Ill admit the race had a different face than normal. When you say excitement, if you mean wrecks,tempers,and helmet throwing than I agree. But how about the 2 and 3 wide racing(note the paragraph on Waltrip racing the leaders.)you could have thrown a blanket over the 9,99,and the 8 racing for the lead.
In regards to the Truex dig, I clearly remember a replay where they were pointing out Montoya getting into someone. I dont remember who because I was concentrating on the LEAD lap cars.
justracethecar

Since I was there, I have a different perspective of the race than the way it might have looked on tv. Bristol sure is not the crashing and banging track it used to be, but it was still interesting with 3 wide racing. There used to be so much going on, I couldn't keep up. If you wanted boring, last year's August Bristol with the old track was the worst race I'd ever seen.

Not a Mikey fan, but I've got to defend him. He just sort of got caught up in the Kasey, Jr, Edwards race and had no where to go. He was running as fast as they were, but with Kahne on the outside, Jr behind and Carl on the inside, he was boxed in. Mikey was getting beat on by both Jr and Edwards.

Nascar apologized? Isn't that a first? Wow! They were wrong. Kyle didn't pass the committment cone. He swerved back out at the last minute. That might have cost Kyle some places, but he didn't have a winning car.

Kahne may have appeared on the coverage to have the winning car, but it was actually Carl Edwards who had the best car all night. No matter what might have happened, he probably would have won. His car went away on long runs earlier in the race, but on short runs he had a rocket. Everyone better look out for Carl during the Chase. He is the sleeper. He's a guy that everybody likes, he hardly gets any coverage because he's so easy going,and I see him slipping right in under the radar.He's kicking butt in Busch and I'll bet he does really well the last 10 races.

And the Harvick-Montoya feud continues. Harvick and Bowyer got together and tried shoving Montoya up into a corner. Montoya held on and managed to back out, but it was close.

Met Junior Johnson and got his autograph to add to my collection. That was exciting. There were other drivers coming out to sign but for me it was way too hot to stand in line for a couple of hours to get a ticket and then stand in line another hour to get a signature. It stayed about 95 degrees during the day the whole time we were there.It was great at night though for the race! The temp was about 80.

Watching drivers walk to their cars at Bristol reminded me of the picture of JG from Louden. Most of them from what I could see, generously signed autographs all the way;Tony Stewart, Jr, Truex,Hamlin and others. Didn't see JG and JJ from where I was sitting so I can't say whether they did or not. I know Kyle B.would have (didn't see him either). Kyle's great with the racefans. Richard Petty took time to walk around and sign too, but he was too far away for me to get to.

Ward's owner's shop is just up the highway from Bristol. I saw it too late to stop on the way down and went by at the wrong time on the way back. Will put that on the "to do" list for next year if Ward's still driving for them.

And Zippy got Smoke's car too good too late. Good finish anyway.

Did anyone hear what Edwards said after the race? Did he tell people to go drink Coke? They were shooting off fireworks at the same time he was talking and I couldn't hear what he was saying. Just wondering.

I am amazed that racefan was able to keep track of all that went on at Bristol on Saturday nite. While I have not gone to Bristol, I have been to a cup race and have to admit even as electrify as it was to be at the track it was difficult to see everything that happened. Sound like you must have had great seats!

To Jenn,Sally & Racefan,
As racefan knows the racing at Bristol is almost secondary to everything else going on around the facility. We've been going since 1994 when there were 58,000
fans and your view in the corners were beautiful mountains. Bruton doesn't build race tracks he builds resorts. Ever given a chance put this event on your list to do. You might want to keep a lookout for tickets as new seats are rumored to be going high atop turns 3 & 4. Personally for us this was the most memorable trip as I took on a bear with the front end of a motorcycle on day two of our trip on the Skyline Drive and fortunate enough to see the races and be able to write this.

Racefan,

At the end of the race, I think Carl was saying to keep your posts shorter.

I was there in Yarborough Terace, and yes, the Sharpie 500 was boring.

The reconstruction of the Bristol Motorspeedway is a huge boon for the racing there. Even a cursory glance at the last thirty laps of the Busch race Friday night, where four racers swapped the top two positions again and again while racing three wide, would be proof that the “racing” is better. Everyone raved about the Busch and Truck race- and they were fantastic.

Conversely, I am not surprised that the Cup race has gotten a lot of thumbs down from fans.

As Jim McLaurin wrote after the race: Bristol racing is not guys being able to pass each other, it’s two guys fighting over the same spot, usually to the detriment of one or the other. Like the plate races, Bristol was always more of a show- theater if you will. While NASCAR will always ultimately be about “racing”, the spectacle, the banging, shoving and temper tantrums- made Bristol a must see event, not the race itself.

That theatrical scene is gone now in the showplace division. Right now, Bristol is not a rock’em, sock’em event at the Cup level.

The track is better (so far)- but unfortunately, winning at Bristol is no longer important to the Cup guys in the big scheme of things. It is no accident that the top guys in the Chase- Gordon, Johnson, Hamlin, Stewart, Harvick- spent the night content to merely make laps, stay out of trouble. Running twelfth, protecting their big advantages over the 13th place driver, crossing off another date until the Chase starts was a more-than-satisfactory day for those guys- particularly at a track that introduces so many chance variables.

It is not surprising that all the guys who ran well, who were entertaining, were drivers either battling for the twelfth spot who needed to run aggressively with their competition to make up spots (Busch and Earnhardt) or guys so far back that only a win meant anything (Kahne, Yeley).

Frankly, there were just too many guys on the Speedway who were incentivized to run Top 15 and park it- then try to win. That is what the Chase regular season does- it distorts behavior in the guys who are comfortable in the Chase. Your best drivers and teams merely want to run eleventh and go home as quickly as possible- quite content to have knocked the schedule back another day.

Lucky you Peter. I wanted to run a part of the Skyline Drive on the way down, but was running short on time.

You are probably right Fort Kent Fred. Just trying to bring a picture of the Bristol race to anyone who wasn't there and I know I got carried away. Actually there was more, so I did keep it shorter.

Sally, there are NO bad seats at Bristol. You can see everything no matter where you sit. We were in turn 3 during the Busch race and between turns 3 and 4 for the Cup race.

I prefer the 3 wide racing rather than having the cars two wide with barely any room to move. The only way to get ahead used to be to knock the person in front of you off into the wall.Some fans may have liked that old Bristol style racing more.

As Peter wrote, if you are a Nascar fan, you should experience Bristol at least once. On the Bristol Motor Speedway website there is a fan ticket exchange. Fans swap or sell their extra tickets at face value. No scalping allowed.

Saw a couple of Maine plates going both ways. Perhaps it was one of you that went that passed us on the trip on Route 81.

I would have wrote extensively, but other people wrote more than that of the original blog. Bristol over all wasn't that exciting. I thought Michigan was more exciting. Usually Bristol is my favorite, might stillbe but not if COT and track provide such drama free racing.

After watching Bristol this weekend it made me ask myself one thing….What the heck is worng with NASCAR??
I watched both races and I saw what NASCAR did to Kyle Busch and the whole 5 team and it was WRONG! Please tell me what other organization could get away with tossing out a penalty (that most likely cost the 5 team a win) then turn around and say “Sorry my bad, deal with it”
Then while watching the Cup race it seemed weird to see the 31 driving around with no sponsor on it. Racing at any level is not cheap and finding a good loyal sponsors is hard enough to do never mind the fact that NASCAR turns around and sues them!
Sorry but even I, DW, am getting pretty tired of NASCARs shot at the hip rules.
DW

According to NASCAR, DW, they are making improvements! Wonder why they are losing fans.

Hello ALL!
I am sorry that I haven't posted a blog for a couple days. I have been knee deep in building the 2008 newsroom budget. Yes, I have another job besides this blog.

There's been some great discussion going on here. I will be posting again on Friday or if there's any big news, obviously, I will chime in.

Don't worry about it Jennifer- it seems that Frank and Racefan got everything under control on this one. You just go take care of business.

I am aware that all seats at Bristol are good seats, Racefan, but it just amazed me that you were able to see everything happening at the same time all around the track!

I saw alot more than usual,Sally. The old Bristol style racing was way too much for me to keep up with even though it was probably more interesting with all the cautions.

Bill Weber from TNT has an interesting article on Nascar.com. He asks what is the incentive (other than a win)for drivers who get locked into the Chase with a few races to go? All they need to do is ride around and stay out of trouble until the last ten races begin. Good question.

I can tell you why because Home Depot looks better at the front, in the lead with a good finish. More money and better owner points if needed. Also the chance to Smoke those tires and climb them fences.
Each race should be used as a test of the car and to learn more about the tracks and marks on the tracks to hit to win. Learn more about those crappy tire Goodyear has them using.

That Home Depot car looks good out front no matter what!

Jump on the Orange car and come for a ride- we are headed for a championship.