2016 NASCAR Pit Road Week 8: Bristol

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Food City 500

Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images

By Richard Tix

Attendance? Does that affect your viewing pleasure whether you're at the track or at home? Does it change the race? The answer is no. I understand fans are interested in it for the fact of keeping tabs on how well the track is doing. However, I think something like attendance is hard to fully equate to how well the sport in general is doing.

We're at an age in sports that attendance has been hard to come by. Twitter accounts like @EmptySeatsPics are around and have 20.2K followers. It's an age where everyone is struggling at times to bring fans to an event. Some sports are worse off than others, but that means they just need to start doing other things better to bring in viewership. The market crashed, HD TV's became a thing and then they became less expensive, and social media options became more relevant. Everything in a few short years and you can start to realize it isn't easy for track's to keep attendance up.

Eventually if the product is good enough fans will come back to the tracks. Tracks are coming up with better and less expensive ticket packages and some tracks give A+ experiences on race day.

All in all, do not decide whether the race was good based on who was at it, because if you do you will be dead wrong.

Sunday at Bristol we had a fantastic race from start to finish (full disclosure I did miss some of it). The racing action was great and guys got to beat and bang around and still have a shot at the end of the day.

On top of the racing action plenty of other storylines came from Bristol that you can't beat. Bristol might be even more unpredictable than Talladega when it comes to where drivers finish. Chase Elliott went back to back top 5 finish's. Trevor Bayne finished in the top 5 which is only his second top 5 ever (the other was the 2011 Daytona 500 win). Matt DiBenedetto took the No. 83 BK Racing car and finished 6th. You could actually see the emotion pouring out of him post race which was a great moment. Clint Bowyer also finally had a moment of light in a dark season when he finished 8th on Sunday.

Just a ton of storylines to go along with some fun on track racing. After two rain hurt races last year, Bristol should have shown fans why it's worth coming to the track later this season for some night racing.

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 8 (Week 7)

1. Kyle Busch (LW-1)- Consider this a one week pass. Between Kyle and Kenseth I am confident they would have pushed Carl for the win if they hadn't had issues on the day. Kyle still has 6 top 5's in 8 races. Finish: 38th
2. Carl Edwards (LW-4)- In NASCAR many times the best car on the day doesn't win, well on Sunday that wasn't true because Carl absolutely dominated. Big win for the No. 19 this week. Finish: 1st
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-2)- What a day. From issues early all the way to the back and then to the front, it was amazing Junior was even in the conversation late. That's a quality day that will be forgotten later in the season. Finish: 2nd
4. Kevin Harvick (LW-6)- Harvick started 7th and finished 7th. It was a huge improvement from last week at Texas. He ran on average in the third position and never was outside the top 15. Finish: 7th
5. Joey Logano (LW-5)- Sunday was not a good day overall for JoLo, but they fought through once again. This continues to be a weekly trend that is stopping them from winning. Finish: 10th
6. Jimmie Johnson (LW-2)- It's not easy coming back after going a lap down (just don't ask Junior because he is making it look easy). Bristol was a bit of a slip up on a otherwise great run for JJ lately. Finish: 23rd
7. Kurt Busch (LW-7)- Kurt looked like he had a shot down the stretch, but Carl Edwards was just too good on Sunday. Finish: 3rd
8. Chase Elliott (LW-12)- It's starting to look more and more like Chase won't even need a win this year to get into the Chase. On Sunday he notched his second top 5 which is also back to back top 5's. A few more top 10's and he will sky rocket up this list. Finish: 4th
9. Martin Truex Jr (LW-9)- Only one top 10 in his last six races. It hasn't been pretty overall lately, but the team still has some speed from time to time to compete. Finish: 14th 
10. Brad Keselowski (LW-8)- Penalty after penalty. Its a bad trend to have, but the plus side is they're happening now. They can smooth these over before the Chase and be competitive down the stretch. Finish: 18th
11. Jamie McMurray (LW-NR)- McMurray hasn't really been that great or that bad all year. After 2014, Ganassi just hasn't found "it" since. Six of his eight finishes have been 17th or better but he only has one top 10. Finish: 13th
12. Denny Hamlin (LW-11)- For how many wins JGR has already this season, Hamlin and Kenseth have really struggled. Consistency has been a key with both as has penalties. JGR as a whole had tire issues and really only Carl overcame. Finish: 20th

Dropped Out: Austin Dillon (LW-10)

Just Missed: Ryan Newman and Trevor Bayne

2015 Pit Road Week 24: Bristol

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Irwin Tools Night Race

By Richard Tix

NASCAR headed to Bristol Motor Speedway for the second time this season for the Irwin Tools Night Race. Personally, this race is always towards the top of my season "must see races." Well, unfortunately this year I missed almost the entire race. So, we will not get too deep into a race review because I want to witness them first hand to actually give a review. 

