by Matt Taliaferro and Nathan Rush

Location: Fontana, Calif.
Specs: 2-mile oval; Banking/Turns:14°; Banking/Straightaways: 11°

2010 Winners: Jimmie Johnson (February), Tony Stewart (October)

2011 Race Length: 400 miles/200 laps
Track Qualifying Record: 188.245 mph (Kyle Busch, 2005)
Race Record: 155.012 mph (Jeff Gordon, 1997)

From the Spotter's Stand
Jimmie Johnson’s first successful drive for five of 2010 came at Auto Club Speedway — the site of JJ’s first win of the season, first career win and 48th career victory. The 48 car led 101 laps and capitalized on a little pit road luck to claim Johnson’s fifth win of the first 21 races in the 14-year history at the Fontana track.

After the race, runner-up Kevin Harvick claimed that Johnson and Chad Knaus “have a golden horseshoe stuck up their…” uh, tailpipe — referring to a caution flag that gave the 48 valuable track position.

In October, Tony Stewart kept his Chase hopes alive with his first win at Fontana. But this year, the second Cup stop at “Cali-boring-ya” has been eliminated.

Crew Chief’s Take
“Getting the car to turn in California’s long, sweeping, flat turns after carrying a ton of speed down the straightaways is the real trick to winning. From a setup point of view, it’s hard to get a car dialed in there, and front end geometry equates to good finishes. Plus, it’s probably the hardest track on engines, hands down, and Michigan is the only track that’s even close. The difference is probably the California heat. Drivers like to run the high groove, but the stopwatches say the bottom is better, so you’ve got to persuade them to try that.”

Fantasy Stall
Looking at Checkers: If you’re picking against the 48, you’re picking wrong. Three of those wins have come in the last five races.
Pretty Solid Pick: Three of the four Roush boys (Biffle, Edwards and Kenseth) make fine picks this week.
Good Sleeper Pick: David Reutimann has taken to the big intermediates.
Runs on Seven Cylinders: Marcos Ambrose, no matter the sheet metal.
Insider Tip: Bottom line is they’re going to have to go through Jimmie and Carl.

Classic Moments at Bristol
A tense race weekend turns emotional at what was then known as California Speedway in 2001.

On Friday, rumors spread that defending Cup champion Bobby Labonte has been fatally injured in a plane crash. Putting those false reports to rest, Labonte goes out and wins the pole for the NAPA Auto Parts 500.

In the race, Rusty Wallace is clearly the man to beat, and the cagey veteran doesn’t disappoint. Wallace outduels Jeff Gordon by .27 seconds to win on what would have been Dale Earnhardt’s 50th birthday. Wallace salutes his fallen friend by flying an Earnhardt flag out the driver-side window on his cool-down laps.

Wallace’s 54th career win also marks his 16th straight season with at least one victory. That streak would come to an end the following year.
 

Photo by ASP, Inc.

by Mike Neff

Bristol Motor Speedway is sometimes referred to as the “Cathedral of Racing.” For years obtaining tickets to the events at the alter of speed was harder than getting the homecoming queen to give it up on prom night — after all, there were divorce settlements where people took the Bristol season tickets over the 401k account. However, that all changed last March when the 53-race consecutive sellout streak at the world’s fastest half-mile came to an end. While there’s been continued debate over what, exactly, is keeping the fans away, the inarguable fact is that they are staying away in droves.

Speedway Motorsports, Inc., purchased Bristol in 1996 when the seating capacity was roughly 71,000. Over the next 10 seasons, track general manager and president Jeff Byrd along with the deep pockets of owner Bruton Smith, more than doubled the capacity to somewhere in the neighborhood of 160,000 seats.

NASCAR was relishing its biggest boom in popularity at the time. And since every seat was continually filled, there was no question the additional investment was paying off. Unfortunately, just prior to those seats being completed, the sanctioning body switched to the Chase format and ultimately the new style of racecars, which took away much of the personality of the vehicles on the track and impacted how they raced.

