The NASCAR playoffs are just four races away and those not on the Chase Grid will hope to survive to the end of the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol to have a chance at The Chase.
The Sprint cup teams enjoyed their last weekend off for the 2016 NASCAR season last weekend. Now they have 14 weekends of racing with the next four the final chance for those not locked on the Chase Grid to earn their right to race for the championship. Some of the drivers may only need to keep their point totals high enough to get into The Chase based on points. Other drivers will have to “win to get in.”
Chris Buescher has a win, but he needs to accumulate enough points to get into the top 30 to catapult his way onto the grid. He is currently just three points out of the top 30, but when NASCAR hits the short track it is just as easy to lose a lot of points as it is to gain points in the standings.
Currently there are four spots on the grid filled based on points and no wins. Here’s a scenario that may be unlikely, but it could happen. With four races left in the regular season, if there are four new 2016 winners there could be a driver that has a win that does NOT make The Chase. Again, it may be unlikely, but it is possible.
This weekend it will be beating and banging under the lights at Bristol Motor Speedway. The race requires tough cars and minds if a driver wants to have a chance to win the race. The body of the cars will be tested from the outside as cars use all four sides to hold their positions from cars behind them while trying to advance past cars in front of them. The minds of the drivers will be tested all race long as they try to focus on the task at hand and keep their tempers in check to ensure they don’t make a mistake that can cost them not only the chance to win, but what could also be a devastating loss of points as they try to make The Chase.
Let’s take a look at which drivers have been able to keep their bumpers and tempers in shape to perform the best in their NASCAR Sprint Cup careers at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Top 10 Active Driver Ratings at Bristol
Matt Kenseth – 102.1
Kyle Busch – 99.7
Jeff Gordon – 99.5
Chase Elliott – 95.3
Kevin Harvick – 94.4
Carl Edwards – 94.1
Kurt Busch – 93.4
Bard Keselowski – 92.8
Jimmie Johnson – 92.2
Greg Biffle – 90.2
(Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2016 races {23 total} among active drivers at Bristol Motor Speedway.)
Jeff Gordon will again be a “wild card” in the mix as he continues to fill in for the Dale Earnhardt Jr. who has not received medical clearance to return to racing yet. It is difficult to predict whether or not Jeff will be a real threat to win the race because while he does have five wins at the track in his career, his last trip to Victory Lane at Bristol came in 2002.
Both Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch also have five wins each at Bristol during their careers. That makes the Busch brothers a double threat to capture the win.
Matt Kenseth was joined by Carl Edwards as drivers with four wins at the track when Carl dominated the spring race at Bristol earlier this year to capture the win.
Both Brad Keselowski and the winner of this race for the past two years Joey Logano have a pair of Bristol wins on their resumes.
Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne will all be trying to move their Bristol Sprint Cup win total from one to two this weekend. Dale Jr. also has a single win at Bristol, but since he will not be racing that will not change for him (obviously).
The only thing that is certain is that nothing is certain when it comes to short track racing at Bristol. Even if a driver is out front because it doesn’t take long for the leaders to catch slower traffic on the 0.533-mile track, there is always the chance that any car can be caught up in an accident during the race.
More times than not sparks come from more than just the cars when NASCAR races at Bristol. It is the drivers that keep their emotions and tempers in check and fenders in shape that have the best chance at a good day at Bristol.
With all the Chase Grid scenarios that face the field, this weekend’s race has the potential to be one of the most exciting and entertaining races of the season. The fuse on what could be a powder keg will be lit at 7:00 PM central time (8:00 PM eastern time) when the NASCAR Sprint Cup series races 500 laps (266.5 miles) around Bristol Motor Speedway in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol.
By: Buck Stevens