The race did continue a few themes as of late. Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske once again showed why they're a step ahead of everyone (not to forget about Harvick who is right with them). Joey Logano won his second race in the past three races to make sure NASCAR fans haven't forgotten Ford still has two dominate cars.

Bristol also reminded us that even when HMS are struggling they're not completely out of it (at least the 48 and 88). Neither were real threats to win, but both fought through and posted quality finishes that will be needed when the Chase rolls around the corner.

Lets get to the power rankings and who rose and who fell after BMS.

2015 Irwin Tools Night Race Results

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 24 (Week 23)

1. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- Only two wins all season, but it sure doesn't feel like it. That's because "Happy" has finished 2nd a whopping 10 times, plus he has finished 3rd three times. Even if he doesn't win, that could be enough to get him back to back Championships. Finish: 2nd
2. Joey Logano (LW-4)- Saturdays win marked JoLo's 3rd win of 2015 and his second in three races. Right now its JGR 1A, Penske 1B, and Harvick 1C with everyone else just trying to catch back up. Finish: 1st
3. Kyle Busch (LW-2)- After Bristol's top 10, "Rowdy" is closing in on RFR's Stenhouse Jr and Bayne in just 13 races. That's how far RFR has fallen and also how good Kyle has been. Finish: 8th
4. Brad Keselowski (LW-5)- For how far off all the other Ford's are it is really amazing where Penske still sits. I would argue that JoLo and BK are step's above all the other Ford drivers, but they also have some quality cars. BK now has 7 straight top 10's. Finish: 6th
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-6)- It's a weird time right now at HMS. For the first time in awhile they're not the top dogs in the sport and it is showing. However, Jr has been pushing through it all and been a standout in the shop. If they get it straightened out he could be in place to compete. Finish: 9th
6. Matt Kenseth (LW-3)- Rough luck at a track where he has been very good at lately. After his recent run he is in the thick of things when it comes to title talks. Finish: 42nd
7. Carl Edwards (LW-7)- If it wasn't obvious even when Carl was struggling to start the year, it is now, he is glad to be gone from RFR. Six top 10's in his last seven and the other was a 13th place finish at Indy. He and JGR are coming on strong at the right time. Finish: 7th
8. Jimmie Johnson (LW-8)- It's been a roller coaster lately for JJ, but on Saturday he had a bright spot. He still didn't lead a lap (now 7 straight races), but the top 5 put MIS in the mirror. Finish: 4th
9. Clint Bowyer (LW-NR)- After a rough finish at MIS the top 5 at BMS was clutch for Bowyer. He now has a 35 point lead on 17th in the standings and should get in barring no new winners below him in the points. Finish: 5th
10. Denny Hamlin (LW-NR)- Hamlin won the pole for Saturdays race, led a few laps, and finished in the top 5, not much more he could do but get the win. He is part of the JGR clan that has been hot for the past month and a half and it could lead to another shot at Miami. Finish: 3rd
11. Ryan Newman (LW-12)- He is doing it again. Finishes like this will get Newman through the first 6 Chase races and then all he has to do is be one of the four best for the last four. He is showing it is possible to get to the Chase in more than one way. Finish: 10th
12. Kurt Busch (LW-10)- It was a fun run for Kurt when he returned, but lately the #41 has fallen off a bit. In his last four he only has one top 10 (a top 5) and only two top 15's, which is not good for a guy of his caliber. Finish: 14th

Dropped Out: Kyle Larson and Paul Menard

Just Missed: Jamie McMurray and Austin Dillon

Honorable Mention: Justin Allgaier (12th) and Trevor Bayne (15th)

No new winners this week in the Season Long Leaderboard. NASCAR takes an off week before heading to Darlington for Labor Day weekend. NBTW will still have articles this week including an early addition of the Darlington Preview and also the 2015 Darlington Paint Schemes Page!

2015 Week 8 Pit Road: Bristol

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Week 8: Food City 500

By Richard Tix

This week NASCAR was at Bristol for some short track action. Bristol was the first stop of back to back stops of short track action before Richmond. This week I will be keeping the review part of this article short and sweet, unlike the actual race that took up the whole day.

