Open Race Thread: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Irwin Tools Night Race | Bristol Motor Speedway

Kyle Busch ascended to the provisional Cup Series throne last week at Michigan, displacing Jimmie Johnson at both the track and as championship favorite. Busch also became the first driver to lock himself into the Chase by winning the Michigan Pure 400.

The Sprint Cup Series next plays at Bristol where Busch is the defending winner and arguably the only prerace favorite.

But don’t discount his older brother as Kurt and Kyle both share the active wins record (with Jeff Gordon) at Bristol with five wins each. Dominant Bristol drivers seem to run in stages with the Busch brothers dominating the past decade at Thunder Valley and Jeff Gordon before them.

A subplot from Kyle’s Michigan win is that it was his 23^rd NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory, matching Kurt’s win total. But Kurt still has one up on Kyle for now:

A NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

Lost in the talk about championship favorites is the furious race for the final four playoff spots as the circuit inches closer and closer to the regular season’s final race at Richmond International Raceway. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart currently hold the last two Chase spots with Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski occupying the provisional wild card spots.

Earnhardt Jr. in ninth, Stewart in 10^th and Clint Bowyer in 11^th are on the bubble and share something else in common: they’ve gone winless thus far.

Stewart holds a 24-point lead over Bowyer for the coveted last top-10 spot.

Bowyer has five top 10s in 11 starts at Bristol. Stewart has eight top 10s in 25 Bristol starts, including a win in the 2001 Irwin Tools Night Race. Earnhardt has one win, seven top 5s and an average finish of 11.5.

A starting lineup can be found on the other side just above the comments section.

Dave’s Bristol Fantasy Preview can be read HERE.