2008 Food City 500
Written March 14, 2008 by Jack Jones
This week NASCAR is heading to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500. The race is set to get under way on Sunday March 16. This will be the first of two races held at Bristol as the will head back to the track for the Sharpie 500 later in the season. Bristol is a short track unlike any others and the history at this place runs back nearly 50 years, with the first race of this event took place back in 1961 when it was named the Southeastern 500. While Kurt Busch has dominated this event since 2002, winning 4 of the last 6 races, but last year he had to make way as his younger brother Kyle Busch took home the checkered flag. Kyle Busch will not only be the defending champion at the Food City 500, he will also be looking for his second straight victory in a row, as he took home the Kobalt Tools 500 last week in Atlanta. The supposed Hendricks team has still been unable to find victory lane this year, and with four races in its just a matter of time for three of racings best. Lets take a look at two racers who we think will have a great chance to take home the victory this week at Bristol.
Jeff Gordon 8-1 at Sportsbook.com
We believe that this will finally be the week for Hendricks Motorsports Jeff Gordon. Gordon will not only be looking for his first victory of the season, but his team’s as well. Gordon has a lot of success at Bristol as he has won at the track 5 times, with 4 of them coming at this event back in the late 1990’s. Other than Gordon and Kurt Busch with 5 wins a piece at Bristol, Matt Kenseth is the only other driver that has more than one win at the track. While Gordon will have to be on his game this week to beat the two hot drivers of Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch, he will have the edge of knowing what it takes to win on Bristol’s short track. Gordon has two top 5 finishes this season with one coming in the 2nd week at the Auto Club 500, and the most recent coming last week at the Kobalt Tools 500.
Matt Kenseth 8-1 at Sportsbook.com
We are going to stick with past success here at Bristol and go with the driver of the 17 car, in Matt Kenseth. Like we said Kenseth is one of only three drivers that have more than one victory at this track. While Kenseth’s success has not came at this particular race as both his wins on this track have came in the race at Bristol later in the season, the familiarity with the tack is the most important element here. Unlike Gordon Kenseth’s success is more recent as he won back to back at Bristol in the fall of 2005 and 2006. Kenseth finished 8th last week at the Kobalt Tools 500, though it wasn’t a top 3 finish it was still pretty impressive after starting the race in 38th. Look for Roush racing to continue its success this season with Kenseth leading the way.
So head over to Sportsbook.com and get your bets in on these two guys to win at the Food City 500. Sportsbook.com is quick and easy and will have you ready in no time. As always feel free to leave any comments on the race in the comment box. Below we have listed each driver’s odds this week at Bristol thanks to Sportsbook.com.
Bobby Labonte 100 - 1
Brian Vickers 100 - 1
Carl Edwards 6 - 1
Casey Mears 50 - 1
Clint Bowyer 15 - 1
Dale Earnhardt Jr 7 - 1
Dario Franchitti 100 - 1
Dave Blaney 100 - 1
David Gilliland 100 - 1
David Ragan 100 - 1
Denny Hamlin 12 - 1
Elliott Sadler 100 - 1
Greg Biffle 15 - 1
JJ Yeley 100 - 1
Jamie McMurray 75 - 1
Jeff Burton 25 - 1
Jeff Gordon 8 - 1
Jimmie Johnson 10 - 1
Juan Pablo Montoya 100 - 1
Kasey Kahne 15 - 1
Kevin Harvick 15 - 1
Kurt Busch 10 - 1
Kyle Busch 7 - 1
Martin Truex Jr 30 - 1
Matt Kenseth 8 - 1
Paul Menard 100 - 1
Reed Sorenson 100 - 1
Robby Gordon 100 - 1
Ryan Newman 22 - 1
Sam Hornish Jr 100 - 1
Scott Riggs 100 - 1
Tony Stewart 12 - 1
Travis Kvapil 100 - 1
zx Field (Any Other Driver) 30 - 1