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
The Storylines
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.
Mark Martin, back in his first full-time gig after choosing to go for a part-time schedule in the past few years, apparently wanted to take what was originally a plan for going back to part-time in 2010 and make it a plan to run the whole 36-race schedule.
But after winning the pole for Sunday's race, Martin again met with the media and downplayed -- or denied -- such a plan was in place to go full time for Hendrick Motorsports again in 2010.
Less than five races into the 2009 season, the talk regarding Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief Tony Eury Jr. has already reached the front burner.
And if we're lucky, the talk will subside sometime after the 2009 season ends -- barring two things: Earnhardt wins the championship or Eury Jr. finds a new role.
But Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway, Earnhardt Jr. made one thing crystal clear ahead of Sunday's Food City 500: crew chief Tony Eury Jr. isn't going anywhere.
Mark Martin must have been tired of not winning poles in the Sprint Cup Series.
Just two weeks after Martin scored his first pole in 7 years -- remember that lap at Atlanta made the 50-year-old Martin feel like a rookie? -- the driver from Batesville, Ark., scored his second-straight pole Friday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway for Sunday's Food City 500.
Martin's lap of 125.773 mph gave him the top spot on the same weekend that news indicated he wants to stay in No. 5 full-time in 2010, rather than a partial schedule as was originally expected.
Looking for that ultimate gift for the NASCAR fan on your list with just hours left until Santa gets things rolling?
Well, Bristol Motor Speedway -- thanks to the oh-so-glorious state of the economy -- actually has tickets available for its Sprint Cup events in 2009.
Sure, any other track on the NASCAR schedule having empty seats is nothing to raise an eyebrow at, but Bristol has been sold out for years upon years upon years despite its capacity of over 160,000 folks. News of this comes courtesy of the track, of course, who's trying to find a way to sell the tickets they surely aren't used to having.
The track says that the season tickets -- the ones that give fans automatic rights for their same seats in the news season -- are still available, and earlier today, I was able to find a pair of tickets for $93 plus applicable fees in the track's third turn for the Spring Food City 500 at the track on Ticketmaster.
A word to the wise, however, would say that these tickets probably won't be available until, say, race time because as the season kicks back in high gear (it's only like 50-some days away!) fans will be falling in line to secure some seats to one of NASCAR's most exciting tracks.
So what are you waiting for? We're not talking about California, we're talking about Bristol tickets!
The concrete surface at Bristol Motor Speedway was re-done over the summer of 2007, with variable banking added in the already steeply-banked corners.
The change ultimately changed the form of racing at the legendary bull ring from single groove knock-em-to-pass-em racing to multi-groove, pass-em-high-or-low racing. Or, that change was in effect until the final restart on Sunday during the waning laps of the Food City 500 when Kevin Harvick body slammed Tony Stewart in to the wall. Watch below:
Harvick took blame for the accident as he should have. Stewart -- who is on probation -- was awkwardly calm though he got flat taken out by Harvick.
Although it would have been much more fitting for Tony Stewart to wax the guy's back who wrecked him during last Sunday's Food City 500, that didn't matter.
Stewart, in a stunt for charity on his radio show, got his back hair waxed to the smoothness of a baby's bottom thanks to over $100,000 in donations that will go directly to the Victory Junction Gang.
"Operation: Wax Smoke" was started last season over a bet between friends Stewart and Kevin Harvick. Stewart put up his back hair in return for fans raising $100,000 for the NASCAR-themed camp for disabled children. The fans put up quite a bit of the cash and "Happy" Harvick matched their donation with one of his own to secure the rights to Stewart's back mane.
Harvick and regular show co-host Matt Yocum provided the play-by-play.
"It looks like you waxed someone's dog," said Matt Yocum.
Stewart was in a little bit of pain from the process, which you can see a few pics of here.
"I'm telling you, I'd rather you kick me in the balls right now," said Stewart during the show.
Jimmie Johnson gave another $10,000 and J.D. Gibbs $15,000 during the show to bring the total to $125,000.
For the past three seasons at Bristol Motor Speedway, Tony Stewart has led a combined 769 laps during the famed short-track's springtime races.
And for the past three seasons, Stewart has walked away without so much as a lump in his throat about "what could have been."
The No. 20 has led 51.3% of all Food City 500 laps in the past three years but has only managed an average finish of 20th thanks to horrible luck or on-track incidents.
Sunday, Stewart had the familiar Bristol swagger going throughout much of the race and even showed plenty of patience in letting cars by him at times. Towards the end, it was shaping up to be a great finish with Stewart, Kevin Harvick, and Denny Hamlin.
If you would have told Jeff Burton with ten laps left during Sunday's Food City 500 the directions to victory lane, he would have probably looked at you like you were crazy.
Burton, though, with a strange set of circumstances ended up needing those directions to Bristol Motor Speedway's victory lane.
With 15 laps to go, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, and Denny Hamlin were shaping up for a three-way battle for the lead when Brian Vickers cut a tire on his No. 83 Toyota and slammed the turn 3 wall, bringing out a caution.
Stewart, Hamlin, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. stayed out as the rest of the lead-lap cars -- including Harvick and Burton -- dove to pit road for fresh tires. On the restart with 5 laps to go, Stewart jumped out to a lead before Hamlin caught him and drove past.
What: Food City 500 Where: Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee When: Sunday, March 16, 1:30p/ET on FOX (Green Flag 2:00p/ET) Distance: 500 laps, 250 miles Weather: Partly sunny, with a high near 53. North wind around 10 mph. 2007 Winner: Kyle Busch Predictions: Keep Reading
Race: 
Friday afternoon,
Less than five races into the 2009 season, the talk regarding 
Mark Martin
Looking for that ultimate gift for the NASCAR fan on your list with just hours left until Santa gets things rolling?
Although it would have been much more fitting for 
