After a week off, the NASCAR Sprint Cup series heads to the short track of Bristol in a race that has extra importance with it setting the top 35, which determines the automatic qualifiers for each week’s races.
We’ve already briefly explored who is where on that list, so now lets focus on Bristol and who will be the person to beat.
A lot of drivers tell you that at Daytona and Talladega they know a big wreck is coming, and the key is to stay out of it. But a lot will tell you that the Bristol short track makes them nervous. The issue at Bristol is because it’s such a short track, getting lapped is always on your mind if you aren’t in the lead or near it. In the two Bristol races last year, only 14 drivers were on the lead lap in the first race, and 15 in the second.
It’s kinda of a good news/bad news thing. The bad news is the fear of being lapped, and because of that a lot of drivers drive extremely aggressive to move up in traffic, so starting position is often crucial. The good news is because it is such a short track, it is difficult for the leaders to lap traffic, and at the same time, it’s hard for a leader to pull away.
One driver who has found success here is Kurt Busch. Busch has won five times in 16 starts and has nine top 10 finishes.
Matt Kenseth only has one win in 18 races here, but finds a way to the top with 11 top 10s.
This is also the track for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to maybe start getting back on track. He may not win the race, but he has an average finish of 11.7 and has 10 top 10 finishes.
His teammate Jeff Gordon is the man to beat, both on the season and at Bristol. His experience here (32 races) has paid off with five wins and 19 top 10s and he averages an 11.5 finish.
He should get a serious challenge from Greg Biffle, who has dominated in his few starts here, but is looking for his first win. Nine top 10 finishes is 12 starts and an average finish of 9.8. We think it’s time for his first win.
