This thread is being opened for the qualifying and final race results for the Nextel Cup race at the Bristol Motor Speedway on 8-26-2006. As soon as the results are released I will post them here.
Got an opinion of this race? Did something happen on the track that evoked an emotion in you? If so, you may share it here. After all, this is Bristol Baby, where rubbin' is racin' and beatin' and bangin' are the name of the game!
WHOOO-HOOO!!! Bristol!!
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Here we come… this weekend will find Bristol Motor Speedway full of a huge conglomeration of every kind of fan there is.
We’ll have the college kids that have been saving every penny and planning for months just to buy enough gas and beer to last the whole weekend. There will be the diehard ticket holders that have been to every Bristol race since dirt was invented.
In the stands we’ll see the brand new fan that has never been to NASCAR, so thrilled he can hardly breathe when he steps into the bleachers and sees that track for the first time. And tiny NASCAR fans that can’t even say the word will be dressed in driver’s colors and proudly promenaded up and down the walkways by Mom and Dad.
And while all the hype and excitement of race day begins to unfold for these fans, another page of the story is coming to life in the heart of the track.
Down in the garages and pit areas…the teams that we have watched for the past few months will be working with heads down, focused faces, and nervous energy all trying to reach the goal of the finish line.
There will be the guys that have been around racing all their lives working beside fellows that have just reached their dream of being on a NASCAR team. The veteran drivers will mill around with the young drivers, exchanging advice, encouragement and complements.
The young drivers will listen and learn, nod and soak in the words from the guys they used to idolize and watch on TV. The owners will perch on the top of the boxes or pace around in the pit area…all the while calculating the consequences of this becoming a top winning day or a blown motor day. The wives and girlfriends will walk past the ogling crowd while linked in the arm of their men, watching as the girls that have managed to get too close to the pits all scream and act like unleashed Tasmanian devils. And while the stands begin to fill, the pre-race show begins to attempt some type of organization before the cameras begin to record.
Rolling platforms move into place, the locals that are participating are beginning to jump around with excitement, and the Armed Forces men that will be presenting the colors are moving into position. The celebrities that are here to provide another moment of awe are making their way to the spot they have been told to stand when they belt out the National Anthem. The pits begin to clear and all the team members line up to show their respect to the flag and the fans. This sight alone is overwhelming to the new fan that begins taking pictures as fast as his shutter will fly. And before we know it, the ultimate statement in racing is hollered into the microphone…. “Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!”
One by one the engines come to life, slowly igniting the roar of the crowd along with the motors. The pace car moves in and we’ll be racing before long. Bristol, a track that is barely more than a half of a mile; a track that challenges patience and finds tempers that have been dormant for months, is now calling out to the drivers.
This track is one that is talked about by all, before the race, after the race and pretty much all year long…it’s a track that our drivers either love or hate...as do the fans. The drivers consider it a huge accomplishment just to make it through without a major wreck, while the fans consider it a great day at the races when there is a huge wreck to talk about. All of us have different views and goals when we go to Bristol…and this track can pretty much guarantee you’ll see what you are dreaming of, whether it’s hard racing with sparks flying or watching the cars bounce off each other, or just seeing your driver get through the mess and make it to the finish line, it’s all there.
So grab your favorite brand of suds and get ready for some good old fashioned racing…because it’s coming…and if it stands with tradition, we’ll see some fussing, some fuming, and maybe if we’re lucky…just good old hair raising racing.
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Jimmie Johnson—Johnson has five top 10 finishes in nine Bristol Cup starts, but has finished 30th or worse in his last two Bristol outings. One challenge Johnson faces at Bristol is poor starting positions. He qualified inside the top 10 for the first time here this spring.
Matt Kenseth—Kenseth has six top 5s and eight top 10s in thirteen Bristol Cup starts. He’s managed a top 10 finish in eight of the last nine races here. Kenseth also won a pair of Busch races at Bristol.
Kevin Harvick—Harvick won here in 2005 and has finished 2nd at Bristol three times. He’s also won four Bristol Busch races and finished 2nd twice here in that series.
