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Thursday, August 20, 2015

DRIVER NOTES: Bristol Night Race (Sprint Cup)

UNB! NETWORK STAFF REPORT

The following info was taken from "Driver Notes: NASCAR.com"

Jimmie Johnson
2015 season stats: Four wins, 10 top fives, 15 top 10s and 752 points.
Past four races: 39th at Michigan-2, 10th at Watkins Glen, 6th at Pocono-2 and 15th at Indianapolis.
Track history: One win, nine top fives, 15 top 10s and one pole in 27 starts.
2015 results at track: 2nd in the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes.

Driver rating at track: 92.3 (8th of 56 drivers).

Quick hit: Johnson had all sorts of problems at Michigan, from missing his pit box to a late spin that left him 10 laps down at the finish. After winning four of the first 13 races, the 48 team is going through a bit of drought as its winless in the last 10. Johnson has just one win at Bristol, but was a runner-up in the spring race and his 805 laps led are the third-most in the loop data era. Hendrick as a whole has lost its mojo recently and a 48 victory would be just the elixir to put a pep in the organization's step.

Kyle Busch

2015 season stats: Four wins, five top fives, six top 10s, one pole and 395 points.
Past four races: 
11th at Michigan-2, 2nd at Watkins Glen, 21st at Pocono-2 and 1st at Indianapolis.


Track history: Five wins, eight top fives, 12 top 10s and one pole in 20 starts.

2015 results at track: Due to injury, Busch did not race in the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes.
Driver rating at track: 100.0 (3rd of 56 drivers).

Quick hit: A wreck in practice sent Busch to a backup car and to the rear of the field to start last week. Despite missing out on a top 10, Busch had a solid run at Michigan and improved his position in the top 30. Bristol is one of Busch's best tracks. He has five wins at BMS, giving him a tie for the most among active drivers. Since his last win at Thunder Valley in 2011, "Rowdy" has just two top 10s in the seven races run at Bristol. Still his loop data is strong as he run the most fast laps (610) and led the most laps (1,512).

Matt Kenseth
2015 season stats: Three wins, nine top fives, 15 top 10s, three poles and 751 points.
Past four races: 1st at Michigan-2, 4th at Watkins Glen, 1st at Pocono-2 and 7th at Indianapolis.

Track history: Four wins, 13 top fives, 20 top 10s and two poles in 31 starts.

2015 results at track: 1st in the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes.
Driver rating at track: 104.6 (1st of 56 drivers).

Quick hit: Kenseth dominated at Michigan to score his second win in three races. By leading 146 laps, the JGR driver just missed doubling his laps led total of the whole season. Kenseth is also the most recent winner at Bristol and has won two of the last four races there. In the loop data era, he has the best average running position (9.8), most quality passes (678) and second-most laps led (1,394). Expect Kenseth to keep running strong this weekend.

Kevin Harvick
2015 season stats: Two wins, 16 top fives, 20 top 10s, one pole and 866 points.
Past four races: 2nd at Michigan-2, 3rd at Watkins Glen, 42nd at Pocono-2 and 3rd at Indianapolis.

Track history: One win, nine top fives, 12 top 10s and one pole in 29 starts.

2015 results at track: 38th in the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes.

Driver rating at track: 92.5 (7th of 56 drivers).
Quick hit: Michigan was Harvick’s ninth runner-up result of the season and that came after he ran dry trying to come to pit road at Lap 114. Harvick led a race-high 184 laps in the spring race but his involvement in a four-car accident on Lap 311 literally wrecked his chances at a win. And for all his consistency this season, Harvick has been anything but that at Bristol. He has not scored a top 10 at the 0.533-mile track in his past eight races and has three finishes of 34th-or-worse in his past four starts there.

Joey Logano
2015 season stats: Two wins, 13 top fives, 17 top 10s, four poles and 818 points.
Past four races: 7th at Michigan-2, 1st at Watkins Glen, 20th at Pocono-2 and 2nd at Indianapolis.

Track history: One win, two top fives, three top 10s and one pole in 13 starts.

2015 results at track: 40th in the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes.

Driver rating at track: 80.1 (18th of 56 drivers).

