Nascar and Racing Bristol Motor Speedway

Thoughts, ramblings and more from a 500 lapper in Thunder Valley.

Marcos Ambrose is certainly making a name for himself in the Sprint Cup Series, and the way he's doing it is just mind-boggling.

His Michael Waltrip Racing-prepared cars aren't on level with Hendrick, Roush or Gibbs and the guy truly has less experience in NASCAR-style stock cars than just about every driver out there. Yet, he's compiled 4 Top-5s and 7 Top-10s with a team that has obviously worked quite hard.

I'd say he's a shoe-in for the 2010 Chase.

Tweets, comments, and a few emails in the past couple of days have questioned the very soul of why Bristol Motor Speedway was sold out Saturday night.

They've supposed that the main reason over 160,000 souls packed the half-mile concrete bowl in as-far-as-it-gets-from-New-York-City east Tennessee may not actually be there anymore -- thanks to NASCAR's new car, the new Bristol surface or even the championship format.

Bristol, as they'd tell it, has become what no one thought it could: boring.

Where: Bristol Motor Speedway
Time: Saturday night 7:00pm/EDT
TV/Radio: ESPN, Motor Racing Network
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mid-60s, 30% chance rain
Distance: 500 laps (266.5 miles)
Pole Winner: Mark Martin
2008 Winner: Carl Edwards

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) -- Alan Gustafson gambled at Michigan and it cost driver Mark Martin dearly in his chances to make the Chase for the championship.

There was no chance, though, they'd change their strategy at Bristol Motor Speedway, even though Martin is clinging to a berth in the 12-driver field.

Gustafson went with an aggressive setup Friday that won Martin the pole, his fifth of the season.

"It feels like I'm carrying a 200-pound gorilla on my shoulders," Martin said after turning a lap at 124.484 mph.

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Bristol Motor Speedway and Talladega SuperSpeedway bear no resemblance. The 2.66-mile high-banked Talladega, Ala., speedway is NASCAR's largest track and the half-mile Bristol, Tenn., bullring is the second shortest on the circuit.

What these two historic facilities have in common, however, is an unpredictable nature that makes them two of the most significant venues in the Sprint Cup Series homestretch.

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One of the questions fans frequently ask me is whether or not NASCAR drivers harbor a grudge against one another from week to week. Well, if they do, Bristol Motor Speedway is the one place they can get away with returning the not-so-friendly favor.

Whether it's payback from a previous race or for something that happened just a few laps before, we usually can expect retaliation on the high banks of Bristol. And that tit-for-tat can be as simple as a complementary spin or as emotive as a post-race fight. One former series champion told me, "Any driver who says they don't have a 'payback' list is a liar." That mental list can be lengthy and likely covers misdeeds from many years back.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s performance -- or lack thereof -- in 2009 has become a contentious debate, last weekend's Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway lacked the pizazz we're used to at Bristol and a few drivers have struggled to put forth results that'll leave you scratching your head.

What, you ask yourself, does FanHouse's Holly Cain and Geoffrey Miller have to say on these issues?

Find out as FH's Wheel2Wheel takes a look at NASCAR's current stories and issues. Read on to see what we've got to say, and when you're done, tell us exactly how we're wrong. It'll be more fun than sneaking your family sedan on to Daytona's high banks for a late night joyride.

Well, almost.

It's been a long time coming for Joe Gibbs Racing at Bristol Motor Speedway, but Sunday afternoon driver Kyle Busch dusted off a tough run of bad luck for the team at the track to score his second victory of 2009 in the Food City 500.

Where: Bristol Motor Speedway
Time: Sunday 2pm/EDT
TV/Radio: FOX Sports, PRN Radio
Forecast: Sunny, 68
Distance: 500 laps (266.5 miles)
Pole Winner: Mark Martin
2008 Winner: Jeff Burton


If you need a better idea of how racing is being impacted by the economy look no further than Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol. For 13 straight years, the 165,000-seat facility in quiet, rolling hills of east Tennessee has been mecca for race fans -- and sold out each of its two Sprint Cup events without batting an eye.