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2013 Bristol: NASCAR Sprint Cup Starting Line-up & Race Preview
By Mike Sulka
Bristol! That one word says it all! The NASCAR Sprint Cup has been racing at Bristol Motor Speedway since 1961, and NASCAR's first visit of 2013 will be the venue's 105th Cup event! The first Cup race at the massive Tennessee facility was won by Jack Smith in a '61 Pontiac with much more humble surroundings.
The .533-mile high-banked concrete oval is known for intense action, high contact and yellows which leads to high emotion, more intense action, more contact and more yellows. It's a wonderful circle of life!
With the some drivers trying to make up points, there may be some a bit more aggressive than others. The 43 NASCAR Sprint Cup cars will be packed into a tight space and parading around bumper-to-bumper, it is easy to see why this is NASCAR's version of the WWF cage match.
The banking at Bristol Motor Speedway is very steep, with 36 degrees turns & 16 degrees banking on the front and back straights. The frontstretch and backstretch are equal in distance - 650 feet.
Surrounding our gallant warriors will be 160,000 NASCAR fans in a complex that rivals that built for gladiators. Bristol is a true spectacle and is one race even non-NASCAR fans make a point to watch.
Looking for a winner today, you are going to see one name over and over and over.... Busch. The Brothers Busch have dominated Bristol with 10 wins over the last 22 events. Kurt and Kyle are all tied-up with five wins apiece. Even with that impressive string, the Busch boys still have a way to go to catch Darrell Waltrip's all-time record of 12 wins at the track.
Kurt Busch hasn't won at Bristol since the Spring of 2006 - 12 races ago. Since then, its been Kyle who's been taking the checkered flag first (Spring, 2006 & 2009 sweep, Fall 2010, and the Spring visit in 2011). If you are counting that's four of the last eight races to Kyle, but none since 2011.
So who's gonna win today ?
That's a very hard call since the Busch boys have gone a bit cold. Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to finish three of the past four events in the top-five, yet he never won.
So, we are going to go with Brad Keselowski.
Say what ?
Well, Keselowski has won the last two of the last three races at Bristol, and appears to be the new dominant force having won the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship last season. What better way to get on track in 2013 than a win.
But... Keep an eye on Kurt, Kyle - who won the NASCAR Nationwide race - and maybe even Jimmie Johnson.
Bristol is all about domination and survival, and a driver must survive to be able to dominate.
While today's winner should be the next young gun, should he fail... The victory could go to just about anyone else.
Enjoy! NASCAR's next edition of historic racing at Bristol is about to begin! And it is sure to be a crowd pleaser!
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Starting Line Up by Row
Bristol Motor Speedway
53rd Annual Food City 500
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Fri, March 15, 2013 @ 04:49 PM Eastern
Track Race Record: Charlie Glotzbach 07/11/71 02:38:12 101.074
| Row |
Pos |
Car |
Driver |
Team |
Time |
Speed |
| 1 |
1 |
18 |
Kyle Busch |
M&M's Toyota |
14.813 |
129.535 |
|
2 |
5 |
Kasey Kahne |
Great Clips Chevrolet |
