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: 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.
BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Kevin Harvick proved just how strong his organization is Saturday by winning the Nationwide Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway in his own race car.
Harvick led 44 laps in his Kevin Harvick Inc.-owned Chevrolet, his first victory in a car fielded by the race team he built with his wife.
"It is very emotional, he's tried so hard, so long in his own stuff," Delana Harvick said in Victory Lane. "Today was his day."
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.
A little off-week fishing turned into a big headache -- or rib-ache, if you will -- for Roush Fenway Racing's driver Greg Biffle.
Biffle, slated to drive in both the Sprint Cup Series' Food City 500 on Sunday and the Nationwide Series' Scotts Turf Builder 300 on Saturday for RFR, will now sit out the Saturday event to rest a sore set of ribs after the No. 16 Ford driver fell awkwardly -- he termed it a "freak accident" -- while trying to get off a boat Tuesday night.
Judging from his remarks Friday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway's half-mile, Biffle wasn't too proud of the way he injured himself.
After taking the outside pole in the season-opening Daytona 500, the rejuvenated and ageless Mark Martin was the talk of the NASCAR garage area.
Martin, it seemed, was ready to vie for his first Sprint Cup title during his first full season with Hendrick Motorsports after taking a part-time role for the past few seasons.
Now, after a third-straight finish lower than 30th, it's hard to believe that the driver of the No. 5 is the same guy the NASCAR world was abuzz about just four weeks ago.
So much for better racing at Bristol--it wasn't anything better than B-O-R-I-N-G. At least not for the fans. And I certainly don't think the Thunder Valley promo masters got any new footage for their usually fantastic commercials.
The new surface made for easier passing, which meant no more beatin' and banging your way by. Passing was so much easier, that green flag passes during Saturday night's Sharpie 500 more than doubled that of the spring race at Bristol – from 991 to 2,147.
Tony Stewart: "Guys were running over each other to pass each other. It's the most fun I've had at Bristol in my career. I can't give it a better grade than an A-plus."
Unfortunately, it wasn't any fun for the fans. All that passing amounted to only two drivers leading 487 of 500 laps. A huge snoozefest for millions of fan who've been anticipating the excitement of Bristol night race all season long.
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.
Friday afternoon, ESPN's David Newton drafted a story with Sprint Cup Series veteran and pole-winner for Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway talking about how he wanted to hang around as a full-time NASCAR driver 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.
Mark Martin must have been tired of not winning poles in the Sprint Cup Series.
A little off-week fishing turned into a big headache -- or rib-ache, if you will -- for Roush Fenway Racing's driver Greg Biffle.
After taking the outside pole in the season-opening Daytona 500, the rejuvenated and ageless Mark Martin was the talk of the NASCAR garage area.
Race: 
