Plenty of NASCAR's Sprint Cup stars pull double duty during the August Night Race weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. More often than not, one ends up in victory lane at the end of Friday's Nationwide Series event.
In fact, the lone Nationwide regular to have captured the Food City 250 at the World's Fastest Half-Mile over the past 14 events was Brad Keselowski, who notched his first Bristol win one year ago.
Keselowski, who will go for another BMS victory Aug. 21, was beyond happy to score the win, not just for himself, but for car owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., as well.
"Man, winning at Bristol was a pretty cool deal," said Keselowski. "(Dale Jr.) stuck his head in the window and said 'Victory lane, Bristol. It doesn't get any better than that.
"I am very excited to get back to Bristol for the Night Race. We had a great time there last (year). There is just something special about having a Friday night race at Bristol that makes every racer reminisce a little about their careers growing up. I seem to have a knack for the concrete tracks too and I'd love to leave some more burn marks heading up to victory lane this year. "
Keselowski's post-race burn-out on the ramp to the BMS Victory Lane left marks that remain a year later. But, if he is to do it again, he'll have to hold off a number of Cup drivers who will be looking to kick their weekends off with a Food City 250 win.
Matt Kenseth is the lone repeat winner over the last 23 BMS Nationwide events, and he will be going after his fourth win. Ryan Newman will not only race in the Food City 250 and the Sharpie 500, but the Whelen Modified Series' UNOH Perfect Storm 150 and the O'Reilly 200 Camping World Truck Series on Aug. 19, as well. Newman will become the first driver in NASCAR history to compete in all four NASCAR events in the same race week at one track.
While Kyle Busch will not compete in the UNOH Perfect Storm 150, he will vie for wins in the Truck, Nationwide and Sprint Cup races. Busch has won in all three series at BMS, earning last August's O'Reilly 200 crown, the Food City 500 Sprint Cup title this past March and the Food City 250 in March of 2006.
Other drivers doing double duty include Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, David Ragan and Paul Menard. Bowyer, Kahne and Edwards all have Nationwide victories at the World's Fastest Half-Mile while Edwards is the defending Sharpie 500 champion.
Tickets are available for the Food City 250, starting at just $45. Ticket may be purchased by calling the BMS ticket office at 423-BRISTOL (274-7865) or by visiting www.bristoltix.com.
Qualifying for the Food City 250 takes place at 4:10 Friday afternoon. The race takes the green flag at 8 p.m.
