Surprising and Not Surprising: Irwin Tools Bristol Night Race
[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”225″]
[/media-credit]With their intro songs, as well as the voices of their children singing the national anthem ringing in the drivers’ ears, here is what was surprising and not surprising from 52nd Annual Irwin Tools Night Race at the new, old Bristol.
Surprising: This driver not only proved he can dance the ‘Dougie’ but he can also win the night race at Bristol, scoring one of the biggest wins of his career.
Denny Hamlin, driving the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, scored his third victory of the season, but more importantly his 20th career Cup victory and the 200th win for the No. 11 car.
“You dream about winning at this place and I’ve come so close and never won,” Hamlin said. “This is just a big win.”
“It’s big because it’s my 20th, 200th for the car, and you look at the names, Ned Jarrett and those guys that have driven the No. 11.”
“I’m just a spec on that stat sheet of wins for this number,” Hamlin continued. “This is a number that has been big in NASCAR history.”
“And it’s big for me.”
Not Surprising: Ever the showman, it was not surprising that track owner Bruton Smith delivered exactly what he wanted for the fans of Bristol Motor Speedway, pronouncing that the ‘old’ Bristol, complete with beating and banging, was back at the newly changed track.
“I will be the first to admit that I was somewhat hesitant going into the race at Bristol after the changes that were made to the track,” Larry McReynolds, former crew chief and NASCAR analyst, said. “Now, after what I saw last weekend, I believe we have reached a balance that everyone can be happy with.”
“We still have some of what I call the new Bristol, which is side-by-side racing, while at the same time, we sure did have a lot of the old Bristol again,” McReynolds continued. “Saturday night brought us 13 cautions, which is the most at Bristol since March 2007.”
“What’s interesting about that, March 2007 was the last race before they re-did the surface the last time.”
Surprising: While Tony Stewart, driving the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, had a miserable night on the track, tangling with competitor Matt Kenseth while racing for the lead and wrecking to finish 27th, he received surprisingly high marks from one of his other competitors on his helmet toss at the No. 17 Valvoline NextGen Ford.
“I saw him lingering, kind of waiting with his gear,” Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Dover White Chevrolet, said. “I figured something was going to happen.”
“I heard he had a good toss on it,” Johnson continued. “I know he impressed our crew. They said he had an arm on him; he hit a good throw and hit it dead center.”
Not Surprising: Apparently one other quasi-member of the Stewart Haas racing team, rookie Danica Patrick learned her lessons well from team collaborator and mentor Tony Stewart.
While the driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing did not throw her helmet after a late race altercation with Regan Smith cost her a top-20 finish in her first Bristol Cup race, she did her fair share of finger wagging at her nemesis as he came around the track.
“We’re all racing hard,” Patrick said. “This is Bristol and that is why people love this track is because you see a lot of that and you see tempers flare.”
“It was just a bummer because I really felt like the GoDaddy Chevrolet was going to get a solid, maybe a top-20 , finish and on the lead lap.”
“So, it’s a shame we lost that,” Patrick continued. “But you know,Bristol is a place where you find out who’s playing fair and who’s not.”
Surprising: The ‘Sheriff’ showed his badge at Bristol, as well as how hungry he was to be back behind the wheel of a competitive race car. Brian Vickers, driving the No. 55 MyClassicGarage.com Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, finished fourth in a race which he also had the privilege of leading.
“I gave it all I could,” Vickers said “But it wasn’t enough.”
“I’m still really happy with a fourth place,” Vickers continued. “Obviously please, but not satisfied.”
“I’d loved to have won this thing and we had a shot at it.”
Not Surprising: Casey Mears, behind the often start-and-park wheel of the No. 13 Ford Fusion for Germain Racing, scored his first pole in many, many years, thanks to a surprise rain washing out the qualifying session.
Yet, even with the great starting spot, it was not surprising that Mears faded throughout the race, finishing 21st.
“It’s been a couple of years,” Mears said of his pole position. “The team has really grown in strides and we’ve made a lot of big improvements this year.”
“We still have a lot to learn and still have a lot to grow.”
Surprising: While Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, faces an uncertain future as well as a battle for a Chase spot, it was still surprising just how frustrated the young driver was even with an 8th place finish at Bristol.
“This was the most frustrating race I think I’ve ever been a part of,” Logano said. “I had a good care in the beginning of the race and the track changed and we just couldn’t keep up with it.”
“We need a win and anything short of that is not good enough.”
Not Surprising: ‘Mr. Consistent’, otherwise known as Dale Earnhardt Jr., clinched his spot in the championship hunt with a twelfth place finish at Bristol. He was joined by fellow clinchers teammate Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle, the current points leader.
