Bristol – Drama for Food City 500

The mileage for Bristol is a little crazy. Las Vegas to Bristol to California. However, setting your watch for time zones is hardly critical to getting the job done when there is much more hovering around the garage. The 2012 season is on and this weekend will likely be full of Bristol drama.

Racing in the first three Sprint Cup points races have already stirred things up as fans are settling in with driver, car and team changes. The drama at Bristol will likely be lead by the #48 Lowe’s team with Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus as they are still feeling the pain of Daytona. Before the season opener even started they encountered the long arm of the law from NASCAR Officials. Their car was deemed illegal and roof sections (C-Posts) were confiscated forcing a rush reconstruct with shipped in shop parts. This also led to penalties including fines, Knaus’ suspension and 25 points docked from Johnson’s ledger.

Two laps into Daytona and Johnson was out. The #48 Lowe’s Chevy was damaged and garaged. Add a DNF to the penalty and the 2012 season looks stacked against the five time champion.

The appeal did not go well following Las Vegas and it is up to NASCAR and their schedule if Knaus will be in the chair at Bristol.

The penalties were upheld on March 13th. Rick Hendrick has a final shot with the chief appellate officer on the NASCAR Appeals Panel and that decision could come any day. Until then, the appeal is open and the team is operating as if Knaus will be at Bristol.

Johnson finished 4th in Phoenix and 2nd in Las Vegas. Maybe a sour season start has kicked him into gear coming to Bristol.

The Food City 500 may be a game changer for early season points. They will be back west following Bristol then turn around and head to Martinsville for more of the Virginia short track drama.

Bristol and Martinsville tend to shake the bag a bit as the speeds come down but the tension goes up. The attention to detail and timing, the crowded traffic on limited real estate, the pit strategy and the inevitable dents and dings all add up on the short tracks.

The drama of NASCAR is on and Virginia has the stages for it to unfold. Johnson and the #48 team are bringing a bit of their own theatrics. Every other team in the garage will have their own characters to play. The best part is that nothing is scripted. NASCAR is improv at speed so raise the curtain and drop the green flag on Virginia racing.