - 2.2
# Fastest Early In a Run: Clint Bowyer - 118.284 mph
# Fastest Late In a Run: Denny Hamlin - 114.909 mph
# Fastest Laps Run: Tony Stewart - 58
# Fastest on Restarts: Jimmie Johnson - 116.856 mph
# Most Passes During Green Flag Conditions: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne - 54
# Laps In Top 15: Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart - 506
Pit Stops
# Jeff Burton captured his 20th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win in his 480th career start. Detailed Active Driver Wins
# Burton won the 87th race for car owner Richard Childress. Detailed Active Car Owner Wins
# Burton became the fifth driver to win at Bristol from the sixth position. He also became the 52nd driver overall to win a race from that position. Starting Position Facts
# Burton won the 41st Cup Series race for Chevrolet at Bristol and 623rd overall. All-Time Manufacturer Wins
# Burton led the first 1-2-3 finish ever for RCR.
# Kevin Harvick (second) posted his 10th top-10 finish in 15 races at Bristol.
# Clint Bowyer (third) posted his third top-10 finish in five races at Bristol.
# Greg Biffle (fourth) posted his third straight top-10 finish at BMS.
# Dale Earnhardt Jr. (fifth) has finished in the top 11 in his last 10 starts at Bristol.
# Denny Hamlin led 98 laps en route to a finish that tied his previous best finish of sixth at Bristol.
# Kasey Kahne (seventh) posted his third top-10 finish at Bristol in nine starts.
# Aric Almirola's eighth-place finish was the first top-10 finish of his Cup career.
# David Gilliland (ninth) posted the third top-10 finish of his career and first since the spring Talladega race last season.
# Matt Kenseth posted his 10th top-10 finish in 17 starts at Bristol.
Lug Nuts
# Next on FOX - "Spotters Gone Wild."
# Make fun of old DW if you will, but you had to feel sorry for him being voice-less on Sunday.
# Speaking of DW, how cool was it to see Mountain Dew present him with the No. 11 car.
# No truth to the report there was snickering heard in the Goodyear hauler when Harvick took out Stewart.
# Kudos to Aric Armirola and David Gilliland for their top 10s.
# Look for the Dario Franchitti pinball machine coming soon with actual footage of his day at Bristol Sunday included.
# FOX peddling Digger the Gopher shirts? Give us a break.
# A simple final Lug Nut: Thanks DJ.
Garage Talk
"I won't lose sleep tonight because we didn't have the fastest car; all I know is we have the trophy." - Jeff Burton
"If his spotter wants to have a bad attitude about it, he can come down here and we can handle it." - Kevin Harvick on Tony Stewart's spotter
"The good things were great and were a lot of fun and the bad things taught me a lot of things in life." - Dale Jarrett
"This is so frustrating to have days like this." - Denny Hamlin
RacingOne Rating
On a scale to 1 to 10 UPS trucks (in honor of Dale Jarrett's last race) we'll give Sunday's Food City 500 a solid 9. The "new" Bristol gives drivers a chance to run side-by-side and the racing Sunday was great. Throw in the storylines of JGR's troubles, the Harvick-Stewart dust-up and the RCR resurgence and Sunday's race was the best of the season. Now it's time for a week off to celebrate Easter and then more short track madness in two weeks at Martinsville Speedway.