BRISTOL, Tenn. -- What's a perfect Bristol?

That's a simple question for Kyle Busch, who won this event last spring.

"I think the perfect balance would be some good green-flag racing with a couple green-flag stops and yet still having some wrecks," Busch said. "I don't know what our average [number of] caution [flags] is, but probably at least 10 cautions during the race would be about right for Bristol.

"With the racing that we have here -- it's pretty good racing here now with the three lanes -- but you don't see as much beating and banging for the one groove that we all had to fight for before, because we can go anywhere now. It's good racing, but there's less contact and more room to maneuver around. I think the fans have their divided opinions and you're never going to be able to please everybody for 500 laps around this place."

Ryan Newman, who was the first driver to turn a sub-15-second qualifying lap here, basically agreed with Busch.

"To me, I'm a racecar driver and I want to see a race -- I want to see us go door handle-to-door handle and rub sides," Newman said. "I don't want to see us bumping and banging and getting mad because one guy spun another guy out. Now, in saying that, this new car doesn't allow us to spin each other out the way we used to, but we can still get it done. I like the racetrack the way it is.

"The way it was it was OK. It's not like it was a bad racetrack before. I just think it's a racier racetrack now -- and if fans are here to see a race, then those fans should be happy. If those fans that don't like it that much, they're not here to see a race, they're probably here to see crashing. Go visit your demolition derby."

Tony Stewart, another former Bristol winner, made it a trio.

"I know there are people who didn't think that the racing was as good of a race last year, but on the racetrack it was probably the most fun race that I've ever had at Bristol," Stewart said. "I think it's nice to be able to race guys and not have to run over them to pass them or knock them out of the way to pass them -- you can actually race and go around and find a different line to pass people. To me, it made it a lot more fun."

Yates putting good face on sponsor issues
For Yates Racing's No. 28 Ford, first it was creating a Web site: SponsorYates.com. Five races into the season, only two of which have been sponsored, Sunday's Food City 500 has brought a new gambit: 11 Million.

"We had the idea to put 11 million on the hood of the car and what we're trying to represent and illustrate is the average number of viewers watching the races the first part of the season on FOX -- and with that they're watching the 28 car go around without a primary sponsor on it," Yates' driver Travis Kvapil said. "So I guess what we're trying to show is there's an opportunity. There's obviously a lot of people watching the race, and that's how we're trying to illustrate our situation.

"It's kind of a shame that we don't have a company associated with [the No. 28], but we're trying to get across that there's an opportunity here. NASCAR is the most viewed sport on television right now and we're just trying to demonstrate that message."

Yates teammate David Gilliland has had a sponsor for the first five races with his No. 38 Fusion, freecreditreport.com, but that is a short-term effort. It's got both drivers concerned about their Sunday fortunes at Bristol, though team owners Doug Yates and Max Jones have made the commitment to run full schedules with both cars.

"We don't have room for ruined days right now, so we're just working real hard at trying to secure sponsorship to be able to run the entire season and just have that name to wear proudly on our car for Travis and I both," Gilliland said on Friday. "So it can be frustrating [at Bristol] sometimes, but hopefully, we can be fast enough to just be out front and stay out of harm's way.

"I think there are two more races with freecreditreport.com and we're actively seeking new sponsorship and partners with Yates Racing. It's a tough time right now. We're looking forward to trying to put together a good, solid finish this weekend and put ourselves in a good position in the points to make our teams that much more attractive."

Heading into Sunday, the 38 and 28 cars are in 28th and 29th, respectively, in the owner standings.

Kurt Busch supports top 35 rule
Kurt Busch started the season outside NASCAR's critical top 35 in the owner standings when his owner, Roger Penske, decided to transfer Busch's 2007 owner points to newcomer Sam Hornish Jr., to lock the rookie into the first four races.

Whole new cast

The top 35 will have a new cast following Sunday's race.

• Complete story, click here

After four races, Busch is 10th in the owner standings while Hornish is 36th, and at Bristol Busch said he supported the current system.

"Here's all I know about the top 35 and who's in and who's out," Busch said. "We've had four races so far this year. I had a rough race in [Las] Vegas -- I blew a tire with 12 laps to go and I finished 39th. That means with 12 laps to go, there was still 39 cars running. That means we had the best amount of cars -- the top quality of cars running in the race. Sam Hornish Jr. had a bad race in Vegas. Carl Edwards is leading the race, walking away with it with 80 [laps] to go, has his oil line problem and finishes 42nd.

"That kills you in points when you finish 42nd. I think we have the top quality cars in these races and that's what we want to see. We want to see the fastest 43 in the races no matter where they are in the points -- or who's locked in or been around for 20 years.

"It's taking care of itself. I'm looking at the competition side -- I don't know the top 35 or why it's that number. I'm just looking at when you have a bad day and you're 12 laps from the end and you end up 39th, there's a lot of competition out there."

Gordon good with no smoking, not so much with tires
Jeff Gordon said on Friday he supported Bristol going to a full no smoking policy in its 160,000-seat stadium, but that he wasn't sure what Sunday would bring for Goodyear's tire choice at Bristol, given how much rain has fallen this weekend.

"The world is different, things are changing -- the whole tobacco industry and people focusing more on trying to be healthy, whether it's what they eat or things like smoking," Gordon said. "I think it's just kind of a change that's happening abroad and in other sports as well as NASCAR being included in that.

"I think it is a good thing that they're doing here and hope to see it happen in many more places."

On the other hand, Gordon expressed some concern about tires in Sunday's Food City 500.

"I'll be honest with you, I question what [Goodyear] did here at Bristol," Gordon said. "They have a new left-side, right-side -- new left-side construction [and] compound [and a] right-side compound that has never been tested here.

"They are going off last year's race, but we have made our cars better and we are seeing some high wear. Now, the track was green [Friday], but we have different characteristics, high wear and if this rain keeps up, Sunday is going to be an issue.

"I'm not trying to throw Goodyear under the bus here. It is just that testing these tires is crucial. I don't know what we have to do to get the proper amount of teams and dates for that to happen."

Burton and Busch experience big gains
Jeff Burton already was well-respected in the Cup garage, but his respectful treatment of Kyle Busch as Busch raced to victory at Bristol last spring with Burton on his bumper, and sometimes alongside, increased Burton's respect.

"It was fun," Burton said. "I thought it was a race that Kyle and I had got to know each other a little bit better. There's a little bit of a generation gap there -- I think that Kyle probably looked at me as a little bit of an old codger and I looked at him as a young driver that was full of himself.

"I think after that race we gained a lot of respect for each other. It started at Vegas with the Nationwide race [where the two men clashed coming to the line and Burton won, with Busch spinning out], and I think that was good for him and I and our professional relationship."