BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) It's one of the toughest tickets to get in NASCAR and
the atmosphere is always electric as 43 cars bang around the tight turns of
Bristol Motor Speedway.
The night race has always been an annual showcase event on the NASCAR
schedule.
Now it's taken on even greater importance.
With just three races to go before NASCAR's 10-race playoff series begins,
drivers are scrambling to become eligible to race for the Nextel Cup
Championship.
Bristol, a high-banked .0533-mile bullring, could be the one track that
makes or breaks many teams' title hopes.
"Bristol is an intense race track to say the least," said Mark Martin.
"Forty-three cars is a lot for a track that size, and driving around that
place is like trying to fly a jet fighter airplane around the inside of a
basketball arena, so it gets really wild when you have 42 other guys trying to
do the same thing.
"You just have to hope that you have a good car and that you can stay out
of all the trouble and sometimes that's hoping for a lot."
Only the top 10 drivers in the points standings, and anyone else within 400
points of the leader, will qualify for the final shootout. Headed into the
Sharpie 500 on Saturday night, a handful of drivers are clinging to their spot
while others are racing to get into the chase.
Rookie Kasey Kahne is currently holding the 10th and final spot, with just a
six-point lead over teammate Jeremy Mayfield. Sitting in 11th position,
Mayfield wants to crack the top 10 - but could still make it in because he's
only 68 points outside of the 400-point cutoff.
Right behind the Evernham Motorsports duo is Martin, who is just 33 points
out of the top 10 and has an impressive resume at Bristol: two career victories
and 20 top-10 finishes.
Dale Jarrett is in striking distance, 58 points out of 10th and a proven
record at Bristol with one win and 15 top-10s.
""Obviously the best-case scenario for going into Bristol is having a good
race car that allows you to run up front," Jarrett said. "Then usually you
can have a pretty good weekend because you don't have to drive every single lap
crazy back in the middle of the pack."
Even 15th place Jamie McMurray can consider himself racing for a spot. He's
just 70 points out of 10th.
All of them will have to contend with the drivers ahead of them.
Jimmie Johnson has failed to finish the past three races, sliding into
second in the standings.
Elliott Sadler, who scored his first career victory at Bristol, is coming
off a 32nd place finish in Michigan that saw his hold on seventh in the
standings cut to a 72-point advantage over Kahne.
Then there's Bobby Labonte, who has been on a steady slide the past month.
His 26th place finish in Michigan last week cut his lock on the ninth spot to a
13-point advantage over Mayfield.
Anything can go wrong at Bristol.
One wrong move can trigger a multi-car crash. An ill-handling car can cause
a driver to be lapped minutes into the race. Tempers are usually as high as the
Tennessee heat and humidity.
"You have to remember, whether you are leading, last, or in the middle, you
are vulnerable at all times to get caught up in a mess," Kevin Harvick said.
" You have to pick and choose when to pass because it's so hard to do without
using your front end."
Sadler expects this to be one of the most intense Bristol races in history.
"There is a lot of side-by-side racing and a lot of guys are racing to get
into the top 10, so I dont foresee too much giving and taking going on,"
Sadler said. "But, thats Bristol and you just have to go in there elbows up,
hard-nosed and be ready to race the hardest race of your life."
Everyone will be trying to unseat Kurt Busch, who has three-straight wins at
Bristol. Busch isn't banking on making it four in a row.
"It's a daunting task to say the least," he said. "Each time I go there,
I don't expect to win, and I don't expect to run bad. It's just a matter of
controlling the most that you can within your car."
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