Food City 500
Bristol Motor Speedway
Sunday, March 22, 2009
1:30 pm
Weather: 61^, Sunny
Television: Fox, WBFF, Ch. 45, WTTG Ch. 5
Mark Martin starts Sunday's Food City 500 on the pole in what represents the first major milestone in the 2009 season as from the end of this race forward, the field of 35 assured of starting positions is based on the previous week's owner standings. Low standing teams will struggle to maintain a position of 35 or higher. Who would ever think that the #5 car for Hendricks Motor Sports, Mark Martin's ride would be one of those teams on the bubble sitting in 35th position while the Earnhardt/Ganassi #8 ride, Martin's part time ride last year is the first car out with Aric Almirola as his replacement. No one would have expected the #5 team to struggle so much starting off the 2009 season. Racing a part time schedule, Martin's fortune was better the past two years than has been so far this year full-time. After finishing 16th in the Daytona 500, disaster struck the Kellogg's/Carquest Chevrolet in the 2nd and 3rd racesfinishing in 40th in both Fontana, California and Las Vegas with early engine failures. Things were looking brighter to start Atlanta where Martin won the pole but sustaining damage in a wreck resulted in a 31st, 14 laps down.
A driver known for his qualifying prowess but also snakebitten at the start of the season, Ryan Newman, part of Tony Stewart's two man dream team new operation holds down the outside poll, but like Martin, Newman is on the bubble in 32nd owner's position. Last year's champ, Jimmie Johnson, starts in 3rd while car #16, Greg Biffle, and car #9, Kasey Kahne round out the top five.
The endangered species list, those owners whose rides are uncomfortably in the top 35 or hold full-time rides outside the 35th spot include:
30. #34, Earnhardt/Ganassi, driver: John Andretti
31. #77, Penske (Bill Davis), driver: Sam Hornish, jr.
32. #39, Stewart/Haas, driver: Ryan Newman
33. #20, Joe Gibbs Racings, driver: Joey Legano
34. #71, Kevin Bucker, driver: David Gilliland
35. #35, Hendricks Motor Sports, driver: Mark Martin
36. #36, Earnhardt/Ganassi, driver: Aric Almirola
37. #82, Red Bull Racing, driver; Scott Speed
38. #98 Yates Racing, driver: Paul Menard
39. #28 Yates Racing (Jeff Moorad), driver: Travis Kvapil
Other drivers struggling to compete full time include; Regan Smith, Scott Riggs, Joe Nemechek, and Jeremy Mayfield.
While the cool spring air and daylight setting might make the spring Bristol race seem less intense than the night race in August, from a driver's standpoint, it's every bit as intense. Racing the high-banked 1/2 mile track creates all kinds of opportunites for a little more than just trading paint causing solid machinery and top standing drivers to wind up out of contention for too much going on too close. While Mark Martin and Ryan Newman are both two drivers used to being much more competitive in the standings, several other noteworthy drivers including chase contestants from last year have to start showing some results to build hope for making the cut in Richmond in September. Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, and Jeff Burton, all in last year's chase sit just outside the top 12 while Dale Earnhardt Jr. languishes in 24th place with only one top 10 finish. While a couple of good finishes could propel the drivers just outside the top 12 into strong chase contention, Junior is already 178 points out of the 12th spot. The #88 team must consistently finish with strong top ten finishes to chip away at their deficit.
Meanwhile, good fortune shines Kasey Kahne, Brian Vickers, and David Retutimann in positions 10-12 while Michael Waltrip holds down 16th, 41 points short of the promised land.
Who knows what the standings will be Sunday evening after the Food City 500? The most predictable thing about Bristol is its ability to shake up the field. Stay tuned!
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