Preview of Racing At Bristol

Both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series head to Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend for the first short-track race of the season.

Three races so far this season and three different winners and if you’re putting money on who might win this weekend a good bet would be Kyle Busch.  He has 12 wins to his credit at Bristol and five of them have been in Sprint Cup.  In fact, he’s won four of the last six Sprint Cup races there including the spring race last year.

Brad Keselowski won the August race at Bristol, and if you remember he did it with a broken ankle and a sore back from a crash at Atlanta.  He went on to clinch one of the wild card positions in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

One driver who's been moving up the point standings this season is Jimmie Johnson.  After completing only one lap and finishing 42nd at Daytona, Johnson has posted two straight top-five finishes.

Then he was penalized 25 points for illegal equipment found during inspection.  He’s up to 23^rd in the rankings.

Johnson won at Bristol for the first time two years ago.

Earlier this week, Hendrick Motorsports lost its appeal to overturn the heavy penalties they were assessed by NASCAR for an illegal part found during inspection of the No. 48 Chevy.

In addition to the loss of 25 driver points and 25 owner points, Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malec were suspended for six Cup races.  Knaus was also handed a $100,000 fine.

Kyle Busch will be looking to make it four straight wins in the Nationwide Series.  He’s a four-time Nationwide race winner at Bristol including the last three in a row.