Quick hit: Logano keeps on churning out solid run after solid run; his Michigan result gave him eight top 10s in his last 10 races in 2015. Logano comes into the Bristol night race as the defending race winner and for the young driver, the night time is the right time at Bristol. His win and all of his top fives and top 10s have come in the summertime race under the lights. Logano has the second-best average starting position at Bristol among active drivers (8.2) and has only started outside the top 10 twice.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2015 season stats: Two wins, 11 top fives, 14 top 10s and 784 points.
Past four races: 10th at Michigan-2, 11th at Watkins Glen, 4th at Pocono-2 and 22nd at Indianapolis.
Track history: One win, seven top fives and 14 top 10s in 31 starts.
2015 results at track: 16th in the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes.
Driver rating at track: 87.2 (13th of 56 drivers).

Quick hit: Junior seems to be running the best of a Hendrick crew that is struggling as a whole to keep up with Gibbs and Penske. You don’t necessarily associate Dale Jr. with Bristol success, but the short track is statistically his third-best based on average finish (13.0). Early in his career, he was a top 10 machine at Bristol but lately not so much. He has just two top 10s there in his past 10 runs at Thunder Valley. In the loop data era, he has the most green flag passes (1,138).

Kurt Busch
2015 season stats: Two wins, eight top fives, 13 top 10s, three poles and 683 points.
Past four races: 20th at Michigan-2, 5th at Watkins Glen, 37th at Pocono-2 and 8th at Indianapolis.

Track history: Five wins, eight top fives, 15 top 10s and one pole in 29 starts.

2015 results at track: 15th in the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes.

Driver rating at track: 92.6 (6th of 56 drivers).

Quick hit: Busch now has two finishes outside the top 10 in his past three races and while he has led the second-most laps all year (721), he has led just 13 in the past seven races. Bristol should change his laps led number increase as he paced 98 circuits there in the spring and has the sixth-most laps led (531) in the loop data era. However, for all his success at Thunder Valley, his last win there was in 2006 -- 18 races ago -- and he has just two top fives in his last eight races at Bristol.

Martin Truex Jr.
2015 season stats: One win, seven top fives, 16 top 10s and 755 points.
Past four races: 3rd at Michigan-2, 25th at Watkins Glen, 19th at Pocono-2 and 4th at Indianapolis.

Track history: Two top fives and two top 10s in 19 starts.

2015 results at track: 29th in the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes.

Driver rating at track: 80.0 (19th of 56 drivers).

Quick hit: In the two races with the high-drag package, Truex scored his only top 10s in the past eight races. The spring race at Bristol continued a pattern of disappointing finishes at the 0.533-mile track for the New Jersey native. He has just one top 10 at Bristol in the past six races there and he has an average finish of 30.0 in his last four races at Thunder Valley. In the loop data era, Truex has the fifth-most quality passes (589).

Brad Keselowski
2015 season stats: One win, five top fives, 15 top 10s and 754 points.
Past four races: 9th at Michigan-2, 7th at Watkins Glen, 2nd at Pocono-2 and 10th at Indianapolis.

Track history: Two wins, four top fives and four top 10s in 11 starts.

2015 results at track: 35th in the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes.

Driver rating at track: 93.3 (5th of 56 drivers).

Quick hit: Michigan was the first time since the Fourth of July weekend race at Daytona that Keselowski didn't lead any laps, but he did get his sixth straight top 10. In the six races since Daytona, Keselowski has an average finish of 6.0. The 2012 Sprint Cup champion's Bristol record has its peaks and valleys. He scored two straight wins at Bristol but the six races since have seen three finishes of 30th-or-worse to go with two top-three results.

Denny Hamlin
2015 season stats: One win, seven top fives, 10 top 10s, one pole and 670 points.
Past four races: 5th at Michigan-2, 27th at Watkins Glen, 22nd at Pocono-2 and 5th at Indianapolis.
Track history: One win, four top fives, eight top 10s and two poles in 19 starts.

2015 results at track: 26th in the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes (was replaced by Erik Jones after lengthy delay due neck spasm).

Driver rating at track: 87.9 (12th of 56 drivers).

Quick hit: Hamlin bounced back from two disappointing races in a row to score a top five. And while Hamlin is well regarded for his strong short-track record, Bristol has been a bit of a bug-a-boo for him since his lone win there in this race in 2012. In the five races since, qualifying has been no issue with two poles, but the results are four finishes outside the top 20.

Carl Edwards
2015 season stats: One win, two top fives, seven top 10s, two poles and 628 points.
Past four races: 6th at Michigan-2, 8th at Watkins Glen, 10th at Pocono-2 and 13th at Indianapolis.
Track history: Three wins, five top fives, nine top 10s and two poles in 22 starts.

