- The night race is what every fan looks forward to. One hundred sixty thousand fans packed into a cavernous bullring. Thunder Valley lives up to its name. Every year, with the exception of this one, the race is sold out MONTHS in advance.
- With its unique stadium setting and .533 mile oval, there is very little, if any, room at Bristol. An unscheduled green flag pit stop will put a driver at least three laps down, if not more.
- Tempers get short, as evidenced by a memorable dust-up between Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon a few years ago after a spring race.
- One of the most memorable moments in this race came in 1995, when Terry Labonte took the checkered flag going sideways. This came as a result of contact with Dale Earnhardt on the final turn of the race. Ironically, Labonte going sideways kept Earnhardt from taking the checkered flag.
- Another very memorable moment involved the same drivers four years later. Labonte was on his way to another win when he was punted by Earnhardt going into Turn 3. Earnhardt took the checkered flag to lusty boos and hisses. Earnhardt's response? "I was just trying to rattle his cage." Classic.
- Handling is at a premium. If the car is well balanced and the crew hits on the setup, the driver could have a great showing. Consequently, one can have a great car and also get caught in someone's mishap.
- Thinking of you: Darrell Waltrip. (The all-time leading winner at Bristol, with 12 wins, including an amazing seven in a row.)
- Look for the usual suspects to run well: Kurt and Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, and Clint Bowyer.
- Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon share the most wins by an active driver with five each.
- My dark horse to run well here: Casey Mears. RCR cars have historically run well at Bristol. Mears will be no exception. Which brings me to my predicted race winner.
Predicted Race Winner: Clint Bowyer. Although Bowyer has never won at Bristol, he has always ran well there. He's been running very well over the last month or so. Plus he's making a strong late push for the Chase. I'm going to go with a bit of an upset with Bowyer winding up in Victory Lane.
Special thanks go out to www.bristolmotorspeedway.com for additional information cited in Gas and Go.
12 comments:
Hey Jon, good post. I always like learning about some of the history of these races.
Thank you and take care.
Hmmm, hoping Bowyer makes you look like a genius this week eh Jon? Maybe so...but I'll stick with Kurt, he is due.
Wonder if Kyle is going to rattle anyone's cage?
I've seen highlights of that '99 race on youtube....and then the 2000 (I think) Pocono one when Mayfield bumped Dale out of the way on the last lap and said the same thing, LOL!
Well just a couple of races to go . And it's now or never for some. And then there will be those on the outside left looking in . More's the pity !
So what now for the likes of Gordon , Stewart , Jimmie and the others who'll make up the Chase roster ?
Alan aka tophatal
Bowyer AND Mears? Your RCR is showing, Jon. LOL
Gordon vs Kenseth was nothing compared to Harvick jumping over the trunk of Biffle's car to get him in a stranglehold once at Bristol.
Look for a single file parade, as the Chase has taken the race out of Bristol.
KLV...Carl rattled Kyle's cage a year ago in Bristol. Would love to see some on-track justice.
Great post, The double file restarts will be big and if we get a rain out qualifyer helps the front runners but 10th on back could get caught up in some ones mistake. I am going to say some one on the bubble of in or out will get caught up on a restart.
I know that was easy to perdict.lol
CheersJon
Aero, thank you for reading and commenting. I always try to bring some historical perspective.
Kristen, I think Bowyer is overdue, and Bristol could be the tonic he needs. Ya think I was going to pick Burton the way he's been running? LOL! (NO WAY could Burton have that missing lugnut!) As for Kyle, I wouldn't put it past him!
Tez, I remember watching that 1995 race. Labonte going sideways was pretty wild! I remember he had a pretty crumpled up car in Victory Lane! Mayfield's move was pretty ballsy, especially coming from a relative newcomer to the circuit.
Alan, the Chase contender from 9-15 that gets caught up in a wreck at Bristol will be the guy that misses the Chase. It's going to be between Gordon, Johnson, Stewart, and Martin.
Gene, how could you have guessed? How could I have forgot Harvick vs. Biffle, Bristol 2002? For some reason, I thought it happened at Martinsville. Biffle had punted him in a Busch Series race. Harvick was pissed, and was waiting for Biffle.
Forensic, the double-file restarts will be QUITE interesting! Someone WILL get caught up in the mess!
Jon...we were sitting directly across from Harvick's pit that day. After being knocked out of the Busch race by Biffle, not-so-Happy stood on his pit box, arms crossed, and stared at Biffle's car every time it flashed by. Uh-oh.
Then when Biffle was standing beside his car after the race, here comes Harvick, flying through the air to put da clamp on da Biff. The crowd was going nuts.
To cap it off, Harvick was wearing a Spiderman driver's suit to promote the movie. Good times.
Nice insights as always. You're a master at those...
I remember that Earnhardt-Labonte finish in 1999 when I was just a little boy...
I like your Bowyer pick, but I have decided to go with Kyle Busch. I think he is going to make a statement this weekend...
Gene, not-so-Happy did a great Spiderman impression flying through the air like that! The irony is not lost. You KNEW there was going to be a showdown after that race.
Gonger, thanks. I thought about going with Kyle, but Bowyer has been running very well over the last several races, since the Glen. I think that very solid finish at the Glen gave him a much-needed boost of confidence.
Jon-464
Can't say that I'm at all surprised by that. But then again this season as such has been like no other.
So Danica's no more than 50% sure whether or not she'll remain in IRL or jump to NASCAR ? What gives ? I thought she'd be more inclined to make the jump to either FHM , Playboy or Jugs Magazine ?
Alan aka tophatal .....
Jon-464
If at all interested here's a piece I did on the Cleveland Browns . In order to view just click on the text shown below.
Oh To Be A Cleveland Browns' Fan Who's Laughing ? Shame On You ... !
As and when you're ready I'll look forward to reading your comments.
Alan
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