Monday, March 22, 2010

Drivers Chassis' Selections for Bristol

1. Kevin Harvick: Best track on the circuit with 10 or more starts based on average finish of 12.3; Winner of the 2005 spring race; Finished 30th and 38th, respectively in 2009; 15.7 average finish in six starts with the new car; Will race the same car (chassis No. 281) that finished second at Atlanta last September.


2. Matt Kenseth: Winner of the 2005 and 2006 summer races; Coming off 12th top 10 in 20 starts; 18.7 average finish in six starts with the new car.

3. Greg Biffle: Coming off fifth top five in 14 starts; Qualified fourth and finished 39th in this event last year after the engine expired; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 608) that finished 10th at Las Vegas last month.

4. Jimmie Johnson: Has finished in the top 10 and led 195 laps in last two starts; Equaled best finish (third) in this event last year; 16.5 average finish in six starts with the new car; Will pilot the same car (chassis No. 480) that finished eighth last summer at Bristol.

5. Clint Bowyer: Second-best average finish (9.2) among all drivers that have competed in all six races with the new car; Best finish is third, where he has finished twice (August 2007 and March 2008); Will be back in the same car (chassis No. 268) that finished 10th at Dover last June and third at Pocono last August.

6. Jeff Burton: Winner of the 2008 spring race; Has recorded six top 10s with Richard Childress Racing; Finished eighth in this event last year; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 293) that finished 11th at Las Vegas last month.

7. Mark Martin: Won both poles and posted an average finish of 4.0 in first two starts with Hendrick Motorsports; Previous 21 top 10s came with Roush Racing; Last of two victories came in 1998.

8. Tony Stewart: Winner of the 2001 summer race; Posted a 25.0 average finish in first two starts with Stewart-Haas; 18.5 average finish in six starts with the new car; Scored seven top 10s in 20 starts with Joe Gibbs Racing; Will pilot the same car (chassis No. 530) that posted three top 10s in 2009, most recently Martinsville in the fall.

9. Paul Menard: 24.2 average finish in five starts; Best finish (16th) came in the 2008 night race; Will be behind the wheel of a car (chassis No. 556) that raced on many occasions in 2009, but has been rebuilt for this season.

10. Kurt Busch: Five-time winner; Has posted one win and three top 10s in eight starts with Penske Racing; Four other wins came with Roush Racing; 13.3 average finish in six starts with the new car; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 709) in the Food City 500.

11. Jeff Gordon: Five-time winner; 10.8 average finish in six starts with the new car; Finished in the top five in two of his last three starts; Leads all drivers with 2,438 laps led.

12. Scott Speed: 21.5 average finish in two starts; Coming off best finish in 15th after starting third.

13. Dale Earnhardt Jr: 11.5 average finish in four starts with Hendrick Motorsports; Scored one win and nine top 10s with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. in previous 16 starts; Will pilot the same car (chassis No. 556) that recently finished 16th at Las Vegas in February.

14. Joey Logano: 36.0 average finish in two starts; Finished 38th in this event last year after the engine expired; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 231) that finished 34th in the 2009 Bristol night race.

15. Kyle Busch: Swept both races in 2009; Has combined to lead 861 laps in last three races; Won the 2007 spring race with Hendrick Motorsports; Will make fifth track start with Joe Gibbs Racing in the same car (chassis No. 254) that most recently finished eighth at Homestead.

16. Brian Vickers: Has yet to post a top-10 finish in 11 starts; Posted an average finish of 23.0 in five starts with Team Red Bull; Equaled best finish last summer in 12th.

17. Kasey Kahne: Recorded fourth top five in this event last year; Led 305 laps en route to a runner-up finish in this event in 2007; 16.8 average finish in six starts with the new car.

18. David Reutimann: 18.5 average finish in four starts; Best finish came in this event last year in 12th.

19. Jamie McMurray: Will make first track start in a Earnhardt-Ganassi Chevrolet; 23.0 average finish in the new car with Roush Fenway; Scored three consecutive top 10s with Ganassi early in his career; Will pilot the same car (chassis No. 031) that finished 19th at New Hampshire last season with driver Martin Truex Jr.

20. Carl Edwards: Winner of the 2007 and 2008 summer races; Finished 15th in this event last year; Fourth-best average finish (10.2) among drivers that have competed in all six races with the new car; Has led 266 laps with the new car; Will race the same car (chassis No. 596) that finished 16th at Bristol last fall.

21. Juan Pablo Montoya: One top-10 finish in six starts came in this event last year; Average finish is 19.5; Will pilot the same car (chassis No. 903) that finished in the top 10 at Michigan in June and Chicagoland in July in 2009.

22. Denny Hamlin: Came from the back of the field and a lap down to finish fifth last summer; Has finished in the top 15 in each of his eight starts; Top-five finishes in last three races, with a best finish of second last spring; Has led 282 laps in three races; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 259) in the Food City 500.

23. AJ Allmendinger: Best 16th-place finish last year in this race; 32.4 average finish in five starts; Piloting chassis No. 288, which was last run as the No. 44 last September to a seventh-place finish at Dover.

24. Martin Truex Jr: Yet to score a top-10 finish in eight starts; Best finish of 11th came in August of 2007; Average finish is 25.0; Tied with Kyle Busch for passing the most cars (426) under green while running in the top 15; Site of first career NASCAR Nationwide race in 2004.

25. Elliott Sadler: Scored his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup victory in this race in 2001 while driving a Ford; Three top fives and four top 10s with an average finish of 22.9 in 23 starts; Last top-10 finish was in this race in 2005; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 278) in the Food City 500.

26. Regan Smith: Average finish of 23.0 in four starts; Best finish of 14th came in summer event of 2008.

27. David Ragan: Best finish in six starts was 10th in fall of 2008, which is his only top 10; Won the 2009 summer NASCAR Nationwide Series race; Will be behind the wheel of the same car (chassis RK-670) that last raced to 18th-place finish at Homestead-Miami in 2009.

28. Marcos Ambrose: Two top-10 finishes in both career starts; Finished third last summer; Has best average finish (6.5) of all active drivers.

29. Ryan Newman: One top-five finish in 16 starts came in second 2004 race; Finished seventh and sixth in two track starts with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009; Nine total top-10 finishes; Holds the current qualifying record of 128.709 mph from this race in 2003; Piloting the same car (chassis No. 516) that earned top-10 finishes in four events on concrete in 2009.

30. Bobby Labonte: Making 35th career track start; Three top fives and 10 top-10s with an average finish of 19.9; Last top 10 was an eighth-place result in summer of 2007 with Petty Enterprises; Will debut a new chassis (No. 248) in the Food City 500.

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