Sharpie 500 History

Sharpie 500 Lap Summary

Pos.	No.	Driver	0	25	50	75	100	125	150	175	200	225	250	275	300	325	350	375	400	425	450	475	500
1.	#17	Matt Kenseth	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	2	1	3	1	3	1	1	1	1	1	3	1	1	1
2.	#31	Jeff Burton	24	24	24	19	17	17	16	14	13	13	11	13	12	5	5	11	3	7	4	3	2
3.	#16	Greg Biffle	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	6	3	4	2	27	21	8	12	11	6	4	3
4.	#21	Ricky Rudd	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	6	5	9	8	9	7	6	6	3	5	5	3	5	4
5.	#2	Rusty Wallace	20	19	17	14	14	13	8	10	20	22	20	22	22	2	2	2	2	1	5	6	5
6.	#24	Jeff Gordon	2	2	2	1	2	2	2	5	3	7	6	24	24	16	17	16	11	9	8	8	6
7.	#0	Mike Bliss	27	28	27	20	21	20	22	21	17	20	19	23	19	26	24	7	15	18	16	15	7
8.	#20	Tony Stewart	17	17	16	15	13	15	13	15	11	14	12	16	15	12	11	6	20	17	17	17	8
9.	#8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	41	34	33	31	30	28	24	25	25	21	18	15	13	22	20	19	14	10	9	9	9
10.	#97	Kurt Busch	13	13	12	6	6	6	7	8	22	4	4	6	3	3	3	10	4	6	7	7	10
11.	#49	Ken Schrader	7	7	6	8	8	8	23	18	16	18	16	8	6	7	8	5	8	4	14	18	11
12	#01	Joe Nemechek	35	32	30	22	24	24	26	28	27	24	25	30	28	21	19	25	25	19	23	19	12
13.	#38	Elliott Sadler	9	10	9	9	9	9	11	4	4	8	7	5	10	8	7	4	7	2	2	2	13
14.	#22	Scott Wimmer	32	27	26	26	23	22	34	35	30	31	29	27	29	17	18	22	27	22	20	20	14
15.	#15	Michael Waltrip	22	20	22	23	19	21	17	17	14	16	14	18	17	14	14	20	18	16	18	21	15
16.	#6	Mark Martin	25	21	15	13	12	12	10	11	9	11	10	12	11	10	12	17	13	24	21	22	16
17.	#4	Mike Wallace	15	15	14	27	25	32	30	30	29	29	30	29	30	18	27	9	26	25	22	24	17
18.	#19	Jeremy Mayfield	16	14	10	10	10	10	12	13	8	1	2	7	5	4	4	12	6	8	10	10	18
19.	#77	Travis Kvapil #	31	30	32	28	26	27	31	33	33	30	32	31	31	24	22	26	24	20	24	25	19
20.	#25	Brian Vickers	23	22	23	21	18	18	14	16	12	12	22	25	23	19	16	14	16	13	12	12	20
21.	#18	Bobby Labonte	42	35	36	33	31	30	27	27	26	25	23	1	4	9	9	13	9	12	11	11	21
22.	#43	Jeff Green	28	23	34	36	33	33	29	29	28	28	27	11	16	13	13	18	17	26	26	26	22
23.	#07	Dave Blaney	3	4	4	5	5	5	6	9	7	17	15	19	18	15	15	21	19	15	15	23	23
24.	#99	Carl Edwards	37	31	29	25	29	26	25	24	24	27	28	26	26	23	23	27	22	23	25	14	24
25.	#45	Kyle Petty	26	26	25	24	22	23	21	20	18	23	21	28	25	25	25	24	23	21	19	16	25
26.	#42	Jamie McMurray	18	37	35	32	27	25	20	19	15	15	13	14	14	11	10	15	10	14	13	13	26
27.	#11	Terry Labonte	39	38	37	35	35	34	32	32	34	32	31	32	32	28	28	28	28	27	27	27	27
28.	#50	Jimmy Spencer	34	39	39	37	34	35	36	36	35	35	34	33	34	29	30	30	29	28	28	28	28
29.	#40	Sterling Marlin	40	33	31	39	36	36	33	34	31	33	36	35	35	31	31	31	31	30	30	30	29
30.	#92	Hermie Sadler	38	42	42	41	38	38	37	37	36	36	35	34	33	30	29	29	30	29	29	29	30
31.	#88	Dale Jarrett	30	29	28	34	32	31	28	26	23	26	26	2	8	33	32	32	32	32	31	31	31
32.	#80	Carl Long	43	40	41	42	39	39	38	38	37	37	37	36	36	36	33	33	33	33	32	32	32
33.	#5	Kyle Busch #	11	8	8	17	16	16	18	22	38	38	39	39	39	38	38	35	34	34	34	33	33
34.	#41	Casey Mears	14	18	21	30	43	43	42	41	40	40	40	40	40	39	39	39	36	35	35	35	34
35.	#32	Bobby Hamilton Jr.	8	9	18	29	28	29	39	39	41	41	41	41	41	41	40	40	39	36	36	36	35
36.	#48	Jimmie Johnson	29	25	20	16	15	14	15	12	10	10	9	21	27	20	26	23	21	31	33	34	36
37.	#29	Kevin Harvick	19	16	13	12	11	11	9	1	21	19	17	20	21	34	35	37	38	39	38	38	37
38.	#7	Robby Gordon	33	43	43	43	40	40	40	40	39	39	38	38	38	37	37	34	35	37	37	37	38
39.	#12	Ryan Newman	6	6	7	7	7	7	5	7	6	5	5	10	9	32	34	36	37	38	39	39	39
40.	#10	Scott Riggs	12	12	19	18	20	19	19	23	19	2	24	17	20	35	36	38	40	40	40	40	40
41.	#95	Stanton Barrett #	36	41	40	40	37	37	35	31	32	34	33	37	37	40	41	41	41	41	41	41	41
42.	#9	Kasey Kahne	10	11	11	11	41	41	41	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42
43.	#00	Johnny Benson	21	36	38	38	42	42	43	43	43	43	43	43	43	43	43	43	43	43	43	43	43

