Cross' Words: Bristol

Someone call a whaaaaaambulance! They turned on the lights at Bristol and a race broke out. So what's the problem, folks?

A boring race at Bristol? Au contraire -- not Saturday night, at least. Multiple-groove racing was a refreshing change of pace from the demolition derby style of recent years. Bump-n-run? Not on this night, thankfully. And hopefully not for a while.

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Between the new concrete and the Car of Tomorrow, Bristol is writing another chapter in its long history of great racing. The bullring, as much of a spectacle as it is, had become long in the tooth -- and short in the thing that made it great. Saturday night was more than Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne getting dialed in; it was a race from front to back, just not for the lead for 500 laps.

Saturday night was what fans should have expected -- side-by-side, multiple-groove racing. Just because there wasn't 500 laps of beatin' and bangin' for the lead doesn't make it a bad or boring race. Drivers could ride the bottom, slide to the middle and run the top, all without fearing getting out of the follow-the-leader train and losing positions a la restrictor-plate racing.

Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin had great runs from the back of the pack to the front. There was great jostling between Kahne, Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Jr. while trying to get around Michael Waltrip (dude, just move; OK, you were trying to get TV time for NAPA, but there's a race going on and you're not a factor).

So two guys hit the set up and were off the races, so to speak. It happens -- and it will again. Give credit to Edwards, crew chief Bob Osborne and the rest of the No. 99 team for an educated guess that proved rock solid. Ditto Kahne and the No. 9 team.

If it's crumpled sheet metal you want, go to the junk yard. If you want to see the world's best stock-car drivers at their best, be back in Bristol in March. You can ride shotgun in the whaaaaaambulance.

Random ruminations ...

• The Night Race stands alone in the pantheon of stock-car racing. Bristol is "racin' the way it ought'a be," as the track's marketing message suggests, because nothing else compares to the .533-mile bullring nestled in Thunder Valley.

There are four pillars within the Cup schedule: Daytona has the 500. Charlotte has the 600. Indy is The Brickyard. And Bristol has The Night Race.

A fifth -- the Southern 500 at Darlington -- fell victim to greed. And until California can prove it deserves two races (some would argue one race), that will be a thorn in the side of many old-school fans.

Thing is, none of those four races are in the Chase. ... And neither is Darlington.

• NASCAR's Loop Data shows green flag passing during Saturday night's race more than doubled that of the spring race at Bristol, from 991 passes to 2,147 passes.

The consensus opinion held by the drivers at the conclusion of the race rang loud and clear: The new surface at Bristol met -- and exceeded -- expectations, as the addition of a second and third racing groove greatly increased the number of passes ...

• Filed under "You know you're getting old when ..." is this personal aside:

August 28 marks the 40th anniversary of Johnny Bench's big-league debut with the Cincinnati Reds. JB was my hero in the '70s, to the point of trying to mirror his catching style (to no avail), and it was nice to read last week that Bench made the Rawlings All-Time Gold Glove team.

And speaking of the Reds, Dave Concepcion's No. 13 was retired on Saturday. Why isn't he in the Hall of Fame?

• Also filed under "You know you're getting old when ..." is another personal aside:

Fast Times at Ridgemont High is 25 years old! C'mon, everyone remembers Spicoli, Brad, Damone, Mr. Hand and, of course, Linda Barrett. Take a walk down Memory Lane.

Say What?

"What's this mean? It means that David has won Round 2 with Goliath."
-- Ramsey Poston, NASCAR's Managing Director of Corporate Communications, on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' mandate allowing NASCAR to require the removal of AT&T logos from the No. 31 Chevrolet.

So AT&T is bigger than NASCAR? Everybody loves the underdog ...

Figuratively Speaking

347 -- Laps led by Dale Earnhardt Jr., the most by a Cup driver without a win in 2007.

Up Next

Sharp AQUOS 500 | California | 7 p.m. ET Sunday | ESPN
Race No. 25 of 36 | Get tickets | Book travel

• Defending race winner: Kasey Kahne
• Most victories at the track: Jeff Gordon (3)
• Best average finish (minimum five starts): Jimmie Johnson (7.4 in nine starts)
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Mailbag

This week's topic: Should a wild-card entry be part of the Chase?

Surf over and weigh in on the blog.

Last week's topic: How would you change the Cup Series schedule ...

Michael from Parts Unknown
I like how the current Race for the Chase and Chase for the Cup has developed and the expansion to the top 12. I think one aspect that needs to be addressed is those who have been struggling but finally get it right, but are too far out to do any good.

I propose the Wild Card entry -- the driver/team outside of the top 12 that accumulates the most points in the last 10 races of the Race for the Chase. This "wild card" chase would provide greater incentive for teams to continue to push and add yet another element of suspense and excitement.

Anyone notice the points differential between Nos. 10 and 11? That would be a great story, if this was 2004 ... or 2005 ... or 2006.

