|| *Comments on the 2012 Ford EcoBoost 300:* View the most recent comment <#77> | Post a comment <#post> 1. ch posted: 03.17.2012 - 5:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor corrections: 6 - Blackwell Angus Beef 22 - Lennox Tools / Discount Tire 40 - The Motorsports Group 42 - The Motorsports Group 44 - Bandit Chippers 46 - The Motorsports Group 47 - The Motorsports Group 51 - Mahle / goodinfo.com 52 - Means Motorsports 2. 10andJoe posted: 03.17.2012 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 0-4. There has NEVER before been a Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series/Busch Series/Nationwide Series season in which drivers who were not running full time in Cup at the time were shut out in the first four BGN/NNS races. The closest they ever came was in 1995, when Chad Little (2), Kenny Wallace and Johnny Benson won the first four races; Kenny was attempting a full-time Cup run at the time (would wind up attempting only 20 of the 13 Cup races that year). 3. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.17.2012 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Trivia question: what do Cup regulars in NWide races this season so far have in common with the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowls from 1990 and 1993? Hell of a job by Sadler and his team. They had the fastest car at the end and were gonna win if it went green. Then the yellow came out, and his crew chief left him out. I was cursing his crew chief saying he screwed him and now a Cup guy is gonna win. I was wrong. I was wrong. I was wrong. And damn it feels good. Luckily Bristol is just a half mile cookie cutter where clean air is everythingg. The race really sucked and this new configuration is a farce. Why change up a proven formula? From now on, Bristol Motor Speedway will be referred to as The New Coke Speedway. At least a Non Cup regular won to keep them goosed so far. Never thought I'd say this: glad The New Coke Speedway is over and we are going to Fontana now. 4. ch posted: 03.17.2012 - 5:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The only nationwide regular in the top 5 was Sadler, so that was sort of dissapointing. But they didn't win! Great run for Ryan Truex to start off his 7 races with JGR. Patrick once again finished multiple laps down in her usual 18th - 24th range. Start and Park teams occupied 6 positions and took home $100,793. There were 9 cup drivers in the field, 3 start and park and 6 in the top 10. 5. Peter posted: 03.17.2012 - 5:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) what do Cup regulars in NWide races this season so far have in common with the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowls from 1990 and 1993? Hahaha, thats too funny, but yeah it's finally good to see Nwide regulars take thier series back Also what a great run for Ryan Truex, I think this we'll be a big year for the Truex family. It would be a shame for Trevor Bayne to sit out the rest of the year due to lack of sponsorship 6. Rusty posted: 03.17.2012 - 6:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To post #1....Keselowski's sponsor was NOT Lennox Tools. You're thinking of Lenox Tools. Lennox is an air conditioning company that has sponsored Rusty Wallace, Kurt Busch and AJ Allmendinger at Penske for a while. I know this because my dad works for the company and I've gotten to meet some cool people at Penske and get private tours of the shop there. It was very awesome seeing their logo on the hood of Brad's car today. As for the race, pretty lame for Bristol. I actually left with 40 to go and missed the finish. 7. 10andJoe posted: 03.17.2012 - 6:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So: 6 - Blackwell Angus Beef 22 - Lennox / Discount Tire 40 - The Motorsports Group 42 - The Motorsports Group 44 - Bandit Chippers 46 - The Motorsports Group 47 - The Motorsports Group 8. dUDE gUY posted: 03.17.2012 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A pretty entertaining race, in my opinion. Lots of good racing for the lead in the second half, and good racing overall. Good to see Sadler win his 2nd of the year. This marks the first time he's won multiple races at a track in a series. His last NNS Bristol win was in early 1998! I wouldn't be surprised if it was the biggest gap between wins at a track in this series. DSFF, why don't you like the new configuration? I like it. It allows for a lot more racing on the track. I like that the low AND high grooves are being used on such a short track, and it makes for great side-by-side duels that can last for quite a few laps. A good example of this is when Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were battling for the lead for a good 30 or so laps around the 200 lap mark. Having said that, I do think the high side on the new layout is a bit more advantageous. The banking up there allows for drivers to get a little bit more momentum off the turn, and a little bit more momentum goes long way on such a short track. I still like it better than the old configuration though. The old configuration was exciting for sure, but it was basically like watching a several hour long bumper-car ride. 9. myothercarisanM535i posted: 03.17.2012 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Percent of race run under caution: 10.0% Average green flag run: 54.0 laps" That's better. 10. BradKeselowski2Fan posted: 03.17.2012 - 6:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rusty Wallace was really annoying with his Kyle Busch love. I don't think he realizes that no one gives a crap about Cup drivers. 11. 18fan posted: 03.17.2012 - 7:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle's first good run for KBM and KBM's first non-restrictor plate laps led in a Nationwide race. Kyle's run was derailed by a loose wheel and then him hitting the wall set up the strategy call that got Sadler out front to stay. 12. Talk4Tar posted: 03.17.2012 - 7:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The race really sucked and this new configuration is a farce." Huh, apparently good side-by-side racing for the entire duration makes for a bad race. Who knew cars actually racing each other made for a bad race? Guess I need to go to more demolition derbies if I want to watch "good" racing. 