Mark Martin—Martin has won here twice in the Cup series, but the most recent of those victories was back in 1998. He has 21 top 10 finishes in 39 starts here, but just one top 10 in the last eleven Bristol Cup races. That top 10 was Martin’s 6th place finish here this spring. He also has two wins here in the Busch series.
Tony Stewart—Stewart won this race in 2001, then suffered six straight finishes of 15th or worse at Bristol. But he does have top 10 results in two of the last three Bristol Cup races and he led 245 laps here on the way to a 12th place finish this spring.
Jeff Gordon—Gordon has won here five times, but the most recent of those victories was back in 2002. In the seven subsequent Bristol Cup races, Gordon hasn’t managed a top 5, though he’s led a bunch of laps.
Kyle Busch—Busch finished 8th here this spring to score his first top 20 finish in three Cup races at Bristol. In the Busch series, Busch won here this spring and finished 3rd in both 2004 Bristol races.
Denny Hamlin—Hamlin finished 14th here this spring, but 4th in that weekend’s Busch race.
Jeff Burton— Burton finished 2nd in this race last year and 4th in the 2004 Bristol night race. Oddly enough, he’s finished outside the top 30 in the last three Bristol spring races. Burton also won a Busch race here way back in 1997.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.—All the stars in the Redneck Universe aligned perfectly when Junior won the 2004 Bristol night race. In the last six Cup races at Bristol, Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t finished worse than 11th.
Kasey Kahne—Kahne’s 10th place finish here this spring was his first top 10 in five Bristol Cup starts. He never managed a top 10 result in six Busch series starts at this track.
Greg Biffle—Biffle has top 10 finishes in the last three Bristol Cup races and has led 144 laps combined in those three races.
Carl Edwards—Prior to his 4th place finish here this spring, the best Edwards had managed in a Bristol Cup race was 24th.
Kurt Busch—Busch’s win here this spring was his 5th victory in eleven Bristol starts. Disregarding his rookie season, Busch has just one finish outside the top 10 in nine races.
Brian Vickers—Vickers is still trying to figure this place out. He’s averaged a 25th place finish in five Bristol Cup starts.
Jamie McMurray—McMurray has started seven Cup races here. He finished 11th or better in his first four Bristol starts, but hasn’t managed a finish better than 24th in the last three.
Casey Mears— Bristol has Mears confounded. His best result here in seven starts is 21st and his average finish is 32nd. His average Busch series finish here is 35th. Sucks to be him.
Ryan Newman—Newman has four top 10 finishes in nine Cup starts here, including a runner-up result in this race back in 2004. Newman won last year’s Bristol August Busch race.
Clint Bowyer—Bowyer finished 29th here this spring. He did finish 4th in the Busch race here last August.
Elliott Sadler—Sadler won here back in 2001, but will he even remember which race car he’s supposed to climb into before this weekend’s race?
47 37 Mike Skinner Dodge R&J Racing 121.289 15.820 -0.458
+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie
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Last edited by mrsmopar12 : 08-25-2006 at 07:41 PM.
Reason: spacing
37 1 #2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 57/5 446 Running
38 27 #07 Clint Bowyer * Chevrolet Jack Daniel's 49/0 415 Running
39 9 #19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 46/0 395 Out of Race
40 38 #38 David Gilliland Ford M&M's 43/0 346 Running
41 30 #34 Carl Long Chevrolet Front Row Motorsports 40/0 256 Out of Race
42 43 #4 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet Bully Hill Vineyards/Food City 37/0 209
Out of Race
43 33 #74 Derrike Cope Dodge Sundance Vacations/Royal Admin. Svcs 34/0 7 Out of Race
* Denotes Rookie
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NASCAR.COM
August 26, 2006
10:52 PM EDT (02:52 GMT)
Lap 500 -- Matt Kenseth has won the Sharpie 500 by .592 seconds over Kyle Busch. The rest of the top 10 -- Earnhardt Jr., Riggs, Gordon, Hamlin, Edwards, Newman, Burton and Johnson.
