Trio of drivers to attempt Bristol triple play

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- What's better than getting to play Bristol's version of high-banked bumper cars?

How about doing it three times over four nights?

	Kevin Harvick

A trio of drivers will be trying to turn an unusual triple play this week at Bristol Motor Speedway, racing in Wednesday night's Craftsman Truck Series event, the Busch Series Food City 250 on Friday night and Saturday night's Sharpie 500.

Kevin Harvick, Ted Musgrave and Johnny Sauter are scheduled to attempt to qualify for all three events at the .533-mile oval. However, based on his past performance, Harvick may have the best chance at posting a win.

Harvick captured the Channellock 250 at Bristol back in March. That, coupled with last weekend's Busch Series victory in Michigan, means Harvick is on a roll.

"Bristol is one of my favorite racetracks and when we looked on the schedule and saw that they were all together, we decided to do it," Harvick said. "The nice thing is that we have a day off between running the Truck and the Busch Series races. It will give me a chance to relax before going full steam into the weekend."

Last year Spencer holds off Scott Wimmer in the final laps. Play video Mike Harmon walks away from a terrible crash. Play video A wreck on the restart of lap 43 collects 12 cars. Play video

Harvick's had more than his share of good and bad at Bristol. Last August, he inadvertently triggered the kill switch with 42 laps remaining, wiping out a possible three-peat. And 17 months ago, Harvick jawed at Greg Biffle following the race, after Biffle tapped the left rear quarter panel of Harvick's Chevy, sending him hard into the outside wall and demolishing a brand new racecar.

Running multiple series is nothing new for Harvick. He successfully commuted back and forth between the Busch Series and Winston Cup in 2001, winning the Busch Series title and Winston Cup rookie of the year honors.

Despite having run in only nine Busch Series events this season, Harvick's in the top 25 in the point standings.

"Racing both series is something I've become accustomed to now," he said. "It really helps me get adjusted and into a rhythm for the races."

	Johnny Sauter

Sauter is ninth in the standings, thanks to 10 top-10 finishes this season, including a 10th at Bristol back in March. However, he's still winless in 2003 -- something he'd like to change Friday night.

"I have raced at Bristol three times in the Busch Series," Sauter said. "I think it is a pretty awesome track. The thing I have learned most about racing Bristol is to keep the car in one piece, then race hard at the end and try to finish the event."

Musgrave, on the other hand, is making his first Busch Series start since the 2000 season.

He's replacing last year's winner, Jimmy Spencer, who was supposed to run all three races this week. However, since Spencer's suspension was upheld Wednesday, Musgrave was called on to sub.

In nine starts during 2000, Musgrave's best finish was eighth in the All Pro Bumper to Bumper 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. An accident left him 37th in the Bristol race that year.