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| In terms of finishing average, Bristol Motor Speedway is Greg Biffle's third-best track, according to SceneDaily.com. |
Our View: He has an 11.5 finishing average at the track, and he only has better averages at Dover and Kansas. Biffle has finished 11th or better in eight of his last 10 starts at Bristol and has finished outsdie the top 20 only once because of an engine failure.
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| In 2010, Paul Menard has compiled a 13.2 finishing average despite his 29.2 starting average, according to Yahoo! Sports. |
Our View: Menard is proof that you don't need to start up front to finish there. If Menard is going to continue his surprise season at Bristol this weekend, he will likely need a similar charge from the back. He has a 33.4 career starting average at the track.
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| Despite finishing outside the top 10 in both Bristol races last season, Clint Bowyer has the fourth-best finishing average at the track in the CoT, according to MRN.com. |
Our View: Bowyer has compiled a 9.2 finishing average at Bristol in six starts with the CoT. He has four top-10 finishes in six starts, including two thrid-place finishes.
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| Kyle Busch one both races at Bristol in 2009, but his crew chief for those wins will be atop the pit box for his older brother Kurt Busch this weekend, according to Yahoo! Sports. |
Our View: Kurt is a five-time winner at Bristol in his own right, and it will be interesting to see if the addition of Addington can help him get back to victory lane. The Busch brothers have both had their share of success at the track, combining for eight wins.
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| Since the Chase began in 2004, the standings after Bristol have been a strong indication of who will make the playoffs, according to Yahoo! Sports. |
Our View: Since the inception of the Chase, 74 percent of drivers that were eligible for a spot following the fifth race of the year went on to secure a spot in the playoffs. In other words, nine drivers in the top 12 after this weekend's race will likely end up in the Chase.
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| According to SceneDaily.com, Jack Roush believes the return of the traditional spoiler will benefit his drivers. |
Our View: "These changes don't always work in your direction, and I may look back on it and decide that it wasn't in our favor, but our guys have historically liked to drive their cars looser than the average driver in the field and the fact that it is going to make the car looser and more in the driver's control is certainly something that I look forward to," Roush said.
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| Following the spoiler test at Talladega, Dale Earnhardt, Jr reported hitting 213 mph in the draft, according to SceneDaily.com. |
Our View: Drivers routinely cracked 210 mph in the draft and reported problems with high closing speeds. Drivers also complained that the spoiler caused too much drag when cars were not in the draft. NASCAR will likely make modifications to the restrictor plate size and spoiler dimensions prior to the April race at the track to correct the issues.
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| At some point during the Bristol weekend, NASCAR officials will meet with Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski, according to Jayski.com. |
Our View: The exact topic of the meeting was not released, but it is obviously going to address the recent on-track issues between the two drivers. If I had to guess what will be said, I imagine it will be a warning to both drivers that the punishment for any future incidents between the two will be quite severe.
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| After 33 years of racing in NASCAR, Sterling Marlin has officially retired, according to Jayski.com. |
Our View: Marlin has raced a sporadic schedule the last few years but retires with 10 career wins in the Cup Series, including two in the Daytona 500. Marlin's best year came in 2002, but it was cut short by a neck injury at Kansas. He trailed first-place Mark Martin by just 81 points at the time if the injury. Marlin was never the same driver after the injury, managing just four top-five finishes in 180 starts after returning.
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| According to Jayski.com, Casey Mears and the No. 90 Keyed-Up Motorsports team will have an unexpected sponsor at Bristol. |
Our View: Juice Air Fresheners and SMELLmyCAR.com added the race as part of their sponsorship deal with the team. The added sponsorship had to come as a bit of a surprise to Mears and the team, considering Mears failed to qualify the last time the companies sponsored the car. In fact, Mears has yet to qualify for a race in 2010.
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