Cross' Words: Bristol

Imagine that -- the Car of Tomorrow did not bring a spike in global warming, a swarm of locusts or any of the other Chicken Little scenarios many had openly feared. In fact, the COT's debut was as successful as NASCAR could have hoped. Until someone shoved a microphone in Kyle Busch's face.

As it turned out, there was a lot of freight-train racing akin to larger tracks. There also was side-by-side racing, though not as much as fans are accustomed to at the .533-mile Bristol bullring. There also were spins and crashes. Basically, it was a short-track race.

• Send Duane your thoughts

Many of the drivers said after the race that the car wasn't like the current stock car, that it drove differently, that it didn't steer, grip or respond as the drivers are used to.

It wasn't supposed to, so again the COT gets a check mark. It also held up under pressure, as crash-test dummy Dale Jarrett will attest to after being T-boned on the right side.

Change is never accepted with open arms. It takes some getting used to, it takes patience, it takes a lot of things that people in a comfort zone don't want to deal with.

Nonetheless, the Car of Tomorrow is here -- and it's not going anywhere. It's only going to be more prevalent. And the drivers will adjust. Even Busch, who broke out this old standby:

"We're real proud of the fact that we were able to give that [600th win] to Chevrolet in the new Impala SS, which is great. I know that's important to them because they need to sell cars on Monday."

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Random ruminations after Bristol:

• Five races down -- and now 2007 owner points determine the 35 guaranteed spots each week. No Toyota is in the top 35, which means all its drivers must qualify on speed (though Dale Jarrett does have two past champion's provisionals left in the bag).

• Fifty consecutive sellouts at Bristol. Other notables from 1982:

→ Late Night with David Letterman made its debut.
→ The final episode of The Lawrence Welk Show aired.
→ Cal Ripken Jr. played in the first of a record 2,632 consecutive games for the Baltimore Orioles.
→ The first issue of USA TODAY was published.
→ Paul "Bear" Bryant retired from coaching at Alabama with 323 wins.

• Darrell Waltrip won the Busch 500 in 1982, the first race in the streak. He took home $22,925. Kyle Busch pocketed $179,400 on Sunday.

• Happy trails, George Michael, who pulled the plug on the 27-year-old Sports Machine on Sunday night. (Continued)