For Mark Martin, the challenges continue. After having his last three races ruined by a pair of failed engines and a wreck caused by a cut tire, the veteran driver now faces another obstacle — an ornery short track he hasn’t raced on in more than two years.

Top 35: After Bristol, Current Points Determine Automatic Starts

Four races are down, meaning it’s one to go before this season’s car owner points determine the top 35 automatic starting spots on a weekly basis. For the first five races of each season, the previous season’s final owner points determine the guarantees.

This makes always-precarious Bristol seem even more so for those teams occupying space “on the bubble” heading into the half-mile oval next week. If they find themselves on the wrong side of the top-35 bubble post-Bristol, they’ll be forced to rely on qualifying speeds to make the field.

As in recent weeks, three teams in trouble literally leap off the stats sheet, at first glance:
•The No. 5 Chevrolet driven by Mark Martin (owned by Rick Hendrick) is 35th.
•The No. 39 Chevrolet driven by Ryan Newman (owned by Tony Stewart) is 32nd.
•The No. 20 Toyota driven by Joey Logano (owned by Joe Gibbs) is 33rd.

Continue reading “After Bristol, This Years Points Are Used”

Kurt Seeks To Bring Busch Winning Ways Back To Bristol

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Based on his five wins at Bristol Motor Speedway, one would assume that the track is a favorite for Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge). It is in fact his “absolute favorite” track and one at which he always looks forward to racing.

The fact that Busch is off to his best start in his nine-year NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career has only added to his excitement to return to the .533-mile oval, dubbed “The World’s Fastest Half Mile.”

“I’m probably looking forward to this trip back to Bristol as much as any of my career,” Busch said. “I could even say that I’m anticipating this Bristol race weekend more than any visit I’ve ever made to the track.”
Strong statement from Busch. Not as strong as his statement two weeks ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway, when he dominated the field in a fashion unseen from the 2004 series champion since Pocono in August 2007. Busch led 234 of the race’s 330 laps, or 70 more laps than he led in all of 2008, had an Average Running Position of 1.5 and ran in the top 15 on every lap. At Pocono, Busch led 175 of 200 laps, had an Average Running Position of 1.4 and ran in the top 15 on every lap. Appropriately enough, Busch earned a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0 in both events.

Continue reading “Kurt Busch hopes to win #6 at Bristol”

Marcos Ambrose is hoping to make a difference for a volunteer fire brigade that was pushed to the limits during recent devastating Victorian bush fires with the auctioning of a autographed one-off race helmet.

Kasey Kahne expects to continue his partnership with Anheuser-Busch even though the beer distributor is ending its sponsorship with the NHRA.