In 2007, the track’s surface was beginning to crumble due to years of hot summers and cold winters in the area, so while the track was resurfaced with new concrete, it was also reengineered to have progressive banking, allowing for side-by-side racing. Couple these fundamental changes with one of the most damaging economic downturns in the history of the United States and the end result was a drastic reduction in attendance that culminated with a just over half-full venue at last weekend’s Jeff Byrd 500.

There is no exact answer as to which of the different changes had the most impact, but it may very well be certain parts of all of them. What’s obvious is that people who used to spend their money at the track are now choosing to keep it for other uses.

The Chase format definitely had an impact on the racing at Bristol. The track once offered single-file racing, which encouraged — no, mandated — bump-n-run maneuvers that set tempers boiling and passions flaring. With the advent of the Chase, a more conservative, “good points day” mentality prevailed, as the goal of the drivers in the early spring and again in early fall is to simply qualify for the playoffs. Tearing up one’s equipment going all-out for a win is a fool’s way of missing the cut.

The new car design has presented a problem not just at Bristol, but across the circuit. The lack of personality and its IROC-feel have been complaints of the fans (and some drivers, behind closed doors, of course) since it was introduced at Bristol in 2007. Television ratings and attendance across the entire schedule have gone down for the most part since the new car rolled out. The sanctioning body is working hard to bring brand identity back into the series, and the redesign of the car that will be rolled out in 2013 may bring back a feeling that the cars on the track are at least somewhat identifiable with the cars fans drive on the street. While racecars have evolved too far to ever get back to the point that they look exactly like street cars, the folks in Daytona now know that distinguishing a Chevy from a Ford is paramount in the eyes of the sport’s lifeblood — its fans.

Despite cries from the government that the recession has ended (or at least the economy is beginning to rebound), NASCAR and much of its largely blue-collar fanbase wouldn’t know it. Staffers at Bristol that contacted fans who did not renew season tickets stated that the majority coming to Bristol travel over six hours, and with gas prices up and lodging rates on race weekends gouged, they simply can’t afford to make the trip.

Bristol is a “destination race,” meaning the sole destination for the incoming race fan is the track itself. There is no NASCAR Hall of Fame, Vegas Strip or big city nightlife to act as a two-in-one vacation. If a fan is going to spend a mortgage payment on a race weekend, said fan can at least belly up to a blackjack table or cruise the Sunset Strip by choosing other races.

The last factor is one that brings up the most disagreement between fans, media and competitors alike: The aggressive nature of Bristol — which is no longer evident — brought fans to the track. The bumping and banging, bent sheet metal, flying sparks, heightened tempers and occasional fisticuffs defined what many felt was true short-track racing. However, when the track was reconfigured with progressive banking added, the racing groove opened up, allowing cars to run from the bottom of the track to the top. No longer do drivers have to follow one another nose-to-tail and “move” the car in front in order to advance. Drivers can now spend multiple laps running door-to-door around the half-mile racing surface, and while contact does take place, it isn’t a continual activity. Drivers say the “new” Bristol provides great racing, but they fail to understand that fans also require great entertainment.

Multiple fans voiced their opinions on countless internet forums after last weekend’s empty seats were so evident. The vast majority maintained that the reason they aren’t interested in attending races at Bristol anymore is because the racing has changed and they no longer enjoy it. They’re basically saying that the repaving project that gave the drivers multiple racing grooves and allowed for more passing and lead changes is not what they want at Bristol. Ironically, the racing at Bristol now resembles that of Richmond, which is typically touted as the track that provides the best racing (and facility) on the schedule.

Apparently that’s not what fans want from Bristol, and they’re speaking with their wallets.

There is no question that Bristol is an amazing venue with a half-mile oval surrounded by bleachers that reach some eight stories into the sky. It’s an awe-inspiring sight that should be on any true sports fan’s bucket list. Unfortunately, as competitive as the racing is, it doesn’t appear to be what fans are interested in watching.

