Beat The Experts: Irwin Tools Night Race At Bristol
By Cole Mentzel
The Sprint Cup Series will visit Bristol this Saturday for the second race there this season. With only three races left until the Chase starts, the pressure is mounting for drivers like Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Paul Menard, Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola and Kasey Kahne who are on the bubble and need a win to solidify their spot in the Chase.
Short track racing at Bristol is one of the most exciting things you will see all season long and this time around, there are plenty of storylines. One of the biggest is the return of the Rainbow Warrior car for Jeff Gordon. He will be using it one last time in Bristol as a tribute to his fans who wanted to see it back.
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Rain has been in the area throughout the week and caused some delays in the Camping World Truck Series race earlier this week so that could be a factor this Saturday. The BTF staff gives their predictions for the race:
John Harlow – Kurt Busch – He always runs great at Bristol and has been running well as of late. During the April race at Bristol, he led 98 laps.
Christopher Olmstead – Jeff Gordon – The time to win a race in 2015 is coming to a close for Gordon with only 13 races left in the season and three before the start of the chase. On Saturday night Gordon will be sporting his classic rainbow paint scheme for the first time in several years. Gordon and the No. 24 team will be hoping that the return of the rainbow colors will also mean a return to victory lane.
Cole Mentzel – Matt Kenseth – To make a long story short, Matt Kenseth has been on fire this whole summer. Besides two finishes in the 20’s he has been in the top 10 since June. The other reason why I think he wins is because he also won the Bristol race in April. Between this hot streak and a win at Bristol this season, he should be able to get it done.
Mike Hutton – Kurt Busch – I think the Chevrolet motors have an advantage with the low-end torque that is required to power up off of Bristol’s high-banked corners, so my vote goes to Kurt Busch.
Joseph Shelton – Carl Edwards – He’s always good at Bristol when the sun goes down and he ran well there in the spring before crashing. You can’t count out the Gibbs contingent at Bristol, considering they’re all former Bristol winners.
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Underdog of the Weekend – Kyle Larson – Larson is still looking for his first win and most likely needs one to make the Chase but he has run well in his three Bristol races, finishing 10th, 12th and 7th. His 7th place finish in April looked very solid on his part. He could surprise you this weekend.
Bristol always excites the fans and leads to late-race drama because of the wrecks and cautions that can occur. We saw a sample of that back in April when drivers like Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Kasey Kahne were all at the back of the pack during the final laps. You never know who might come out with a win at Bristol and if someone who is not is the Chase wins, it could really make things interesting going into Darlington and Richmond.
Who do you think will win at Bristol this week? Let us know in the comments below!