Lap 488 -- Kyle Busch acquires second from Junior, but he's running out of laps.
Lap 485 -- The lead is now 1.4 seconds for Kenseth.
Lap 481 -- Kenseth running into lapped traffic. Can Junior capitalize?
Lap 470 -- Now it's .728 as Kenseth is pulling away again.
Lap 468 -- Junior now .565 behind Kenseth.
Lap 463 -- Gordon drives around Edwards for fourth. In fact, he's slipping back quickly as Riggs and Denny Hamlin also go by.
Lap 459 -- Edwards slides high and Kyle Busch takes third.
Lap 455 -- Here we go again. Green flag.
Lap 449 -- Kenseth leads the leaders onto pit road. He's happy with what he's got. It's Kenseth, Junior, Edwards and Kyle Busch in that order.
Lap 445 -- Sadler bends it up worse this time. Something must have broken, sending him spinning. That's caution No. 10.
Lap 444 -- Gordon around Burton for fourth, Riggs will get around, too.
Lap 431 -- Kenseth obviously turned up the wick a little or Busch's tires are going off. He's stretched the lead to 1.596 seconds.
Lap 420 -- Busch now .892 seconds behind Kenseth.
Lap 408 -- And Busch captures second. He's 1.295 seconds behind Kenseth now.
Lap 404 -- Kyle Busch blows by Burton for third and sets his sights on the top two.
Lap 399 -- Kenseth drives under Earnhardt Jr. for the lead. Junior may have gotten down on the apron.
Lap 392 -- Kurt Busch slowing, as the car is jumping out of gear. He's behind the wall, trying to repair the transmission.
Lap 387 -- Green, green, green. Great stop by Junior gives him the lead.
Lap 384 -- It's Junior, Kenseth and Burton off pit road as some teams may have made their last stops of the night.
Lap 382 -- J.J. Yeley gets the worst of a two-car incident involving Sadler and Nemechek. Caution's out.
Lap 368 -- Kurt Busch goes down a lap.
Lap 355 -- Kyle Busch has had an up-and-down night. After a slow pit stop early, he fell way back. But he's now fifth.
Lap 334 -- Back to green as Kenseth gives Burton a try for the lead, but can't make it stick.
Lap 326 -- Busy pit road. A little fire from some gas spill. Looks like Burton, Kenseth, Junior came out first, second and third. Sadler and Kurt Busch are going to be penalized for pit road violations.
Lap 324 -- David Stremme finds the wall. Caution's out. Martin Truex Jr. gets his lap back.
Lap 318 -- Kenseth zooms past Burton, who is struggling with this long green-flag run. Edwards is up to fourth.
Lap 300 -- Your top five: Burton, Kenseth, Junior, Gordon and Edwards. If that isn't a recipe for disaster -- based on recent run-ins -- I don't know what is.
Lap 294 -- And now Greg Biffle gets lapped.
Lap 289 -- Stewart about to go a lap down as Burton is in his rear-view mirror.
Lap 275 -- Teammates Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart are currently tied for eighth in the standings as they run, as Mark Martin, mired a lap down, is now 10th.
Lap 270 -- Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick have moved back into the top 20.
Lap 250 -- And we're halfway home. It's all downhill from here.
Lap 242 -- Back to green for now. Burton leads Kenseth.
Lap 239 -- Busch comes in to repair the fender and gives up second place.
Lap 234 -- Green out and Clint Bowyer smacks the wall hard. He's been treated and released. Apparently a wheel came off as he went into the corner.
Lap 226 -- Reed Sorenson has a flat tire and can't get to pit road. He spins out directly in front of the leaders. Caution's out. Kurt Busch has some damage on the left front fender.
Lap 222 -- Busch gets around Kenseth for second after Gordon gets hung on the outside.
Lap 217 -- Gordon gets the green and we're back to full speed ahead. However, he can't put away Martin and Burton goes underneath for the lead.
