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Bristol, tenn. – This is Bristol, baby, but what does it mean for the contemporary breed?
A race where tires carry common? Perhaps.
A race who sees Denny Hamlin scored a third consecutive victory? Possible.
A race where mistakes will determine who is chasing for victory and who is not? Count on that.
Here’s a look at which you should pay attention to the contemporary race at Bristol Motor Speedway:
Drivers to look at
Favorites: Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson. The two combined to win five of the last eight races on the concrete on Bristol. Hamlin attempts to win his third consecutive race of the season after the victories over the past two weeks at Martinsville and Darlington. Larson wants to win his second race of the weekend. After finishing second in Friday’s Craftsman Truck Race, Larson won Saturday’s Xfinity Series race.
Keep an eye on: Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell. Blaney was very much of this season, but has not yet reached the Victory Lane. He lost the lead on Pit Road before the overtime re -started this past weekend at Darlington. Bell has five top three finishes in the first eight races of the season, including the past two events.
Don’t overlook: Brad Keselowski and Alex Bowman. Keselowski needs a good run. His average finish is 26.1, the worst of his career eight races in a season. He finished third in the previous spring’s race on Bristol when drivers carry the tires. Can the same thing happen today? Bowman starts on the pole and ends last year in the top -10 in both Bristol races. He opened the season with five top -10s in the first eight races this year.
Bristol is one of the better tracks of Ricky Stenhouse jr. He recorded four top five and seven top 10 finishes there.
Nice and easy to get to the checkered flag first
Since drivers expect tire wear and tear to be a factor, similar to the previous spring’s race, explains Alex Bowman, the pole sitting, how it can be for drivers to manage tires in today’s race.
“In the spring last year, we drove around with half a speed all day, and I thought I was going to get out of the car and everyone was going to be crazy because we didn’t run hard all day,” Bowman said. “Everyone loved it because there was so much chaos. So in the fall we just ran hard all day. You run every shot hard, and that’s kind of what Cup Racing has become these days … how hard you have to drive the car.
Tire Wear was the focus of cup teams at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday.
‘There are a few places you have to get ready, but for the most part you are ten tenths every round. I think (Sunday), it’s really going to depend on when the warnings come out and what they do. As you look at the end of the spring race, and we get no warnings for many things that have been, it would probably be. Lots and you get all these warnings, you just give away the position of the track.
‘So it will be interesting to see what the mindset is there, and in what reality we (Sunday) live, as far as the ties do, it is a little warmer and where we go. So I think the biggest thing is that it’s a great amount of leather because we know we know exactly what it’s going to do. ‘
Watch Pit Road
Bristol is the only cut with pit stalls on the front and rear.
During warnings, all cars must enter Pit Road at Turn 2, even if their pit stall is on the front.
One of the challenges for drivers is to ride the apron on the apron. That’s what happened in Ty Gibbs in last fall play -off game.
Others were caught in that area in previous races. There are three segments for the timing on the apron in turn 3 and 4. So, if you see or hear of a Pit Road penalty in sections 6, 7 or 8 of Pit Road, it comes in that apron section between turns 3 and 4.
