Viewer's Guide: Bristol

ATLANTA -- Speedway Motorsports Inc. may want to check the deed, because lately it appears that Kurt Busch owns Bristol Motor Speedway.

Busch has won four of the past five Nextel Cup races held at the half-mile Tennessee bullring and with the battle heating up for spots in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, Saturday's Sharpie 500 couldn't have come at a better time for the Las Vegas native.

Heading into Saturday night's shootout, Busch finds himself sixth in the Nextel Cup standings, but his spot in the Chase is far from secure. Just 117 points separate Busch from 10th-place Kasey Kahne.

"The guys that are sixth through 10th obviously have to race hard, and the guys that are 11th through 15th have to have everything go there their way as well as somebody have a bad day in front of them. "So we're one of those teams that can't afford a bad day. We've got some cushion in case we miss the setup that we'll still run competitively enough to gain points.

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"But Bristol is by no means a track that we're going to miss the setup on.

"Things are good for us as far as the tracks that we've got coming up, it's just a matter of dodging any of those unforeseen circumstances that come up."

Busch spent some time with TNT's Matt Yocum earlier this week to talk some more about the Chase, Bristol and his life away from the track and the piece will air Saturday during TNT's prerace show at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Hauling the mail: Nextel Cup Series hauler drivers, long considered the unsung heroes of the sport, will have their night to shine Saturday, as well. Benny Parsons followed some hauler drivers from Watkins Glen back to Charlotte a couple of weeks back and what he found will be part of "Benny and the Pits" this weekend.

In addition, there is a "hauler parade" scheduled Thursday in Bristol and that will be part of the piece, as well.

Ask The Producer: This week's question comes from Michael Edwards of Nashville, Tenn.:

"One thing that I really like about the TNT coverage is that when there is a caution and the telecast is in a commercial break, TNT will interrupt the commercial and come straight back to the track. How difficult is it to coordinate this since you are breaking into national as well as local commercials, which produce revenue? Is it as simple as it seems to look like pushing a button to take back control of the network?"

NBC/TNT producer Rich O'Connor says the determining factor is the difference between local breaks and national breaks. Local breaks are about 180 seconds long and happen about three times an hour. All other breaks are national breaks and can be broken into.

O'Connor says the crew knows how far they are into each commercial and if an ad is close to finishing (five seconds or less) they tend to stay through the end of the break. If an ad has just begun, they are more apt to break in.

"We feel like it benefits not only the fans, but the advertisers, as well," O'Connor said. "If we're in a commercial, fans might be more likely to stay with us when they know that we'll break out of a commercial to show something happening on the track."

Let your voice be heard: Each week, we'll pick one question to ask the producer of the NBC/TNT telecast. Why did they do things this way? Why did they talk to that driver? Any question that eats at you could be answered right here in the Viewer's Guide.

Send your questions to the e-mail box in this piece.

The Rant: This week, Joe Lawson of Summitt, Miss. says one of racing's most famous traditions is in trouble.

"Just prior to the start of the Nextel Cup race at MIS, someone announced, "And now for the most famous four words in all of motor racing...." Whoever stepped up to the microphone to provide them said, 'On behalf of (dada-dada-obvious commercial plug-dada-da), Gentlemen, start your engines.'

"Just curious... what does it cost to buy everyone's' attention by tying one's plug in with this hallowed tradition?" Get in on the action: In "The Rant," we'll pick e-mails each week to argue about a TV coverage issue, be it a commentator's comment, a driver's comment, a pre-race feature -- basically anything you want to spout off about.

Come with an intelligent, passionate argument and you may see your take on NASCAR.COM.

On to this weekend's schedule:

Nextel Cup Series: Sharpie 500

Site: Bristol, Tenn.

Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval, 36-degree banking in turns. Frontstretch: 650 feet. Backstretch: 650 feet)

Race distance: 266.5 miles, 500 laps

LAST YEAR Victory Lane Kurt Busch celebrates the season sweep Tempers Flare Martin's mad after hitting the wall Frustrated Waltrip's night ends early

TV: Bud Pole Qualifying: TNT, 3 p.m. ET Friday. Happy Hour: TNT, 7 p.m. ET Friday. Race: TNT, 7 p.m. ET Saturday.

Last race: Despite an avalanche of caution flags and a plethora of unusual happenings, Greg Biffle gave new meaning to the word dominance last Sunday at Michigan. Biffle led 73 laps en route to his second Cup victory. Mark Martin was second, 8.216 seconds behind.

Last year: Despite controversy stemming from an incident that happened the week before at Michigan with Jimmy Spencer, Kurt Busch pulled away from Kevin Harvick to win the 2003 Sharpie 500. It was Busch's fourth win of the season.

Potential storyline: Of those drivers battling for a spot in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, history is on the side of Jamie McMurray this week. McMurray's average finish at Bristol is 7.333, the best among the drivers in the top 20 in the current Nextel Cup standings.

McMurray was third in this race last season and eighth in the Food City 500 at Bristol earlier this season.

Point to ponder: Four of the six Cup races at Bristol between 1991 and 1993 were won from the Bud Pole. In the 21 races since, Rusty Wallace (spring 1999 and fall 2000) and Jeff Gordon (fall 2002) are the only drivers to win at Bristol from the Bud Pole.

Busch Series: Food City 250

Site: Bristol, Tenn.

Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval, 36-degree banking in turns. Frontstretch: 650 feet. Backstretch: 650 feet)

Race distance: 133.25 miles, 250 laps

LAST YEAR Victory Lane It's Michael Waltrip's turn to celebrate Playing For Rain? Brian Vickers plays a rain strategy Yellow Fever Biffle caught up in an early caution

TV: Busch Pole Qualifying: SPEED, 3 p.m. ET Thursday. Race: TNT, 8 p.m. ET Friday.

Last race: Kyle Busch dominated a field filled with Nextel Cup Series stars Saturday to win the Cabela's 250 at Michigan. Busch led 87 of 125 laps and blew past Mark Martin on the final restart to earn his fifth victory of the season.

Last year: Michael Waltrip used a slight bump-and-run to knock Ron Hornaday out of his way to get his first Busch Series win in more than a year.

Potential storyline: The NASCAR Busch Series points race is shaping up to be a two-man battle. It figures to stay that way after this weekend's race at Bristol. Martin Truex Jr., the current series leader, won the spring race at the high-banked Tennessee short track.

Kyle Busch, currently second in the title race, finished third. Between them, in second, was Nextel Cup regular Kevin Harvick.

Point to ponder: Ashton Lewis Jr. is 10th in the Busch Series standings, but is 900 points behind leader Truex. By comparison, Jeff Burton is 890 points behind Cup points leader Jeff Gordon, but sits in 22nd.

Craftsman Truck Series: O'Reilly 200

Site: Bristol, Tenn.

Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval, 36-degree banking in turns. Frontstretch: 650 feet. Backstretch: 650 feet)

Race distance: 106.6 miles, 200 laps

TV: Race: SPEED, 9 p.m. ET Wednesday.

LAST YEAR Victory Lane Travis Kvapil wins for the first time in 2003 Disappointed Kevin Harvick suffers a late-race crash Yellow Flag Terry Cook has a tough night

Last race: Tennessee native Bobby Hamilton overtook David Starr after a late-race restart and held on to win the Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. Bobby Hamilton Jr., who led the most laps Saturday, finished fourth.

Last year: Travis Kvapil took advantage of some hard luck by Kevin Harvick to win the O'Reilly 200 Wednesday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.

As the white flag was coming out, Harvick appeared to cut a right-front tire and hit the wall. Kvapil, who was closing on Harvick during the previous few laps, took the lead and the victory.

Potential storyline: Three Nextel Cup Series veterans have entered the O'Reilly 200. Kevin Harvick, Robby Gordon and Ken Schrader will attempt to qualify Wednesday. For Robby Gordon and Schrader, it is their first NCTS starts since 1997.

Point to ponder: Hamilton can go where no driver has before, with a chance to win all three current series stops in the state of Tennessee in the same season. He won at Memphis Motorsports Park in June and at Nashville Superspeedway on Aug. 14.

Hamilton will drive a chassis dubbed "Mini Me," the truck his son, Bobby Jr., put on the Bud Pole at Nashville and drove to a fourth-place finish. "Mini Me" is the elder Hamilton's nickname for Bobby Jr.

Mark Spoor is an interactive producer of NASCAR.COM. The Domino's Viewers Guide appears each Thursday during race weeks.