Short track has no gimmes, plenty of risks for drivers

As we enter the fifth race weekend of the season, we take an abrupt turn from the 1.5- and 2-mile speedways. This week the Sprint Cup Series visits the World's Fastest Half Mile at Bristol Motor Speedway in East Tennessee.

This modern day coliseum sets the backdrop for this season's first short-track event. While we can depend on current hot streaks to a certain extent in predicting the outcome of this race, we have to give a nod to recent history at the track as well. With the surface and banking of BMS only being two seasons removed from a massive resurfacing project, we're still getting a feel for which drivers are adapting fastest to the famous short track. We'll take a close look at all the factors for Bristol in order to give you a select list of drivers for this facility. The following is our weekly power ranking for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

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Top Fantasy Racing Drivers for Bristol

1. Kyle Busch
While Busch didn't have the best outing in recent memory in the last race at Atlanta, we haven't lost any faith in the Joe Gibbs Racing phenom. He has shown us that he can ride up front, lead laps and challenge for victories at BMS. Busch won this event in 2007 and last summer he led 415 of the 500 laps on his way to a runner-up finish. A rebound from his poor Atlanta finish certainly is in order.

2. Jeff Gordon
Gordon has been very close to winning already this season on a couple of occasions. When we combine that with his fantastic career numbers at Bristol we get the feeling he could be in line to register his first win at the Tennessee short track since 2002. Gordon is a five-time pole winner and five-time winner at Bristol. A top-five finish in this weekend's Food City 500 is almost certain.

3. Kevin Harvick
The No. 29 team has quietly put together a good start to the season. Now the Richard Childress Racing veteran can turn his sights on challenging for his first win of the season. Bristol provides a perfect opportunity for him. Harvick collected a pair of top-fives at this short track last season and he finishes in the top five in more than 50 percent of his Bristol starts.

Fantasy Report

Carl Edwards has won two of the last three Bristol races, but he'll have to contend with Kyle Busch's hot hand and Jeff Gordon's desire to end a streak.

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4. Carl Edwards
Edwards came to life at Bristol after the resurfacing project a couple years ago. The one-groove race track became a two-groove facility and the result has been two victories in the last three BMS events. This race could easily be the weekend where Edwards pulls into Victory Lane for the first time this year and then goes on to reels off more victories in the coming weeks.

5. Kurt Busch
The win at Atlanta two weeks ago grabs our attention right away. We haven't seen the No. 2 Dodge that hooked up in a long time. Bristol provides the perfect opportunity for Busch to stay on a roll. The veteran driver has five career wins at Bristol Motor Speedway and his short-track racing skills require a fantasy racing start this weekend.

6. Greg Biffle
Biffle isn't the first name to come to mind when we visit BMS, but a close review of the numbers reminds us how good this Roush Fenway driver is at the high banks of Bristol. He enters this weekend with a pair of top-fives and three top-10s in his last four outings at the short track, and while Biffle's not a major threat to win on Sunday he should run up front and collect yet another great finish.

7. Clint Bowyer
Bowyer's great start to the season comes in light of the fact that we've yet to come to his best tracks on the circuit. That changes this weekend as Bristol is the start of a good set of tracks in the driver's resume. He enters this event on a four-race top-10 streak at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bowyer has always been better on the short tracks and we have high confidence in the No. 33 team in the Food City 500.

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8. Matt Kenseth
After winning the first two races of the season, Kenseth has cooled somewhat. That doesn't affect our opinion of the No. 17 team coming to Bristol. Kenseth has raced well at the short track over the years with a 61 percent top-10 rate. The Roush Fenway driver has more than 700 laps led at the facility and two career wins to his credit.

9. Tony Stewart
The season couldn't have started any better for the owner/driver of the No. 14 Chevrolet with three top-10s in the first four races. Smoke has a love-hate relationship with the half-mile bullring, but he's managed to lead more than 1,300 laps there and collect top-10 finishes in two of his last three starts. The good start to 2009 should continue for the veteran driver on Sunday.

10. Kasey Kahne
Kahne's career numbers at Bristol Motor Speedway aren't anything special, but it's what he's done since resurfacing that catches our eye. He owns two front-row starts and two top-10 finishes at BMS in the last four races. The two-groove Bristol Motor Speedway is really to Kahne's liking, and that love affair is likely to continue in the Food City 500.

Fantasy Race Teams
NASCAR.COM's Race for the Smithson Trophy is under way: