One and Done: Sharpie 500

The Sharpie 500, Bristol’s annual Sprint Cup night race, takes place this Saturday night. One of the most prestigious and popular events on the Sprint Cup Series schedule, drivers and fans alike look forward to this race every year.

This year’s race will feature the return of Morgan-McClure Motorsports, the series’ last remaining Virginia-based team, attempting to qualify with Scott Wimmer behind the wheel of its No. 4 car. Despite not having attempted a race since Talladega earlier this year, the team hopes to make a triumphant return at its home track.

They’re not the smartest of fantasy picks, but they were worth a mention. Who doesn’t remember the gold Kodak No. 4 car?

This column always suggests five drivers who will have solid finishes for the week’s race, but two big names are absent from this week’s list: Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson.

Any knowledgeable fan knows why: Harvick, despite his strong record at the track, has been having a miserable year this year. Johnson, despite leading 88 laps and finishing third in Bristol’s spring race, has never shown consistency at Bristol the way he has at other tracks.

With that in mind, which five drivers look the best this weekend?

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Last week at Michigan, the No. 88 team showed that they can still run up front. This week at Bristol, they’ll attempt to do it at one of Junior’s best tracks. He hasn’t won since the fall 2004 race, but he also hasn’t finished worse than 18th since the spring of 2001.

Kyle Busch: Six top 10 finishes in nine career starts at Bristol prove he knows his way around the track. A win in the truck race Wednesday night shows that he still knows his way into Victory Lane. A combined 793 laps led in the last two Bristol races suggest that this weekend is Rowdy’s best chance to make gains in the Race to the Chase.

Mark Martin: After last weekend’s miscalculation at Michigan, the No. 5 team has to be on its A-game this weekend at Bristol. The way this season has seemed to go for the team, however, is that after every weekend of taking a step backward, they take a step forward during the next race.

Martin proved in the spring that two years of skipping Bristol didn’t hurt him, finishing sixth after qualifying on the pole.

Carl Edwards: True, Cousin Carl has been streaky at Bristol, mixing top 5 finishes with mediocre ones. Since 2005, though, his first full year in Sprint Cup, the night race (average finish of 8.3, two wins) has been better for him than the day race (average finish 16.4, best finish of fourth). Keep in mind, too, that Edwards’ night race wins came in the past two years.

Jeff Gordon: How hard is it to believe that Gordon’s made 33 starts at Bristol in his career—nearly a full season’s worth? In that time, he’s never started worse than 21st, and that was in his first Bristol start.

Gordon hasn’t dominated Bristol as of late the way that he used to, but if his back holds up, he’s a solid bet for a solid finish.

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