Fearless predictions: Bristol

Rain, rain, go away …

Briston, Tenn, was making like anywhere in Western Washington on Friday, with rain canceling practice and qualifying for both the Cup and Nationwide races this weekend.

That hurts me a bit, because I like to see who was fast before making my picks.

Oh, who am I kidding? The way I’m picking, it doesn’t matter.

But this is a critical race for a lot of teams, as it is the last time this season that last year’s points will be used to set the starting grid. There are a lot of drivers on the outside right now, including Kyle Petty, Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish, Jr.

Desperate drivers in a half-mile bowl … hmmm, could be interesting. On to the picks:

The Sprint Cup Food City 500 winner will be someone from Hendrick (I know, Dad, I know — I say that every week … but as Bullwinkle used to say, “This time for sure!”). Who? I’m going to say Dale Earnhardt Jr. breaks his long Cup winless streak. My backup choice would be Jimmie Johnson (c’mon, Jimmie, show me something!)

The Nationwide Mini Sharpie 300 winner will be David Reutimann, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jason Leffler take the checkered.

Here’s a little Daytona history to enjoy … 68 cars entered into the race and coming out of turn four 37 got into a massive wreck. Amazingly, everyone walked away.