March Madness Nascar Style: Elite Eight

Well the opening rounds of Nascar March Madness are over. We started at 32 drivers and in one week at Bristol we are down to the Elite Eight. Each Race from here on out is only one round, not two like the first round. In the first two rounds we got to see some upsets but we also now know who some of the front runners will be for the final four. Lets take a look at some of the more interesting story lines from the opening rounds. To check up on what we started with check out the article March Madness Nascar Style.

1) Denny Hamlin v 8) Kurt Busch

• Wow did that hurt. Hamlin didn't have the easiest first round match up (Kurt notorious for finishing well at Bristol) but Denny didn't help his case by finishing the race riding around the walls, literally. Hamlin was the only #1 seed to not advance to the Sweet 16 at Bristol.

1) Dale Earnhardt Jr v 4) Kasey Kahne

• Both Drivers got out of the round of 32 and into the Sweet 16 where this match up happened. Man did Jr get set up in a tough situation. Jr finished Bristol in the top 10 but he had to face Kahne, who was the race winner at Bristol. The Race winner this week was like an automatic bye, because he knew he had won both match ups. Kahne now has a 2nd and 1st in the past two weeks and might be getting hot at the right time, MARCH.

2) Carl Edwards v 3) Paul Menard

• In what has set up to be the upset bracket (Also the same Division Hamlin lost in the round of 32) the high seeded Menard took down #2 seed Edwards who had been on a recent hot streak. Carl had a rough day at Bristol and he ran into Menard who notched back to back top 10's this week (Vegas and now Bristol). Menard probably wasn't the driver you thought was coming out of this Division but it will be either him or Kurt Busch in the Nascar Final Four.

1	Jimmie Johnson	5) Busch		1) BK	1	Brad Keselowski
5	Kyle Busch				4	Joey Logano
3	Clint Bowyer	3) Bowyer		6) JPM	6	Juan Pablo Montoya
2	Greg Biffle				2	Matt Kenseth
1	Dale Earnhardt Jr	4) Kahne		8) Busch	8	Kurt Busch
4	Kasey Kahen				5	Jamie McMurray
6	Martin Truex Jr	2) Vickers		3) Menard	3	Paul Menard
2	Brian Vickers				2	Carl Edwards

**Vickers will be replaced back with Mark Martin as long as Vickers doesn't participate at Fontana since it was Martins Points Spot before Bristol**

So here we are. That's the Elite 8 and who is left. This weekend at Fontana, CA the Elite Eight will be played out and the Final Four will head on to a week break and then Martinsville. Here is a breakdown of each match up next week.

5) Kyle Busch v 3) Clint Bowyer

• Bowyer ran into a tough match up in the Elite 8 with Kyle Busch. Not only has Busch been getting hot as of late but his average finish at Fontana in the last 4 races has been 5.5. Clint Bowyer hasn't been too bad himself here, averaging 11.75 finishing position in the past 4 races. This could be one of the better match ups of the weekend, but to start Kyle has a slight edge.

4) Kasey Kahne v 2) Brian Vickers (Mark Martin)

• Assuming Brian Vickers doesn't qualify, this spot is given to Mark Martin. (It was Mark Martins points spot to start with, but Vickers was driving the #55 car at Bristol). Vickers did the dirty work for Mark Martin, but now hands over the tough task of taking down one of the hottest drivers this season. Kasey Kahne has come on strong as of late so this will be no easy feat. Kahne has the slight edge over Martin at Fontana, but neither has been too impressive there. This could come down to who is hot right now, and that edge definitely goes to Kahne off the win at Bristol (his first at Bristol).

1) Brad Keselowski v 6) Juan Pablo Montoya

• BK could have gotten off to the easiest Elite Eight match up in this tournament. BK took out the tough match up of Ryan Newman in round one, who notched a top 10 but couldn't beat out BK's 3rd place finish. Montoya on the other hand got off easy while finishing 30th. That's right a driver finishing 30th won two match ups last Sunday. This is Nascars Cinderella of this tourney. Montoya lucked out against Almirola (he finished outside the top 16 for the first time this season) and then got Matt Kenseth that got held up in a wreck when leader Jeff Gordon went down with a cut tire. Montoya has the chance again to get lucky with BK not having very much success at Fontana in the past, but BK had not had much success at Las Vegas either in the past and he posted a top 5. After all he is last years Sprint Cup Champion.

8) Kurt Busch v 3) Paul Menard

• And this the most unlikely of match ups. No one doubts that Kurt could run well at Bristol, but when your first match up is Denny Hamlin it doesn't look as bright. Well Kurt ran in the top 5 and, well Denny rode around the walls to a 23rd place finish. Menard posted his second top 10 in as many weeks to glide past Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards. Kurt has posted a 9th, 17th, 6th, and 5th in his last four at Fontana so he could end up an 8 seed in the final four. Don't count out Menard though since he has been hot and picked up two top 10's on the year so far.

This week in Fontana, CA the match ups should be a little less hectic than racing around Bristol. Fontana will set up a great Final Four to be played out at another crazy track, Martinsville.

For a review of Bristol and Power Rankings check out Nascar Pit Road.
To look at the opening round bracket check out March Madness Nascar Style.

Fontana, CA Preview will be coming this week as well with the Good, Bad, and Surprise drivers at Fontana. Check back in regularly or follow my Twitter for Updates. You can also go on Facebook and "Like" Nascar Behind the Wall for updates if you are not on Twitter.