Bristol no longer just about bump and grind, crashes (cont'd)

The track had little choice but to replace its 15-year-old cracking, aging concrete surface, beginning work shortly after last season's spring race came to an end. Oddly enough, for all the fan complaints, drivers have raved about the new surface since the first day they were allowed to race on it. The verdict has been near-unanimous: the new surface allows for two grooves of racing, and more places to pass. "Now we've got a newer surface that allows us to race side-by-side and pass," said five-time Bristol winner Kurt Busch, "and it's not just the normal bump and grind."

A lot of the beatin' and bangin' that fans have long loved to see has turned into clean passing -- which is great for the guy in the cockpit, if not for the guy in the grandstand seat. "From a driver's standpoint, Bristol is much more enjoyable now than it's ever been," Johnson said. "You can really race people, try different lines, explore around the track, and explore set-ups. So I like the challenges that Bristol gives us now, but it's because I can control my own destiny. I'm sure the fans paying for the seats have liked the fact that there was so much pushing and shoving and knocking people out of the way in the past, and we just don't have that there anymore."

It's almost as if racing at Bristol has been redefined, and it looks very different from what it used to. Because the action is cleaner -- more racing, and less physical contact -- there are fewer flashpoints for the kind of helmet-throwing madness that brings people to their seats. The place is still a short track, and it still has the capacity to cause mayhem, as it did in the waning laps of this season's spring race when Harvick careened into Tony Stewart. But the fireworks don't go off as often anymore.

"I love it. I think the racing is three times better," Gordon said. "It's just the crashes don't happen as much. So if you love crashes, you're still going to see them at Bristol, but you're not going to see them as often or as much as you used to, because basically when the guys got frustrated with the car in front of them, they just took them out. And that's not racing, in my opinion. That's more bumper cars."

Certainly there's also a learning curve with the new car, and the looming Chase has historically made ultraconservatives out of those who don't want to risk crashing and dropping out of playoff position. Byrd believes the track can offer a happy medium, enough banging and racing to satisfy both sides. But to call Bristol boring? Tame? At that notion, Harvick just rolls his eyes.

"That's almost funny to hear somebody say that, because I don't know that there is a tame race at Bristol," he said. "You know, I think if everybody is running over the top of each other, people are going to complain about that. Now that there's places to pass, people are going to complain about that. ... They did a hell of a job on the racetrack, and I think they should be commended for that, and I think the racing is good and it was really good at the first race this year. Just because you don't have 20 cautions in one race doesn't make it an abnormal Bristol."