The Food city 500 preview
03/14/2013
Jim Fitzgerald
Round Four of the 2013 fight for the Sprint Cup Series Championship takes us
to the boxing ring known as Thunder Valley, The Last Great Coliseum, and simply,
“Bristol, Baby!!” Forty-three competitors will strap on the gloves and duke it
out for a few hours and one will come home the winner. We’re the lucky ones,
though. We get to witness it!
The
Track:
Location: Bristol, Tennessee
Length: .533 Mile Oval
Banking: 24-30 degrees in turns 1-2; 24-30 degrees in turns 3-4; 4-9 degrees
on the backstretch, 4-9 on the front
Pit Road Speed: 30 MPH
The
Race:
500 Laps/ 266.5 Miles
Defending Champion: Brad Keselowski
Most recent winner: Denny Hamlin
Track Record: Charlie Glotzbach, July 1971, 101.074 MPH
Race Record: Cale Yarborough, April 1977, 100.989 MPH
Qualifying record: Ryan Newman, March 2003, 125.215 MPH
TV:FOX, 1:00PM EST
The
History:
The first race at Bristol was the Volunteer 500, and was run on July 30th,
1961. Johnny Allen took the checkered flag, but he was driving in relief for
official race winner Jack Smith. There have been 104 Sprint Cup Series races at
Bristol and 40 difference drivers have claimed a victory. An astounding 83 races
have been won from a top ten starting position and 22 of them have come from the
pole. Chevrolet has won 42 times here, while Ford is second with 33, Dodge has
8, Toyota 5, and 17 come from other car makes.
That’s some quick Bristol history…but let’s looks at the future now!
The
Contenders:
Who do I think will have a shot to win at Vegas?
Brad
Keselowski: Keselowski has won two of the last three races at
Bristol, but did finish a disappointing 30th in the other, which was last fall.
That may have been a throwaway race, however, as Keselowski was already locked
into the Chase at the time. Regardless, Bad Brad in six starts only has two top
10’s here, which are those two wins. Which Keselowski shows up this week? I’m
counting on the winning one.
Kyle
Busch: If Bristol is The Last Great Coliseum, maybe Busch is The
Last Great Gladiator. Kyle Busch has owned this track recently. In 16 starts,
Busch has five wins and eleven top ten finishes. Toyota has five wins here, and
four of them are from Busch.
Matt
Kenseth: Once you break into the winning column, you’re eligible
to start a streak, and I’m counting on Matt Kenseth to do just that. He won at
Las Vegas last week, but Kenseth also has two wins here along with seventeen
finishes in the top ten. Summer Bedgood of Frontstretch.com may have said it
best. “Kenseth is the best thing to happen to this team since ‘sliced bread.’”
Now, I’m not ready to go knocking Joey Logano, but this team is in the best
position to win at Bristol since Tony Stewart was in the cockpit.
Dale Earnhardt,
Jr: I know the numbers may not support this pick, but we can’t
rely on stats alone, can we? He does have the second highest average finish here
with 11.8, compared to Kyle Busch with 10.3. I’m looking more at recent overall
performance however, and two top fivesand three top ten finishes are enough to
get me to hit the Juniorbutton this week.
Jeff
Gordon: I’m not sure I am ready to pull the trigger on Gordon yet,
but I’ll take the gamble. Numbers do not lie, but this is also a sport of “what
have you done lately.” Gordon, in 40 starts, has five wins, five poles, and 22
top five finishes. He has led over 2500 laps at Bristol, and this year, if all
goes according to plan, he will eclipse 20,000 laps completed. He only has five
DNF’s and has finished on the lead lap 27 of those 40 races. That means they
have only really missed the boat 7 times in 40 races. That said, only 4 of
Gordon’s last ten races at Bristol have resulted in a top ten. I’m calling him
out for resurgence.
Dark Horse Pick:
Brian Vickers: Vickers has scored more points here in the last two
races than any other driver on the circuit with 81. In two races last year in
the No. 55 car usually driven my Mark Martin, Vickers finished 5th and
4threspectively. Those are the only top five finishes of his career at
Bristol.
There are my picks for this week at Bristol, but let’s back up the rewind
machine and see how I fared with my Vegas picks.
Tony Stewart: Did not lead and finished
11th.
Kyle Busch: Led 27 laps and finished 4th.
Jimmie Johnson: Led 66 laps and finished
6th.
Matt Kenseth: Led 42 laps, including the last one,
winning the KobaltTools 400.
Clint Bowyer: The race started, but Bowyer didn’t.
Finished 27th, two laps down.
Dark Horse Pick: Paul Menard: Finished
10th.
So, I got a win, a 4th, a 6th, a 10th, and 11th, and a 27th. Not horrible, I
suppose.
Race Pro
Picks!
Before we get to the Bristol picks, let’s back it up and see how our pros did
at Vegas.
[[PASTING TABLES IS NOT SUPPORTED]]
Here are our picks for the Food City 500 at Bristol, at 1:00PM on FOX:
(For the remainder of the season, the Pro who leads the points will pick
last, while the Pro who is last will pick first.)
Brian:
With the Best Average Finish of 8.4 for the last 10 races at Bristol, and 3rd
fastest in both practices, I'm forced to roll the dice again with The Shrub.
Kyle Busch is a proven driver, and even though his start of the 2013 season
hasn't been so rewarding, I can't pass up the statistics. I'm going to buy the
bigger bag of Peanut M&M's this week, and watch Kyle run up front. Don't let
my previous picks fool you, I'm in it to win it this week.
Nate:
I'm going to go with Carl Edwards. They have seemed to have found some speed
this year and he's got a win already. He does have two wins there with the last
coming in 2008, but with 17 starts he does have 4 top 5's and 7 top 10's. Not
too shabby. I pick Edwards to win.
Mr.
Seven: Look at that…another solid 7th place finish for me!
I’m going to keep doing it until the end of the year!
Alabama:
Ok here goes: I tried to use OVERALL instead of recent races and instituted
"Database Configuration: Start / Finish Ratio", and there's a dollar thought
from a dime brain!! Best AvgStart: Mark Martin: 10.3; Best Avg Finish: Dale
Earnhardt, Jr: 11.8. Best Avg Start / Finish: Earnhardt, Jr : 9.5. However, he
also has the WORST Avg. Start. I'm looking for aggressiveness yet coolness on
this track. I checked out many experienced drivers: Edwards, Johnson, Stewart,
Gordon, Kenseth, Hamlin, etc., and some younger drivers: Kahne, Bowyer (ok,
younger to Sprint level), Logano. Who can argue with Matt Kenseth: 2 wins, 10
top 5's and 17 top 10's? I think Brad Keselowski can. His first Sprint Cup race
at Bristol, just a few years back, he started 36th and finished 13th! He also is
the defending champion of this race, and it was the second one in a "back to
back" at Bristol. So I'm down to three now, Earnhardt, Kenseth, and Keselowski.
Qualifying could have an enormous impact. True, the No. 2 doesn't have that much
experience here, but he has been good enough for 2 wins, 2 top 5s and 2 top
10's, in just the six races he has run in the big leagues. Matt just won and may
not be hungry enough. Sorry Dale, I'm going with Brad in the No. 2. So it is
written, so let it be done.
Jim:
Well, my picks are falling by the wayside here, 1-2-3, so I guess either we’re
all on the same page, or there is no Bristol guess work at all. With Busch going
first, I was contemplating Edwards, then bam, no dice there. Keselowski was a
consideration, but not a strong one since he won on the progressive banking
only, and then finished horribly when they ground down the top level of the
banking. So, where does that leave me? Like I said, I’m not ready to pull that
Gordon trigger yet, but I will take my own advice and select Matt Kenseth. As
long as he can stay out of the path of Tony Stewart’s helmet, it should be a
good solid pick.
So, there are my challengers and our pro picks for the Food City 500 at
Bristol. Grab your boxing gloves, tape, oversized shorts and that weird poofy
underwear, and step into the ring for 500 laps of knockdown drag out good old
fashioned short track fun!
“Round and round…what comes around goes around…”
-Ratt
Jim Fitzgerald
Round Four of the 2013 fight for the Sprint Cup Series Championship takes us
to the boxing ring known as Thunder Valley, The Last Great Coliseum, and simply,
“Bristol, Baby!!” Forty-three competitors will strap on the gloves and duke it
out for a few hours and one will come home the winner. We’re the lucky ones,
though. We get to witness it!
The
Track:
Location: Bristol, Tennessee
Length: .533 Mile Oval
Banking: 24-30 degrees in turns 1-2; 24-30 degrees in turns 3-4; 4-9 degrees
on the backstretch, 4-9 on the front
Pit Road Speed: 30 MPH
The
Race:
500 Laps/ 266.5 Miles
Defending Champion: Brad Keselowski
Most recent winner: Denny Hamlin
Track Record: Charlie Glotzbach, July 1971, 101.074 MPH
Race Record: Cale Yarborough, April 1977, 100.989 MPH
Qualifying record: Ryan Newman, March 2003, 125.215 MPH
TV:FOX, 1:00PM EST
The
History:
The first race at Bristol was the Volunteer 500, and was run on July 30th,
1961. Johnny Allen took the checkered flag, but he was driving in relief for
official race winner Jack Smith. There have been 104 Sprint Cup Series races at
Bristol and 40 difference drivers have claimed a victory. An astounding 83 races
have been won from a top ten starting position and 22 of them have come from the
pole. Chevrolet has won 42 times here, while Ford is second with 33, Dodge has
8, Toyota 5, and 17 come from other car makes.
That’s some quick Bristol history…but let’s looks at the future now!
The
Contenders:
Who do I think will have a shot to win at Vegas?
Brad
Keselowski: Keselowski has won two of the last three races at
Bristol, but did finish a disappointing 30th in the other, which was last fall.
That may have been a throwaway race, however, as Keselowski was already locked
into the Chase at the time. Regardless, Bad Brad in six starts only has two top
10’s here, which are those two wins. Which Keselowski shows up this week? I’m
counting on the winning one.
Kyle
Busch: If Bristol is The Last Great Coliseum, maybe Busch is The
Last Great Gladiator. Kyle Busch has owned this track recently. In 16 starts,
Busch has five wins and eleven top ten finishes. Toyota has five wins here, and
four of them are from Busch.
Matt
Kenseth: Once you break into the winning column, you’re eligible
to start a streak, and I’m counting on Matt Kenseth to do just that. He won at
Las Vegas last week, but Kenseth also has two wins here along with seventeen
finishes in the top ten. Summer Bedgood of Frontstretch.com may have said it
best. “Kenseth is the best thing to happen to this team since ‘sliced bread.’”
Now, I’m not ready to go knocking Joey Logano, but this team is in the best
position to win at Bristol since Tony Stewart was in the cockpit.
Dale Earnhardt,
Jr: I know the numbers may not support this pick, but we can’t
rely on stats alone, can we? He does have the second highest average finish here
with 11.8, compared to Kyle Busch with 10.3. I’m looking more at recent overall
performance however, and two top fivesand three top ten finishes are enough to
get me to hit the Juniorbutton this week.
Jeff
Gordon: I’m not sure I am ready to pull the trigger on Gordon yet,
but I’ll take the gamble. Numbers do not lie, but this is also a sport of “what
have you done lately.” Gordon, in 40 starts, has five wins, five poles, and 22
top five finishes. He has led over 2500 laps at Bristol, and this year, if all
goes according to plan, he will eclipse 20,000 laps completed. He only has five
DNF’s and has finished on the lead lap 27 of those 40 races. That means they
have only really missed the boat 7 times in 40 races. That said, only 4 of
Gordon’s last ten races at Bristol have resulted in a top ten. I’m calling him
out for resurgence.
Dark Horse Pick:
Brian Vickers: Vickers has scored more points here in the last two
races than any other driver on the circuit with 81. In two races last year in
the No. 55 car usually driven my Mark Martin, Vickers finished 5th and
4threspectively. Those are the only top five finishes of his career at
Bristol.