14.875 |
128.995 |
| 2 |
3 |
11 |
Denny Hamlin |
FedEx Freight Toyota |
14.879 |
128.960 |
|
4 |
55 |
Brian Vickers(i) |
RK Motors Toyota |
14.929 |
128.528 |
| 3 |
5 |
27 |
Paul Menard |
Menards/Sylvania Chevrolet |
14.949 |
128.356 |
|
6 |
1 |
Jamie McMurray |
Cessna Chevrolet |
14.957 |
128.288 |
| 4 |
7 |
2 |
Brad Keselowski |
Miller Lite Ford |
14.966 |
128.211 |
|
8 |
14 |
Tony Stewart |
Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet |
14.990 |
128.005 |
| 5 |
9 |
56 |
Martin Truex Jr. |
NAPA Auto Parts Toyota |
14.997 |
127.946 |
|
10 |
22 |
Joey Logano |
Shell Pennzoil Ford |
15.005 |
127.877 |
| 6 |
11 |
24 |
Jeff Gordon |
Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet |
15.006 |
127.869 |
|
12 |
20 |
Matt Kenseth |
Home Depot/Husky Toyota |
15.008 |
127.852 |
| 7 |
13 |
48 |
Jimmie Johnson |
Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet |
15.010 |
127.835 |
|
14 |
38 |
David Gilliland |
A&W All American Food Ford |
15.015 |
127.792 |
| 8 |
15 |
13 |
Casey Mears |
GEICO Ford |
15.039 |
127.588 |
|
16 |
31 |
Jeff Burton |
Cheerios Chevrolet |
15.048 |
127.512 |
| 9 |
17 |
42 |
Juan Pablo Montoya |
Target/Mountain Dew Chevrolet |
15.053 |
127.470 |
|
18 |
29 |
Kevin Harvick |
Budweiser Chevrolet |
15.055 |
127.453 |
| 10 |
19 |
78 |
Kurt Busch |
Furniture Row/Beautyrest Chevrolet |
15.062 |
127.393 |
|
20 |
43 |
Aric Almirola |
Smithfield Ford |
15.064 |
127.377 |
| 11 |
21 |
99 |
Carl Edwards |
Kellogg's/Frosted Flakes Ford |
15.066 |
127.360 |
|
22 |
9 |
Marcos Ambrose |
DeWalt Ford |
15.066 |
127.360 |
| 12 |
23 |
15 |
Clint Bowyer |
NAPA Filters Toyota |
15.073 |
127.300 |
|
24 |
16 |
Greg Biffle |
3M Ford |
15.078 |
127.258 |
| 13 |
25 |
83 |
David Reutimann |
Burger King/Dr.Pepper Toyota |
15.093 |
127.132 |
|
26 |
30 |
David Stremme |
Swan Energy Toyota |
15.157 |
126.595 |
| 14 |
27 |
95 |
Scott Speed |
Sin City Motorsports Ford |
15.159 |
126.578 |
|
28 |
17 |
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. # |
Best Buy Ford |
15.165 |
126.528 |
| 15 |
29 |
51 |
AJ Allmendinger |
Guy Roofing Chevrolet |
15.178 |
126.420 |
|
30 |
34 |
David Ragan |
Dockside Logistics Ford |
15.180 |
126.403 |
| 16 |
31 |
39 |
Ryan Newman |
Haas Automation Chevrolet |
15.200 |
126.237 |
|
32 |
88 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
National Guard Chevrolet |
15.235 |
125.947 |
| 17 |
33 |
7 |
Dave Blaney |
Sany Chevrolet |
15.247 |
125.848 |
|
34 |
98 |
Michael McDowell |
Phil Parsons Racing Ford |
15.260 |
125.740 |
| 18 |
35 |
36 |
JJ Yeley |
United Mining Equipment Chevrolet |
15.261 |
125.732 |
|
36 |
19 |
Mike Bliss(i) |
Plinker Tactical Toyota |
15.264 |
125.708 |
| 19 |
37 |
93 |
Travis Kvapil |
Burger King/Dr.Pepper Toyota |
Owner Points |
|
|
38 |
87 |
Joe Nemechek(i) |
MaddiesPlaceRocks.com Toyota |
Owner Points |
|
| 20 |
39 |
47 |
Bobby Labonte |
Bush's Beans Toyota |
Owner Points |
|
|
40 |
35 |
Josh Wise(i) |
MDS Transport Ford |
Owner Points |
|
| 21 |
41 |
10 |
Danica Patrick # |
GoDaddy.com Chevrolet |
Owner Points |
|
|
42 |
33 |
Landon Cassill |
Little Joe's Autos Chevrolet |
Owner Points |
|
| 22 |
43 |
32 |
Terry Labonte |
OXY Water Ford |
Owner Points |
|
Did Not Qualify: # 44 Scott Riggs.
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 17 0 Toyota 12 0
PaddockTalk Perspective
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