13. Schroeder51 posted: 03.17.2012 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's not just Rusty Wallace that has a man-crush on Kyle Busch, it's pretty much everyone at ESPN and FOX who has an obsession with him. If you ask me, if not for his loose wheel and his contact with the wall, I think Kyle actually probably would have won this race, though. 14. Rusty posted: 03.17.2012 - 7:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) People don't like the new configuration because they don't want side by side racing at Bristol. We have this kind of racing at every track, and Bristol was unique. The tight racing and having to get physical to make your way forward made Bristol what it was. Now it has turned into a tiny intermediate track. Where the outside lane gets the run out of the corner and is the preferred place to be. That isn't the Bristol I loved growing up. Sorry, but Bristol isn't the same for me anymore. If you like it, then more power to you, but it isn't for me. 15. 10andJoe posted: 03.17.2012 - 7:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "People don't like the new configuration because they don't want side by side racing at Bristol. We have this kind of racing at every track, and Bristol was unique. The tight racing and having to get physical to make your way forward made Bristol what it was. Now it has turned into a tiny intermediate track. Where the outside lane gets the run out of the corner and is the preferred place to be. That isn't the Bristol I loved growing up. Sorry, but Bristol isn't the same for me anymore. If you like it, then more power to you, but it isn't for me. " QFT. 16. cjs3872 posted: 03.17.2012 - 7:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I might be jinxing Elliott Sadler, but does anyone think that the Nationwide Series championship battle this year might already be over? After just four races, two of which he's won, Elliott Sadler already has nearly a full race lead on the field. Now I know a driver could possibly gain 47 points, and Sadler's 25 up right now, but with the start-and-parks, a 37-40 point lead is basically one full race, and Sadler's up 25 on Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. right now after just the fourth race of the season. Only two other drivers are even within that magic 40-point mark and one of them, Trevor Bayne (29 points back in third), likely won't run every race due to sponsorship issues, though he got sponsorship for this race just in time, and I understand he may have it for Fontana, as well. It may already be down to the same two that battle last year, plus Austin Dillon (currently fourth, one point behind Bayne), Sadler's RCR teammate. Fifth-place Cole Whitt is already 41 points, more than a full race, if you count the start-and-parks, behind, and Sam Hornish is sixth, 49 behind Sadler and nobody else is within 60. The battle for the Nationwide Series championship mave already have been wittled down to three drivers, four if Bayne gets enough sponsorship to run all the races, and the season is just four races old. 17. irony posted: 03.17.2012 - 7:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cole Whitt was lapped twice just as Danica was. Go back to trucks where you belong Cole. /sarcasm I've said it before, they just over did the progressive banking at Bristol. Badly. Made it too wide also. Who says you can't have bumper cars AND side-by-side racing? Happens at Martinsville. If they had done it right, that's what you would have at Bristol. 18. cjs3872 posted: 03.17.2012 - 8:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually, irony, Martinsville did have the capability for side-by-side racing, at it was a two-grove track until the repaving job in the summer of 2004 that was forced by that incident when a big piece of the concrete in turn three came up and hit Jeff Gordon's car, damaging it. But when they repaved Martinsville after that incident, they made it a one-groove track, and the outside groove still hasn't returned there, so it has effectively replaced Bristol as NASCAR's demolition derby track, because you can't really pass there unless you either run over the guy in front of you, or the guy in front of you lets you by. And they didn't widen Bristol, they just made the entire racing surface raceable. And one thing about Bristol before the reconfiguration. A main reason it was a one-groove track was because of the forces of gravity actually prevented it from being a multi-grove track. What was happening was that the extreme banks (36 degres) combined with the high speeds caused the cetrifical force to actually pin the car to the bottom of the track, preventing it from going up the track. Bristol was a one-groove track due to sheer physics. Remember that Nashville also tried 36 degree banks around 1970, and it was a disaster as well, because the same thing, centrifical force, was pinning the cars to the bottom of the track there. There is such a thing as too much banking for a particular size and style of track, and this was the case at Nashville back around 1970, and it was the case for Bristol before it was reconfigured, and the banking decreased and made variable. 19. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 03.17.2012 - 8:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Cole Whitt was lapped twice just as Danica was. Go back to trucks where you belong Cole. /sarcasm" He ran pretty bad today. The big difference there is that Cole Whitt, with 7 career Nationwide starts, has made a habit of outrunning Danica so far this season. Daytona is mostly a crapshoot so I don't really compare drivers there, but he lapped her 3x at Phoenix, outran her all day at her best track type, and today managed to outfinish her despite a really poor race because it wasn't quite as poor as Danica's. Cole Whitt is a pretty decent driver but I don't think he's one of those rare talents that's gonna get to Cup and be a standout. People just think it's funny that he comes right in and immediately outperforms Danica. There will surely be races that Danica outfinishes him, but right now it's 4-0 in Cole's favor (3-0 discounting Daytona for being a crapshoot) 20. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.17.2012 - 9:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2011 Bristol March Nationwide Race Attendance: 80,000 2012 Bristol March Nationwide Race Attendance: 55,000 Ouch. 21. irony posted: 03.17.2012 - 9:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The track sure looks wider. Like a whole car width wider. More than likely the banking at Bristol was never 36 deg. I remember Ryan Newman back before the reconfig saying that couldn't be right. Gotta be honest, I hated Martinsville after the repave but it's been good the last couple years, IMO. The Cup race last spring was one of the best of the year. 22. JP88 posted: 03.17.2012 - 9:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #16 Yeah. Sadly I think your right...I'm sure he'll have bad races but they way it looks, unless he and Stenhouse get cold, it will either be those 2 for the title. I know Sadler is driving really well, but Luke Lambert is really helping Sadler out. This guy is the next best crew chief. He turned Jeff Burton around at the end of the year into a contender after Burton was horrendous, and is now turning Sadler from really solid, to championship lock. Not to take anything away from Sadler, but Luke deserves a ton of credit. 23. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 03.17.2012 - 9:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "He turned Jeff Burton around at the end of the year into a contender after Burton was horrendous, and is now turning Sadler from really solid, to championship lock." Well, he was also Jeff Burton's crew chief during Jeff's horrendousness lol. RCR as a whole taking over for KHI probably had a more noticeable effect than just the crew chief change, IMO. 24. AlmirolaFan51/88/43 posted: 03.17.2012 - 9:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm not sold on Cole Whitt for now. Not because of his talent, but I still feel like JR Motorsports is lacking SOMETHING that keeps them from running with Gibbs & Roush....and now RCR. They've yet to win a race in the COT era. Can Whitt be the one that breaks the losing drought for JRM? I hope he can, but he needs cars under him that can lead laps and stay in the Top 5. 25. 18fan posted: 03.17.2012 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Comparison of Jeff Burton's results in 2011 with Todd Berrier and Luke Lambert Berrier: 19 races, 0 wins, 0 top 5s, 0 top 10s, 20.8 Avg. finish, 32 laps led Lambert: 17 races, 0 wins, 2 top 5s, 5 top 10s, 15.4 Avg. finish, 62 laps led 26. Bronco posted: 03.17.2012 - 10:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I always knew Sadler was a much better driver than his Cup finishes showed, and he's now proving me right by winning races against other Cup drivers while driving good cars. The #19 team really held him back. His points lead is pretty significant given that we're only four races deep into the season, he has gotten off to the best possible start that he could this season while last year he didn't get his first top 10 until Bristol. Kahne has finished 2nd to Sadler in all three series now, - Cup (Texas, California '04), Nationwide (Bristol '12), and Trucks (Pocono '10). I hate that Brian Scott does nothing last year but gets the Dollar General sponsorship while Trevor Bayne, who could actually challenge for the championship has to frantically search for last minute deals in order to race. "They've yet to win a race in the COT era." Actually they won the very first race Nationwide race with the new car, it was Dale Jr's win in the Wrangler #3 in July 2010 at Daytona. The owner was listed as RC, but the car was built at the JRM shop with an HMS engine, a JRM crew chief (Tony Eury Jr) and the #88 Cup pit crew. 27. BradKeselowski2Fan posted: 03.17.2012 - 10:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think JRM may be rushing Whitt. Whitt has the same amount of Truck experience as Coulter, but Whitt already has a full-season Nationwide ride while Coulter, who won ROTY in 2011, still has to do another season in Trucks. 28. 10andJoe posted: 03.17.2012 - 10:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "What was happening was that the extreme banks (36 degres) " Except the banking WASN'T 36 degrees. I forget the exact number, but I remember there being some feathers ruffled when somebody took a level out onto the banking and found it was closer to 30, IIRC. 29. AlmirolaFan51/88/43 posted: 03.17.2012 - 11:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I hate that Brian Scott does nothing last year but gets the Dollar General sponsorship while Trevor Bayne, who could actually challenge for the championship has to frantically search for last minute deals in order to race." With Dollar General's sponsorship money also divided between Joey Logano's Cup car and KBM, the #11 is only partially funded by Dollar General. It has to be. The Scott's are still paying a decent amount to have Brian in the car. Otherwise he wouldn't be in it. So it's more money coming in for JGR. And having a bigger company featured on the car beats another year of a plain black "Shore Lodge" car. 30. Watto posted: 03.17.2012 - 11:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Interesting stat: In 4 of the last 5 Elliott Sadler NASCAR wins, Kasey Kahne was the 2nd place finisher. 