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GURSS: Bristol Bash
Written by: Jade Gurss   
08/18/2009
Mooresville, NC
 
Faster. Louder. The weekly column on SPEEDtv.com by Jade Gurss. (Harold Hinson Photo) ยป More Photos

This week marks three of the most anticipated races of the season as each of the top NASCAR series will race under the lights at Bristol Motor Speedway. At no other venue is the crowd such an integral part of the energy of the race, which takes place at the short track that’s like a cereal bowl on steroids. The collective primal scream from the shoehorned crowd of 160,000 for a Sprint Cup race can be heard even above the reverberating racket caused by the 43 cars.

The old concrete surface at Bristol created a one-groove line around the half-mile high banks, which meant passing was usually a contact sport - to the delight of the assembled masses. But, the track was repaved in 2007, and can now easily handle at least two-wide racing. It has meant much more side-by-side action and much less of the old school bump-and-run that led to memorable victories by Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon. (Interesting sidebar: the track still claims banking of 36 degrees in the turns, while more recent measurements estimate the banking is now somewhere between 22 and 30 degrees.)

Some fans complain the racing is less exciting since the resurfacing, but no matter the state of the pavement, it’s still a short, fast track where frayed nerves tend to boil over. Cars run inches apart and contact is bound to occur. How smooth will the double file restarts be without a wide track like Michigan or Pocono? The restarts at Watkins Glen were quite civilized (to my surprise), but will that trend continue under the Saturday night lights with three races left to set the field for the 2009 Chase for the Championship? Will tempers spark or rivalries flare?

Kyle Busch, one who sparks tempers among many fans and competitors, won the spring Bristol race, and he needs a good run here more than anyone. Busch has sunk to the fifteenth spot in the point standings after the Michigan race and it’s now critical that he have three strong
finishes to have any shot at the Chase.

Many drivers have nothing to lose by being aggressive and bullish, but imagine how skittish the drivers must be who are teetering on or near the cut-off point for the Chase. Only 166 points separates the nine drivers who sit seventh to 15th in the points. This means one false move during the 500-lap race could mean disaster for any of them. With fewer multi-car wrecks than the “old” Bristol, there are likely to be more cars finishing the race on the lead lap, which makes a late-race mistake more damaging than in the past. Don’t expect the teams who are in Chase contention to gamble with fuel or tire strategy late in the going Saturday night.

The Friday night Nationwide race should also provide some sparks and don’t forget the truck race is Wednesday evening (live on SPEED) as Ron Hornaday goes for win number six in a row.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Jade Gurss is the owner of fingerprint, inc., a sports publicity company. He has written two New York Times Best Sellers, including what is believed to be the biggest-selling motorsports book in American publishing history (Driver #8 with Dale Earnhardt Jr.). His two decades of publicity and marketing experience involves nearly every category of motorsports, including nine innovative seasons as NASCAR publicist for the Budweiser brand and Earnhardt Jr. His blog can be seen at: http://fingerprint.typepad.com
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