SI.com's experts weigh in with their predictions for this Sunday's race in Bristol, Tenn.
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LARS
ANDERSON |
MARK
BEECH |
TOM
BOWLES |
| The winner of the Food City 500 will be ... |
Jeff Gordon
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Matt Kenseth
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Kevin Harvick
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| Why? |
| With all the unknowns surrounding the debut of the Car of Tomorrow, I'm going with an old reliable to take the checkers at Bristol. Though Gordon hasn't won at Bristol since 2002, he does have five career victories at the short track. Plus, with all the drivers piloting new cars for the first time, the most talented guys will shine, so expect big days from Gordon, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson.
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Mr. Consistency has been NASCAR's best driver at Bristol's li'l oval over the last seven years, with two wins, seven top-fives and nine top-10s in 14 starts. Plus, his driver rating at the track is 127.7, the highest on the circuit by more than 20 points. What's not to like? It helps, of course, that he's been nothing short of terrific over the last three weeks, with a win and two more top-fives. The one to beat.
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After a stunning Daytona 500 victory, the No. 29 team has struggled a bit with both luck and ill-handling race cars. All that should change this weekend. RCR has done some of the most productive testing with the Car of Tomorrow, and Harvick should be in perfect position to reap the benefits. He's got eight top-10 finishes in 12 career Bristol starts, including one win.
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| Keep an eye on ... |
Kevin Harvick
Word around the garage is that two teams are ahead of all the others in their COT program: Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing. RCR's Harvick has one victory and six top-five finishes at Bristol.
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Kurt Busch
It's no accident that Busch earned his only win of 2006 at Bristol. He's been consistently terrific at the track since '01, with five wins and eight top-10s -- even winning three straight there between '02 and '03. There's been speculation that his Dodge Charger is still having nose-cone issues, but I'm not so sure that's true. Even if it is, Bristol is a track where aerodynamics don't matter, and I think he's a great enough driver to make some noise on Sunday.
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Jimmie Johnson
Clearly, Bristol has never been one of Johnson's best tracks; he's gone winless in 10 career starts with just 29 out of a possible 5,000 laps led. However, Hendrick Motorsports is the other organization rumored to have a leg up on Car of Tomorrow development, and if all of their teams come out of the box strong on Sunday, Johnson could be in position for a surprise top-five finish.
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| Don't expect much from ... |
Jamie McMurray
Currently 24th in the points, McMurray hasn't finished higher than 24th in his last four starts at Bristol.
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Kasey Kahne
A specialist on the intermediate ovals, Kahne has struggled at Bristol, with just one top-10 finish there in his career. He's also suffering through a major slump at the moment, and really seems to be struggling in the absence of crew chief Kenny Francis. He just doesn't seem to be driving well right now, and I don't think Bristol is a track where he's especially comfortable.
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Juan Pablo Montoya
A fifth-place finish at Atlanta was an impressive notch on the belt of the rookie's Cup career, but a half-mile short track is a whole different story. With the Car of Tomorrow throwing an additional curveball his way, Montoya will be lucky to finish the race in the top 25.
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| Mythical SI.com Cup |
TOTAL POINTS: 465
Last week: 121 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) |
TOTAL POINTS: 619
Last week: 195 (Jimmie Johnson) |
TOTAL POINTS: 675
Last week: 175 (Tony Stewart) |
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