There’s a song we always like to play when we go to Bristol called the Bristol Stomp.
I think more than ever this year it will be appropriate.
Now I know when they slightly reconfigured Bristol Motor Speedway, it changed the racing somewhat. Like any place that has a new surface, it simply takes time for the grip to go away and the surface to wear down. Obviously concrete, like they have at Bristol, is harder than asphalt and it takes longer to wear down.
But I really think we are going to see the racing at Bristol like we are accustomed to seeing this Sunday (12:30 p.m. ET on FOX). There are a number of things I believe that will make that possible. First, the cars are better. The new nose and the spoiler configuration have made the car better. Naturally aerodynamics don’t play a big role at Bristol, but that does effect, at times, how the car acts in track. This new nose has really helped with that.
I think Goodyear has finally wrapped its arms around this car. it is building tires that really complement this car. We all knew it was just a matter of time because Goodyear had to continually make changes to its tires while the car continued to evolve.
You’ve all seen and heard the amazing statistics following the first three NASCAR Sprint Cup races of the year. Simply put, the racing is better. I actually expect the track record to be broken in qualifying at Bristol. These cars are just bad-fast this year.
In addition to the teams tweaking on the cars and making them better is the X-factor. Now the X-factor is a product of the points system. Remember when NASCAR announced the new points system at the start of the year and we told you it was going to simplify things? It really has. It’s simplified it to the point where the biggest thing is winning races. The drivers now feel like they have a fallback, an insurance policy if you will. It’s called winning a race. In the past, it was all based on being in the top 12 coming out of the Richmond race in September, so folks points-raced to a certain degree.
In the past, you couldn’t afford to get way behind in the points. Now with this new system, winning is your insurance policy. Now they take the top 10 in points to set the field for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, but also can fill two wild-card spots. Those spots are determined by drivers in the top 20 and outside the top 10 who have the most wins during the season.
I think that is why we are seeing these guys being more aggressive and taking more chances. They want to get a win under their belt early. Basically if you win you’re in. They didn’t have that before. Winning gives these guys like Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton, who are way back in points, an insurance policy come September if they aren’t able to dig themselves out of a points hole.
We all wanted a points system that emphasized winning. We now finally have it. We all wanted a race car that looked like the cars we would find at our local dealership. Naturally we aren’t back to that fully, but we sure are a lot closer than ever. We all wanted drivers to go out there and do whatever it took to win. We have that, too. We aren’t having to listen to them talk about having a good points day. Go ask a driver what the most important thing is this weekend at Bristol. The answer is simple – win the race.
All the things we have been asking for these last few years are now in place. I think that’s why we are seeing the kind of racing we are enjoying now.
I believe Sunday at Bristol will be no exception. I think it will be a lot like what we used to see and expect when we rolled into Bristol. Heck, for that matter, it may be even better. How can you not expect it? These drivers are racing harder and are more aggressive than ever. There’s no reason to believe it won’t continue at that little half-mile, high-banked track.
Carl Edwards is clearly the hottest cat in racing. He won the last two races in 2010. He finished second in the Daytona 500. He clearly had the strongest car at Phoenix International Raceway, but got wrecked out. Then he bounced back with a win two weeks ago at Las Vegas. This guy is on fire.
The other guy that is hot and loves Bristol is Tony Stewart. Tony didn’t have the best of years in 2010. The same goes for Carl until, as I mentioned, the last two races of the year. These guys are hungry with a lot to prove. These guys and a handful of others are running better and they feel they can take it to our defending champion Jimmie Johnson.
See in past years, Jimmie’s ace in the hole was he always had a fast car. He could simply drive away from trouble. Yes, despite winning the championship again last year, during much of 2010 and already into this year, that car is struggling with speed.
Actually anyone can win this weekend. Bristol, to me, is like Daytona and Talladega. All six of those races on the schedule are crapshoots.
At any of those three tracks you can have the perfect car and be having a perfect day but in a split-second that all goes away because of someone else’s problems. You literally can be taken out by doing nothing wrong. Things simply happen that quickly at those three tracks. We’ve seen it time and time again.
So I think everyone has a shot. Look at Bobby Labonte, Paul Menard and AJ Allmendinger, they are up there in the points and hanging tough. Will our young Daytona sensation Trevor Bayne win? Who knows, but it is his home track and anything can happen.
The guys know that if they can get through this weekend with a win or a great finish, then they have accomplished a lot. The drivers will tell you winning or finishing well at Bristol is just that important because it is just such a wild card of a race. You just never know what’s going to happen until the checkered flag.
This is our first short-track race of the year. You might have a seat in the grandstand, but something just tells me you won’t be sitting down. I think it will be very entertaining for folks in the grandstands and for you watching at home.
It’s not going to surprise me in the least to see a long line at the NASCAR hauler after the race. There are a lot of drivers with a lot to prove and a lot on the line. There’s going to be drivers testing “boys have at it.” Then when it’s over there will be boys that “had at it” mixed in with a group of boys that “have had it.”
That’s why we love going to Bristol twice a year and listening to the Bristol Stomp.
