Bristol thoughts and observations

Jeff Burton picked up his first win of the 2008 season yesterday by winning the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. It was the first win for a Chevrolet in 2008 (a shocking statement to say the least). Burton also led a contigent of Richard Childress Racing cars to the checkered flag, with teammates Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer following Burton across the line in second and third.

Thoughts and observations:

That finish yesterday is exactly why you never count anyone out at Bristol. With 5 laps to go Jeff Burton wasn't even in the picture to win the race, then all of a sudden when Harvick punted Stewart there Burton was, in prime position to capitalize on Denny Hamlin's misfortune. As they always say, the key to winning at Bristol is to survive the first 400 laps.

How about Aric Almirola coming home in the top 10 in his first start in 2008? Great run for the rookie in the U.S. Army No. 8 for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. If he can have more runs like that then the 2008 season might be very interesting over at DEI.

Also worth mentioning is David Gilliland, sneaking in to the Top 10 at the end of the race. If Gilliland and Kvapil keep having solid runs like that then the pair of them will soon end up with fully sponsored racecars. At least one can only hope.

A few drivers had good runs go bad yesterday, namely Paul Menard & Ken Schrader. Both had cars that, by the end of the race, could have easily cracked the top 10. However they got caught up in someone elses mess and ended up wrecked. Menard wound up 32nd and Scharder 41st.

Another outstanding run for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his No. 88 team over at Hendrick Motorsports. That run places Earnhardt Jr. 5th in the standings going into the off weekend. The most shocking thing about that is NONE of the other HMS cars are in the Top 12 right now. Jimmie Johnson is 13th, Jeff Gordon is 14th and Casey Mears is 33rd. I don't expect this to keep up, but what if it does?

Such a disapointing day for Tony Stewart at Bristol. For Tony Bristol seems to be just about as hard luck as Daytona. To dominate all day and end up not going to victory lane is heartbreaking, no matter what track your racing on. The ending to the day was probably that much harder for Tony, ending up wrecked while racing with one of your best friends (Harvick).

It is now time for our weekly Top 35 watch. Lots of teams are in serious trouble heading into the first race under the 2008 points in two weeks at Martinsville. The most surprising of which has got to be Jamie McMurray and the No. 26 Crown Royal Ford out of the Roush-Fenway stable. Who would have thought McMurray would be fighting to qualify for races at all this season? Also being forced to qualify on speed next week are Dave Blaney, Dario Franchitti, Regan Smith, Kyle Petty, Ken Schrader, Joe Nemechek and Patrick Carpentier. Also outside the Top 35 are the No. 84 Red Bull Racing team and the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing team.

Since the Sprint Cup series is off next week i'll have to come up with something else to do on my blog. Any thoughts? I'm thinking of showcasing some of my NASCAR collectibles I have stashed away at home.