While the speedway is not likely to rip up the surface again any time soon, the aging of the concrete may result in the loss of some grip, eventually returning it to a single-file battle royale. When that occurs the fans that left will return, but there may be another faction of fans — the ones who don’t need carnage to enjoy good racing — and they might slowly fill up the coliseum as the economy continues to heal.

In the meantime, one thing is for sure: Although the stands may have been only half-full, Bristol still welcomed over 80,000 people. And that’s in a down year. Better times are ahead.
 

Photo by ASP, Inc.

by Matt Taliaferro

 1. Carl Edwards  The train kept a rollin’ ... Edwards and crew churning out great runs, with five finishes of second or better in the last six races dating back to last season.

 2. Kurt Busch  Going about things in a totally different way — but equally as effective — is Busch, who leads the point standings with unspectacular, yet solid, top-10 showings.

 3. Kyle Busch  And then there’s younger brother Kyle, who once again stepped up at Bristol and did what he does best: Sweep the weekend’s Nationwide and Cup events.

 4. Tony Stewart  Smoke’s final results have been up and down, but Bristol was honestly the first race of the season that he wasn’t in contention at the end.

 5. Jimmie Johnson  Two third-place runs in the last three races prove Mr. Five Time and the boys are this close to hitting paydirt. And Auto Club Speedway is one of the 48 team’s best tracks.

 6. Ryan Newman  Sits third in the point standings, but has gone about his work quietly, notching runs of fifth, fifth and 10th in the last three races.

 7. Paul Menard  If you haven’t heard of the The Paul Menard Empire, you need to check it out on Facebook. The month of “Menarch” has been kind to him thus far.

 8. Dale Earnhardt Jr.  He’s been an eighth- through 11th-placer so far this season, which is certainly an improvement from the last two seasons. Will Junior Nation finally accept a crew chief not named Tony Eury?

 9. Kevin Harvick  The fact that he drove back from a late spin at Bristol to finish sixth tells us he probably had something for Busch, Edwards and Johnson if only he'd had more laps.

10. Juan Pablo Montoya  Third- and sixth-place finishes offset by 19th- and 24th-place runs this year. If he’s ever able to put it all together, look out.

11. Matt Kenseth  Three consecutive runs of 12th or better and heading to Fontana, where he’s always tough.

12. Jeff Gordon  Yeah, he has the Phoenix win, but the 24 team has been on a roller coaster otherwise.

13. Kasey Kahne   Making the most of his brief association with Red Bull Racing.

14. Martin Truex Jr.  Truex and crew chief Pat Tryson are quietly turning the 56 team around.

15. Mark Martin  Steady as she goes for “the crazy old man” and his No. 5 group.

Just off the lead pack: AJ Allmendinger, Marco Ambrose, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin, Bobby Labonte

Photo by ASP, Inc.

by Matt Taliaferro

Domination at the tough Bristol bullring in East Tennessee doesn’t come often, but when it does, it tends to run in streaks. Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch have gone on rolls of varying lengths over the last 35 years at the world’s fastest half-mile, and Kyle Busch is in the midst of his own.

Busch scored his fourth Cup win in the last five visits to Bristol on Sunday, leading 153 laps and pulling away from pole-sitter Carl Edwards and defending race-winner Jimmie Johnson down the stretch in the Jeff Byrd 500. But Busch was the first to admit that it wasn’t all about the drivers’ brilliance, rather, fast pit work that gave his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota the lead late in the race.

“Our guys on that last pit stop won this race coming out of the pits first,” Busch said of the stop with 71 laps remaining. “I don’t know if I could have gotten by Carl — Carl was good. Our car was definitely better on the longer run.”

Jimmie Johnson led to that point, with Busch content ton run second. However, when the field hit pit road under caution, crew chief Dave Rogers made the call for two tires, allowing Busch to beat Edwards, Greg Biffle and Johnson onto the track for the restart. The young Las Vegas native never looked back from there, fending off multiple challenges from Edwards over three separate restarts before eventually sprinting away to a .946-second victory.

When Edwards was asked what he could have done different, he referenced his dust-up with Busch three weeks ago in Phoenix, saying, “It’s simple: I should have hit him harder (on the final restart). He’s still got one coming from Phoenix, but it was too far from the end to start racing like that. I really thought I could get by him clean, but then his car took off and mine was loose. I still got one (payback) in my pocket.”

Johnson, who earned his first career Bristol win in this race last season, was forced to settle for third despite leading a race-high 164 laps.

“Oddly enough, clean air is important here,” Johnson said. “It makes a big difference. I knew the 18 and I were relatively equal and whoever had clean air could get a little gap … and that was kind of it. It came down to that last pit stop; we didn’t get off pit road first and that’s really where the race was gone at that point.”

Matt Kenseth and Paul Menard rounded out the top 5. For Menard, it was his best Bristol performance, and only his second career top-5 showing in the Cup Series with a car that was later revealed to be down a cylinder.

“I had a fast racecar all weekend,” Menard, in his first year with a new fourth team at Richard Childress Racing, said. “What’s cool is we’ve been to four different race tracks and had strong runs at all four. It’s a testament to Slugger (Labbe, crew chief) and everybody at RCR. There’s a lot of talent there and Slugger has built a helluva race team and we’re having a lot of fun right now.”

Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Biffle, Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman comprised the rest of the top 10.

Through four races in the 2011 season, Kurt Busch clings to a one-point lead over Edwards in the point standings, followed by Tony Stewart, Newman and Menard.

by Matt Taliaferro and Nathan Rush

Location: Bristol, Tenn.
Specs: .533-mile oval; Banking/Turns: variable (24°-30°); Banking/Straightaways: 16°

2010 Winners: Jimmie Johnson (March), Kyle Busch (August)

2011 Race Length: 266.5 miles/500 laps
Track Qualifying Record: 128.709 mph (Ryan Newman, 2003)
Race Record: 101.074 mph (Charlie Glotzbach, 1971)

From the Spotter’s Stand
Kyle Busch tripled his fun in his Doublemint Toyota at Bristol last August, capping off a historic weekend by winning the Cup race on Saturday after taking the checkers at the Nationwide race on Friday and the Truck Series event on Wednesday — becoming the first driver to sweep all three series in the same week. Rowdy bullwhipped the half-mile concrete bullring, leading 283 laps en route to his fourth career win at Bristol. Busch has won three of the last four runs at the high-stress, high-banked Tennessee track.

Jimmie Johnson spoiled both Busch brothers’ day in March, breaking up Kyle’s streak and upsetting Kurt (278 laps led) for JJ’s first victory at Bristol and 50th win of his career.

Crew Chief’s Take
“Having a car that handles well in the center of the corner off is a key to working through the pack. Track position is a key as well. As the race winds down, most crew chiefs opt for position over new tires, as getting through traffic quickly is next to impossible.

“For a driver, it's like walking a tightrope. If you’re tense, nervous or uncomfortable, you can’t function there. The great drivers say that if you can get settled in and get comfortable, everything seems to slow down, but there aren’t many with the skills to really reach that point. Most of them just say they do.”

Fantasy Stall
Looking at Checkers: Kyle Busch is taking his turn as the Beast of Bristol. It runs in waves.
Pretty Solid Pick: Since Jimmie Johnson doesn’t qualify for “Sleeper” status anymore ...
Good Sleeper Pick: Junior qualifies, though — and makes a nice top-10 candidate.
Runs on Seven Cylinders: Even in his heyday, Bobby Labonte never quite figured out Bristol.
Insider Tip: They’re going to have to go through Kyle, one way or another, and races on the new surface are a lot easier to predict.

