Bristol - Racin' the way it ought to be..

Brace yourself, fantasy players: Bumps abound at season's first short-track race

Forty-three cars traveling at more than 125 mph on a track the size of two city blocks is a recipe for excitement. Often it is also a recipe for disaster.

The Car of Tomorrow and now the Gen-6 car introduced durability to the sport that allows drivers to be even more aggressive. Slight damage can be absorbed and it is not uncommon to see mangled machinery lined up on pit road after the race is completed, with their drivers accepting accolades for top-10 finishes. Patient aggression is an oxymoronically accurate way to describe the personality traits needed for success on this track and that is one reason why drivers like Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski have dominated Bristol in recent seasons.

Jimmie Johnson is arguably the hottest driver on the circuit at the moment with a victory in the Daytona 500, a second-place finish at Phoenix and last week’s sixth at Vegas. He does not show any sign of slowing down in the near future, because Bristol has been incredibly kind to him in recent seasons. Since the beginning of the 2009 season, he has swept the top 10 on this track in all but one race with five top-fives in eight starts and a victory in 2010. He leans toward the patient side of the famed equation, and that will keep players from developing grey hair.

Busch epitomizes the aggressive side of the patient-aggression formula and he manages to keep fans on the edge of their seat. He is coming off his best run of the season and it appears that he has regained the form that gave him six top-five finishes in the final six races of 2012. He finished second at Bristol in the 2008 night race and then won four of the next five events on this track. Players who had him on their roster at Vegas will want to stand pat and keep him active for one more week.

Keselowski defines the middle ground. He has a reputation as an aggressive driver, but he also knows when to cool his brakes and log some laps. It took a while for him to find the rhythm of Bristol and he failed to crack the top 10 in his first three starts. He won the 2011 Irwin Tools Night Race and followed that with another victory last spring. He did not finish well last fall, but that was because of crash damage and his second-place start in the Irwin Tools Night Race was awarded by practice times when qualifying was rained out, but it proved that he had a fast car during the weekend.

Did you know

Joe Gibbs Racing has won five of the past eight races at Bristol with Kyle Busch's four checkered flags and Denny Hamlin's one.

In the past 10 races at Bristol, Toyota has made five trips to Victory Lane with two checkered flags each for Chevrolet and Dodge. Over that span, Carl Edwards is the only Ford winner and that was back in 2008.

In the past eight shootouts in Thunder Valley, four winners have started from fourth to eighth place, while the other four triumphed after take the green flag from 12th to 19th.

WooHoo!!!

Gonna be a good race weekend!!

One of the best Race Weekends for sure. I love me some Bristol. Thanks for the blog Cocoa

Hey, why don't they have Danica in the top 20 power ranking. That's messed up

emcf30 wrote:Hey, why don't they have Danica in the top 20 power ranking. That's messed up

She's been doing pretty good this year so far. She should show up on there at some point. Hey maybe you should write up some power rankings for us.

Give it the ol' E touch.

To the Back: #17-Stenhouse, Jr. (engine change)

Credit goes to: Jaski's Sprint Cup Silly Season Site

HMMM...... Something to think about.

DOUBLE DUTY WILL PROVE BENEFICIAL IN VEGAS

Made this up a while ago. Thought I could do better for a prize but it's grown on me. So here it is.

Nice blog cocoa. Keep the trophy. Perfect.

Love the trophy, Cocoa!!!

It will look nice, in my collection....

sangria wrote:Love the trophy, Cocoa!!!

It will look nice, in my collection....

Whatever.

sangria wrote:

It will look nice, in my collection....

Here, This will be the only Award you will be adding to your collection

This was e, last week.....as I went flying past him, with dirt being spun out, from my back tires......... Good thing he has a bulk supply....he's gonna need em, this season!!!!

Thanks for the blog Cocoa. Love the trophy. How did you know gold and white were my colors?