Lap 211 -- Caution as Scott Wimmer slows. He got run into by Mark Martin on the restart. That may give Martin his lap back but he has damage to the No. 6.
Lap 209 -- Back to green at Bristol.
Lap 205 -- Gordon, Burton, Kenseth, Kurt Busch lead the way as the leaders pit.
Lap 203 -- Kevin Harvick hits hard as a right front tire goes flat. Caution's out. Waltrip gets the free pass.
Lap 200 -- Your top 10: Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Scott Riggs, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Elliott Sadler and Ryan Newman.
Lap 195 -- Right now, Martin, Hamlin, Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch are separated by 14 points in the standings, as they currently run. Kasey Kahne is 72 points behind Busch.
Lap 181 -- Jeff Gordon goes to the lead as the race is now an hour old.
Lap 170 -- Kenseth has been steadily running the fastest laps and is now fourth.
Lap 153 -- Burton back to the lead.
Lap 150 -- Your top five: Edwards, Burton, Gordon, Junior, Harvick.
Lap 138 -- Edwards gets Junior for the lead.
Lap 134 -- Burton now only trailing Junior and second-place Carl Edwards as the fresher tires are working.
Lap 117 -- Guess what? Dale Earnhardt Jr. stays out and gets five points for leading. That's one more position he won't have to earn at Richmond in two weeks, if Kahne and Biffle don't lead tonight.
Lap 116 -- Pit stops under way. Have to wait to see how both pit roads empty out here. It's Burton and then ... Jeff Gordon by an eyebrow over Kurt Busch.
Lap 115 -- Caution as David Gilliland finds the wall. David Stremme will get his lap back.
Lap 110 -- Right now, Burton -- who dropped to ninth in the standings last week -- would be fourth if the race ended now.
Lap 100 -- Your top five: Burton, Busch, Kenseth, Harvick, Jeff Gordon.
Lap 94 -- Green flag. Burton leads.
Lap 88 -- And Kyle Petty goes around while trying to pass the No. 22. Caution. Travis Kvapil will get his lap back. Mark Martin would be the first car down a lap on the restart.
Lap 77 -- And Burton is back around Busch for the lead. Apparently the water temperature is back down to normal levels in the No. 31.
Lap 70 -- Back to green. Busch leading Burton again.
Lap 65 -- Kyle Petty will have to start at the end of the longest line for his crew going over the wall too soon. And Mark Martin has been given a one-lap penalty for pitting outside of the box.
Lap 63 -- Pit stops under way. Burton's car may be running hot, since water was coming out of the overflow. Busch wins the race off pit road. Junior will restart 25th, two spots behind Kasey Kahne -- who is chasing him for the final Chase spot.
Lap 61 -- Sterling Marlin brings out the first caution when he finds the wall. That keeps Junior from going a lap down and Joe Nemechek is the lucky dog.
Lap 54 -- Kenseth gets under Burton and we have a new leader.
Lap 50 -- The front of the field stays static as we remain under green. Greg Biffle is up to 17th after starting 35th.
Lap 46 -- Bobby Labonte sixth, Kyle Petty seventh. Shades of Petty performances past!
Lap 35 -- Your top five right now: Burton, Kenseth, Busch, Harvick, Sadler.
Lap 26 -- Junior now up to 35th, but the leaders are coming.
Lap 21 -- Matt Kenseth is around Busch for second.
Lap 20 -- Tony Stewart, who started fifth, is 13th and falling fast.
Lap 12 -- Jeff Burton gets underneath Kurt Busch for the lead. Brian Vickers slowing, apparently a right front tire down.
Lap 8 -- The key here is for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to make sure he doesn't go a lap down early. He's 40th, only about six seconds ahead of the leader. Derrike Cope's car goes to the garage.
Green flag -- Kurt Busch leads into Turn 1, only 500 laps to go!
7:52 p.m. ET -- Apparently, NASCAR is telling drivers to stay above the yellow line in Turns 3 and 4 when entering the pits, or they may face a speeding penalty. We'll see how that plays out.