Classic Moments at Bristol
In the early- and mid-1980s, the only thing more certain than Darrell Waltrip winning the booing contest in pre-race introductions is his winning trophies at Bristol. Waltrip wins an astounding seven straight at the half-mile bullring between March 1981 and April 1984.

However, the streak comes to an end in August ’84 at the Busch 500. Waltrip leads 144 laps early but is plagued by myriad of issues late in the race. Instead, Terry Labonte battles back from two accidents — one a foreshadowing of things to come in the 1990s with Dale Earnhardt — to break Waltrip’s Bristol streak.

It’s Labonte’s fourth career victory and one that catapults him by Earnhardt into the championship lead. Labonte pulls away down the stretch from Harry Gant to win the 1984 Winston Cup.

Carl Edwards by ASP, Inc.

by Matt Taliaferro

Like every other NASCAR landing page on the web, Athlon Sports has a little fun each week ranking the drivers and teams of the Sprint Cup circuit. Our rankings go beyond how each finished the weekend prior and/or where they sit in the official championship standings.

The rankings you’ll see here represent what we (read: I) think are the strongest overall teams on tour, from top to bottom, based on performance, resources, strength of team/organization, overall talent of driver and, yeah, a tip of the cap to a job well done if they won the last race Think of it as Athlon’s NASCAR version of the college basketball Top 25.

Keep in mind these are subjective, and often done somewhat tongue-in-cheek (depending on my mood), so have some fun with them and take them for what they are: a weekly spin around the circuit, highlighting the best teams and their drivers.

Oh, and our rankings have a cool name … why no one thought of “Horsepower” Rankings before is beyond me. That said, kick back for five minutes of leisurely reading that require no real thought on your part:

1. Carl Edwards  Edwards has three wins and a second in his last five races going back to 2010. It’s like the boy has tiger blood and Adonis DNA. #Winning (I promise, that's the last Sheen reference I'll ever make.)

2. Kurt Busch  The only driver to have recorded three top 10s in the three 2011 races, Busch is somehow flying under the radar while being tied for first in the point standings.

3. Tony Stewart  Smoke just can’t close the deal. For the third consecutive race, he was in it to win it in the closing laps, only to come up short.

4. Ryan Newman  If you said you realized Newman was running fifth in the standings on the strength of two top 5s (and that he led the most laps in the Daytona 500), you'd be lying.

5. Juan Pablo Montoya   Another early-season surprise, Montoya has two top 10s and is tied with Edwards for third in the standings. He's first in the Twitter standings, though, with 276,821 followers.

6. Jeff Gordon  The right side of his car has been taking a lot of abuse this season. Three races, three crumpled fenders. Of course, he still managed to win one of those.

7. Kyle Busch  Ran eighth and second in the first two races, then blew up in Vegas. Despite the two solid runs, he dropped from first to 14th in the standings with the 38th on Sunday. That’s harsh.

8. Jimmie Johnson  In Johnson’s last eight Vegas starts he has four wins and four finishes of 16th or worse. Not sure how to quantify that.

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Junior Nation showing measured optimism after consecutive top 10s with new crew chief Steve Letarte. The smart money says he’ll be good at Bristol, too.

10. Denny Hamlin  Hamlin’s face is off the milk carton after a seventh at LVMS. Honestly, it was a quiet seventh, so maybe his mug is still there.