Most of us knew going into Sunday morning the race was going to be threatened by rain. The race started out postponed by the rain in the morning. Just as one rain cell was moving out most fans could see that another cell would be moving in shortly after and if NASCAR started the race not much would get done. 

Well, NASCAR decided to start anyways and as it turned out, they got a whole 23 laps in. It seemed like the 23 laps could have waited until after the second rain cell. It really looked like that cell would have a larger clearing behind it and 23 laps only took about 10 min.

Either way, things got going early and Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano got together early and ruined there night. Once racing got back going strange things didn't stop. Denny Hamlin didn't get back in his car (neck spasms) and Erik Jones made his debut in a Cup car. Also, Kurt Busch's CC didn't come back either (kidney stones). 

In the second half of the race Jimmie Johnson made a strange move that was more desperate than he normally gets and it started a wreck. Somehow, most involved didn't incur heavy damage but it did hurt Harvick enough he was done competing for the night.

In the end it came down to a bunch of guys who did not have a win in 2015 and it was looking more and more like a first time winner would pull off the win at Bristol. With Matt Kenseth leading a small pop up shower came in and NASCAR went under the red flag again.

NASCAR would get back going for a G-W-C and Kenseth held onto the lead and the win. It was Kenseth's first win int he New Chase Era and the first time he can say he is an almost lock to make the Chase.

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 8 (Week 7)

1. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- He lead 184 laps on the night, don't forget that. It's Bristol and anything can happen (which will be a trend for a lot of guys in these rankings this week). Finish: 38th
2. Jimmie Johnson (LW-5)- What A day/night for Johnson. He never lead a lap, started a wreck, yet finished second. Finish: 2nd
3. Jeff Gordon (LW-7)- Up and down day for Gordon. His kids gave a great command to start the race, but it wasn't enough to hold off the rain I guess. Finish: 3rd
4. Joey Logano (LW-3)- Rough day for JoLo as BK got loose and collected him into an early wreck. It cost Joey a quality finish and his top ten streak, but he is already in the Chase so its onto Richmond . Finish: 40th
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-6)- Jr had a tire go down early that put him in a hole. He worked his way out of some of that hole but wasted a quality car because of that early bad luck. He and the #88 team still fought back for an alrigt finish. Finish: 16th
6. Brad Keselowski (LW-2)- BK got loose after the rain start and brought a caution on lap 23. IN the same wreck he collected his teammate JoLo which was a Pensek 1 2 punch. BK did get back out to pick up a few points he would have lost by calling it a day. Finish: 35th
7. Martin Truex Jr (LW-3)- Truex is another driver that saw his top ten streak go up in smoke Sunday night. He still has a great start to the 2015 season and has put himself in a good position for a Chase push. Finish: 29th
8. Matt Kenseth (LW-NR)- Kenseth finally gets to relax and know that he is locked in the Chase. That is the first time he has had that relief in the New Chase Era. Now they cn start to catch up on the 1.5's. Finish: 1st
9. Kurt Busch (LW-10)- Kurt once again started the race on fire like he has been doing in 2015, but again had a disspointing finish. Something he and his team will need to figure out soon. Finish: 15th
10. Jamie McMurray (LW-11)- Not an amazing night by JMac but it wasn't a throw away race either. Gannasi seems to once agian be strong enough to push for a few wins in 2015. Finish: 14th
11. Kasey Kahne (LW-8)- Kahne had a great night going at one time, but bad luck ruined that. The plus side is it looks like he has closed the gap on his Hendrick teammates since last season. Finish: 37th
12. Ryan Newman (LW-NR)-RCR is still fighting his penalty, but Newman looked like he put it in the rear view mirror on Sunday. He didn't have an amazing night but it was the finish that counted. Don't look now but he is back in the top 16 of points. Finish: 5th

Dropped Out: Denny Hamlin (LW-9) and Carl Edwards (LW-12)

Just Missed: Danica Patrick and Aric Almirola

Honorable Mention: Ricky Stenhouse Jr (4th), Justin Allgaier (8th), Austin Dillon (10th), and Brett Moffit (17th)

Full Race Results
2015 Current Driver Standings

ARF was almost right. 

Back to Back weeks for Garry

Michele's Kenseth fandom finally pays off!!

Well thats it for this week. Now NASCAR heads to Richmond for the third short track in the last four races. Richmond is a personal favorite of mine so I am already looking forward to Saturday night. Check back for this weeks race preview laters this week.

