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

A little bit of background for tonight’s race.

I moonlight as the press release coordinator for Mobile International Speedway, A Rick Crawford Performance Track. Before the season began, we released a tentative calendar that had races scheduled for tonight, Aug. 25, that fans passionately shot down.

“We want to stay home and watch Bristol,” they told us. So, we revamped the schedule and provided an off-weekend for local racing so fans could watch tonight’s IRWIN Tools Night Race.

It’s traditionally one of the most exciting races of the Sprint Cup season. Toss in the race to the Chase and the new track surface, and there’s a lot of mystery surrounding tonight’s race. That’s the most appealing variable to NASCAR racing and fans will turn out in droves in anticipation.

If you’re looking to pick a winner, start with the name ‘Busch’ and look at the cars they’ve driven to victory lane over the years.

Kurt Busch was the standard bearer for success, winning five times from 2000-to-2006. He hasn’t won here since the sprint of 2006 - 11 races ago, passing his success down to little brother Kyle who has also won five times since 2006. But recently, it’s Kurt Busch’s old Penske Duece that’s had all the success, with driver Brad Keselowski.

Keselowski has won the last two Sprint Cup Series races at Bristol and has looked especially fast all weekend long. Victories at the Speedway tend to run in bunches with Keselowski appearing set to start a new trend at the Bristol Motor Speedway.

And then there’s the wild card battle. Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards are all in need of a victory. With a track made famous by the bump and run, how aggressive are these drivers willing to get in order to stake a claim on the Chase for the Championship?

Stay tuned.

Due to qualifying getting rained out, the starting lineup was set by the rulebook, placing Casey Mears on the point for the start of tonight’s race. Brad Keselowski, Greg Biffle, Joey Logano and Aric Almirola round-out the complete starting top-five.

The green flag is set to drop at approximately 7:30 EST. The race will be televised by ABC. A complete starting lineup can be found after the jump.

Did Not Qualify: #95 Scott Speed; #79 Kelly Bires; #91 Reed Sorenson(i); #37 JJ Yeley.
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 10 2 Ford 7 2