Fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers should fear Carl Edwards this weekend.
The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman claims he’s more prepared to tackle Bristol Motor Speedway in Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race (8 p.m. ET on USA) than he was when he led a race-high 276 laps on his way to victory at the Tennessee track in April.
“We’re going back with what we think is a better plan, a better car, and hopefully we can go qualify well again and put the Stanley Toyota in Victory Lane,” Edwards said.
Showcasing his racing prowess at Bristol is nothing new for Edwards. His four wins at “The Last Great Colosseum” are his most at any track. He also has six top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in 24 career starts there.
“You’ve really got to plan your passes,” Edwards said. “You’ve got to work traffic. Hopefully we can start up front, stay up front and play the game the right way.”
Edwards will attempt to become the first driver to sweep Bristol since his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch achieved the feat in 2009. The four current JGR drivers – Edwards, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin – have accounted for 14 wins in the last 22 Bristol races (though some of those victories came while they were with different teams). They will try to snap Joey Logano’s streak of two consecutive wins in the August Bristol night race.
“We’ve been having a lot of fun,” Edwards said. “This race is one of the ones we look forward to as an opportunity to have a good time and win another trophy before the Chase starts.”
Jones Goes For Bristol Sweep
No driver in the NASCAR XFINITY Series has completed a track sweep yet this season.
Erik Jones will attempt to become the first in Friday’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on USA). The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver shot by his mentor Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson on a late-race pass to win at “The Last Great Colosseum” in April.
If Jones wins Friday, he’ll join Steve Grissom (1995) and Kyle Busch (2011, 2013) as the only drivers to win both Bristol NASCAR XFINITY Series races in the same season.
“After two road courses, I’m really excited to get back to Bristol this weekend,” said Jones, who leads the NASCAR XFINITY Series with three victories this season. “I love the short track races and night races always seem to work out better for me. Having won the race early this year at Bristol, I know we’ll have a fast Camry and know what we need to do to get around the track and be in contention for the win.”
Race Weekend Guide
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Race: Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race
Place: Bristol Motor Speedway
Date and Time: Saturday, Aug. 20 at 8 p.m. ET
Tune-in: NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 266.5 miles (500 laps)
What to Watch For: Four races remain until the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, leaving winless drivers just four more chances to secure an automatic berth to the playoffs with a victory. … Joey Logano looks for his third straight win in the August Bristol night race. … Kyle and Kurt Busch can break their tie for the active wins lead at Bristol (five victories). … Joe Gibbs Racing goes for its 21st win in 42 races dating back to last season’s contest at Kentucky. … The current four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers – Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth – have accounted for 14 wins in the last 22 races at Bristol.
NASCAR XFINITY Series
Race: Food City 300
Place: Bristol Motor Speedway
Date and Time: Friday, Aug. 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Tune-in: USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 159.9 miles (300 laps)
What to Watch: Only five races are left before the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase. … Ty Dillon will try to notch his first win of the season in his 100th career series start. The No. 3 Richard Childress Racing driver is currently third in the points standings. … Blake Koch currently holds the 12th – and final – Chase spot. He will attempt to hold off 13th-place Ross Chastain, who he leads by three points, as well as 14th-place Dakoda Armstrong (-18 points).
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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