Pit Road Week 4: Bristol

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Week 4

By Richard Tix

Rain, rain, and more rain. That's how Sunday went at Bristol, but eventually NASCAR and the Air Titan threw the knock out punch to mother nature.  Fan's waited around 6 hours to finally get the race in, but the wait was well worth it.  After a morning shower that originally started the race behind schedule, rain came back into play and set NASCAR even further behind. Talk's of a Monday day race started swirling.

Finally NASCAR found a window and got back to racing. Once back the on track performance was fun, exciting, and a little strange. Throughout the race it seemed like a lot of the strong cars continually went down. Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, and Dale Earnhardt Jr to name a few. 

In the end, fans still got some good racing even though there favorite driver may have been out or limping around the track. Carl Edwards came on late and when he did he came on strong and got his first win of 2014. Young guys Ricky Stenhouse, Aric Almilrola,  Kyle Larson, and Austin Dillon all ended with good days (nights). 

NASCAR will leave that on strange spring night in Bristol behind and head to Auto Club Speedway where things got turned up a notch in 2013. If you missed it, here are the full race results. Also, check out the Bristol preview.


Pit Road: Power Rankings Week 4 (Week 3 Power Rankings)

1. Brad Keselowski (LW-2)- Just like in the points standings, he moves up because of everyone else's huge fall down. He had a late run in with oil on the track and the rear end of Jamie McMurray that hurt his chances of winning, but he still limped it around for a 14th place finish
2. Jeff Gordon (LW-4)- Gordon starts the season out with 4 top 10's for the first time in his career. Just think about that for a moment....Some were writing him off a bit to start the year, maybe he still has it in him for another title run?
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-1)- A long day for Jr turned into a long night. He looked to have a strong car early though. He is safe for the Chase, so this wont hurt him much. Another strong finish next week will move him right back up these rankings.
4. Carl Edwards (LW-6)- One can make a case for Carl anywhere on this list. He has three straight top 10's and back to back top 5's (Bristol being a win). The scary part, it doesn't even seem like this team is clicking yet. He was really good late at Bristol, but he didn't seem dominant. Look out if they get it going late in this season.
5. Matt Kenseth (LW-7)- Kenseth moves up two spots after finishing 13th? Well, so many around him are dropping like flies and Kesneth might have had the best car for 75% of the race, even after Timmy Hill got in the back of him. Still a strong run on the day and the kind of finish a champion will need.
6. Jimmie Johnson LW-3)- Rough day. That about sums it up. He had a tire issue early on and never could recover. JJ made it back to a lap down, but that was the closest he got the rest of the day.
7. Denny Hamlin (LW-10)- Good finish, but was it a great day? After starting on the pole it seemed like DH vanished. He never had enough to push to the front but still managed a 6th place finish.
8. Kasey Kahne (LW-NR)- Back to back 8th place finishes for Kasey Kahne has him 11th in the points standings. He ran up front a lot on Sunday, even leading a few laps (16). Auto Club will be a track that Kasey could push for the win at.
9. Joey Logano (LW-5)- Big drop for JoLo after he lost his power steering, and also a drop in the rankings. With so many guys getting pushed down the rankings its going to happen. He ran very strong at Auto Club last year before the incident, so look for the same this year.
10. Ryan Newman (LW-8)- Newman was just about everywhere on Sunday. He was towards the front, then the back, and then he settled into a 16th place finish. But he salvaged it enough to stay in the rankings for another week.
11. Greg Biffle (LW-NR)- The Biff still only has one top 10 on the season (Daytona) but he hasn't has a crippling finish either. A 12th place finish at Bristol also has him 12th in the points standings. Biffle is a Ford that still hasn't seemed to come around.
12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr (LW-NR)- Gets the nod over Austin Dillons consistency because he ran up front a lot on Sunday. In his last 15 races he has 5 top 10's (that is all 5 career top 10's). 

Dropped Out: Kyle Busch (LW-9), Kevin Harvick (LW-10), and Jamie McMurray (LW-12)

Just Missed: Austin Dillon

Honorable Mention (Good run at Bristol): Brian Vickers, Kyle Larson, Marcus Ambrose, Tony Stewart, and Aric Almirola

Didn't have a lot of responses to my question "Who will win at Bristol?" this week. Might have been due to the rain, but either way no one predicted Carl Edwards to me at @NASCARBTW. For the record the leading vote getter was Brad Keselowski. Need early fantasy advice for Auto Club? Check out ThisSportz for a Fantasy Preview and then check back often as they do updates!