posted by: sharpie400 at 18:11 | link | comments

What does a short track like the one at Bristol that's hosting this Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup stop mean to us non-gearheads? It may conjure up images of Apolo Anton Ohno, but then again, you probably didn't see the Olympics. OK, try this: It's like the World Baseball Classic. Wait, better yet, the NCAA Tournament.

Short track is like a short series, or a short tournament, which means anything can happen and anyone can take the checkered flag. Just ask Kevin Harvick, who surprised with his only 2005 victory a year ago at the same race, the Food City 500. In the season's second running at Bristol for the Sharpie 500, he had an accident and went DNF for 37th. So, keep that in mind with this week's picks:

He's got the drive: Tony Stewart, No. 20 Chevrolet. When struggling to pick a best bet, why not go with the defending series points champion? He had two top 10 finishes at Bristol last season (3rd and 8th), and I think he'll parlay last week's fifth place at Atlanta into his first 2006 win to push him back into the top 10. If he does, I just might pick him again for Martinsville, where he has three career poles but only one win.

Sleeper at the wheel: Elliott Sadler, No. 38 Ford. The first time I heard the name Elliott, it was in E.T., but that still didn't make me buy Reese's Pieces. I much prefer M&Ms, and really, Sadler is like M&Ms, not just sponsored by them. Like these sometimes underrated chocolate candies, Sadler is a sometimes underrated driver. He got his first-ever career win at Bristol on March 25, 2001, and finished only second to Harvick a year ago, so I'm calling for him to at least finish in the top 10.

Caution: Jeremy Mayfield, No. 19 Dodge. It's not that I don't think Mayfield is a Superfly guy, but I don't expect him to "move on up" much at Bristol. His team has struggled early as he's currently 34th in the points standings. He consistently finishes in the high teens there, but with the rookies who have burst on the scene racing better than him, I expect a finish in the 20s at best.

posted by: sharpie400 at 08:59 | link | comments

Time's running out on Sterling Marlin, who by his estimation has this season and next season left on the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit to get another victory.

There was a time when Marlin showed up at most all tracks with visions of racing for the checkered flag.
in his first year with MB2 Motorsports, Marlin just hopes for a race where nothing goes wrong and he can finish on the lead lap.

Marlin believes it could happen Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway, despite the high volume of crashes that typically occur on the high-banked .533-mile oval.

Marlin can greatly aid his chances for a clean finish with a good run in today's Sharpie 500 qualifying.

Marlin's typically run strong at Bristol, scoring three top-fives and 18 top-10 finishes in 42 starts.

But to this point of the season, Marlin's Waste Management Chevrolet has run like, well ... garbage.

It has left the 48-year-old stock car folk hero sitting 39th in the points entering Sunday's Sharpie 500 -- last among the drivers who have started all four races.

Not so good for one of the sport's few remaining good 'ol boys.