2015 results at track: 24th in the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes.

Driver rating at track: 90.6 (10th of 56 drivers).

Quick hit: Edwards now has five top 10s in his past six races as the JGR organization continues its midseason surge. Bristol could be the place where Edwards adds to the shop's win barrage as two of his victories there have come in the night race. He also led 86 laps in the spring race. One interesting note, he has started third in three of the past four races at the 0.533-mile track, but the one race he didn’t start in that position, he won. In the loop data era, he has led the fifth-most laps (628).

Jamie McMurray
2015 season stats: Two top fives, seven top 10s and 663 points.
Past four races: 16th at Michigan-2, 40th at Watkins Glen, 15th at Pocono-2 and 16th at Indianapolis.
Track history: Three top fives and 10 top 10s in 25 starts.

2015 results at track: 14th in the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes.

Driver rating at track: 79.5 (20th of 56 drivers).

Quick hit: McMurray’s position to get in the Chase on points keeps getting a little bit tighter in light of eight straight finishes outside the top 10. At the Bristol night race last year, McMurray led 148 of 500 laps but ended up finishing eighth. This season, he has led just 14 circuits and none since the Richmond race in April. McMurray has just two top 10s in his past six races at Bristol but has the second-most green flag passes in the loop data era (1,106).

Paul Menard
2015 season stats: Two top fives, four top 10s and 654 points.
 | Learn more about Menard
Past four races: 12th at Michigan-2, 13th at Watkins Glen, 11th at Pocono-2 and 14th at Indianapolis.

Track history: One top five and six top 10s in 16 starts.
2015 results at track: 11th in the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes.

Driver rating at track: 74.5 (21st of 56 drivers).
Quick hit: Another race, another top-15 result for Menard. The veteran driver has quietly continued his march towards the Chase using an average finish of 15.6 (just short of his career-best 15.5). Bristol is his third-best track based on average finish and he has five top 10s in his past seven races there. He has also led 100 laps in his career at Bristol, which is the most he has led at any active track.

Ryan Newman
2015 season stats: Four top fives, 11 top 10s and 649 points.
Past four races: 8th at Michigan-2, 15th at Watkins Glen, 23rd at Pocono-2 and 11th at Indianapolis.

Track history: Two top fives, 14 top 10s and three poles in 27 starts.

2015 results at track: 5th in the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes.

Driver rating at track: 86.6 (14th of 56 drivers).

Quick hit: Newman scored his first top 10 in over a month and it couldn’t have come at a better time when the RCR driver needs all the points he can get to stay above the Chase cut line. Newman’s top five at Bristol in the spring was his first top five there since 2004. To keep above the Chase bubble, Newman will need to do a bit better than his career average finish of 16.4 at Bristol. He does hold the third-best average starting position at the track (10.6) among active drivers.

Jeff Gordon
2015 season stats: Three top fives, 12 top 10s, three poles and 648 points.
Past four races: 17th at Michigan-2, 41st at Watkins Glen, 3rd at Pocono-2 and 42nd at Indianapolis.

Track history: Five wins, 17 top fives, 25 top 10s and five poles in 45 starts.

2015 results at track: 3rd in the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes.
Driver rating at track: 100.3 (2nd of 56 drivers).

Quick hit: This is not the swansong season Gordon was hoping for as another finish outside the top 10 has Gordon dangerously close to the Chase cut line. Gordon has a good history at Thunder Valley, where he will run the iconic rainbow paint scheme. However, he has not won at the track since 2002, a stretch of 25 races. In the loop data, though, he has the second-best average running position (9.954) and second-most quality passes (662).

Clint Bowyer
2015 season stats: One top five, nine top 10s and 616 points.
Past four races: 41st at Michigan-2, 6th at Watkins Glen, 8th at Pocono-2 and 6th at Indianapolis.
Track history: Five top fives and eight top 10s in 19 starts.

2015 results at track: 12th in the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes.    

Driver rating at track: 81.5 (17th of 56 drivers).
Quick hit: Bowyer was enjoying a nice run at Michigan until he was in a wreck that sent him to a disastrous finish and in a perilous position regarding the Chase. If we get a new winner currently outside the Grid, the veteran will likely be on the outside looking in. Bowyer will look to make Chase gains at Bristol, where he has three top 10s in his last seven races but none in the last four.

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