Thursday, August 25, 2011

Driver Chassis Selections for IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol

Kyle Busch is using his winning Bristol car from March
1. Kyle Busch: Leads all drivers in laps led (1,336) and wins (5) in the nine races with the COT; Coming off second consecutive win; 4.6 average finish in seven starts with Joe Gibbs Racing. (Using winning car from first Bristol race this season).

2. Jimmie Johnson: Coming off fourth top 10 in the last five races; Won the 2010 spring race; Has combined to lead 618 laps in last five starts; 15.3 average finish in the nine races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 592) that he led 164 laps en route to a third-place finish in the spring at Bristol.

3. Kevin Harvick: Seventh-best average finish (13.9) in the nine races with the COT; Coming off 12th top 10 (sixth) in 21 starts; Winner of the 2005 spring race; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 346) that he finished 19th with in the All-Star Race in May at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

4. Carl Edwards: Second-best average finish (9.0) in the nine races with the COT; Won this event in 2007 and 2008; Finished second from the pole in the spring for sixth top 10 in 12 starts; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 739) that he finished fifth with at Michigan International Speedway in June.

Kenseth is a two-time winner of Bristol night races (Getty)
5. Matt Kenseth: Coming off 15th top 10, and fourth consecutive, in 23 starts; Winner of this event in 2005 and 2006; 10th-best average finish (14.6) in the nine races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 751) that he finish eighth with at Pocono Raceway in June.

6. Jeff Gordon: Has finished outside the top 10 in last four starts; Last of five wins came in this event in 2002; Sixth-best average finish (11.6) in the nine races with the COT; Leads all drivers with 2,440 laps led, but has only combined to lead five in last eight starts.

7. Ryan Newman: 9.0 average finish in five starts with Stewart-Haas Racing; Coming off 11th top 10 in 19 starts; Only top five finish (second) came in the 2004 summer race with Penske Racing. (Using Darlington Car)

8. Kurt Busch: Coming off 13th top 10 in 21 starts; Seventh-place finish in the spring was fourth consecutive top 10; Six top 10s, including a win, in 11 starts with Penske Racing; Four other wins came with Roush Racing; Fifth-best average finish (11.0) in the nine races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 738) that he last finished second with from the pole at Pocono Raceway in June.

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr: Best track on the circuit based on 11.5 average finish; Third-best average finish (9.9) in the nine races with the COT; 11.0 average finish in seven starts with Hendrick Motorsports; Scored one win and nine top 10s with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. in previous 16 starts. (Using runner-up Kansas car)

Stewart and Newman should be in store for good runs
10. Tony Stewart: 19.6 average finish in five starts with Stewart-Haas Racing; Only top 10 with SHR came in the 2010 spring race in second; Scored seven top 10s in 20 starts with Joe Gibbs Racing; Winner of the 2001 summer race; Third in laps led with the COT (526), but has only combined to lead two laps in last six starts; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 583) that he last finished eight with at Kansas Speedway.

11. Clint Bowyer: Finished fourth in this event last year for fifth top 10 in 11 starts; Engine failures in the the last two spring events have raised his finishing average to 14.9 in the nine races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 340) that he last finished sixth with at Richmond International Raceway in May.

12. Brad Keselowski: 16.7 average finish in three starts; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 736) that he finished 23rd with at Pocono Raceway in June.

13. Greg Biffle: Coming off fourth consecutive top 10; Eighth-place finish was 11th top 10 in 17 starts; Led 76 laps in this event in 2009; Fourth-best average finish (10.3) in the nine races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 727) that he last finished 20th with at Phoenix International Raceway.

14. Denny Hamlin: 33.5 average finish in last two starts; Last of five top 10s (fifth) came in the 2009 summer race after starting at the back of the field and going a lap down; 17.7 average finish in the nine races with the COT.

15. AJ Allmendinger: Has yet to finish inside the top 15 in eight starts; 30.1 average finish; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 710) that he finished 31st with at Bristol in the spring.

Mark Martin has two Bristol wins, the last came in 1998
16. Mark Martin: Won both poles and posted an average finish of 4.0 in first two starts with Hendrick Motorsports in 2009; Finished 35th, 23rd and 12th, respectively, in last three starts; Previous 21 top 10s came with Roush Racing; Last of two victories came in 1998. Crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-625 for Saturday's race at Bristol. This is the same chassis that Martin drove to a 12th-place finish at Bristol in March and to a runner-up finish at Dover in May.

17. Kasey Kahne: Finished ninth in first track start with Team Red Bull in the spring; Finish was sixth top 10, and second consecutive, in 15 starts; Led 305 laps en route to a runner-up finish in 2007 summer race; 16.6 average finish in the nine races with the COT.

18. Paul Menard: Coming off first top-15 finish in eight starts; Fifth-place finish came in first track starts with Richard Childress Racing; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 356) that he last finished 24th with at Kentucky Speedway.

19. Joey Logano: Has yet to finish inside the top 15 in five starts; Won the pole for the 2010 spring race; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 297) that he last finished 27th at Dover International Speedway in May.

20. David Ragan: Only top 10 in eight starts came in this event in 2008; 24.0 average finish; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 744) that he finished 20th with at Michigan International Speedway in June.

- compiled by Jeff Wackerlin, MotorRacingNetwork.com

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