Parks Pit Report: Irwin Tools Night Race

What’s on your bucket list?  Is it that trip across the Atlantic to visit Britain, France or Italy?  Or are you considering going south to Cancun, Puerto Rico, or Brazil?

Maybe it’s a trip to the west coast to visit Las Vegas, or the Grand Canyon, and even a longer trip to visit the islands of Hawaii.

Bucket list trips are something everyone has, but for NASCAR fans it is more of a trip within the greater 48 states that they desire.  Every fan wants to make sure that just once they make a trip to Daytona for the big season-opening event.  Charlotte on Memorial Day weekend is another big event, as is Darlington.

However, no matter whether it’s an average fan, a casual fan, or one that has been around for years, one race is on the bucket list of every fan that has the desire to attend a race.  The track is not as big as Charlotte, Daytona or Darlington, but it has become a true mecca of the sport.  It is considered the biggest amphitheater in the country because of the 160,000 seats that surround the entire track.  The track is just barely over a half-mile in length, but has speeds that would rival some of the bigger speedways on the circuit.

Hotels may cost a lot to stay at, depending on where one goes, but the campers and RV’s that surround the area make up for it.

It is simply Brisol, and when it comes to the race of choice, it’s in August.  The night race has become a true go-to event for the sport.  The memories of the incidents during this race date back a long time, from Dale Earnhardt bumping Terry Labonte in 1995 and still coming up short, to him getting payback four years later.  There’s the heat shield toss of Ward Burton, Jimmie Johnson’s bird of anger, to most recently the helmet throw of Tony Stewart.

Emotion, rage, and anger come out in this race, and it’s simply an experience that has to be felt.

Have I been there yet, no.  But you can rest assured I certainly have it circled to make it happen in years to come.

RESULTS:  1-Logano  2-Harvick  3-Hamlin  4-Johnson  5-Bowyer  6-Keselowski  7-Edwards  8-Kyle Busch  9-Earnhardt Jr.  10-Newman

NOTABLE FINISHES:  14-Kurt Busch  19-Stewart  20-Gordon  28-Truex Jr.  42-Kenseth

CAUTIONS:  8 for 52 laps.  Laps: 53-57 (Debris-T3); 127-132 (#42 Accident in Turn 3 [17]); 147-151 (#17, 47 Accident-FS); 251-257 (Debris-T3); 360-367 (#42 Accident-FS); 372-379 (#15, 48 and 55 Accident-BS); 385-390 (#6, 17 and 78 Accident-FS); 431-437 (Debris-BS).

LEAD CHANGES:  14 among 5 drivers.  D. Hamlin 1-26; Kyle Busch 27-52; D. Hamlin 53; Kyle Busch 54-127; D. Hamlin 128-154; Kyle Busch 155-224; J. Logano 225-252; C. Edwards 253-280; Kyle Busch 281-302; C. Edwards 303-345; J. Logano 346-350; C. Edwards 351-353; J. Logano 354-432; B. Keselowski 433-436; J.
Logano 437-500.

TIME OF RACE:  2 Hrs, 45 Mins, 2 Secs.

AVERAGE SPEED:  96.89 MPH

MARGIN OF VICTORY:  0.220 Seconds

CHASE GRID:  1. Johnson-792 (points), 4 (Wins); 2. Kyle Busch-433, 4; 3. Logano-865, 3; 4. Kenseth-753, 3; 5. Harvick-908, 2; 6. Earnhardt Jr-819, 2; 7. Kurt Busch-713, 2; 8. Keselowski-793, 1; 9. Truex Jr-771, 1; 10. Hamlin-712, 1; 11. Edwards-666, 1; 12. McMurray, -212 (From 1st); 13. Newman, -225; 14. Menard, -234; 15. Gordon, -236; 16. Bowyer, -253.