Turn 4 Transitions

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

By Natalie Anthony

 

Sharpie 500

August 22, 2009 (Saturday) 7:30 pm – ESPN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Bristol baby!!!  Out of all the tracks and road courses that NASCAR visits, there are a few that immediately come to mind when you are talking to fellow NASCAR fans and the discussion leads to tracks with a lot of action.  How can a little over a half mile track with 36 degrees of banking not have tons of action.  Get going fast enough and there could be a sufficient amount of centripetal force to pull many a driver towards Victory Lane.  Some of those drivers that have topped high speeds and made the victorious crossing of the start/finish line first more than any of the other drivers on the active roster list are Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch.  Both of these drivers have each won five races at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS).  Unfortunately for Kurt Busch, his last really good run at BMS was in August of 2007.  I guess improving his chase standings may be on the top of his agenda this weekend and Kurt might show Bristol that it is not a track that can defeat him when so much is on the line.  Jeff Gordon however, finished in the Top five his last two races at Bristol.  So, 24 sounds better than 2.  The other Busch brother, Kyle Busch made good on the Busch name and has finished first and second his last two races at BMS; respectively.  So, now 18 is better than 2 and 24 as long as you are not considering total wins, than 18 would be half as good as 24 and 2 since Kyle has only two wins (won March race of this year).  I spelled it all out for you in case you were faced with the same nightmares as I was in middle school when teachers introduced word problems in math.  In elementary terms, look for the #24 or #18 to perform well this Saturday under the lights. 

            A driver with absolutely no wins in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series at Bristol is Ryan Newman.  Go figure.  The guy drives this track like he built it and is always up front moving other drivers out of his way, but can only make it as far as second place.

Kasey Kahne has no reason to sweat his standings in the points this weekend.  Except for an accident last August 2008, Kasey finished in the Top 7 for his last four starts at Bristol.

 

Sharpie 500

 

(August 23, 2008)       

Top 10 Results  

1.  Carl Edwards

2.  Kyle Busch

3.  Denny Hamlin

4.  Kevin Harvick

5.  Jeff Gordon

6.  Ryan Newman

7.  Clint Bowyer

8.  Tony Stewart

9.  Matt Kenseth

10.David Ragan

 

 

 

Track Stats

 

 

 

Food City 500

 

(March 22, 2009)        

Top 10 Results  

1.  Kyle Busch

2.  Denny Hamlin

3.  Jimmie Johnson

4.  Jeff Gordon

5.  Kasey Kahne

6.  Mark Martin

7.  Ryan Newman

8.  Jeff Burton

9.  Juan Pablo Montoya

10.Marcos Ambrose

 

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