Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race
Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol, Tennessee | Saturday, August 20th, 2016
8:00 PM Est. | NBCSN
Bristol (Night Race):
After a week off the Sprint Cup Series is back on track this weekend for the famous Bristol Night Race. Personally my parents and I have been to this race twice (1999, and 2001). Everyone remembers the 1999 race where Dale Earnhardt spun Terry Labonte in turn 2 and the infamous quote, "I meant to rattle his cage" was born. Senior would go on to win that race, in 2001 a young Tony Stewart beat the likes of Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace.
This is the 2nd visit this season to Thunder Valley, the first go around did not go well for the Dick Trickle fantasy team, so we look to rebound this weekend.
Chase Elliot was the surprise of that early spring weekend, which he made his first visit to Bristol with the cup series and finished 4th. Carl Edwards started on the pole and led 276 laps enroute to victory that day.
Lets get to my picks for this weekends night race from Bristol, Tennessee.
Group A:
Matt Kenseth
Kenseth led 142 laps back in April, but finshed 36th due to a blown tire and hitting the wall while leading. He had engine trouble in last years Night Race. Last win here came in the 2015 Spring race. But with all this negativity, he finished 1st in 2013 and 3rd in 2014.
Joey Logano
Logano is the 2-time defending Bristol Night Race winner. He finished 10th in the spring race. The last 4 night races he has finishes of 8th, 5th, and 2 wins. Look for Logano to continue his strong hold on Bristol this weekend.
WE2W4- Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski
Sleeper pick- Kurt Busch
Group B:
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Finished 16th in the spring race here, 21st in this race a year ago. Has a 2nd (Spring '14), 6th (Fall '14), and 4th (Spring '15). Stenhouse will be looking for a good run, as of now he is on the outside looking in at 20th when it comes to the chase.
Carl Edwards
Edwards dominated the Spring race leading 274 laps and finished 1st, also started on the pole. Last 5 Bristol races he has recorded finishes of 1st, 7th, 24th, 7th and 1st.
Jamie McMurray
McMurray finished 13th in the spring race, 11th in last years race. Finished 8th in the fall of 2014. He will also be looking for a good run to stay inside the top 16 in the points with only 3 races remaining till the chase.
Trevor Bayne
I have a hunch, right now Trevor is 3 points to the good in the last qualifying spot for the chase. He finished 5th here in the spring and 15th last fall.
WE2W4- Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman
Sleeper- Kyle Larson
Group C-
Jeff Gordon
I've been really surprised since his return to the car and not in a good way. I'm sure its hard to take a guy who was enjoying his retirement and put him into a car that's all but changed from last season and I don't care even if you are 4-time champ. This week I will be having a good backup.
Chase Elliot
In the case of Jeff not qualifying well or practicing well, I'm picking this rookie. He finished 4th in the spring race and looked really good in his first visit to Bristol in a cup car.
WE2W4- Ryan Blaney
Well, there we have it. Another week of picks and I only dropped from 1st to 2nd after Watkins Glen. I'm hoping I get those points back. We are unfortunately getting to the end of the season and that means summer is almost over. This is one of my favorite races of the year, in 2 more weeks is another one of my favorite races the Southern 500. Hope everyone has a good week and enjoy the race on Saturday!
UNTIL NEXT TIME....
GOD SPEED
BOOGER
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