Certainly, it's a far cry from where Marlin was just four years ago, when he led the points chase for 25 races before a crash at Kansas forced him to miss the final seven races of the season with a neck injury. Marlin recorded the final two of his 10 career wins in 2002 and hasn't visited Victory Lane at a Cup race since.

Three winless seasons later, this year has been another backbreaker to date.



In the season-opening race at Daytona, where Marlin staked his claim to fame in 1994 and 1995 with back-to-back Daytona 500 victories, Sterling teased his fans for a bit. Marlin used his drafting expertise to pilot his backup car into the top 10 of the running order before getting caught up in "one of them racin' deals" and ending up 34th.

The laps up front are the highlight of Marlin's otherwise forgettable season.

At California, his team missed the setup and Marlin was forced to ride around to a 32nd-place finish. The luck didn't change at Las Vegas, where a blown engine led to a 36th-place finish. Last week at Atlanta, a flat tire put Marlin two laps down en route to 34th place.

It's all added up to 39th place in the standings, and a lot of frustration.

"It's hard knowing you can do it, but you can't get the car to do right for you,'' Marlin said. "It's aggravating, but NASCAR has let it get out of hand, cutting the spoiler off, and some guys figure out how to get the downforce.''

And some, like those on Marlin's race team, haven't.

Marlin likes his sponsors, teammate (Joe Nemechek), crew and owner just fine. But this hasn't been the kind of ride Marlin deserves at this point of his career.

Marlin got cut loose from his prior deal with owner Chip Ganassi because Ganassi claimed Marlin wasn't the most-marketable fellow.

Whatever the logic, it doesn't wash in Tennessee, where Marlin is a favored son.

John Chavis, the defensive coordinator with the University of Tennessee football team, is one of Marlin's biggest fans.

"From my perspective, there's no doubt he's Tennessee's driver,'' Chavis said. "Sterling has a good fan base all over the country, but he's obviously very dear to the people in this state. It's exciting he's coming to a track he's always run good at.''

Bristol is a track that takes the race out of the hands of the teams' engineers and aerodynamic packages and places it squarely into the hands of drivers.

"It's real hard to pass at Bristol, but I think it's one of those tracks that every time you go there, you have a chance to win,'' Marlin said. "There's never a dull moment out there. Bristol is as much about experience and quick thinking as it is about a good racecar.

"I'd like nothing more than to get a victory at one of my favorite places, a short track in Tennessee.''

Marlin said retirement isn't at the forefront of his mind, but it's a fast-approaching reality.

"I'll probably run this year and next year,'' Marlin said. "I've put 50 as a benchmark to quit. It would mean a whole lot to win one more.''

There's no better place -- and perhaps no more likely place -- for Marlin to do that than Bristol.

posted by: sharpie400 at 08:59 | link | comments

1. Who To Watch
-Only seven of the 90 NASCAR Nextel Cup races at Bristol have been won from a starting position of 15th or worse. All seven of those wins have occurred since 1990. The last driver to win a race at Bristol from outside the top 15 was Dale Earnhardt Jr. who won from the 30th-place starting position in the 2004 Sharpie 500.-Points leader, Jimmie Johnson finished 36th at Bristol last August, his worst Bristol finish and only DNF here.

-A Ford has won four of the last six races at Bristol; a Chevrolet won the other two. A Dodge has not won at Bristol since Richard Petty won the 1975 Volunteer 500.

-Weather could once again play a role like it did last weekend at Atlanta.

The forecast looks wretched, with temperatures not expected to go above 50 degrees. In fact, Sunday's high is expected to be 43. Snow could even fall before the weekend is out.

Rain is in the forecast for Friday and Saturday. Remember, last year's Busch Series race was postponed due to rain. Even if the Nextel Cup race gets in Sunday, the weather could have some serious impact on the traction of the race track, how cars and motors perform and whether setups will have to be radically altered.

Here are a few of the drivers to watch this weekend.

Jeff Gordon finished in fourth at Atlanta last Monday to record his second consecutive top-five finish. He ran fifth at the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 on March 12 and is quietly making his presence known. He’s climbed from 25th to sixth in the point standings since Daytona and is currently sixth in the standings with 539 points.

Gordon has enjoyed success at this track, capturing five checkered flags and four poles while recording 10 top-five finishes and 16 top-10s, in fact he won this race three consecutive years from 1996-1998. Gordon also leads all active drivers with 2,385 laps led in 26 races at Bristol

--(Cont'd From Page 1) Although he ran 15th in this race last season Gordon returned and scored a strong sixth-place finish at this track at the Sharpie 500 on August 27.