2004 Cup Texas, 2004 Cup Fontana, 2010 Trucks Pocono, 2012 Nationwide Bristol 31. Kyle posted: 03.17.2012 - 11:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) {With Dollar General's sponsorship money also divided between Joey Logano's Cup car and KBM, the #11 is only partially funded by Dollar General. It has to be. The Scott's are still paying a decent amount to have Brian in the car. Otherwise he wouldn't be in it. So it's more money coming in for JGR. And having a bigger company featured on the car beats another year of a plain black "Shore Lodge" car." dollar general IS fully sponsoring brian scott this year. the money they spent on the #32 with sorenson is going towards the #11, the same ammount of money is going to the #18 truck, and the money they spent last year on ed carpenter in the indycar series is going towards 5 nationwide races with logano, 5 with hamlin, and 10 cup races with logano. 32. Anonymous posted: 03.17.2012 - 11:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 12. Talk4Tar posted: 03.17.12 - 7:07 pm "The race really sucked and this new configuration is a farce." Huh, apparently good side-by-side racing for the entire duration makes for a bad race. Who knew cars actually racing each other made for a bad race? Guess I need to go to more demolition derbies if I want to watch "good" racing. woah there lil buddy. were we watching the same race? 33. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 03.18.2012 - 12:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "the money they spent on the #32 with sorenson is going towards the #11, the same ammount of money is going to the #18 truck" The truck series only has 22 races to begin with. If they're paying they same on both the KBM truck and the JGR Nationwide car, then draw your own conclusions about why. There are a few possibilities. 34. Kyle posted: 03.18.2012 - 12:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @thetruth i meant dollar general is paying the same ammount of money to kbm for the trucks this year as they did last year (10 races with kyle = 14 with leffler) not the same ammount of money is going to trucks as is going towards nationwide. the wording was confusing, my bad. 35. Anonymous posted: 03.18.2012 - 12:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) /Yawn Boring, boring, boring. I'm not sure how low attendance numbers and TV ratings for this track are going to have to go before Nascar is forced to change the track back to the 93-07 version, but I think we are going to find out. 36. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.18.2012 - 1:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rusty, you nailed it. Bristol used to provide something unique. Some call it "bumper cars" or "you cou only pass by hitting somebody". That is simply not true. The old configuration forced drivers to fight for the same position. If your car didn't handle in that one groove, you had to get to work. Most importantly, I miss the way 99% of passes were made on the old track. Setting up the guy in front of you by getting a run off the corner and getting under their quarterpanel going into the turns forcing that guy to relinquish the low line. There was a true art toit. The fact is there is a time for side by side racing and there is a time for one groove, fight for it racing. The cicuit needs diversity. They took a very unique track and homogenized it. No need for it. They had a perfectly good formula then screwed it up for no reason. That is why I call it The New Coke Speedway. Plus, as someone else mentioned, they way overdid the progressive banking. Four degrees from top to bottom on a narrow track is too much. If somebody can get that groove half a car length off the wall to work, they can't be passed hardly. Homestead has the perfect progressive banking, and it is just 2 degrees from top to bottom on a relatively wide 1.5 miler. They totally out thought themselves when designing The New Coke Speedway. 37. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 03.18.2012 - 3:04 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle - my bad. It seems like I'm misinterpreting everything today! 38. Watto posted: 03.18.2012 - 3:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I watched the entire race, and I, too, haven't been too keen on the progressively-banked Bristol. I think it's pretty ridiculous that people who don't like the current version are automatically demolition derby fans. I don't like wreckfest races. I love races playing out naturally. Let the best car win. With that being said, people who race cars themselves will totally hear me out on this as well as people with a racer mentality. I find it frustrating to watch races like the one we had today. You simply could not pass low. The vast majority of passes for position today on the bottom were either because of the car on the high side making a mistake or the use of a lapped car as a pick. You could have a clearly superior car to the guy you're trying to pass, but the high line is so advantageous that the better car gets stuck until Mike Wallace comes along to box somebody in. Side by side racing is awesome to me... when it's natural. When two guys with comparable cars battle it out, it's fun. Just look at Gordon/Johnson at Atlanta last year. Probably one of my favorite recent battles for a win. When a car that is clearly weak as hell is holding up a guy who's flying simply because the low line is so horrendous, that is FRUSTRATING to watch! Maybe my mentality doesn't reflect the majority. Harvick was clearly upset about the disparity between the high line and the low line in his in-car interviews. I'm sure that this is a result of them going overkill on the progressive banking, IMO. When the high side is banked a considerable amount higher than the low side, it can have a very poor effect. The best tracks with multi-grooves, in my opinion, are tracks where the banking is static and the track itself opens different grooves naturally. Just look at Rockingham or Atlanta or the way several other countless tracks are. I am not a fan of wreckfests, but I'm certainly not a fan of the type of racing we saw today. Being completely unable to pass low is not "racing" to me. Not only that, but we saw just as much single file racing today as just