Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Bristol Driver Previews



Not all teams announce their weekly race previews'. Here is a list of those teams that do reveal the information in the teams race preview: 


#1- Jamie McMurray - This weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway marks McMurray’s 19th start at the half-mile oval. In his previous 18 starts McMurray has accumulated three top-five finishes, seven top-10 finishes and has led 21 laps. He has completed 8,753 of 9,013 laps at the track (97.1%) and has zero DNF’s (did not finish). McMurray’s best start at the track is third (2007) and his best finish is also third (2003, 2010). His average starting position is 16.4 and his average finishing position is 17.7. The No.1 team looks to improve on last fall’s success, where McMurray started sixth, finished fifth and led two laps.


#2- Brad Keselowski - After three points-paying events, Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team are ranked 21st in the 2012 driver and owner points standings. The team is coming off a 32nd-place finish last weekend in the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Brad has scored One win, one top five, one top 10 and an Average finish of 12.8 at Bristol.


#5- Kasey Kahne - In 16 starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kahne has three top-five finishes and six top-10s. Kahne earned his best finish at the short track in August 2007 when he started from the pole and finished second. He has earned top-10 finishes in three of the last four March races at Bristol.


#9- Marcos Ambrose - Ambrose has six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway. His best finish (third) came in 2009 and his best start (11th) came in last year’s fall event at the .533-mile track. Ambrose has completed 2,950 of 3,003 laps attempted in Cup Series competition at the track. His average starting position is 15.7 and his average finishing position at Bristol is 15.2.


#15- Clint Bowyer - Bowyer will make his 13th career NSCS start at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday. In 12 previous starts, he has three top-five and five top-10 finishes. He finished a career-best third twice—first in fall 2007 and again in spring 2008 where he led 81 laps. On average he starts 20th and finishes 19th.

#16- Greg Biffle - The No. 16 3M Ford will have an 811 paint scheme this weekend, which is the national number to “Call Before You Dig.” This is the third consecutive year Biffle has supported 811.www.commongroundalliance.com  Biffle has an average starting position of 14.1 and average finish of 11.8 at Bristol and is currently leading the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings; 10 points ahead second. Greg has not yet reached Victory Lane but has scored Six top fives, 11 top 10s and an Average finish of 11.8 at Bristol.

#17- Matt Kenseth - In 24 Cup starts at Bristol, Kenseth has completed 11,725 of 12,013 laps (97.6 percent) and led for 852. Kenseth has an average starting position of 16.8 and an average finishing position of 12.0 at BMS.  Kenseth has achieved two wins, nine top-five and 16 top-10 finishes at Bristol in the Cup series. Kenseth has finished within the top ten in seven of his last eight starts at Bristol.


 #18- Kyle Busch - The Food City 500 will mark Busch’s 261st career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 15th Sprint Cup start at Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch has career totals of 23 wins, eight poles, 79 top-fives, 119 top-10s and 7,178 laps led in 260 career Sprint Cup races. His most recent Sprint Cup win came 17 races ago at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. His last pole qualifying effort came 18 races ago at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.  Busch has five wins, seven top-five finishes and 10 top-10s, and he’s led a total of 113 laps in his 14 career Sprint Cup starts at Bristol. His average Bristol finish is 9.1.


#22- A J Allmendinger - In Dinger's nine career starts at BMS entering this weekend, he is still chasing his first top-10 finish. He has an average start of 24.2 and an average start of 28.1. Dinger has completed 94.1 percent (4,240 of 4,507) of possible laps and has been running at the finish in all nine races.


#24- Jeff Gordon - Along with five wins, Gordon has five pole positions, 15 top-five finishes and 21 top-10s in 38 starts at the high-banked track. He has led 2,646 laps at Bristol, which is 1,271 more than the nearest active competitor.


#27- Paul Menard - In his nine previous starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Menard has finished each contested races and completed 99.6 percent of his laps (4,490 of 4,509). He has an average starting position of 24.4 and an average finishing position of 21.7. Menard’s best start of fourth and his best finish of fifth came in last season’s March visit to the Bristol, Tenn.-based facility.

