Sprint Cup 2012: Race 24 -- The Great Saturday Night Brawl

Rain washed out qualifying in Bristol setting the field based on round one practice, one that truly throws the starting lineup into chaos where some of the top contenders are fielded toward the bottom of the pack.

The focus is clearly on the drivers who are in the top ten in points with a chance of falling out; those with one win contending for the last wild card spot, and finally, those, well really Carl Edwards, with no wins and outside of the top ten in points attempting to make the chase.

Kevin Harvick, if faced with a catastrophic accident, particularly early in a race before the “start and park” freeloaders clear the track could fall out of the chase standings with no wins and only a forty-five point hold on his place in “The Chase.”

Carl Edwards is more than a race worth of points from the top ten, sitting in 12^th place, he must win to get in.

Kasey Kahne with two wins currently has the first wild card position locked in. The remaining drivers have one win, led by Ryan Newman who currently holds the second wild card position. The following drivers must either win one of the next three races or exceed Newman in points: Kyle Busch, 9 points behind Newman; Jeff Gordon, 30 points behind Newman; Marcos Ambrose, 51 points behind Newman, and Joey Logano, a whopping 80 points behind Newman.

The goal is clear – winning is the ticket to post season, Chase racing, with three races to go, tonight’s short track wham-bam slam in Bristol and then Atlanta and Richmond. Of the drivers in the fight, Kyle Busch perhaps looks best suited to answer the call based on his style of racing and performance at the remaining tracks.

Ironically, the way first round practice took shape, most of these contenders are near the top of the qualifying order starting the race with good track position and having the best pick of pits for tomorrow night’s action. Joey Logano starts 4^th; Marcos Ambrose starts 9^th; Kyle Busch starts 10^th, and Jeff Gordon starts 11^th. This puts the pressure on Ryan Newman in 19^th while giving Carl Edwards a good spanking in 27^th.  Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman line up 12^th and 13^th.

Of interest is surely the driver who starts dead last, Danica Patrick. She starts her fourth Sprint Cup race, her first since Charlotte, buttressed with a brilliant top 10 finish in her Nationwide performance. Who cannot think that Tony Stewart is some kind of sadist in his schedule for Patrick in the waning stretch of the 2012 season? Clearly, she has one goal for her 2^nd race, simply to be on the track at the end. She’ll almost certainly finish well above dead last with the number of “start and park” entries so we’ll count her success in terms of every position above the last “quit and sit” fraudulent entry.

No cars failed to make the field as only 43 cars are entered in tonight's race. Results are on the basis of first round practice.

POS		CAR	DRIVER		MAKE		SPONSOR
1		13	Casey Mears		Ford		GEICO
2		2	Brad Keselowski		Dodge		Miller Lite
3		16	Greg Biffle		Ford		3M / Bondo
4		20	Joey Logano		Toyota		Dollar General
5		43	Aric Almirola		Ford		Goody's Headache Powders
6		31	Jeff Burton		Chevrolet		Caterpillar
7		27	Paul Menard		Chevrolet		Menards / Schrock
8		11	Denny Hamlin		Toyota		FedEx Ground
9		9	Marcos Ambrose		Ford		DEWALT
10		18	Kyle Busch		Toyota		M&M's
11		24	Jeff Gordon		Chevrolet		FarmVille / Drive to End Hunger
12		5	Kasey Kahne		Chevrolet		HendrickCars.com
13		29	Kevin Harvick		Chevrolet		Rheem
14		78	Regan Smith		Chevrolet		Furniture Row / Farm American
15		56	Martin Truex Jr.		Toyota		NAPA Auto Parts
16		88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.		Chevrolet		Diet Mountain Dew / National Guard
17		17	Matt Kenseth		Ford		Valvoline NextGen
18		38	David Gilliland		Ford		Taco Bell
19		39	Ryan Newman		Chevrolet		Outback Steak House
20		51	Kurt Busch		Chevrolet		Phoenix Construction
21		14	Tony Stewart		Chevrolet		Mobil 1 / Office Depot
22		55	Brian Vickers		Toyota		My Classic Garage
23		15	Clint Bowyer		Toyota		5-hour Energy
24		34	David Ragan		Ford		Glory Foods
25		36	Dave Blaney		Chevrolet		SealWrap
26		1	Jamie McMurray		Chevrolet		Bass Pro Shops / Allstate
27		99	Carl Edwards		Ford		Fastenal
28		42	Juan Montoya		Chevrolet		Target
29		22	Sam Hornish Jr.		Dodge		Shell / Pennzoil
30		98	Michael McDowell		Ford		K-Love / Curb Records
31		30	David Stremme		Toyota		Inception Motorsports
32		26	Josh Wise*		Ford		MDS Transport
33		83	Landon Cassill		Toyota		Burger King / Dr Pepper
34		119	Mike Bliss		Toyota		Plinker Tactical
35		23	Scott Riggs		Chevrolet		North Texas Pipe
36		47	Bobby Labonte		Toyota		Bush's Baked Beans
37		33	Stephen Leicht*		Chevrolet		Little Joes Autos.com
37		48	Jimmie Johnson		Chevrolet		Lowe's Dover White
39		249	Jason Leffler		Toyota		America Israel Racing
40		87	Joe Nemechek		Toyota		AM-FM En Wood & Pellet Stoves
41		93	Travis Kvapil		Toyota		Burger King / Dr Pepper
42		195	Scott Speed		Ford		JTS
42		32	Ken Schrader		Ford		Federated Auto Parts
43		10	Danica Patrick		Chevrolet		GoDaddy.com