NASCAR is back after a week off and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be on the short track of Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500.
The drivers and teams were able to enjoy the Easter weekend and get ready to beat and bang on each other as the battle around the 0.533-mile track in Bristol Tennessee. When NASCAR goes “Short Trackin'” there is always the chance to be caught up in total mayhem on the track. That possibility seems to be increased at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The teams will need to have the cars handling great to navigate the 24-28 degrees of banking through the turns. The engines will need to be producing plenty of power to race past other cars when the chance opens up to make a pass.
The drivers will also feel the demands of being perfect and holding their tempers in check to avoid making mistakes that could at least lose them spots on the track and at most cost them the entire race.
Which drivers have the best records of performance at Bristol? Let’s take a look at the top driver ratings at the track.
Top 10 Active Driver Ratings at Bristol
- Matt Kenseth – 100.9
- Kyle Busch – 100.5
- Kevin Harvick – 95.7
- Chase Elliott – 94.9
- Kurt Busch – 93.1
- Jimmie Johnson – 91.6
- Brad Keselowski – 91.5
- Denny Hamlin – 90.2
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 87.4
- Kyle Larson – 87.4
NOTE: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2016 races (24 total) among active drivers at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Winning at Bristol is apparently a family tradition for the Busch brothers. Both Kyle and Kurt are at the top of the list among active drivers for wins at the track with five victories each.
Matt Kenseth is next on the list with four wins during his Cup Series career at Bristol. Carl Edwards is tied with Matt at four wins, but he stepped away from driving just before the start of the 2017 season. I only point that out because Carl was the winner of this race last year to reach four wins. That means there is not a current race winning defender this year for this race.
Kevin Harvick would be the closest to a win defender as he was the winner of the August 2016 race at the track marking his second career victory at Bristol. Joey Logano is even with Kevin in the career wins column for the Cup Series.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne are the only other active drivers to have a win at Bristol Motor Speedway in NASCAR’s top division. The each have a single win.
This year’s new stage racing format has made for some exciting action for fans to enjoy. This week’s 500 lap (266.5-mile) race will have 125 laps for stage one and two and a final stage of 250 laps. That could change the path of the race dramatically for some drivers as the race unfolds.
We will all see what happens, when it happens and how it all ends in the Food City 500 Sunday, April 23rd at 1 PM central time (2 PM eastern time) when NASCAR drops the green flag to start the race.
By: Buck Stevens
