Wednesday, August 19, 2015

2015 Week 24 Preview: Bristol

Irwin Tools Night Race

Bristol Motor Speedway


By Richard Tix

NASCAR leaves Michigan International Speedway with the same winner that won the earlier Bristol race, Matt Kenseth. The MIS win was his third of the 2015 season and is part of an impressive Joe Gibbs Racing hot streak.

The Kenseth win was not only big for him, but also guys like McMurray, Gordon, and Newman. Why is that? Well, because Kenseth was another repeat winner this season so their Chase chances are looking even better and better each race.

Bristol will send NASCAR back to short track action which lest drivers mix it up a bit. It is not Bristol of the old days, but drivers can still bump more here than any 1.5 mile track. That could lead to some quick tempers and some unexpected drivers having rough finishes. So, will guys still looking to make the Chase stay clear of trouble on Saturday? Or will Bristol leave a black eye that they try and clear up before the Chase starts?



The Good
  • Matt Kenseth- The 2015 Food City 500 winner, Kenseth is coming off a win at Michigan as well. He has four career Bristol wins including two in his last four starts. He has also lead at least 25 or more laps in the last eight Bristol races, so he will be up front on Saturday.
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr- Who is the current driver with the best average finish at Bristol? If you guessed Ricky you guessed right. Sure it is only in 5 starts, but he has a run of three straight top 10's going on right now. Its hard to trust him, but he could finish well again.
  • Jeff Gordon- Gordon's results here lately have been a bit up and down, but he still has five career wins at Bristol and finished 3rd earlier this year. He has 5 top 10's (3 top 5's) in his last eight Bristol starts.
The Middle
  • Greg Biffle- 25 career Bristol starts and zero wins. But, that doesn't say it all for his Bristol success. He still has 13 top tens and an average finish of 12.6 over those 25 races. His 30th place finish earlier this year was his third worst Bristol finish in his career, but he normally falls in the 8-13 range.
The Bad
  • Sam Hornish Jr- Only 8 starts at Bristol for Hornish, but only has one top 20 and two top 25's in that time. Five of those eight have been outside the top 30 which is a problem. 
  • Casey Mears- In 25 career starts Mears has only one top 10. The bigger issue is his 28.1 average finish here.
  • Martin Truex Jr- In his last four starts Truex's average finish is 30th. Over his career, 19 races, his average finish is not much better at 20.7. He has found new life this season, but in the past he hasn't got around Bristol that great.

About the Track: Bristol
Track Stats
  • Cup has run 109 total races at Bristol since 1961
  • Richard Petty ran the most career races at Bristol: 60.
  • Darrell Waltrip has the most career Bristol wins: 12. Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt, and Cale Yarborough follow with 9 each.
  • Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip are tied for the most career top 5's with 26.
  • Richard Petty has the most career top 10's with 37.
  • Mark Martin and Cale Yarborough are tied for the most career Poles with 9.
  • Of current drivers. Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, and Kurt Busch have the most wins with 5.
  • Of Current drivers Jeff Gordon has the most top 5's (17), top 10's (25), and Poles (5)
Track Info
  • Surface: Concrete
  • Length: .533 miles
  • Banking
    • Turns: 26-30 degrees
    • Straights: 6-10 degrees