about any other track, except for the larger number of lapped cars given the track's size. I'm elaborating too much, but what I'm really trying to say is that all they really did was change the racing line from low to middle/high. 39. Talk4Tar posted: 03.18.2012 - 4:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) If referring to the style of racing seen on the old Bristol as a demolition derby is hyperbole, than also referring to it as New Coke Speedway is equally as bad. The only argument that seems to be consistently made that claims superiority for the old Bristol, is simply that the new Bristol is not the old Bristol. That is garbage. If this track was a new Speedway built outside of Bristol, TN, everyone would be hailing it as a great addition to the schedule and calling it a wonderful facility. I watched Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. race each other for numerous laps, side-by-side, I saw Justin Allgaier and essentially every other car out there beat and bang on each other a reasonable amount, I saw pit strategy calls play a decisive role in the success and failure of several drivers. Almost everything a RACE fan could ask for out of a 300-lap NASCAR Nationwide Series (including a Nationwide Series driver winning the race) was shown in the race. And yet, the only conversation percolating on this discussion board, is simply how NASCAR fans cannot accept the fact that sometimes, change happens. It's a stroke of luck the internet was not capable of supporting a site like this in 1993, because I bet everyone would be whining about the single-groove, bumper cars that came when the track went to concrete. Obviously there's no pleasing everyone in the world, however, anyone who appreciates the art of this sport can see the New Bristol is a much better RACE track, than single-file, follow the leader, hit-to-pass, Bristol. 40. palo_s posted: 03.18.2012 - 5:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #19: Cole have more stockcar starts than Danica.. 41. Watto posted: 03.18.2012 - 6:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Fair point regarding the New Coke Speedway line. Bristol is still very unique. I just haven't been a fan of many progressively banked tracks at all. Iowa seems to work well and there are some other examples, but the high line is given such an advantage here that, while you can race side by side, it seems like the low car cannot get it done (even when it's way faster) unless they catch a lapped car or the top side makes a mistake. Drives me nuts. They could've done a lot better with this track with less disparity between the top and the bottom. I also don't look at the previous version of Bristol as being "punt to pass" type of racing either, but I understand youre probably exaggerating a bit. Needless to say, I probably would've enjoyed the pre-concrete Bristol more than the concrete version. I was born in 87 and didn't really get into NASCAR until the early 90s, so I've only seen pre-concrete footage in select clips and on youtube and whatnot. 42. Watto posted: 03.18.2012 - 6:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) palo, but the difference in stock car experience is negligible. He has 2 Cup starts, 7 Nationwide, 26 Truck starts, 10 K&N Danica has 1 Cup start, 29 Nationwide, 1 ARCA, 1 K&N Cole Whitt came from open wheel USAC racing after Karting. Danica raced all kinds of open wheel cars after making the transition from karting, and also ran the Rolex 24 twice. The difference in stock car experience is extremely small. It's not enough of a difference that Cole Whitt should have lapped her 3 times at Phoenix. Plus, Danica has more experience in motorsports in general. 43. Damon posted: 03.18.2012 - 7:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I hate the fact that Sam Hornish causes a caution, hits a crewman in the pits and gets TWO lucky dogs en route to finishing 13th. 44. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 03.18.2012 - 7:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) the crewman was an understandable mistake, because the crewman on that car was slow on the left rear and hidden from view until it was too late and the crewman jumped up to go around the back of the car. it wasn't like Hornish hit him by being a huge tool. 45. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 03.18.2012 - 7:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) slow on the right rear, rather. 46. cjs3872 posted: 03.18.2012 - 10:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I see a lot of people complaining about the fact that you couldn't pass low with the Nationwide cars, but a lot of people seem to miss one thing, and that is that the Nationwide cars don't have a lot of horsepower. For that reason, you see the cars run higher simply because they have to do that to keep their momentum up. That's why you see them run high on almost every banked track that has an upper groove. The Nationwide cars, as well as the trucks just simply don't have enough horsepower to complete a pass low on a banked track. When the cars are side-by-side, the high groove is the one where you can get the most striaghtaway speed because of the momentum you gain from the hill. That's why you see everyone run the high groove in the Nationwide and Trucks series. Those vehicles just don't have the horsepower and torque to complete the move. It's actually somewhat like running with a restrictor plate. When they go to California next week, they'll be running next to the wall for the exact same reason. The same goes for places like Charlotte and Atlanta (1.5 mile tracks), Michigan (2 mile track), and even Iowa (0.75 mile progressively banked track). Also 10andJoe (#28), the current banking at Bristol after the reconfiguration is 28-30 degrees (28 degrees on the bottom of the track, 30 on the top), but before Bristol was reconfigured, the banking was 36 degrees from the bottom of the track to the top of the track. But you are right that the banking currently is from 28-30 degrees, depending on where you're running. 