Watching NASCAR: No Groove at Bristol

A week after Jimmie Johnson had swept into the top of the Sprint Cup standings it looked as if he was about to add a bit of a lead to his position as he managed to reach the front of the pack at the Pure Michigan 400.

Leading with only nine laps to go was a major accomplishment for the driver that stared at the back of the race, and with a dominant car seemed destined to capture the checkered flag. Unfortunately his car decided to let him down and his engine failed with only six laps to go.

That opened the door for Greg Biffle, who not only won the race but took the points lead away, with Johnson dropping from 1st to 4th with his 27th place finish. Due to a late caution Biffle was forced to fend off Brad Keselowski, who came in second. Kasey Kahne came in third with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Marcos Ambrose filling out the top five.

Next Up: Irwin Tools Night Race
The teams are in for a short track as they hit Bristol and its .533 mile oval for the Irwin Tools Night Race, in a race that has a lot of promise. It appears that the track has been resurfaced to make it harder to run side by side. This was accomplished by grinding down the concrete in order to remove the top groove. I expect it will add to the banging and bumping and with so many drivers so close to the wild card spots for the chase, an increase in driver internal temperatures.

Broadcast: August 25, 7 pm ET ABC

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Sprint Cup

Series
1) Greg Biffle
2) Matt Kenesth -20
3) Dale Earnhardt Jr. -22
4) Jimmie Johnson -28
5) Brad Keselowski -47
6) Martin Truex Jr. -60
7) Clint Boyer -66
8 ) Kevin Harvick -85
9) Tony Stewart -95
10) Denny Hamlin -96

What could be better that racing on a track that shares your last name and leading the race by almost 20 car lengths with a lap to go? I guess winning the race would rank right up there in the top position because failing to win was what Jacques Villeneuve did in Montreal.

He resorted to the tried and true, yet unproven, tactic of turning on and off his motor in an effort to preserve gas, and while it may have achieved that it failed to preserve the lead as Justin Allgaier managed to slip past for the win with a little bump to help thins out. He was then also passed by Sam Hornish Jr. fourth was taken by Elliot Sadler and Ron Fellows followed in fifth.

There was oddity during the race that I, and the announcers, have never seen. A fan offended by who knows what, threw a show onto the track, which was subsequently run over by then race leader Danica Patrick.
While she said over the radio immediately after hitting the shoe that she was having issues with her steering, her crew chief later said that the shoe had no relationship to the parts problems that dropped her from race leader to a 27th place finisher. NASCAR has said that it still has the shoe.
http://youtu.be/UxQ4t-yZLPc

This Week: Food City 250
The Nationwide teams are again sharing the track with the Sprint drivers at the refurbished track in Bristol. It seems that in recent weeks there has been a bit of late bumping and with no top groove at Bristol, expect to see more of the same..

Broadcast: August 24, 7 pm ET ESPN

Nationwide Series Standings
1) Elliott Sadler
2) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -22
3) Sam Hornish Jr. -22
4) Austin Dillon -35
5) Justin Allgaier -68