7:49 p.m. ET -- Last two Bristol night races: 16 and 9 caution flags and 18 and 17 lead changes. Expect about the same tonight.
7:46 p.m. ET -- Crank 'em up, boys. Let's get this show on the road.
7:43 p.m. ET -- Benny's back! Glad to see him. That's a very good sign.
7:38 p.m. ET -- A very quiet national anthem being sung by the children of the drivers and crews, courtesy of Motor Racing Outreach. Apparently we lost the audio for a little bit. They were very good, though.
7:37 p.m. ET -- Invocation.
7:30 p.m. ET -- You thought the race would actually start now? HA! We're still an anthem, a prayer and several more cliches away!
The actual start time of a Nextel Cup race is only an estimate, much like the last "two minutes" of any NCAA basketball game.
7:28 p.m. ET -- Omari Hardwick from The Guardian and Saved gets the ride with Wally this week.
7:20 p.m. ET -- Bill Weber just hit us with an interesting factoid: Cale Yarborough started fourth when he won the first night race at Bristol in 1978. Matt Kenseth, who was 6 at the time, starts fourth tonight. And his name is much easier to spell.
7:07 p.m. ET -- Just heard the phrase, "E Ticket Ride." Unless you're at least 40, that probably elicits the same quizzical look as "carbon paper," "keypunch card" and "CB radio."
In case you're wondering, the original Disneyland had ticket books with coupons ranging from A to E, with E being the most exciting rides, like the Matterhorn Bobsleds or the Rocket to the Moon.
Yep, you couldn't just get on any old ride back when Walt was alive. And at the end of the day, you were trying to figure out what to waste the A tickets on -- Main Street Horsedrawn Carriage or Swiss Family Robinson treehouse?
7 p.m. ET -- And welcome to Bristol, as the TV broadcast on TNT kicks off.
6:10 p.m. ET -- The current weather at Thunder Valley -- 86 degrees and clear. There's a slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm, but for the most tonight, expect the action to be on the track, not over it.
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Great race. Im happy Jeff Gordon finished 5th. Again, Jeff Burton had a great car, but didn't come up with the win, I would like to see him win again as long as a Hendrick driver isn't contending for the win. Congratulations to Matt Kesneth for the win, a great race all around.
“I’m OK. I’m just frustrated. It’s a shame a car as fast as the Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger was tonight. It’s frustrating to get caught speeding on pit road when I got passed. I’ve got to work on that a little bit. I got caught up with the lapped cars. It’s very frustrating. My guys gave me an awesome racecar. We should have had a top-five tonight, but it just wasn’t meant to be. We’ll work on it and go to California and see if we can get ‘em there. We had an awesome racecar. It’s cool to be that fast two weeks in a row. I just don’t understand getting caught speeding on pit road while getting passed. Somebody’s got to explain that to me. I feel good about the way we’re running. I need to do a better job as a driver being patient for Ray and keep us in the top 35 in points.”
“We were 10th-12th all night and we ended up 12th. We were probably the worst we had been all night on that last run. We just couldn’t get the front tires to cut as good as we wanted. We kept working on it. The guys had good pit stops. They did a good job. We just didn’t quite get it good enough to get to the top five. That’s probably my second-best finish ever here. It’s not too bad for me. It’s just a rough day when all the guys in front of you in points finish ahead of you in the race. There are so many good race teams right now. We’ve got to figure out how to be better than them. We’ve got to finish in the top two or three in the next two races probably if we want to get in there if nobody else has a bad race. I knew where they (competitors in the points’ race) tonight. I knew exactly where they were, but there was nothing I could do about it. I said two or three weeks ago that the 8 is not going to be the guy I’m going to pass. I knew he was going to be good at Michigan. He was good there at the start of the year. He was good at California and Bristol and he’s always good at Richmond. We’re good everywhere, too. We just need to put it together and have some real good races and see what everybody else does.”
DAVID STREMME (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Charger)
“Man, I wish we could have had a better finish tonight. We didn’t qualify where we would have liked, but we were able to get back on the lead lap twice. The tire blew, and I had no indication before it happened. We had some damage when we hit the wall and had to come in for repairs. The Coors Light crew worked hard tonight, and we’ll keep digging next week at Fontana.”
