SCOTT: Bullish on Bristol
08-18-2009 7:21 pm

Brian Scott enters this Wednesday night's O'Reilly 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway with a concrete idea for success. It has been so far so good on NASCAR's concrete racetracks for the second year NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitor. Scott won his first NCWTS event at the Monster Mile at Dover in May and finished second at Nashville Superspeedway just two weeks ago. Scott and his Xpress Motorsports team are looking to continue that success at Bristol's tough .533 mile high-banked oval.

"I think this Xpress Motorsports team is good on all types of tracks but we excel on the short tracks and the concrete tracks," Scott says. "I really like these short concrete ovals like Bristol. I consider Dover a short track and we were fortunate enough to win there. It is really a credit to the talent on this team that we can go to places like Dover and Nashville and shine on the concrete tracks. Hopefully we can continue that trend at Bristol. We are running the same chassis that we ran at both Dover and Nashville, so hopefully when it comes down to the end of the race we will have the No. 16 Albertsons Toyota Tundra positioned to contend for the win."

Bristol is a track unlike any other on the NCWTS schedule - a modern day roman coliseum complete with 36 metal warriors. It produces action once compared to "jet fighters in a gymnasium." With its ultra high banked turns and short straight-aways it is known as the world's fastest half mile speedway. Scott's crew chief Jeff Hensley is intimately familiar with the East Tennessee short track. He first visited there as a youngster traveling with his dad, former NASCAR car owner Hubert Hensley. Later he competed on the high-banks as a driver and a crew chief.

"Bristol is probably one of my favorite racetracks," Hensley adds. "When I first went to Bristol in the early to mid-70s, they used to have a big late-model race there. The first one I went to L.D. Ottinger won the race and my cousin, Jimmy Hensley finished second. I was just a kid and from that day on, seeing those big ol' high banks, that always stuck out in my mind. Bristol is just such a special place. As a driver I ran at Bristol a handful of times and had one top 10 finish. Back then as it is today it was just survival of the fittest. If you dodged all the wrecks you had a good finish. Things happen fast there. The first time I ever drove there it was wild. You drove four or five laps then came in for 15 minutes to get your breath. As a crew chief I have had some decent success. In the Nationwide races we finished second there to Todd Bodine. We won the truck race there in 2005. We led 190 out of 200 laps. I think our worst finish in the truck series has been a 7TH place, so it has been a good track for us."

Scott certainly hopes that his crew chief's past success there helps his chances this Wednesday night. After finishing second to Ron Hornaday Jr. twice in the last four races he says it is time for the tide to turn.

"Now is definitely the time to get a Toyota back in Victory Lane," Scott states. "Five races in a row is definitely enough for Ron Hornaday. Jr. and we want to be the team that knocks him off his streak. Bristol would be an amazing place to do it. It is an awesome place to race with the history of the track and all the tradition and the incredible support of all the fans. I think we have the team that can go out and get the job done. Bristol is not the same old rough and tumble, push them out of the way single groove racetrack. Some people say it takes the good old chrome horn style racing out of it. Bristol is famous for its rough and rowdy push them out of the way finishes like you had with Dale Earnhardt. Now with the changes it allows you more side by side racing and you have a chance to come from further back and get to the front."

Hensley knows from past history that things have to go your way to end up with a good finish at Bristo l. A smooth handling chassis and good track position are always key elements.

"You have to have the truck set up to where you can rotate the center really good," Hensley says. "Forward bite is not that big of an issue at Bristol but you need to be able to turn in the center and get on the gas to drive it up off the corner. You make your time there center off and sometimes it is better to back up the corner and make time up off. I have seen that place change a lot. It has been an amazing transformation through the years. Track position is just so important there. The recent changes they have made to the track have helped but you still need to be on the bottom of the racetrack and you need to maintain track position. Even though everything around Bristol may have changed, the race track has stayed pretty much the same. There may be a lot more seats and a lot more amenities but it is still Bristol and you have to race it like Bristol."

The O'Reilly 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway is slated for Wednesday, August 19, and will be telecast live on SPEED at 8:30pm ET. It will also be broadcast live via radio worldwide on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and on SIRIUS Satellite Radio NASCAR channel 128.

Chassis for Bristol Motor Speedway: Xpress Motorsports will bring chassis number 127 to the O'Reilly 200 at Bristol Motor Spe edway. This will be Scott's fourth event in the chassis this season. He finished 10th at Atlanta, won at Dover and then finished second at Nashville in this chassis. This Triad Racing Technologies chassis was originally built as a Dodge by Xpress Motorsports crew chief Jeff Hensley when he worked for BHR-VA in 2008. It placed second at Gateway and fourth at Loudon last year with Dennis Setzer behind the wheel. Xpress Motorsports purchased the chassis during the off-season and converted it to a Toyota Tundra.