Gordon has a 4.7 average starting position and has started from inside the top 10 23 times at Bristol. "Starting up front here is definitely an advantage," Gordon said.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is riding into Bristol with high hopes after a third place finish at Atlanta helped him to recover from a 27th place finish at Vegas. Atlanta was his first top-five finish of the season and vaulted him from 11th to seventh in the standings with 534 points. He finished 11th at the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway and ran eighth at the Daytona 500.

In 12 races at Bristol, Earnhardt has one victory (August 2004) and six top-10 finishes the longest current streak among active drivers.

“The thing about Bristol is you can be really good but still caught up in a wreck,” Dale Jr. said. “That’s probably the main concern. Even if you’re the leader, it’s hard to miss wrecks sometimes because of all the lapped traffic. That’s just Bristol.”

Looking at his overall stats from the season so far, with four races completed this season; Earnhardt's average finish is 12.25. Only once (2004) has he gotten off to a better start.

Matt Kenseth finished 13th at Atlanta and slipped to third in the standings; he currently has 612 points, 78 behind Johnson. Kenseth scored a disappointing second-place finish at Las Vegas after he led for 146 laps and had the dominant car throughout the race before losing to Johnson in the last lap. The highlight of his season so far came when he captured the checkered flag at the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway on February 26. Prior to that, Kenseth battled back to a 15th-place finish at Daytona after being involved in a major controversy with Stewart. He is second in Miles Led running out front for 369 miles.

Kenseth finished seventh in the standings last year and recorded 12 top-five finishes last season, including six over the final 10 races.

The 2003 Cup champion has competed in 12 races at Bristol, scoring one victory (last August) and seven top-10 finishes — all in the last eight races there. He finished 16th last season in this race - his only finish outside of the top 10 in his last eight races here

Kenseth, who will make his 225th NASCAR Nextel Cup start Sunday, says Bristol "is a fun place to run if you can get your car to handle good."

Kurt Busch has struggled so far in this his first season with Penske Racing South. The 2004 Nextel champion has finished outside of the top 15 in each of his first four races. Monday was no different as he ran 37th at Atlanta, completing 321-of-325 laps.

But Busch and his car may make for a winning combination this weekend. Busch has dominated at this track, winning four times and registering seven top-10 finishes in 10 career races, in fact he won this race three consecutive years from 2002-2004.

The No. 2 Dodge, when driven by the now-retired Rusty Wallace won seven Cup races at Bristol, Wallace overall won a total of nine races.

"I'm just excited to have the chance to drive this car at Bristol," Busch said on this week's NASCAR teleconference. "I know how many times I've tried to hold it off because it was just going that much faster than mine.”

Even though NASCAR's new rules prohibit advance testing at many tracks, including Bristol, Busch has driven the No. 2 on a short track --- USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Fla. He's confident he'll hit Bristol with a fast chassis setup, especially since Wallace apparently passed along a few of his old tricks.

"Rusty is definitely very keen on what shocks you need to run at Bristol, the different adjustments," Busch said. "I'm going to use that knowledge as well as what I've had there in the past. Hopefully, we can definitely put together a good run to gain some points back."

Busch could certainly use the points. After his two 16th-place finishes and a 38th and a 37th in the first four races this season, he's 27th in the standings.

Clint Bowyer finished 27th at Atlanta on Monday and fell to 10th place in the Nextel Cup standings with 471 points. The rookie driver finished 15th at Las Vegas on March 12 and leads the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings with 43 points.

Bowyer made a strong statement with a sixth-place finish in the Daytona 500, his second career race on the Nextel circuit. That made his just the eighth driver in NASCAR history to secure a top-10 finish in the Daytona 500 in his rookie campaign.

Bowyer will compete in his first Cup race at Bristol in just his sixth career start although he finished fourth at this track last season in the Busch Series Food City 250. He’ll race the same car that Dave Blaney drove to a 30th-place finish last August at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Mark Martin has shown consistency so far this season having placed in the top 12 in each of the first four races this season. He was runner-up to Kasey Kahne at Atlanta Monday. He ran sixth at Las Vegas to follow a ninth-place finish at the Auto Club 500.

Martin is currently fourth in the standings with 600 points and is heading to a track he has excelled at. Martin has won here twice and registered 15 top-five finishes and 20 top-10s, the most among active drivers. He also won four consecutive poles at Bristol in 1995-96.

He finished 31st in this race one year ago and 16th last August.

