NASCAR Sharpie 500: Saturday Night Live at Bristol
by Mark Rothstein
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
"With the exception of the road courses, this is the race that probably makes all the race teams the most nervous. It's just so unpredictable. You know you've got to be lucky and good."
-Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Saturday's Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway features three solid drivers who can take the checkers in the likes of Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon.
Kenseth won here last summer and has momentum following last week's victory at Michigan. This team now has seven top-10 finishes in the past 10 races. Kenseth knows his way around this track in a Cup car and has been just as strong in the Busch series.
Busch won at Bristol this spring for the fifth time in his career. The Miller Lite car has always been strong at Bristol and Busch thrives on the bump 'n' grind style of racing on short tracks. He hasn't finished worse than 18th in seven starts at Bristol making for a solid average of finish of 11.9.
Gordon has four career wins, nine top-5's and 14 top-10 finishes at Bristol.
A solid outing Saturday night would all but lock him into the chase.
If Gordon and Kenseth don't get into another shoving match, or if Kevin Harvick doesn't renew his feud with Busch, expect a one-two-three trifecta of Kenseth winning, followed by Busch and Gordon.
Other drivers to watch are Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr. All of these guys are sitting in the lower half of the top-10 and can not afford a bad race.