Anne Marie from Parts Unknown
They definitely need to reduce the number of races. The drivers and their teams need more of a break and/or testing and development time. The grueling schedule the drivers currently endure has been an admitted factor in the recent retirements of several older, veteran drivers who, despite still being very competitive, have said "enough is enough."

Having so many races each year makes it much easier for me to decide to skip attending or watching one. NASCAR should take a long, hard look at which tracks are under performing in terms of actual attendance and TV ratings and trim accordingly.

Umm, ISC owns a lot of these tracks ...

Chad in West Bloomfield, Mich.
I'd change some of the tracks in the Chase. Those last 10 races need to be balanced; we don't need to see three of the 10 races run at identical tracks (Charlotte, Atlanta and Texas). The Cup champion should have to master every track type in that 10-race segment.

This is my Chase schedule: Darlington, Dover, Indy, Talladega, Charlotte, Martinsville, Watkins Glen, Richmond, Phoenix and Miami.

Nice mix, indeed -- but I'd swap Dover for Bristol.

Jeff Hewitt in Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Take away the following races: Pocono (either one; I sleep through both anyway -- even when I'm there!); California Labor Day race (can't fill the place for either date); Kansas (too many 1.5-mile races; sorry, Toto).

Add the following races: Mosport (road-course facility just outside Toronto, where they speak English); Second date for Vegas (well earned with improvements); Iowa (big short track that could do a Cup date in the Midwest).

10 Chase Races (in no particular order): Dover, 'Dega, Lowe's, Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas, Phoenix, Infineon, Iowa, Homestead.

I agree with adding a second date at Vegas. And Iowa would be a breath of fresh air (though Kentucky deserves a date first).

Eric Pater in Valenica, Pa.
How about all races being scheduled Saturday night? If it rains Saturday, you have all day Sunday to makeup the race. People will still fill the stands and they will still have a high rating for the television broadcast being on Sunday instead of Monday or Tuesday. The drivers will be racing in cooler conditions, and more track revenue having the fans being there all day ... the list goes on and on.

Let's get down to the grass roots of the sport: When's the last time you went to your local track and saw a race during the middle of the afternoon?

Preach on, brother! Saturday night, under the lights ... nothing's finer. Unless it's Neyland Stadium. Imagine if Bristol was in the Chase -- Knoxville during the day then Bristol later that night. Amazing!

Six of one ...
Drivers with momentum heading to California:

• Carl Edwards -- Three consecutive top-10 finishes marks his best stretch since four in a row between Dover and Charlotte during last year's Chase. Could a fourth be in the offing this weekend at Cali? He finished fourth there last fall and third in the spring.

• Kasey Kahne -- Are we seeing the results of Ray Evernham getting grease under his nails again? Saturday night was Kahne's first top-10 this season at a track not named Daytona.

• Bobby Labonte -- Back-to-back 10-top finishes for the first time since Talladega-Charlotte-Martinsville last fall. Prior to that, the last time the No. 43 had three consecutive top-10s: Races 7-9 in 1999, with John Andretti.

• Clint Bowyer -- So much for succumbing to the pressures of the Race to the Chase. ... He's done more than hold his own: one finish outside the top 20 in the past 12 races, dating to Dover in June.

• Jeff Burton -- Has gotten more off-the-track press lately, but his on-track performance has been solid: only two finishes outside the top 20 in the past 12 races.

• Kyle Busch -- Hasn't had consecutive top-10 finishes since Michigan-Sonoma, but he also hasn't finished worse than 13th in the past 11 races, dating to Pocono in June.

Half a dozen of the other ...
And six drivers who need a jump start:

• Jamie McMurray -- Six consecutive finishes outside the top 25 since his victory at Daytona.

• Kevin Harvick -- Hasn't had a top-10 finish since Indianapolis, and would you believe his 15.9 average finish is worst among the RCR teams? 'Tis true -- Burton, 13.6; Bowyer, 14.8.

• Robby Gordon -- Back-to-back twentysomething finishes have dropped Gordon to 27th in points (but he's up two spots, to 23rd, in owner points). It doesn't get any easier at Fontana: one top-10 in 10 starts, three DNFs in the past five races and a 25.0 average finish.

• Greg Biffle -- OK, top-10 finishes in two of the past three races -- and only two finishes outside the top 15 in the past seven races -- shows the team is coming around. But can he string together consecutive top-10s? That hasn't happened since Races 10-16 last year.

• David Ragan -- Qualified fourth at Bristol, but finished 41st. Spent the waning laps caught up in the spin cycle before crashing out for only his second DNF of the season.

• Elliott Sadler -- Finished 29th at Bristol (the first time since 2003 that he hasn't had a top-15 at Bristol in a season) and it's now been 23 races since Daytona, his lone top-10 of the year.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.