From the August, 2007 issue of Stock Car Insider
Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway Recap
The beloved Bristol Motor Speedway stole the show Saturday night. Little did Bruton Smith and company realize that when they gave a face lift to the surface, that they overhauled the personality of the track as well. The brand new concrete surface, which features graduated banking in the turns and a smoother transition between the turns and straight-aways, allowed for three wide racing all the way around.In previous races at Bristol, drivers caught outside the bottom grove were toast. Lead cars were typically the victim of the Bristol "Bump and Run" where the following car would bump the lead car up the track and out of the grove and then run on by. However, the addition of two more grooves of racing allowed for a much cleaner race.
Never before have I seen so few cautions and so many clean cars following 500 laps at Bristol. None-the-less, the action was still hot! Just ask Carl Edwards who sizzled during the second half of the race. Carl captured his second victory of the season and locked himself into the 2007 Chase for the Championship.
Other drivers to note:
Series leader, Jeff Gordon, fell victim to getting caught by a caution after pitting before the rest of the field cycled through their pit stops. This put Gordon a lap down where he was stuck for quite awhile in the near caution-less Sharpie 500. Gordon still maintains a comfortable lead in the points.
Matt Kenseth is thankful he wasn't on the bubble heading into Bristol. If the former champion needed a strong finish at Bristol to qualify for the Chase, he would have found himself on the outside looking in. Matt finished in 39th, but still sits in a comfortable 4th place in the standings, and is officially qualified for the Chase.
Denny Hamlin suffered his first DNF ever in the Nextel Cup Series. Hamlin suffered a broken valve spring which lead to Hamlin's 43rd place finish. Hamlin dropped one spot in the standings to 3rd place, but is currently qualified for the Chase.
Dale Earnhardt Jr did all he could to help his team earn a spot in the Chase. Jr finished in 5th place. The only problem is, his bubble-buddies also had outstanding finishes. Earnhardt is still in 13th and over 150 points out of 12th.
| See complete 2007 NASCAR Schedule |