ROY McCAULEY (Crew chief No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)
“The Miller Lite Dodge was pretty good. We had a top-five car today. We got in trouble with a lap down car. Reed Sorenson was wrecking and we got tangled up in that. We had to fix the fender and go to the back of the line. We lost track position there. We were able to get back up to 13th on one of those runs. The next time in we got caught on a pit lane speeding penalty. We had to go to the back again and we got a little tight on that run. Then on another restart we broke the transmission. I think we had a lot of potential that wasn’t realized. It was a long day and I think it ended up worse than it should have.”
RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger)
“We had the top Dodge at times tonight on the racetrack, and that’s good to say. The guys did a great job keeping the car fast. They improved on it a little bit and that’s something we can’t say about the whole year. We’re looking forward to going back to some of these tracks the second time this season. I think we can make improvements. This is a relatively easy place to fix the car if you’ve got the right stuff to do it. We had one bad pit stop. I screwed up. I got in the box too straight and couldn’t get out and that cost us a lot of track position. We were definitely a faster car than eighth.”
SCOTT RIGGS (No. 10 Valvoline/Stanley Tools Dodge Charger)
“We kept making adjustments all night and making the car better. I’m just proud of all the guys in the engine shop and all the guys at Evernham Motorsports. This team deserves this. They deserve a lot of these top fives, and I’m just proud to be part of it today. If we could get a win it would boost all of us, and we’d get a couple more after that. I wanted to see Kasey do good. I didn’t want to see the 19 go out, that’s for sure. We needed a good points day. We’re shooting for a top 15 this year. It was a good day for us.
We’ve just got to win a race.
“It was tough (racing the 24). He was holding me up a little bit and he knew it. I love this sport. I love being part of Evernham Motorsports. These guys gave me a great car and I was able to rally from the back and get a good finish. I hate the lapped car got us down and put us in the rear, but we took care of it. We had good racing going on all the way through the field, and it feels good to be competitive up front.
“I just tried to tell him (Jeff Gordon) good job, good race, and he tried to tell me to pass him on the straightaway. I did the same thing he would have done. He was holding me up in the middle of the corner, and when I was away from him he was driving a whole car length up in the corners. When I got to him the last 15 laps he was on the bottom. I could have dumped him, but I didn’t. I told him good hard racing and he would have done the same thing. I think it was good on everybody’s part. I’m proud of everybody.”
This Press Release and any images that are used,
are used with permission. Do not duplicate or
redistribute in any form without permission or credit.
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NNCS Chevy Teams Post-Bristol Race Recaps
GM Racing Communications, Press Release
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS -
Finished 10th, maintains point lead, and secures a place in the Chase
ON SECURING A PLACE IN THE CHASE:
"That's great news. We took care of business tonight. It wasn't anything pretty and it wasn't anything really racey. We weren't up there fighting for the win, but we stayed out of trouble and took care of the race car and we did what we needed to do tonight. I'm proud of this Lowe's team. It was a good effort for us and we'll go on to Fontana and I think it'll be a good race for us. It was a long day for us, but a good day for us. Getting out of here with a top 10 is definitely a good day."
TRAVIS KVAPIL, NO. 32 TIDE / DOWNEY MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 20th:
"The only thing we were missing tonight was track position. Qualifying hurt us. The car was good, really good; we just needed better track position. This was certainly a better finish for the Tide Ride compared to earlier this year so we really were able to accomplish something. That's another top-25 for us so that's awesome."
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 REESE'S / GM GOODWRENCH MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 11th:
"We had a great car, we just blew a right front tire and lost a lot of track position. It was a good night for our Reese's Chevrolet to get back 11th. It was tough to get back through traffic because the car wasn't quite as good as it was before we wrecked. It was hot out there and I am pretty whipped but it was a pretty good night all in all."