#29- Kevin Harvick - Harvick has made 22 Sprint Cup Series starts at BMS. During that time the Bakersfield, Calif., native has earned one win, nine top-five and 12 top-10 finishes at the short track. He has completed 98 percent of the laps run in those races (10,790 of 11,013) and led 427 laps. Harvick holds an average starting position of 18.2 and a 12.5 average finish position at BMS.


#31- Jeff Burton - Over his 20-year Sprint Cup Series career, the veteran RCR driver has amassed 21 wins, 131 top-five and 243 top-10 finishes in 622 starts. Burton has also tallied six pole awards and led 6,506 laps. Burton has 1 win(2008), 8 top fives and 14 top tens at Bristol.


#33- Brendan Gaughan - Gaughan has two previous Sprint Cup Series starts Bristol Motor Speedway, both in 2004, posting finishes of 20th and 35th. He earned a career-best starting position of seventh in March 2004. Aside from Gaughan’s two Sprint Cup Series starts at the Bristol, Tenn., facility, the Las Vegas native has four starts in the Nationwide Series, earning the pole award in March 2009, and six Camping World Truck Series starts at the half-mile speedway, where he holds two top-five finishes with an average starting position of 9.7 and an averaging finishing position of 15.3.


#39- Ryan Newman - The Food City 500 will mark Newman’s 372nd NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 21st Sprint Cup start at BristolnMotor Speedway. Newman has three poles, one top-five finish and 12 top-10s in 20 starts at Bristol.  Newman has career totals of 15 wins, 49 poles, 82 top-five finishes and 153 top-10s in 371 Sprint Cup starts. His most recent win came 21 races ago at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, which ended a winless streak of 50 races dating back to the April 2010 win at Phoenix.


#42- Juan Pablo Montoya - Montoya looks to make his 11th start this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. In his 10 starts at the half-mile oval he has two top-10 finishes, zero DNF’s and has completed 4,966 of 5,013 laps (99%). He has an average starting and finishing position of 19.0 and 19.3, respectively. Montoya’s best start of second came in 2007 and his best finish of seventh came in 2010.


#43- Aric Almirola -  Aric Almirola will be making his sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Bristol this weekend. He has one top-10 finish, eighth, in 2008 at the track. Almirola and the No. 43 team are currently 22nd in championship points. They have accumulated 63 points and are only 24 points out of a “chase” position.


#48- Jimmie Johnson - At Bristol Johnson has One win in 20 starts. One pole. Six top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in 20 starts. Four top-five finishes in the last five races. Average start is 14.5 and average finish is 14.8.  Has completed 9,764 of 10,013 laps (97.5 percent) and has led 737 laps.  One DNF (“did not finish” – August 2005). Has the sixth-highest driver rating and is ranked second in laps run in the top-15 and fourth in laps led.


#51- Kurt Busch - Sunday’s Food City 500 mark’s Busch’s 404th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 23rd Sprint Cup start at Bristol Motor Speedway Busch’s record at Bristol features Hall of Fame-worthy statistics with five wins, six top-five finishes, 13 top 10s and 840 laps led in 22 career Sprint Cup starts. Busch’s average Bristol finish is 12.9.

#55- Brian Vickers - Brian Vickers makes his 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup debut at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday in the Aaron’s Dream Machine. It’s the first of six races for Vickers in Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 55 Toyota. Vickers joins drivers Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip who will share driving duties in the No. 55. Under the guidance of crew chief Rodney Childers, the No. 55 is tenth in owner points. Vickers has 14 starts at Bristol in the Cup Series and has never finished in the top 10.


#88- Dale Earnhardt Jr - In 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Bristol  Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has scored one win, seven top-five finishes and 12 top-10s. The 37-year-old driver has an average finishing position of 11.7 and has completed 98.8 percent of all laps he's attempted (11,865 of 12,013 total) at the short track. He has led 743 laps at the .533-mile oval.


#99- Carl Edwards - Carl Edwards enters Bristol 6th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings, 23 points behind leader Greg Biffle. He has earned one top-five and two top-10 finishes this season. In 15 starts at the 0.533-mile bullring, Edwards has two wins, four top-five, seven top-10 finishes and two poles. His average start is 18.5, and his average finish is 12.3. Edwards has completed 7343 of 7513 (97.7%) laps attempted at Bristol.


- Reported in Team News/Press Releases

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