47. Bronco posted: 03.18.2012 - 10:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Bliss has been overachieving big time with his ride in the #44, top 16 in the past three races, should have had a better finish at Daytona than he did if it weren't for getting wrecked. Great to see Elliott Sadler return to respectability, after years of Cup struggles that were clearly due to a lack of quality equipment. I just hope he doesn't squander his points lead during the summer due to silly mistakes. Stepping down to Nationwide to drive good cars was clearly a much better choice than staying in Cup with a weak team. Although to be honest I would have rather seen a Bayne win which would have no doubt helped him find that additional sponsorship. 48. Kyle posted: 03.18.2012 - 1:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) bayne should have a good chance to win next week's race at fontana. he was sixth last year, and of the guys who finished ahead of him, edwards and harvick are not running this year, and kyle busch has not been good in his own cars so far. sadler and stenhouse, last year's 4th and 5th place finishers, are also favorites to win. 49. Red posted: 03.18.2012 - 1:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs, the progessive banking at Bristol is 24-30 degrees, which is what creates the huge disparity in speed between the top and bottom groove. If it was 28-30, that would be perfect. I think the New Coke analogy is accurate. The problem wasn't that New Coke was bad, it was that nobody was tired of old Coke. Bristol is the same way; it was reconfigured even thought hardly anybody wanted to change it. If they had built New Bristol somewhere else and kept Old Bristol, I doubt anyone would have an issue with it. 50. Peter posted: 03.18.2012 - 2:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) People don't like the new configuration because they don't want side by side racing at Bristol Are you retarded? that's exactlly what people want, do you honestly think people want to watch drivers play follow the leader for the whole race. And it seems to me that yesterday's race had the lest cautions in quite some time! 51. palo_s posted: 03.18.2012 - 3:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #42 - I agree.. 52. Rusty posted: 03.18.2012 - 3:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The old Bristol was anything but follow the leader, we all know it. It was good old fashioned hard short tracking racing. Not a mini Michigan where you want to run the high line all day and get the momentum off. There is absolutely nothing that makes Bristol different from every other track now except its' size. The old Bristol was different, unique and was a true old fashioned short track. That is why we loved it. I'm honestly disgusted at Bristol today, I used to be excited for months and now it is just another race to me. 53. dUDE gUY posted: 03.18.2012 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, I do admit that I miss some of the physicality of the old Bristol. It did make for unique and fun racing to watch. With the new banking, not only is there a huge momentum advantage on the high side, but you can't really bump and run someone there, because they're so close to the wall that the driver performing the bump and run would just get held up behind the driver he's bumping. Even if you bump and run them on the bottom groove, they'll make that time up on the high side eventually because of the momentum you gain up there. Having said that, I still like them being able to race on both grooves. It makes for more deliberate racing, which I guess I am a fan of. It sort of does make it a mini intermediate in a way, and that does take away some of Bristol's uniqueness. I would like to see them take the high line down a degree or two, so that the high line is more or less equal to the low line. If that happens, perhaps a hybrid of old and current Bristol could be achieved, where there would be both side by side racing AND bump and runs. I think that would be best, but we probably won't be seeing that for awhile. 54. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.18.2012 - 5:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I understand that it's not the same, unique track that we all fell in love with in the 90's and early 00's, but I still very much enjoy watching races at Bristol. I know I'm in the minority here though. 55. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.18.2012 - 5:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eliott Sadler is on fire right now in this series, picking up win #2 in four races this season. I think RCR stepping up was the best thing that could have happened for his NASCAR career. I admit that if Sadler keeps this up all year, Ricky Stenhouse is going to have a tough competitor to beat for this year's title. I really hope Trevor Bayne is able to race next week and is able to find a sponsor, he deserves it much more than some who have guaranteed sponsorship no matter what. 56. 1995z71 posted: 03.18.2012 - 7:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #40 Whitt is also a better driver then her. 57. Talk4Tar posted: 03.18.2012 - 9:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The old Bristol was anything but follow the leader, we all know it." Yes, it was. Blatant lies do nothing to help your argument. 58. Rusty posted: 03.19.2012 - 12:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Blatant lies? How is today's Bristol any more not following the leader than the old Bristol? I don't find the racing at the new Bristol thrilling, it isn't terribly boring but it is the same crap we get all the time. Having multiple grooves doesn't automatically make the racing better. The only thing new Bristol has done is make the line you need to run the high line now. Instead of bumping and grinding for a spot on the track, we have two guys giving each other room taking their time trying to get around each other. Sorry, but if I want that I'll go watch a race at Fontana or Michigan. Burton Smith took NASCAR's most unique track and made it into a mini cookie cutter. I don't care for it, and that doesn't make me "retarded" or an "drunk redneck" or whatever you people try and call me for actually wanting classic short track racing. 