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 5th -
ON YOUR CONVERSATION JUST NOW SCOTT RIGGS..IT STARTED WITH A SMILE, BUT WASN'T SO GOOD IN THE MIDDLE THERE, WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?
"I was definitely holding him up. There was no doubt about it. There are ways to pass and hey, I've been there before and moved guys. I was more concerned that he was going to spin me out, so I was just telling him I would like him to pass me on the straightaway and get a run on me. He had such a good car. We had a great car there at times. We just lost the handling on it there at the end. We just got way too tight. I'm probably just more frustrated that we weren't able to keep up with those front guys more than anything else."
"Well, the thing is, it's a top five for him. And that's a great job for him. I mean he had a top five. It's just when you get more experience racing with the guys up front you do things a little bit different. I saw him in my mirror and he was all over the place. If he would have just calmed down and been smooth, he would have had me -- no problem.
"Scott Riggs had to race me really hard there to get that position. He was definitely lot better. I am just not sure why we didn't have a better car there. We were really good at one time with the DuPont Chevrolet, we drove up there and took the lead, we got tight and just could never get freed up enough. It was a great job and a great run for Scott, I think if he had a little more experience, there would have been a little bit cleaner way to pass me. I was definitely holding him up, so I don't blame him. It was definitely a good night. Anytime you come out of Bristol with a car in one piece and in the top five, obviously, you had a good night. I think the guys that are racing the points were right there with us or just ahead of us, so it was nothing where we could gain a lot of points. We did a little on a few guys, but all and all a great effort by the DuPont Chevrolet team."
DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 8 BUDWEISER MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 3rd:
YOU WERE PATTING YOUR CAR THERE:
"I was actually telling my guys, thanks. They worked so hard. Friday it was really, really hot here and my car was not very fast. And it's hard to work in the heat like that. I just told them, man, that's a motivation for me. I tried to do what I could on the race track. Our pit stops tonight were the best they'd ever been. And I mean that. That's obvious. I gained spots every spot. Tony Jr. made some great calls as far as when to pit and when not to pit and that got us up toward the front. I'd like to thank DEI and our engine shop for our great motor and Tony Jr. and our whole team and everybody worked back home; and everybody building the cars that was a great race car. Those boys came to Bristol and they worked really hard and turned a pile of crap into a pretty decent race car. But I don't know. It wasn't that good Friday but today it was great and I owe it all to Tony Jr. and the whole team. They did everything.
"The car wasn't fantastic, but it was pretty good. I have got to thank everyone at DEI, all the guys on my team, the road crew. When we got here, we weren't very good at all and they worked really really really hard. For us to come back and finish where we did was because of all the hard work. I have never seen guys work so hard in the heat like they did on Friday. It was so hot out here. They worked their guts out. We got the car driving better, Tony, Jr. made some great calls on our pit stops. It was great, it was awesome, I mean it was awesome. We are just trying to do what we can do. I love Bristol, I love racing here. I love everything about this place. I try to run good here, I love running good here because my Old Man did."
KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 2nd
"Not enough laps for our Kellogg's Chevrolet to be best tonight but Matt Kenseth had a very strong car, congratulations to those guys, the deserve it. I mean they were on their own almost. It was a tough race for us to try and get back to where we did. I am proud of the whole team. We had a mishap on pit road early but we were able to rebound from that and come back to finish where we did for a strong race run."
THIS IS A TOUGH PLACE TO HAVE AN EARLY PROBLEM THAT PUTS YOU BACK TO 31ST:
"Yeah, it was kind of an issue for us, but it wasn't too bad that we couldn't overcome it. That was a great run by our whole Kellogg's Chevrolet team. They did a great job for me. To rebound from that and come back with a strong run and finish second, that was good. That was cool. I wish we could have gotten Kenseth there at the end. That would have been a heck of a show probably. I've got plenty of door dings and everything else out there and I'm not sure I could have done it clean. So I'm probably glad I didn't get there really. Congratulations to those guys. They had an awesome car and were the class of the field. What more could you really ask for?"
JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CINGULAR WIRELESS MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 9th:
There is something to be said for big picture racing but we can't say that is why we finished where we finished. We gained two positions back in the points, it beats the heck out of losing them, that is the silver lining in this. We are a little disgusted with ourselves at the moment. We will be over it tomorrow. We have fast race cars, it just seems like at the end of these races we don't have as good as we need it to be. We are all in this together, and it is as much my fault as it is anybodies. We will keep working and keep pushing. I am proud of my guys but disappointed in it at the same time. We lost quite a few spots on that last stops but our team was flying. If you look at the tape, the guys were flying. I don't know what happened, I honestly don't know. I got busted for speeding last night on pit road so I wasn't going to do that tonight. We had a 13 second pit stop and got beat. It is right after the race so I am disappointed but by Monday I will realize things aren't as bad as I feel like they are right now. So we will keep digging and keep trying to be better and keep trying to improve. I feel good about our team and I just think we have to be better in some areas and when I say we, I am including myself."
KYLE BUSCH AND DALE EARNHARDT JR. GIVE MONTE CARLO SS 2ND AND 3RD PLACE FINISHES
Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway: Post Race Press Conference Transcripts
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CHEVROLET NOTES & QUOTES NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES SHARPIE 500 - POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPTS BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY Saturday, August 26, 2006
BRISTOL, TN - Kyle Busch, No. 5 Kellogg's Monte Carlo SS, overcame a pit road mishap to finish a strong second in the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch dropped to 31st early in the 500-lap event but battled his way back through the field to finish within 0.591 seconds of race winner Matt Kenseth (Ford).
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Monte Carlo SS, finished third in a strong run from his 40th provisional starting position.
A total of six Monte Carlo SS drivers grabbed top-10 finishing postions in the annual night race at the famed Tennessee half-mile, high-banked track.
Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Monte Carlo SS finished fifth followed by Raybestos Rookie contender Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Freight Monte Carlo SS.
Jeff Burton, No. 31 Cingular Wireless Monte Carlo SS who started outside of the front row, finished ninth. Current NASCAR Nextel Cup points leader Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Monte Carlo SS finished tenth to maintain the points lead and secure a place in the final Chase for the Nextel Cup.
Chevrolet continues to lead the Manufacturers' Cup standings with 180 points, 14 wins. Ford has 143 points with 5 wins and Dodge has 133 points with five wins.
The series moves to California Speedway for the September 3rd for Round 25, the Sony HD 500.
KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS Finished 2nd, and DALE
EARNHARDT JR., NO. 8 BUDWEISER MONTE CARLO Finished 3rd
KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 2nd
"It was a good run for us, we are proud of that effort. It was a good strong effort by the entire Kellogg's Chevrolet team. To be able to come out second here at Bristol, it was definitely a great effort. Everybody who is on this team did an awesome job for me and we were able to come out of here with a second. You can't ask for more than that especially out of Bristol. We had a mishap there toward the middle part of the race, on a pit road incident. But we had a strong enough race car where I realized I just needed to settle in a sit back, and let the race play out and let it come to me. We were able to drive up through there and get some positions. When we came down pit road, the guys were flawless the rest of the night and we were able to get good stops. That was all good. Then battling this cat here (Dale Earnhardt, Jr), it was pretty cool to me; he let me go. That was awesome of him, so I didn't have to waste much time on him or use a front bumper so I could go challenge the 17, but could never get to him."
YOU ARE 48 POINTS OUT OF 10TH PLACE. HOW COMPETITIVE MIGHT THE NEXT TWO RACES BE AS THE DRIVERS JOCKEY FOR POSITION LEADING INTO THE CHASE WITH THAT 5-POINT DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN EACH POSTION?
"That's pretty tough - especially knowing that there are only 11 guys capable of getting in right now. That's probably the biggest deal right there. From third place all the way back to 10th place is pretty tight. Kasey (Kahne) is the only guy who i
Bristol Race Results 8-26-2006
Bristol’s Calling…You Ready?
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Lap-by-Lap: Bristol
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