“I feel good about it,” Junior said of his clinch. “We worked real hard all season and I want to thank my guys.”
“I made a little mistake and came down a closed pit,” Earnhardt, Jr. continued. “But we had a fast car.”
Surprising: Kyle Busch, who has had quite a prior record at Carl Bristol with four wins, five top-five finishes and seven top-10s in the last ten Cup races there, surprisingly struggled at this new/old Bristol.
The driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota did, however, pull off a top-10 finish in spite of it all.
“Our night was decent,” Busch said. “I think I screwed us up in practice – just not getting the right setup underneath the car.”
“I took our guys in a little bit of the wrong direction so I hate it for them,” Busch continued. “We fought hard and did all we could.”
While Busch did not get a needed win, he did keep his hopes alive in the ‘wild card’ race for the Chase. He sits now in the 13th spot, second in the wild card standings thanks to Carl Edwards’ gas gamble and 22nd place finish at Bristol.
Not Surprising: Perhaps it was the Farmville-themed race car, but Jeff Gordon, veteran and four-time champ was have a great deal of fun racing at a track that has been very good to him in the past.
And with his third place finish, the driver of the No. 24 Farmville/Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, moved up two spots in the standings to the 14th position.
“What I loved about the racing, even though it was really tough to pass, is it just reminded me of old school Bristol,” Gordon said. “You did slide jobs on guys when you got runs and that’s what we had tonight.”
“So, I think it was a success and I certainly had a lot of fun.”
Surprising: Whether a road course, oval or short track, Marcos Ambrose continued his reign of good finishes with another top-5 finish. The good run at Bristol moved the driver of the No. 9 DeWalt Ford up one position to 16th in the point standings.
“I’m just trying hard,” Ambrose said. “That’s two top-fives in two weeks for us.”
“It’s been a great month,” Ambrose continued. “I’m just really proud to represent the King, have a strong run and give them a shot to make the Chase.”
Not Surprising: After being hit with a hefty penalty for irregularities with the frame rails of the No. 27 Menards/Schrock Chevrolet, Paul Menard, crew chief Slugger Labbe and the team battled back for a 10th place finish on the short track.
“This entire team overcame a lot for this top-10 finish,” Menard said. “The pit crew was amazing tonight too.”
“Once we were able to move into the high groove, the car was pretty good.”
Because of the penalty, Menard and his team are now in the 17th position in the point standings. Team owner Richard Childress is appealing the severity of the penalty.
The Bristol Experience: Still the Best in NASCAR
Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty ImagesThe smell of race fumes. The roar of the cars going around the track. The fans cheering, booing and getting excited for a night race at Bristol. All of those things are what you can expect at Bristol on race weekend. The Bristol Motor Speedway is unlike any track on the NASCAR circuit. The atmosphere at the track is indescribable; the feeling of being at the Bristol Motor Speedway at night is amazing.
Just looking around the track and seeing the cars beat and bang is breathtaking. I looked at the words “Bristol Motor Speedway” painted on the backstretch wall and that sent chills down my back. Just seeing the Bristol Motor Speedway was amazing, every day driving to the track I would always get excited when I saw the track.
One of my favorite parts of the weekend was flying in to Charlotte Wednesday and I looked up, out the plane’s window I saw it. The Bristol Motor Speedway from high above. That was an amazing start to an even more amazing weekend. On the Wednesday when I arrived at the Bristol Motor Speedway, I was amazed. This little thing holds so much power and excitement. I saw and heard the fans talking about how cool it was to be here in Bristol and then I heard the crazier fans screaming “Jr” when he wasn’t even racing.
After climbing the hill up to Bristol, I ran to the grandstand entrance to see the Bristol Motor Speedway for the first time through my own eyes. It was incredible. The sight of the trucks going around the track, the packed infield and then there was the track itself. The track surface is amazing, it looks so good and it looked ready to be raced on. Even though the truck race wasn’t too exciting with Timothy Peters leading every lap, I still was amazed to see the trucks circle around the track and run side by side.
My favorite part of that night was looking a few rows down in the grandstands and seeing Nationwide Series Driver Cole Whitt. Whitt was just sitting in the stands among race fans with his friends and a few Jr Motorsports employees. I probably was the only one who noticed him for awhile before word got out he was there. I think Cole knew I had noticed him because he gave me a few looks and told me without speaking he didn’t want to be bothered. Whitt and all other drivers racing at Bristol this past weekend haven’t raced on the revamped surface and were trying to learn the new surface. As the race winded down, I began to look in the stands at another driver that looked familiar. It was Brian Vickers. Vickers was trying to learn the new surface just like Whitt. I believe there were a few more drivers in the stands as well; I just couldn’t match a name to a face. Peters won the race and started off a great weekend for Toyota.
