2013 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. [Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/NASCAR via Getty Images]
by Dan Margetta and John Wiedemann
The first short track race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season is served up this Sunday as the Bristol Motor Speedway hosts the Food City 500.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 Bristol Motor Speedway 266.5 Miles (500 laps) Sun, March 16 1 pm (ET) FOX, 12:30 pm (ET) PRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90
Bristol’s high banks and narrow groove make track position important and an aggressive driving style is often necessary as many times the best way to pass someone is to simply move them out of the way.
So far the Sprint Cup season has produced three different winners in the first three events as the “win and you’re in” new Chase format has ramped up the competition to take home the checkered flag.
Aerodynamics won’t be as important this week as a sturdy, stable car and the ability for drivers to check their emotions in the heat of the battle will be the keys to success.
Bristol’s aggressive nature tends to favor drivers with an old-school short track driving style and here are a few to watch on Sunday.
Kyle Busch
Dan Margetta: Kyle Busch fits Bristol like a glove and his refuse to lose driving style has netted him five victories in the last 14 Bristol events. So far this season, Busch has been near the front, but the Joe Gibbs organization as a whole has been just a tick off the competition. It’s not enough of a deficit to not consider them contenders and Busch’s ability behind the wheel is more than enough to close the gap and score his first victory of the season to ensure his position in the Chase for the Championship.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
John Wiedemann: Ten years ago Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the point standings for seven consecutive weeks and he also won at Bristol. Now, leading the points for the first three weeks of the season, Junior hopes to continue the ride at the top. With top ten finishes in half of his twenty-eight races at Bristol, an average finish of eleventh at the half-mile track and Earnhardt’s top-two results this season, expect another shot at victory this weekend.
Brad Keselowski
DM: The Las Vegas winner seems to have it on something in 2014 with finishes of second, third, and first in the opening events. Keselowski is also pretty good at Bristol and has two wins to his credit. Until the other teams figure out a way to catch up, look for Keselowski and crew chief Paul Wolfe to ride the momentum for all its worth. A second consecutive victory is not out of the question for this team and more than likely they will be one of the cars to beat on Sunday.
Kurt Busch
JW: Kurt Busch should be super excited looking at where he is racing this weekend. With five victories at Bristol, Busch needs this weekend to get back on track. The “win and you’re in the Chase” setup could be a huge boost for Busch as well as Stewart-Haas Racing this weekend. Even without the victory, an expected solid finish by Busch would calm any doubts and release some pressure from a current position of twenty-eighth in the standings. I expect a strong weekend for Busch as well as his teammates this weekend.
Matt Kenseth
DM: Like Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth is also looking for his first win of the season this weekend at Bristol, a track he has raced extremely well at in the past. He owns three Bristol victories including the last event held here in August. Also, like Kyle Busch, Kenseth and the #20 team have been near the front but have not shown the domination of a year ago. That could be due to having to race for the championship last season while other teams had a head start on the 2014 rules package. Kenseth combines racing savvy with aggression which is a desirable combination to have at Bristol and another strong run should be in order on Sunday.
Jimmie Johnson
JW: I’m still not sure that the 48 team has the new rules package fully figured out but they looked like they are getting much closer after their performance at Las Vegas. This weekend the rules package shouldn’t come into play as much as at a mile and a half track, but getting the front-end dialed in will still be important. Confidence is never lacking for Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus and the team but running up front breeds more running up front and the 34 laps led at Vegas doubled what they had led in the two previous races. Look for more laps led and the 48 to be solidly in contention this weekend.
Kevin Harvick
DM: Kevin Harvick has been the top Stewart-Haas Racing driver this season, having already scored a win at Phoenix. Last week at Vegas, he was extremely strong before falling from contention with a broken hub while leading. Harvick does own a Bristol victory and is definitely no slouch when it comes to rubbing fenders. The hub issue from last week could be a concern this week if it was set up related as Bristol is ten times rougher on equipment than Vegas. Harvick has clicked well with crew chief Rodney Childers and the two could be a tough combination at Bristol.
Kasey Kahne
JW: Kasey Kahne won the Bristol spring race last season and was on Matt Kenseth’s bumper at the end of the fall race. Improving each week from 31st to 11th to 8th last weekend, Bristol may be the racetrack that has Kahne breaking into victory lane for the first time this year. I had Kahne on my top drivers to watch in the last couple of Bristol Mash The Gas articles and I am sticking with him, plus he is on my fantasy team again. So Kahne will be one to watch, which should be pretty easy to do with the #5 running at the front.
Kyle Larson
DM: Bristol can be tough on rookies but every once in a while one comes along that doesn’t seem to know any better and has no fear. Larson fits that mold and that could spell success at Bristol which is why I’m making him my long shot pick this week. Then again, it could get him in trouble just as easily but based on his runner-up finish in a side by side run to the checkered flag with Kyle Busch in the Nationwide spring event a year ago, I’ll take my chances. Larson is never afraid to run the top groove and if he can make that work at Bristol, he could have a successful weekend.
Joey Logano
JW: Expect Joey Logano and teammate Brad Keselowski to be on the front row of every race until they aren’t. But the big reason to watch Logano is to see if he can turn qualifying success into race results. Logano finished seventeenth in the spring race last year and fifth in the fall but only led one lap. Can he challenge for the win and will he battle for the win with Keselowski? That is what I want to see, because I’m not sure either wouldn’t wreck the other for the win. But I need to see it before I think it will happen, just like I think the two will be starting on the front row… until it doesn’t happen.