Bristol Motor Speedway
Race
Date
Cars
Winner(s)
St
Make / Model
1961-36
7/30/1961
42
Jack Smith
12
'61 Pontiac
1961-50
10/22/1961
38
Joe Weatherly
2
'61 Pontiac
1962-17
4/29/1962
36
Bobby Johns
6
'62 Pontiac
1962-36
7/29/1962
44
Jim Paschal
12
'62 Plymouth
1963-13
3/31/1963
35
Fireball Roberts
3
'63 Ford
1963-37
7/28/1963
36
Fred Lorenzen
1
'63 Ford
1964-10
3/22/1964
36
Fred Lorenzen
2
'64 Ford
1964-42
7/26/1964
36
Fred Lorenzen
8
'64 Ford
1965-14
5/2/1965
33
Junior Johnson
3
'65 Ford
1965-34
7/25/1965
36
Ned Jarrett
6
'65 Ford
1966-07
3/20/1966
32
Dick Hutcherson
6
'66 Ford
1966-34
7/24/1966
36
Paul Goldsmith
4
'66 Plymouth
1967-07
3/19/1967
36
David Pearson
14
'67 Dodge
1967-33
7/23/1967
36
Richard Petty
1
'67 Plymouth
1968-05
3/17/1968
36
David Pearson
2
'68 Ford
1968-30
7/21/1968
36
David Pearson
6
'68 Ford
1969-09
3/23/1969
30
Bobby Allison
4
'69 Dodge
1969-33
7/20/1969
32
David Pearson
3
'69 Ford
1970-09
4/5/1970
30
Donnie Allison
2
'70 Ford
1970-28
7/19/1970
30
Bobby Allison
10
'69 Dodge
1971-09
3/28/1971
30
David Pearson
1
'71 Ford
1971-28
7/11/1971
30
Charlie Glotzbach
2
'71 Chevrolet
1972-07
4/9/1972
30
Bobby Allison
1
'72 Chevrolet
1972-18
7/9/1972
30
Bobby Allison
1
'72 Chevrolet
1973-05
3/25/1973
30
Cale Yarborough
1
'73 Chevrolet
1973-18
7/8/1973
30
Benny Parsons
2
'73 Chevrolet
1974-05
3/17/1974
30
Cale Yarborough
3
'74 Chevrolet
1974-17
7/14/1974
30
Cale Yarborough
3
'74 Chevrolet
1975-05
3/16/1975
23
Richard Petty
2
'74 Dodge
1975-28
11/2/1975
30
Richard Petty
4
'74 Dodge
1976-05
3/14/1976
30
Cale Yarborough
3
Chevrolet
1976-21
8/29/1976
30
Cale Yarborough
2
Chevrolet
1977-08
4/17/1977
30
Cale Yarborough
1
Chevrolet
1977-21
8/28/1977
29
Cale Yarborough
1
Chevrolet
1978-06
4/2/1978
29
Darrell Waltrip
7
Chevrolet
1978-21
8/26/1978
30
Cale Yarborough
4
Oldsmobile
1979-07
4/1/1979
30
Dale Earnhardt
9
Chevrolet
1979-22
8/25/1979
30
Darrell Waltrip
5
Chevrolet
1980-06
3/30/1980
32
Dale Earnhardt
4
Chevrolet
1980-22
8/23/1980
30
Cale Yarborough
1
Chevrolet
1981-06
3/29/1981
31
Darrell Waltrip
1
Buick
1981-22
8/22/1981
30
Darrell Waltrip
1
Buick
1982-03
3/14/1982
30
Darrell Waltrip
1
Buick
1982-21
8/28/1982
30
Darrell Waltrip
8
Buick
1983-11
5/21/1983
28
Darrell Waltrip
13
Chevrolet
1983-21
8/27/1983
29
Darrell Waltrip
2
Chevrolet
1984-05
4/1/1984
30
Darrell Waltrip
3
Chevrolet
1984-21
8/25/1984
30
Terry Labonte
6
Chevrolet
1985-05
4/6/1985
30
Dale Earnhardt
12
Chevrolet
1985-19
8/24/1985
31
Dale Earnhardt
1
Chevrolet
1986-05
4/6/1986
32
Rusty Wallace
14
Pontiac
1986-20
8/23/1986
30
Darrell Waltrip
10
Chevrolet
1987-07
