Busch Bros Battle Bristol
Matt Tuck
Contributing Editor
It has not been all that long since the Car of Tomorrow (COT) was on a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series track, but it has been a while since it was put on a track where it affected the fantasy values.
On the road courses, aerodynamic dependency is not overly important, so the COT did not impact the fantasy owners at Watkins Glen International. However, this is Bristol Motor Speedway and on a high-banked, short track like this the differences between the old set-up and the COT will be significant. That was evident in the Food City 500 in the first-ever race with the COT and has been the case at every short track since then.
Further complicating matters is that this is a brand new track with the addition of progressive banking in the corners. If two grooves develop, the leaders could lap a big portion of the field, which will leave only a handful of contenders battling near the front in the final laps.
Favorites
There have been eight races in the new body style since the last time the series was at Bristol and the teams have had time to get a handle on it. Hendrick Motorsports still has the best record in the COT, but there are other teams that have closed the gap?especially in the most recent events.
Matt Kenseth deserves special attention this week as he has quietly amassed the best average finish at Bristol since the beginning of 2005. In that span of five races, he's won both Sharpie 500s and amassed the best average running position, led the most laps, and recorded the greatest number of fastest laps. In fact, in 15 strength-based categories tracked by NASCAR Statistical Services, he leads the league in 11 and no one has been better recently.
Kurt Busch has everyone talking about him, as he has ditched his bad luck and now has two wins in the last three weeks as the NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup nears. The bad news for everyone else is that he gets to take his hot streak to Bristol, where he has five career wins and eight top-10s in the last 11 races. The only problem for Busch is that he has just one top-10 in the COT and was particularly slow in Tennessee this spring. However, the No. 2 Dodge team is looking good enough to overcome that this weekend.
Kyle Busch won the first COT race in a chaotic day at Bristol in the spring. Not that it was a total surprise. Busch has been very good on the short tracks during his career and he has been doing just fine in the new car. Driving the COT, he has picked up top-fives on the short courses of Martinsville Speedway and Richmond International Raceway. He fell to 17th at the big sister high-banked course of Dover International Speedway, but has since rattled off two more top-10s in the last three COT races.
Sleepers
The Roush Fenway Racing Fords have just two wins this season, neither of which was in the COT, but as a whole they have been consistent. That will help bump a couple of Jack Roush's drivers up the fantasy ladder this week.
Carl Edwards has never been known as a short track driver, but he is quickly proving himself at Bristol. In his first three tries there, he had a best of 24th. During the past three races, he has a fourth, seventh and 12th. He has been consistent in the COT and has not yet finished outside the top-20 in his updated Ford Fusion. What's even better is that he has two top-fives and a top-10 in the last five COT events.
There has been little fantasy value to Greg Biffle this year, but he should not be forgotten this weekend. He has had just six top-10s this season and four of those were in the COT races. In fact, out of nine COT races, he has seven top-20s. The No. 16 Ford was very good at Bristol in the spring and Biffle drove it to a fifth-place finish. If he is going to turn his season around, he will do it racing the new car.
Approach with Caution
Jeff Gordon is hitting a skid at just the wrong time. He overdrove his Chevy Watkins Glen and spun on the next-to-last lap while leading. Then he tried to stick it out with old tires at Michigan International Speedway on Tuesday and fell out of the top-20. He is a Bristol master and is always a threat to win there, but this could be the beginning of his first losing streak of the year just before the Chase begins.
Yes, Juan Montoya has a win in the COT. However, that was at Infineon Raceway, not Bristol. These are two separate beasts and the rookie will get the crash course on that topic this weekend. Leave out the road courses and he has just two top-20s in the COT. As far as the short tracks go, he has struggled. So far, his best was a 16th at Martinsville while he was 32nd at Bristol and 26th at Richmond.
Matt Tuck
Contributing Editor
It has not been all that long since the Car of Tomorrow (COT) was on a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series track, but it has been a while since it was put on a track where it affected the fantasy values.
On the road courses, aerodynamic dependency is not overly important, so the COT did not impact the fantasy owners at Watkins Glen International. However, this is Bristol Motor Speedway and on a high-banked, short track like this the differences between the old set-up and the COT will be significant. That was evident in the Food City 500 in the first-ever race with the COT and has been the case at every short track since then.
Further complicating matters is that this is a brand new track with the addition of progressive banking in the corners. If two grooves develop, the leaders could lap a big portion of the field, which will leave only a handful of contenders battling near the front in the final laps.
Favorites
There have been eight races in the new body style since the last time the series was at Bristol and the teams have had time to get a handle on it. Hendrick Motorsports still has the best record in the COT, but there are other teams that have closed the gap?especially in the most recent events.
Matt Kenseth deserves special attention this week as he has quietly amassed the best average finish at Bristol since the beginning of 2005. In that span of five races, he's won both Sharpie 500s and amassed the best average running position, led the most laps, and recorded the greatest number of fastest laps. In fact, in 15 strength-based categories tracked by NASCAR Statistical Services, he leads the league in 11 and no one has been better recently.
Kurt Busch has everyone talking about him, as he has ditched his bad luck and now has two wins in the last three weeks as the NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup nears. The bad news for everyone else is that he gets to take his hot streak to Bristol, where he has five career wins and eight top-10s in the last 11 races. The only problem for Busch is that he has just one top-10 in the COT and was particularly slow in Tennessee this spring. However, the No. 2 Dodge team is looking good enough to overcome that this weekend.
Kyle Busch won the first COT race in a chaotic day at Bristol in the spring. Not that it was a total surprise. Busch has been very good on the short tracks during his career and he has been doing just fine in the new car. Driving the COT, he has picked up top-fives on the short courses of Martinsville Speedway and Richmond International Raceway. He fell to 17th at the big sister high-banked course of Dover International Speedway, but has since rattled off two more top-10s in the last three COT races.
Sleepers
The Roush Fenway Racing Fords have just two wins this season, neither of which was in the COT, but as a whole they have been consistent. That will help bump a couple of Jack Roush's drivers up the fantasy ladder this week.
Carl Edwards has never been known as a short track driver, but he is quickly proving himself at Bristol. In his first three tries there, he had a best of 24th. During the past three races, he has a fourth, seventh and 12th. He has been consistent in the COT and has not yet finished outside the top-20 in his updated Ford Fusion. What's even better is that he has two top-fives and a top-10 in the last five COT events.
There has been little fantasy value to Greg Biffle this year, but he should not be forgotten this weekend. He has had just six top-10s this season and four of those were in the COT races. In fact, out of nine COT races, he has seven top-20s. The No. 16 Ford was very good at Bristol in the spring and Biffle drove it to a fifth-place finish. If he is going to turn his season around, he will do it racing the new car.
Approach with Caution
Jeff Gordon is hitting a skid at just the wrong time. He overdrove his Chevy Watkins Glen and spun on the next-to-last lap while leading. Then he tried to stick it out with old tires at Michigan International Speedway on Tuesday and fell out of the top-20. He is a Bristol master and is always a threat to win there, but this could be the beginning of his first losing streak of the year just before the Chase begins.
Yes, Juan Montoya has a win in the COT. However, that was at Infineon Raceway, not Bristol. These are two separate beasts and the rookie will get the crash course on that topic this weekend. Leave out the road courses and he has just two top-20s in the COT. As far as the short tracks go, he has struggled. So far, his best was a 16th at Martinsville while he was 32nd at Bristol and 26th at Richmond.
