“Bristol will always be a little bit special to me because it is the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race I made,” Allmendinger said. “I enjoy it, but like I have said before it is just a tough place. You fight for 500 laps around there.
Rome has its Colosseum and so does the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit. Bristol Motor Speedway self-titled its .533-mile oval, the “last great Colosseum.” Clint Bowyer and the rest of NASCAR travel there this weekend ready to do battle.
“I am excited to get to go back to Bristol. We had a great run there last year with the 16 team and I believe that returning with the experience is going to be beneficial. It is a track that is similar to the tracks that I ran well at in the ARCA Series.
Last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Harvick started 16th and finished 41st after a mechanical failure sent him to the garage area for repairs, which put the team 30 laps down.
Las Vegas Recap: Denny Hamlin finished 12th in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, fighting an ill-handling #11 FedEx Ground Toyota throughout the 267-lap event won by Brad Keselowski on the bumpy 1.5-mile oval.
Ryan Blaney will return to the seat of the No. 22 Discount Tire / SKF Ford Mustang for the first time since winning his first-career NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race last season at Kentucky Speedway. Blaney made three NNS starts last year at Iowa, Kentucky and Homestead (in the No. 48 Ford); earning top-10 finishes in each start.
Dakoda Armstrong will have a new look this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Fresh from Florida will make their 2014 debut on the No. 43 Ford Mustang for their first of three primary races this season. They will also be featured at the Charlotte race in May and the Daytona race in July.
"Everyone knows Bristol Motor Speedway is one of my favorite tracks. I love the atmosphere, I love the racing and I enjoy the fast pace style in the big colosseum. The plan is to have two great practices, qualify up near the front and stay up front so I'll be in contention for the win during those last paint-swapping laps.