4/12/1987
30
Dale Earnhardt
3
Chevrolet
1987-20
8/22/1987
30
Dale Earnhardt
6
Chevrolet
1988-06
4/10/1988
32
Bill Elliott
13
Ford
1988-20
8/27/1988
32
Dale Earnhardt
5
Chevrolet
1989-06
4/9/1989
32
Rusty Wallace
8
Pontiac
1989-20
8/26/1989
32
Darrell Waltrip
9
Chevrolet
1990-06
4/8/1990
32
Davey Allison
19
Ford
1990-20
8/25/1990
32
Ernie Irvan
6
Chevrolet
1991-06
4/14/1991
33
Rusty Wallace
1
Pontiac
1991-20
8/24/1991
32
Alan Kulwicki
5
Ford
1992-06
4/5/1992
32
Alan Kulwicki
1
Ford
1992-20
8/29/1992
32
Darrell Waltrip
9
Chevrolet
1993-06
4/4/1993
35
Rusty Wallace
1
Pontiac
1993-21
8/28/1993
34
Mark Martin
1
Ford
1994-06
4/10/1994
37
Dale Earnhardt
24
Chevrolet
1994-22
8/27/1994
36
Rusty Wallace
4
Ford
1995-06
4/2/1995
36
Jeff Gordon
2
Chevrolet
1995-22
8/26/1995
36
Terry Labonte
2
Chevrolet
1996-06
3/31/1996
37
Jeff Gordon
8
Chevrolet
1996-22
8/24/1996
39
Rusty Wallace
5
Ford
1997-07
4/13/1997
43
Jeff Gordon
5
Chevrolet
1997-22
8/23/1997
42
Dale Jarrett
3
Ford
1998-06
3/29/1998
43
Jeff Gordon
2
Chevrolet
1998-22
8/22/1998
43
Mark Martin
4
Ford
1999-07
4/11/1999
43
Rusty Wallace
1
Ford
1999-23
8/28/1999
43
Dale Earnhardt
26
Chevrolet
2000-06
3/26/2000
43
Rusty Wallace
6
Ford
2000-23
8/26/2000
43
Rusty Wallace
1
Ford
2001-06
3/25/2001
43
Elliott Sadler
38
Ford
2001-24
8/25/2001
43
Tony Stewart
18
Pontiac
2002-06
3/24/2002
43
Kurt Busch
27
Ford
2002-24
8/24/2002
43
Jeff Gordon
1
Chevrolet
2003-06
3/23/2003
43
Kurt Busch
9
Ford
2003-24
8/23/2003
43
Kurt Busch
5
Ford
2004-06
3/28/2004
43
Kurt Busch
13
Ford
2004-24
8/28/2004
43
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
30
Chevrolet
2005-05
4/3/2005
43
Kevin Harvick
13
Chevrolet
2005-24
8/27/2005
43
Matt Kenseth
1
Ford
2006-05
3/26/2006
43
Kurt Busch
9
Dodge
2006-24
8/26/2006
43
Matt Kenseth
4
Ford
2007-05
3/25/2007
43
Kyle Busch
20
Chevrolet
2007-24
8/25/2007
43
Carl Edwards
6
Ford
2008-05
3/16/2008
43
Jeff Burton
8
Chevrolet
2008-24
8/23/2008
43
Carl Edwards
1
Ford
2009-05
3/22/2009
43
Kyle Busch
19
Toyota
2009-24
8/22/2009
43
Kyle Busch
15
Toyota
2010-05
3/21/2010
43
Jimmie Johnson
4
Chevrolet
2010-24
8/21/2010
43
Kyle Busch
19
Toyota
2011-04
3/20/2011
43
Kyle Busch
12
Toyota
2011-24
8/27/2011
43
Brad Keselowski
8
Dodge
2012-04
3/18/2012
43
Brad Keselowski
5
Dodge
2012-24
8/25/2012
43
Denny Hamlin
8
Toyota
2013-04
3/17/2013
43
Kasey Kahne
2
Chevrolet
2013-24
8/24/2013
43
Matt Kenseth
5
Toyota
2014-04
3/16/2014
43
Carl Edwards
12
Ford
2014-24
8/23/2014
43
Joey Logano
5
Ford
2015-08
4/19/2015
43
Matt Kenseth
1
Toyota


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