11. Kevin Harvick   Last year at this time Harvick was leading the point standings. This year? Not so much.

12. Mark Martin  He looked like an older version of Kyle Busch in winning the Nationwide race in Vegas.

13. Paul Menard  Don’t tear up your equipment and log some solid finishes — just what the new owner likes.

14. Martin Truex Jr.   Truex and crew chief Pat Tryson are only getting stronger at Michael Waltrip Racing.

15. Kasey Kahne  Clearly still learning the ropes with his new team, but things look good so far.

Just off the lead pack: AJ Allmendinger, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte

Photo by ASP, Inc.

by Matt Taliaferro

In Las Vegas, the hand you’re dealt doesn’t have to be great, just better than those you’re playing against. Such was the case on Sunday, when Carl Edwards outran a dominant Tony Stewart, who fell victim to a pit road penalty that dictated his strategy for the remainder of the event and ultimately doomed his chance at a win in the Kobalt Tools 400. Edwards, in turn, led the final 22 laps and cruised to a 1.2-second win at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“I think Tony was the car to beat all day,” Edwards said. “That car was just lightning fast. But those guys (Stewart’s crew) took two tires with 60 or 70 laps to go, and he took off, so Bob (Osborne, crew chief) said, ‘Hey, let’s try it, let’s take two tires.’ We came in, we pitted, the guys did a great job — I barely beat Juan Montoya once we got back on the race track — so this pit stop was key. If it would have been a half-second longer we would not have won the race.”

Ah, yes — back to Stewart. As Edwards referenced, it was his miscue — or rather, his misfortune — that set the tone for the remainder of the race.

Stewart started 15th, but worked his way into the lead on lap 99 and imposed his will on the field from there, leading 124 laps until a caution on lap 151 changed the complexion of the race. During the ensuing round of pit stops, Stewart pulled a lug wrench air hose out of his stall and was issued a pass-through penalty for taking equipment outside his pit box, dropping his No. 14 Chevy out of the lead and into 27th on the restart.

When a caution on lap 195 precipitated another round of yellow-flag stops, Darian Grubb, crew chief for the No. 14 team, made the call for two tires when the majority of the field took four in an effort to gain track position. Stewart won the battle off pit road as a result, and pulled away from the field when the green waved with 66 laps remaining.

When the fuel window re-opened with 32 laps to go, Stewart again hit pit road and was forced to take four tires, while others who had taken four on the previous stop — namely Edwards, Juan Pablo Montoya, Marcos Ambrose and Ryan Newman — took two. That relegated Stewart to third when the stops cycled through, and handicapped his track position.

“I honestly think we had the car to beat today, we just gave it away,” Stewart said. “I don't know what happened on the pit stop there, but we had a miscue and had a penalty and had to go to the back, and unfortunately it kind of dealt our cards for us. Darian made a good call getting us the track position back, but it also showed everybody else that they could do it, too (take two tires), and we couldn't run two and a half runs on a set of left-side tires.”

Stewart’s assertion was accurate, as Bob Osborne, crew chief for Edwards’ No. 99 Ford, made the final two-tire stop based how the No. 14 pulled away from the pack in clean air with two tires.

“It definitely didn't hurt the decision-making process to see them (Stewart’s team) run extremely well with two tires,” Osborne said. “So yeah, I guess I was taking notes. Their car was very good regardless, and I thought our only opportunity was to leapfrog them on the racetrack and hope we were able to hold them off.”

Edwards did just that, leading the rest of the way for his second career win at LVMS. Stewart rebounded to finish second, while Montoya, Ambrose and Newman rounded out the top 5.

Stewart has been in position to win all three races thus far in the 2011 season, but has yet to close the deal. A similar two-tire stop at Phoenix ruined his chances last week when many in the field took four, and he lost his drafting partner after restarting second in a green-white-checker finish in the Daytona 500. Does he take solace in the fact that he now holds a tie for the points lead and is close to finding Victory Lane?

“I probably should, but that's not in my makeup,” Stewart said. “I mean, it kills me to throw a race away like that, especially at a place we haven’t won at yet. This was a big deal today, and when you lead that many laps (163 of 267) and have a car that’s that fast and you lose it … I’m sure tomorrow when the emotion dies down we’ll look back and say it was a great weekend, but man, it does not sit good right now.”

Stewart will have to wait to turn his near-misses into a victory, as the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit takes one week off before returning to action at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 20.