Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Week 24 Preview: Bristol (Race Two)

Irwin Tools Night Race

Week 24


By Richard Tix

NASCAR leaves Michigan International Speedway and another driver notches his 3rd win of 2014. That driver would be Jeff Gordon who has had a great bounce back season after a mediocre 2013 (not that it was bad, but it did start rumors he might retire). Well Jeff looks like he is in his prime and ready to win another Championship.

What other drivers are going to make there mark in 2014? Well one thing we know, NASCAR has 3 races for drivers to make a move and get into the Chase. You either need to win, or be one of the highest guys in points if you want a shot in the 10 race Chase. So, will an underdog without a win find one at Bristol? Could Kahne, Bowyer, or Kenseth finally get a 2014 victory?


The Good, Middle, and Bad

The Good
  • Kyle Busch- One bad outing can not erase all the good he has done at this track. One can not look past the fact that he has 5 career Bristol wins in 19 career starts.
  • Jeff Gordon- Gordon has been having a come back season this year after talks of retirement by media and fans. Well earlier this year he finished 7th at Bristol and will look to improve that mark this time around. 
  • Kasey Kahne- Kahne has four straight top 10's at Bristol and could use a win or at the very least a great finish to help his Chase chances. 
The Middle
  • Brad Keselowski- In 9 career races at Bristol BK has 2 wins. He hasn't had quite the success as of late but I would expect a bounce back as he always seems to start towards the front.
The Bad
  • AJ Allmendinger- 12 career starts at BMS and zero top 10's. In that time he only has two career top 15's so AJ still has some work to do on this short track.
  • Casey Mears- One top 15 and one top 20 in his last 8 races. True he is on a smaller team and I do cut guys like that a break, but Bristol hasn't been his spot.
Track Stats
  • Since 2006 (17 races) Chevy has only won 4 races
  • Since that same time Toyota has 6 wins, Ford 4, and Dodge 3
  • Both Kyle and Kurt Busch have swept both Bristol races in a season. Kyle in 2009 and Kurt in 2003

More Bristol Articles:

No comments: