After a week off we are closing in on the start of the Chase. There are now only four races left to determine the final four or five drivers who will make the Chase grid. As of right now, Chris Buescher is sitting in 31st place three points behind David Ragan. To fill one of the remaining spots in the Chase he needs to finish in the top thirty in points. Then his win at Pocono a few weeks ago will propel him into the Chase.
Tony Stewart seems to be safe, as he sits in 26th place in the standings and has a 97 point cushion over the 31st place driver right now. The closest battle is for the final spot which could be taken by any driver who happens to pick up their first win of the season. Otherwise if it goes on points, Trevor Bayne holds a three point lead on Kasey Kahne, but this all depends on where Buescher ends up in the standings after the next four races. There is a lot to be settled in the next four weeks.
BASS PRO SHOPS NRA NIGHT RACE
This week the series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the second time this season for the running of the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. This is one of my favorite races of the year because I love Bristol and I love to see the paint schemes for this race held under the lights. Carl Edwards came away with the win earlier this year and we will see if he can sweep the races here this coming Saturday night.
Kyle Busch: Kyle is my pick to win this week’s race. He has won five races here in his career and while the last of those wins came five years ago he has qualified in the top ten in six of his last seven starts here with the only non-top ten qualifying spot when his time was disallowed. I look for him to qualify well once again this week and then stay out of trouble early in the race and compete for the win at the end.
Carl Edwards: As I mentioned before, Carl won the race here this spring and has four wins here in his career with two of those coming in the last five races. This team needs to become more consistent as we near the Chase and this is one of the tracks where they can build confidence as they usually run well here. Look for Carl to compete for the win this weekend.
Joey Logano: Joey has always qualified very well here, but he had trouble coming away with the finishes he was capable of and probably should have had here early in his career. That all changed over the past couple of seasons when Joey won two of the last four races at Bristol. Both of those races were the fall night races so, that means Joey will be a force to be reckoned with once again this weekend.
Kurt Busch: Kurt is another driver with five wins here in his career. Although his last win came here ten years ago this is the track where someone with Kurt’s mentality and ability help him get to the front. This is another team that needs to start stepping up their game as we near the Chase if they want to continue moving on to the next round. If they don’t become more consistent they will get eliminated early on.
Jeff Gordon: Jeff will be subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. once again this weekend. Jeff is another five-time winner at this track over his forty-six starts and he has also finished in the top ten twenty-five times in those races. He has also lead 2,720 laps at this track which is tops among all active drivers. They aren’t competing for a spot in the Chase, but I’m sure Jeff will do everything he can to win this race. They have nothing else to race for.
Matt Kenseth: Matt has won four races at this track and has finished in the top ten in twenty of his thirty-three starts here. This team seems to have a good car every week and had a lot of bad luck early in the year. Now they have two wins under their belts and are only looking to win more races this year so they can get more bonus points before the Chase starts and they can keep moving to the next round and look for their first championship with Joe Gibbs Racing.
Brad Keselowski: Brad has won two races in only thirteen starts at this track. Brad doesn’t mind bumping and banging a little bit while he is racing and that fits into the style you need to adapt when racing at Bristol. Face it, when you put forty cars on a half-mile oval that only takes about fifteen seconds to get around you’re going to be in traffic a lot and you have to get by that traffic somehow so you don’t get passed yourself. No more mister nice guy here.
Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has one win at this track, and he has finished in the top ten ten times in his twenty-nine starts here. This team has looked good on the intermediate tracks this season which most of the Chase consists of, but I’m sure they would like to come away with another win before the Chase starts and would also like to win on a short track once again.
Kevin Harvick: Kevin is another driver with only one win at Bristol and I know he would love to make that two this weekend. He does have ten top five finishes in his thirty-one starts here and when you can finish in the top five in one-third of the races you run at any track at this level you are definitely doing something right. Look for Kevin to have a car good enough to come away with another top five finish this weekend. The rest is going to be up to luck and driver skill.
Ryan Newman: Ryan is still looking for his first win at this track, but he has been one of the most consistent drivers here during his career. He has sixteen top ten finishes in twenty-nine starts at Bristol and is probably going to make the Chase on points once again even if he doesn’t pick up a win over the next four races. Remember he came within one position of winning the championship two years ago without winning a race.
YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Yahoo Driver Group A
- Kyle Busch
- Joey Logano
Yahoo Driver Group B
- Carl Edwards
- Ryan Newman
- Jamie McMurray
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Yahoo Driver Group C
- Jeff Gordon
- Chase Elliott
MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
- Kyle Busch
- Joey Logano
- Matt Kenseth
- Carl Edwards
- Jimmie Johnson
Dark Horse: Chase Elliott
Stay Away From: Kasey Kahne
Big 18: Carl Edwards
2 replies on “2016 Bristol Motor Speedway, Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race”
Who do you think will lead the most laps? Kyle Busch, Edwards or Lagono?
With Edwards sitting on the pole and saying he really liked the low groove at Bristol I would have to pick him followed closely by Kyle. I think these two are going to fight for the win.