There are my picks for this week at Bristol, but let’s back up the rewind
machine and see how I fared with my Vegas picks.
Tony Stewart: Did not lead and finished
11th.
Kyle Busch: Led 27 laps and finished 4th.
Jimmie Johnson: Led 66 laps and finished
6th.
Matt Kenseth: Led 42 laps, including the last one,
winning the KobaltTools 400.
Clint Bowyer: The race started, but Bowyer didn’t.
Finished 27th, two laps down.
Dark Horse Pick: Paul Menard: Finished
10th.
So, I got a win, a 4th, a 6th, a 10th, and 11th, and a 27th. Not horrible, I
suppose.
Race Pro
Picks!
Before we get to the Bristol picks, let’s back it up and see how our pros did
at Vegas.
[[PASTING TABLES IS NOT SUPPORTED]]
Here are our picks for the Food City 500 at Bristol, at 1:00PM on FOX:
(For the remainder of the season, the Pro who leads the points will pick
last, while the Pro who is last will pick first.)
Brian:
With the Best Average Finish of 8.4 for the last 10 races at Bristol, and 3rd
fastest in both practices, I'm forced to roll the dice again with The Shrub.
Kyle Busch is a proven driver, and even though his start of the 2013 season
hasn't been so rewarding, I can't pass up the statistics. I'm going to buy the
bigger bag of Peanut M&M's this week, and watch Kyle run up front. Don't let
my previous picks fool you, I'm in it to win it this week.
Nate:
I'm going to go with Carl Edwards. They have seemed to have found some speed
this year and he's got a win already. He does have two wins there with the last
coming in 2008, but with 17 starts he does have 4 top 5's and 7 top 10's. Not
too shabby. I pick Edwards to win.
Mr.
Seven: Look at that…another solid 7th place finish for me!
I’m going to keep doing it until the end of the year!
Alabama:
Ok here goes: I tried to use OVERALL instead of recent races and instituted
"Database Configuration: Start / Finish Ratio", and there's a dollar thought
from a dime brain!! Best AvgStart: Mark Martin: 10.3; Best Avg Finish: Dale
Earnhardt, Jr: 11.8. Best Avg Start / Finish: Earnhardt, Jr : 9.5. However, he
also has the WORST Avg. Start. I'm looking for aggressiveness yet coolness on
this track. I checked out many experienced drivers: Edwards, Johnson, Stewart,
Gordon, Kenseth, Hamlin, etc., and some younger drivers: Kahne, Bowyer (ok,
younger to Sprint level), Logano. Who can argue with Matt Kenseth: 2 wins, 10
top 5's and 17 top 10's? I think Brad Keselowski can. His first Sprint Cup race
at Bristol, just a few years back, he started 36th and finished 13th! He also is
the defending champion of this race, and it was the second one in a "back to
back" at Bristol. So I'm down to three now, Earnhardt, Kenseth, and Keselowski.
Qualifying could have an enormous impact. True, the No. 2 doesn't have that much
experience here, but he has been good enough for 2 wins, 2 top 5s and 2 top
10's, in just the six races he has run in the big leagues. Matt just won and may
not be hungry enough. Sorry Dale, I'm going with Brad in the No. 2. So it is
written, so let it be done.
Jim:
Well, my picks are falling by the wayside here, 1-2-3, so I guess either we’re
all on the same page, or there is no Bristol guess work at all. With Busch going
first, I was contemplating Edwards, then bam, no dice there. Keselowski was a
consideration, but not a strong one since he won on the progressive banking
only, and then finished horribly when they ground down the top level of the
banking. So, where does that leave me? Like I said, I’m not ready to pull that
Gordon trigger yet, but I will take my own advice and select Matt Kenseth. As
long as he can stay out of the path of Tony Stewart’s helmet, it should be a
good solid pick.
So, there are my challengers and our pro picks for the Food City 500 at
Bristol. Grab your boxing gloves, tape, oversized shorts and that weird poofy
underwear, and step into the ring for 500 laps of knockdown drag out good old
fashioned short track fun!
“Round and round…what comes around goes around…”
-Ratt