Week 4 Preview

Bristol Motor Speedway

 

Week three is in the Nascar Sprint Cup books and we have three different winners, Johnson, Edwards, and Kenseth. Will week four of the Nascar season bring a new winner at Bristol? What did we learned last week? Well for one its good to be the birthday boy and also that a new ride and totally new team hasn't seemed to effect that same birthday boy. Matt Kenseth just hung around all day and at the end of the day found himself with great track position that lead to a win holding off Kasey Kahne. Also, it seems that track position is of greater importance than pit strategy (no tires, 2 tires, 4 tires). Any Nascar fan that has zoned out the last two races or taken a Sunday cat nap during the race will get a shot of adrenalin this week at Bristol. The Good, Middle, and Bad class will greatly be judged on keeping the car on the track.  Here is a look at last years Spring Bristol results: 2012 Food City 500.

 

The Good: (Drivers with good results the past few races at Bristol)

• Jimmie Johnson- Since 2010 Jimmie Johnson has had 1 win, 3 top 5's, and a top 10 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Just last fall he finished 2nd to Denny Hamlin and in the spring race he notched a 9th place finish. With JJ starting hot again look for another strong finish. Best Chance Forecast: Look for another top 10. At this point its an easy pick.

• Kyle Busch- Last year Kyle had some mixed results here, a 6th in the fall and 32nd in the spring when he found trouble. No one can deny that Kyle can drive the wheels off of the car at Bristol though. Best Chance Forecast: If he stays out of trouble a top 5 isn't out of the question.

• Matt Kenseth- Last time Nascar was at Bristol in the Spring Kenseth finished 2nd after leading 45 laps, but Keselowski was just to strong to catch. In the 5 other races since 2010 (including the Fall race after the 2nd place Spring finish) Kenseth has posted 25th, 5th, 6th, 5th, and 10th. The 25th Fall 2012 race is the only down race where he finished a few laps back. Best Chance Forecast: Off to a hot start with a new team, its hard not to see Kenseth get a top 10.

• Others who may make some noise: Brad Keselowski (30th, 1st, 18th, 1st, 13th) Up and down but when he is up he has been good.

 

The Middle Class: (Drivers who have been good but not as dominant)

• Dale Earnhardt Jr- Best Start Ever. Jr has got off to a hot start this season and maybe that will help him shake the average finishes at Bristol. Past 6 races: 12th, 15th, 16th, 11th, 13th, 7th. Best Chance Forecast: Its not too crazy to predict Jr to finish in the top 15.

• Jeff Gordon- Gordon must be stressed to start this year. Not getting off on the right foot Gordon has had some luck here at Bristol in years past. Last 6 races here: 3rd, 30th, 3rd, 14th, 11th, 14th. Best Chance Forecast: I will go out and say that Gordon will get his first top 5. The new car hasn't been too kind to him though, so take that pick with a grain of salt, but maybe he will start driving like this ON the track.

• Others: Kevin Harvick (15th, 11th, 22nd, 6th, 14th, 11th) and Paul Menard (10th, 10th, 30th, 5th, 21st, 18th)

 

The Bad: (Drivers who have had their struggles in the past few races at Bristol)

• Tony Stewart- Smokes last 4 races here have produced a 27th, 14th, 28th, and 19th place finish. He has been struggling at Bristol as of late, do notice that he has fared better in the Spring race (14th and 19th) and that in the 2010 Spring race he had a 2nd place finish. Smoke does seem to be on the cusp of getting it going so a top 10 isn't that out of the question.

• Denny Hamlin- In Hamlin's defense he did win here the last time Nascar was at Bristol in the fall. Denny has seemed to find trouble on and off at Bristol and had mixed results because of that. In the last 6 races Denny has had the one win and one other top 10 finish. He did have a 19th place finish in 2010 and the last Spring race here he finished 20th. He does have the chance is he stays clean and has no issues to break into the top ten but keep a close watch.

• Carl Edwards- Maybe this is the year Edwards gets back to his old ways of 2011 and 2010 (9th, 2nd, 12th, and 6th). But last year he finished 39th in the Spring and 22nd in the Fall. Staying clean will be key as it is with most drivers here at Bristol.

 

Laying Low: (Drivers that could surprise at Bristol)

• Juan Pablo Montoya- Montoya posted a 13th and 8th here in 2012 so maybe this is the week he shows something. It is a perfect track for Juan because he can bang around without it effecting his car to struggle in clean air where aero means something. Montoya has a chance to get his first top 10 of the season.

• Jamie McMurray- His last three have only produced one top 10 (7th last Spring) but the three races before that he posted 8th, 5th, and 3rd. I think Bristol is the perfect time for McMurray to get a top 10 on the season.

• Martin Truex Jr- He finished 3rd last Spring at Bristol and had a 2nd place finish Fall of 2011. Truex has finished in the top 20 in each of his past 6 races at Bristol.

• Brian Vickers- Wait Vickers doesn't have a start this season? How can he be laying low, you mean not worth the time right? Vickers is in a ride for a reason, they will take the chance on a guy who has finished 4th last Fall and 5th last Spring. Not much luck in the 4 previous races at Bristol, but Vickers has shown he can finish towards the top when clean. He could be the gem of this race but also could just get another 25th finish.

Need more Bristol Information? Take a look here:
ESPN's post LV review, with a good preview on Bristol Drivers: Here
Bristol Motor Speedway Driver Entry List: Here
Bristol Motor Speedway Car Paint Scheme's: Here
Get your tire talk in here, Article on Nascars Tire Situation.

Twitter Feed