Cup Teams Take On Bristol Baby!            

From a NASCAR Fan’s View

Well, the Easter break is done, and the drivers are eager to get back to racing. It just so happens that they are taking on the short track at Bristol, which is known as the “World’s Fastest Half Mile.’ That could mean a lot when it comes to some drivers because they will have an opportunity to turn around their average seasons so far. It is also an opportunity for someone unexpected to take the win. So, before I go any further, let me just say there are more than a couple of winless drivers this season who want to turn that around.

Now, I suppose you might be wondering which of the drivers I’m talking about, right? Well… of course you do. I have my own opinion of which ones even have a chance, and I’m more than willing to share that information with you, but you may or may not agree with my choices.

There has been a lot of talk recently about the job Ty Gibbs and his team have been doing so far this season. Accordingly, I cannot agree more with those voices. He and his JGR team have been showing significant improvement this season, which actually started last season. That could mean, at least from this fan’s view, that he could win this race at Bristol this weekend.

Another one that I think has a chance to win is Ross Chastain. Even though TrackHouse Racing has seemed to be struggling for speed this season, I am not going to count him out simply because I know he can be a hard charger, and given the right circumstances at the end of the day, he could end up in Victory Lane.

Another one is Carson Hocevar. We’ve all watched and seen how aggressive he can be, and he and his team have been running strong enough to win. In fact, he has even come close, but just hasn’t been able to seal the deal when it comes down to the final laps. I believe he is due to break out sometime soon, and this could be that time.

Even though he has been struggling lately and even in qualifying for this race, Bubba Wallace could pull himself back into the mix with a really good performance at Bristol. I’m not saying he will, but a couple of good races and he could be right back in the mix. As of today, he sits eleventh in the standings, but his biggest problem has just been a lack of consistency lately, and a win at Bristol could be a stepping stone to better things for him and his team.

The JGR and 23XI Toyotas seem to have a little bit of an advantage this season. Of course, they started showing more consistency at the latter part of last season. It has definitely carried over to this season, especially if we consider the way Tyler Reddick has been performing. There are times when he seems to be in a different zip code than the rest of the field. With four wins and a bunch of stage points, he leads in the points by two hundred and seventy-one. This fan wonders if Bristol might be his fifth win on the season since he qualified outside the pole, next to pole winner Ryan Blaney.

Even though Chase Elliott won at Martinsville last weekend, he wasn’t the fastest car. He did manage to stay out front long enough to win, but it was definitely nip and tuck at the end. Taking a look at the Hendrick teams as a whole this season shows they are struggling. Many blame their lack of performance on the new body style. I suppose that could be the case. It is definite they need to get a grip on this new body and do it soon or they just might not even be contenders when it comes down to the Chase at the end of the season.

Now that I’ve made such a bold negative statement about the Hendrick Teams’ plight, I have to admit this could be a race that could see things turn around in a big way for them as an organization. If they get a grip on the balance of the new body style, and we begin to see them running as a total organization up front, then look out. Things could get very interesting when The Chase comes around.

I can’t honestly close this out without talking about the Fords. It is true that the RFK Fords are running noticeably better this season, and so are some of the Penske Fords. (Well, at least one of the Penske Fords, and that would be Ryan Blaney.) That’s not a statement against them. It is just the facts as I see them. This could be a race we see Blaney dominate from the drop of the green flag.

As a wrap, Bristol is a very tough half-mile track. It is a long race and a race that will take a toll on the drivers and crews. From this fan’s view, this could be one of the better races of this season or just another dominating race by the polesitter. I have no idea which way it will go, but this one thing I do know. We will know when it’s over…