On Thursday was the Food City Fan Night where the Bristol Motor Speedway closed down State Street (Street that separates Tennessee from Virginia) for different vendors and events. Over 50 drivers came out to sign autographs as well. Many were local racers in the Bristol area that many people didn’t recognize. I got to meet at least twelve drivers including Elliot Sadler, David Ragan, John King, Johanna Long, Scott Speed and many more! That night the Sprint Cup haulers made their way to the Bristol Motor Speedway and the fans lined the street to watch them.
Then came the busiest day of the weekend for Bristol Motor Speedway, Friday. Friday included a day packed with Sprint Cup practice and qualifying along with Nationwide Series practices, qualifying and a race. I arrived at the track just before ten in the morning and thousands of fans were already at the venders outside of the track and when I walked up into the grandstands to watch Nationwide practice, many fans were already in their seats watching. It was incredible to see that many people watching a practice, especially knowing it only was the Nationwide Series. Friday went by very quick and just when I was about to go up and watch Sprint Cup Qualifying, the 20% chance of rain rolled in. This was very disappointing. It was all my luck that it would rain because I haven’t gone to a race since 2006 where it hasn’t rained.
After this very long thunder storm rolled through, the jet dryers rolled out on the track to begin drying the track so we could witness a great Nationwide Series race. The Nationwide Race started out exciting when drivers were running side by side trying to gain that extra position and when their patience ran out, we saw cars go into the wall. All night long we saw beating and banging and what it looked like was the “old Bristol.” The revamped surface isn’t all like the “old Bristol” but it sure is similar. The one lane racing returned even though it wasn’t the bottom lane but they only could run one lane and that was the top lane. The racing was exciting and that’s what I wanted out of the race.
The day I had been anticipating for eight months had finally arrived. It was the Irwin Tools Night Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway. I arrived at the track just before one o’clock and I had a lot I wanted to do. I was able to walk on the track and walk along the pits and got to experience Bristol’s surface, first hand. The banking at Bristol is huge. It seems way bigger in person than on TV. It is incredibly steep. Even the frontstrecth banking is steep. The Bristol Motor Speedway is surely one tough beast and only the best survive the 500 miles.
Next on my pre-race agenda was the tweetup. If you are unfamiliar with a tweetup, it was when a bunch of race fans who are on twitter meet up before the race and chat. It is usually run by Jeff Gluck of SB Nation and Bob Pockrass of the Sporting News. I finally got to meet-up with some of my favorite twitter friends including: @TheCatchFence, @88NASCARNurse, @GirlLovesRacing, @Chris48Gibbs and @LizBeth2_5. Guests at the tweetup included Ryan Blaney and Clint Bowyer. As Bowyer cracked jokes, Blaney just stood in the back essentially unnoticed. After the tweetup, it was time for the pre-race concert and driver intros.
Bristol Motor Speedway does everything all out. Their driver introductions include a red carpet, drivers selecting their own songs to walk out to and drivers getting to introduce themselves. My favorite songs included Kurt Busch selecting “Red Solo Cup” and Danica Patrick selecting “Fastest Girl in Town.” The fans were able to pick their favorite driver introduction and they selected Denny Hamlin who danced out to “The Wobble.” It’s race time. The drivers are in their cars, the fans are on their feet and it is time to go racing. Drivers started out racing side by side until they stringed out into the single line racing. One of the main reasons Bristol underwent track changes was because of the lack of fans attending the race. I can assure you this race was packed. Yeah there were a few open seats here and there but there were way more fans at this race than in the spring.
The race featured a ton of excitement. From Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth racing for the lead then they both wreck each other and helmets were thrown to Danica Patrick having a great run only to be taped from behind and wreck and then she showed her displeasure to Regan Smith. The race had all the great pieces I expect Bristol to have. After the race tempers flared, excitement was felt throughout the stands and there were a bunch of wrecked cars being put back in their haulers. After this race, fans want more Bristol racing. I do too.
Bristol is back and better than ever. This concluded my visit to the Bristol Motor Speedway and I can walk away and say this was my favorite weekend at a track ever. The experience at the Bristol Motor Speedway is by far the best in NASCAR and it will only get better.
BRANDON JONES TO MAKE NASCAR K&N PRO SERIES DEBUT DRIVING FOR ESR AT GREENVILLE PICKENS SPEEDWAY