59. Talk4Tar posted: 03.19.2012 - 3:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The only thing new Bristol has done is make the line you need to run the high line now. Instead of bumping and grinding for a spot on the track, we have two guys giving each other room taking their time trying to get around each other." So, the only thing the New Bristol has done is add RACING to a race track. How dare they!It's simply now a thinking mans track, instead of a 1/2 mile bumper car course. 60. palo_s posted: 03.19.2012 - 3:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #56 - yes, she needs some tests on dirt tracks.. 61. Talk4Tar posted: 03.19.2012 - 3:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, today's Cup race has cars running both grooves, including the race winner. Matt Kenseth, running in the high groove, could not get to and get around Brad Keselowski, who was running the low groove for half the track. Today's race essentially rubbed your arguments nose in the dirt. Any refuting of that statement is simply denial. 62. Peter posted: 03.19.2012 - 9:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) If you people went to see cars torn up stop being a NASCAR fan and go to a demolition derby. I'll stick with good hard racing any day! 63. 10andJoe posted: 03.19.2012 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^ We want to see RACING, not side-by-side parades. Would the finishes in the August Cup races of 1995 and 1999 be epic and remembered if they'd had the new surface? I Think Not. 64. 10andJoe posted: 03.19.2012 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Good News, Everybody!" ...well, not so good news. Only 40 cars on the California entry list. 65. Daniel posted: 03.19.2012 - 8:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And out of those, only 23 have sponsors listed. That's absolutely pathetic to have a short field and nearly half be unsponsored. 66. 10andJoe posted: 03.19.2012 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's because the Buschwhackers pretty much murdered the series. Hopefully now it has nowhere to go but up. 67. Rusty posted: 03.20.2012 - 12:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The new Bristol didn't add "racing", it just turned it into a copy of the rest of the tracks out there. Where you need to get momentum from the high side to pass. It isn't what made Bristol a unique and great track. It was a week away from the typical "give each other room and race respectfully" stuff we see every week in NASCAR, and now Bristol has become the same thing as everywhere else. You think fans appreciate this new Bristol? Look at the stands, a racetrack that used to be near impossible to find tickets for, was half empty for a Sprint Cup race. I'm aware the economy is bad, but people are still showing up to other sporting events. Bristol just isn't the must see race it used to be. Again, if you prefer seeing this kind of racing then good for you. But I and many other race fans don't and we are entitled to our opinion and I think Bruton Smith can see that opinion loud and clear when he sees a half empty Bristol. I seriously never thought I'd see that day.... Also, Keselowski ran different lanes throughout the day, but he mostly had to use the high or middle grooves to make progress. The bottom will pretty much get you nowhere most of the time at Bristol now. It is too hard to complete a pass because the guy on the outside will have a run out of the turn. You can run the low line when you are out by yourself, it just becomes a problem to pass. 68. Talk4Tar posted: 03.20.2012 - 3:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "^ We want to see RACING, not side-by-side parades. Would the finishes in the August Cup races of 1995 and 1999 be epic and remembered if they'd had the new surface? I Think Not." Wait, you mean when a car was WRECKED coming to the flag? Yeah, THAT is Racing. And since this is a text-based medium of communication, I'd like to inform you I am being very sarcastic and I think your point is invalid. What you're asking to do is go back to a style of racing that has no finesse, no art, no methodology and strategy to it. Bristol Motor Speedway of old, while a fun track and one of my favorites, has been greatly improved. I love when NASCAR races on a short track, but if given the choice between watching 43 cars root each other out of the groove to pass, and 43 cars actually racing each other, side-by-side, lap after lap, I'm going to choose REAL racing all day long. That's why I put the Martinsville race on as background noise, and I eagerly anticipate Bristol and Richmond (and even the Iowa Nationwide and Truck races). Auto Racing is a beautiful sport, full of people testing talent, skill, machine, and luck against others to determine who is the best. It is borderline an art, and I consider the racing from the old Bristol, while entertaining, the lowest form of that art. 69. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 03.20.2012 - 5:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, today's Cup race has cars running both grooves, including the race winner. Matt Kenseth, running in the high groove, could not get to and get around Brad Keselowski, who was running the low groove for half the track. Today's race essentially rubbed your arguments nose in the dirt. Any refuting of that statement is simply denial." The Cup race continued to prove what I've been complaining about: you had to be WAY superior to pull off a pass low. It was minimally better than the Nationwide race in that respect. The disparity in the progressive banking creates such an advantage to the high side in side by side battles that it's way more advantageous to get a nose above somebody rather than below, because passing on the low side was practically nonexistent. The track wouldve been so much better had the disparity been more around 2 degrees rather than 6. It's overkill the way it is. 70. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 03.20.2012 - 5:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm all for side by side racing obviously and multiple options. However, when passing somebody low isn't much of an option, that doesn't make it any better than the stereotypical Bristol of old where passing somebody high wasn't an option. "What you're asking to do is go back to a style of racing that has no finesse, no art, no methodology and strategy to it." Total nonsense. Your exaggeration is over the top. I am a firm believer in that there's no art in moving somebody for position, but there was plenty of people who could compete at Bristol without being dirty, just like any other short track. There was about as much strategy, art, methodology, and strategy to that Bristol as the new Bristol and just about any other track on the schedule. 71. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 03.20.2012 - 5:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) and I wrote strategy twice cause I'm really tired... lol. one of those should be "finesse" 72. 10andJoe posted: 03.20.2012 - 3:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "and 43 cars actually racing each other, side-by-side, lap after lap" If that was what ACTUALLY WAS HAPPENING at Bristol...fans wouldn't be voting with their feet. 73. Talk4Tar posted: 03.20.2012 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Total nonsense. Your exaggeration is over the top. I am a firm believer in that there's no art in moving somebody for position, but there was plenty of people who could compete at Bristol without being dirty, just like any other short track. There was about as much strategy, art, methodology, and strategy to that Bristol as the new Bristol and just about any other track on the schedule." And those drivers who could race that track were the exception to the rule. To call it exaggeration a denial of what we all saw. As someone who has been to over 150 short track races and 20 different tracks in the last three years, all but one of which was SMALLER than Bristol, I can say the racing at the old Bristol was barbaric in comparison to the racing I saw at those 20 different short tracks in person. I liked the old Bristol, I like the new Bristol better. "If that was what ACTUALLY WAS HAPPENING at Bristol...fans wouldn't be voting with their feet." I'm sorry, I forgot to factor in the 5+ start and park teams. Whatever was left after that was racing side-by-side. I find it funny how on a few other threads everyone was discounting the arguments in favor of the new Bristol because one person got a little over zealous, and now that all the people in favor of the old Bristol are getting worse than that one individual no one calls them on it. Gotta love NASCAR Fans ;) 74. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 03.20.2012 - 7:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And those drivers who could race that track were the exception to the rule. To call it exaggeration a denial of what we all saw." I don't believe they were exceptions to the rule at all. You're taking a few bad apples and making it sound like their instances of dirty driving were the most prevalent way to run the track. Certainly not true. When did you start watching NASCAR? I don't get the impression that I've watched more Bristol races since I only started watching NASCAR in the early 90s, but I may be wrong. To call it an exaggeration isn't a denial of some peoples' dirty driving on short tracks, but rather to call it the way it is... an exaggeration. People seriously were passing without having to move others. I just went to youtube and saw a few of Rusty's wins, and while they weren't all 9 of his, the couple that I saw were all clean passes by him for the win. The racing midpack wasn't punt to pass. Carl Edwards may have moved Kyle Busch to get the lead at the new Bristol a few years ago, but it doesn't mean it's the most prevalent way to win here just because it's an example. I've seen the 1999 race referenced a number of times in the past week where Terry Labonte got the lead without moving Earnhardt, and Earnhardt flat out dumped him in the next corner. Sure, fans may find that entertaining, but Labonte was gonna win cleanly until he got cheap-shotted. Fans were booing Earnhardt in victory lane. The argument of how Bristol's racing was has been greatly exaggerated, just like how some fans are exaggerating the contrary... that the type of racing at the new Bristol doesn't have redeemable qualities at all. I've been pretty specific with my reasons for not being a fan of tracks who overdo the progressive banking, and some other posters have been specific, but seems like everyone's using hyperbole. The track would probably be ideal had they used closer banking top to bottom, so that people could actually pull off a pass low with a slightly faster car that they can pull away with. 75. Daniel posted: 04.14.2012 - 9:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Out using the fastest 43: #28 Kevin Lepage In using the fastest 43: #74 David Reutimann 76. 10andJoe posted: 04.23.2012 - 3:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #4 sponsor: Scag Commercial Mowers/Food Country USA #15 sponsor: Sam's Club/MET-Rx #24 sponsor: Kentucky Antler Company/Eye 79 Designs #33 sponsor: Armour Vienna Sausage #52 sponsor: Jimmy Means Racing #81 sponsor: American Majority/PledgeToVote.com (same for all other 2012 races) 77. Yeet #PrayForWickens posted: 08.30.2018 - 11:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Despite not having the speed to make the show, the #73 was one of the best looking cars on the track http://www.jayski.com/schemes/2012/nationwide/73nationwide.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: