J.J. Yeley was 28th in final practice on Saturday. Credit: Autostock

Rookies have to conquer a bully to win at Bristol

Veteran Busch leads final practice as freshmen try to find their way

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- The .533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway bullring is a challenge for even the most adept short-track drivers, but for rookies it is a concrete jungle, ready to pounce on a newbie's first mistake.

Three-time Cup Series champion Darrell Waltrip beat and banged his way to a track-record 12 victories in Thunder Valley, but his first win came in his eighth attempt. Of the drivers with nine Bristol W's, Dale Earnhardt won his first two starts (he always was the exception to the rule), while it took Rusty Wallace five tries and Cale Yarborough 14.

	Denny Hamlin was the fastest rookie in Saturday's final practice. Credit: Autostock
	Happy Hour Speeds Food City 500 Pos. Driver Make Speed 1. Ku. Busch Dodge 123.818 2. J. Gordon Chevy 123.491 3. B. Labonte Dodge 123.483 4. D. Jarrett Ford 123.475 5. Kyle Busch Chevy 123.467 6. J. Green Chevy 123.411 7. K. Schrader Ford 123.372 8. S. Riggs Dodge 123.277 9. D. Hamlin Chevy 123.253 10. R. Newman Dodge 123.142 • Complete speeds, click here

Among active drivers, the first of Jeff Gordon's leading five wins came in his fifth start, and it took three starts before Kurt Busch took the first of his four checkered flags at Bristol.

Busch led Saturday's final practice at 123.818 mph, followed by Gordon (123.491) and Bobby Labonte (123.483).

So what does Sunday's Sharpie 500 (1:30 p.m. ET on FOX) hold for the 2006 rookie class? There will be plenty of white-knuckle action, especially in light of Friday's washout of Busch and Cup series practice sessions and Cup qualifying.

"[Limited practice time] is going to be a big factor," said J.J. Yeley, who will start 24th based on 2005 owners' points. He noted the middle of the field "is not exactly the greatest starting position here at Bristol," and added the key will be not getting caught in someone else's mistake.

"I've had that happen almost every time I've been here," Yeley said, referencing his three Busch Series starts, which have resulted in an average finish of 22.0 -- but no DNFs. "It's kind of a Catch-22: You don't want to run into someone, but the next thing you know you've checked up and everything is good and someone has hit you from behind.

"Of all the races that we've had this year, this is the race that I've probably been dreading the most just because I haven't had a lot of success here."

Yeley enters Bristol 18th in the point standings behind fellow rookies Martin Truex Jr. (15th) and Clint Bowyer (10th). The other first-year Cup drivers are Denny Hamlin (20th), Reed Sorenson (25th), David Stremme (36th) and Brent Sherman (36th).

	CLINT BOWYER •   Around the Track archive •   2006 Driver Page •   Store: Bowyer gear! JACK DANIEL'S ... • Post-Race Show NASCAR.COM's live, call-in show that airs after each Cup race!

Four of those Cup rookies -- Bowyer, Hamlin, Sorenson and Yeley -- also will compete in Saturday's Sharpie Mini 300 Busch race (3 p.m. ET on FOX).

Bowyer finished 13th and fourth last year in his only Busch starts at Bristol, and he said that Lady Luck will play a part in any driver's success at Bristol.

"You do have to have some luck here, but you still have to have a good handling racecar. You've got to drive the wheels off of it to beat these guys. You've got to have a car that can turn underneath people, pass them and beat them to the next corner.

"I'm fairly confident that we can do that. We ran well as a team last year [in the Busch Series], and I think it can be a good race for us. You can't stick your nose where it doesn't belong, and you've got to come out of these next two weekends the best you can."

Next week the series moves to Martinsville, another short track, but altogether different than Bristol.

"Martinsville is a 180-degree opposite racetrack," said Mike Ford, crew chief for Hamlin. "You got a lot of bank and real rough racetrack [at Bristol]. This is almost a stand-alone racetrack as far as cars go. You have to do different things here than you do anywhere else. They call it a short track, but it is more like a speedway-type racetrack than it is a short track."

Sunday will be Hamlin's first Cup race at Bristol, but he did finish ninth and 13th in last year's Busch events. Ford said the team is using a new car this weekend "so we've got a lot of things we would like to check out on the racetrack."

In Saturday's final practice Hamlin was the fastest rookie at 123.253 mph, 0.071 seconds behind front-runner Busch. Bowyer (122.740) was the only other rookie in the top 20.

"We were able to run a fast lap," Hamlin said, "but the car struggled a little bit on the long run. ... The car stays pretty consistent; we really lost overall grip.

"There's a lot of cars slipping and sliding and there's a lot of good cars. Hopefully we'll end up in the front."

A rookie has finished in the top 10 in each race this season:

• Daytona -- Bowyer (sixth)
• California -- Yeley (eighth)
• Las Vegas -- Hamlin (10th)
• Atlanta -- Sorenson (10th)

But this is Bristol, which has a history of being the early season bully, especially for new kids on the block (and several veterans). Four drivers with at least 10 starts have yet to post a top-10 finish at Bristol: Dave Blaney (10 starts), Robby Gordon (10), Jeff Green (11) and Joe Nemechek (22).

"There's no track quite like Bristol," Bowyer said. "If you can't win the Daytona 500, you want to win the race at Bristol and hopefully we can do that."