Kyle Busch won the first-ever COT event today at Bristol Motor Speedway as he took the Food City 504 by about a half-length over Jeff Burton, barely surviving a G/W/C in the process. It was the 4th Nextel Cup win of Kyle’s young career (he’s tied for 69th on the all-time win list) and the 152nd for Hendrick Motorsports (their third in a row, btw). The victory was worth $179,400 from the over $5.5M in posted awards, and puts the #5 car on the Winners Circle plan for 2007. Reviews will be mixed on the COT. There’s a bunch of drivers who don’t like the car….and the racing today was certainly not as good as many Bristol races we’ve seen. One thing’s for sure, they’re gonna have to do something with that front splitter…. By popular demand, we got to see Carl Edwards’ back-flip a day late….. Take that ABC/ESPN! We also got somewhat of a clarification concerning the Chase and the #01 car….as we expected. So, if you’re gonna follow that Owner Points race with a fervor, dig in! Jeff Green (6th) had his best finish since he was 5th at Talladega in October of 2002! Jamie McMurray (9th) had his best finish since he was 3rd at Watkins Glen last August. Mike Bliss (17th) had his best finish since he was 12th at Homestead in November of 2005. Ward Burton (18th) had his best finish since he was 10th at Talladega in October of 2004! Kenny Wallace (21st) had his best finish since he was 21st at Homestead in November of 2005. Jeremy Mayfield (34th) had his best finish since he was 29th at Loudon last July (only four races). STREAKIN….Jeff Burton has 4 Top-5’s in the last 5 races. Jeff Gordon has 4 Top-10’s in the last 5 races. This Week’s Elevator…..UP: Operator of the Week is Kevin Harvick (+36), followed by Jeff Burton (+27), Matt Kenseth (+27), Dale Earnhardt Jr (+24), Carl Edwards (+20), and David Stremme (+20). DOWN: The Big Dropper was Scott Riggs (-33), followed by Tony Stewart (-31), Elliott Sadler (-24), and Martin Truex Jr (-24). This is the second time at the top (and bottom) of the Shaft for both leaders this week…..Harvick was the Op at Daytona and for Riggs this is two in a row. (see full newsletter at Stock Car Fans.com)(3-26-2007)