"Bristol can be crazy, “Martin said. “I've always said it is like flying a jet fighter around the inside of a basketball arena, and try that with 42 other jets doing it at the same time. It can get really intense and it takes a great deal of patience by everyone.

You just have to hope that you run well and that you can stay out of all the trouble, which isn't always easy to do. Over the years Bristol has been the source of some real highs and lows for me.

I've had some of the most memorable races I can remember there and some pretty tough times there as well. We've had a lot of trouble staying out of the wrecks lately there. In fact our luck has been so bad there as of late that we are definitely due and hopefully we'll see that there this weekend."

Crew chief Pat Tryson scored his first career Cup win at Bristol in 2001. His pit strategy was vital in the victory by the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford, with Elliott Sadler at the wheel.

"Bristol has been a pretty tough place for us the last few years, “Tryson said. “We've had some good runs, but some really bad luck and we've seemed to get caught up in a lot of wrecks. We know that Mark can get the job done and I think that we'll have a good car, so if we can just stay out of all the wrecks and keep our nose clean then I think that we should be able to get a good finish and maybe even be there at the end again."

Kevin Harvick finished 39th at Atlanta after an ill handling car ruined his day. But Harvick looks to get back on track this weekend as he heads here as the defending champ on the race. He won here last year to score his first win since 2003, overcoming a stack of obstacles.

Last year, Harvick was without his crew chief Todd Berrier who was sitting at home for rules violations. The team also had to change the power steering pump after finding a puddle of leaking power steering fluid hours before the start of the race. Harvick had to start from the rear of the 43-car field after the No. 29 team made the unapproved repairs

Harvick has the best average finish, 11.4, of any active NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver with at least eight starts at Bristol. Greg Biffle is the only active driver with a better average finishing position than Harvick at 10.6, but Biffle only has six starts. In 10 starts, Harvick has compiled a record of one win, five top-five finishes, seven top-10 finishes, and one DNF. Harvick also has four Busch Series wins at the track (2000, '01, '03, and '05).

"The competition at the Cup level, especially at a track like Bristol is pretty tough," said Harvick. "The Cup race is twice as long, which at Bristol means twice as many chances for something to happen. We had come so close to winning in the past, but just didn't have the extra little bit to do it. Last year's win was great for this GM Goodwrench team. We overcame so much."

Harvick has completed 4845 of 5000 laps (96.9%) in 10 starts at Bristol, of those 4845 laps complete, he has led 341 of them.

"Bristol is special to me because it brings back a lot of memories. I grew up on a half-mile, high-banked racetrack in Bakersfield. I know Bristol is a lot more banked, but it's kind of the same mindset for me driving around the racetrack. It's short-track beating and banging, a lot of fun and what I really like to do. I seem to have a lot of success every time I go there, so I'm always looking forward to going back."

Kasey Kahne Won the Golden Corral 500 to move into second place in the standings, 50 points behind Johnson. He finished fourth in two consecutive races after placing 11th at Daytona.

Kahne was the Rookie of the Year in 2004, but struggled to just five top-five finishes in 2005. He ran 14th in this race last season and has struggled at this track, placing outside of the top 15 in his other three races here. He has scored top-15 finishes in the first four races in 2006 though, joining Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin in that category

Look for Kahne to run strong here this weekend though, remember his first ever win cam at another short track, Richmond.

Kahne's win at Atlanta was the eighth Cup win for Evernham Motorsports. The organization has won at least one race each year since its inception in 2001: "We're pleased with the start this year, but we know how fast things can turn around," he said.

Others:


Jimmie Johnson will run his first race with crew chief Chad Knaus, who was reinstated Wednesday after serving a four-week suspension; The current points leader finished sixth in this race last season and has registered two career top-five finishes at this track.

Tony Stewart finished third in this race last season; his fourth career top-five finish at this track. He’s also won here in 2001 at the Sharpie 500.

Dale Jarrett has competed in 39 races at Bristol, posting one victory (August 1997) and 19 top-10 finishes. He finished fifth in this race one year ago.

Jeff Burton finished second last August here. That gives him two top-five finishes in the last three races at Bristol.

Elliott Sadler scored the first win of his Cup career at Bristol in 2001. He won the pole for the Food City 500 a year ago and finished second in the race.

Martin Truex Jr., another Cup rookie, won his first NASCAR Busch Series race at Bristol in 2004. "It was special in many ways," Truex said.

Ryan Newman has three top-10 finishes in eight starts at Bristol, including a second in August 2004.

posted by: sharpie400 at 08:58 | link | comments