Bristol no longer just about bump and grind, crashes

The place has a bit of a reputation. One hundred and sixty thousand spectators don't come to Bristol Motor Speedway twice each season because of the scenic East Tennessee mountains. They come because this is the place where Dale Earnhardt rattled Terry Labonte's cage. They come because this is the place where Kevin Harvick tried to strangle Greg Biffle. They come because this is the place where Ward Burton threw his foot heat shields at Dale Earnhardt Jr., where Elliott Sadler punched an ambulance, where Jimmie Johnson flipped off Robby Gordon -- all in one night.

They come because this half-mile concrete bowl is infamous for producing more fireworks than Daytona on the Fourth of July, its tight quarters creating tight racing that can fray nerves to the point where even mild-mannered Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth are going after one another. Bristol generates a product that's half sport, half theatre, and unlike anything else in NASCAR, if not the world.

'Rattle his cage'

Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte had two classic battles at Bristol and Mark Aumann looks back at both fondly.

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So why does everyone seem so unhappy with the place? Judging from reviews of the most recent Sprint Cup events at Bristol, you'd think they'd have knocked down the 36-degree banking, lengthened the straightaways, and turned this revered little place into Fontana east. But the arrival of a new, tighter-handling racecar, combined with the spring 2007 resurfacing of the concrete racetrack , along with the proximity of the Chase playoff to the track's beloved night race, have some clamoring that the place just isn't the same anymore.

"The Cup race left a lot to be desired," one anonymous fan wrote in an online forum after last season's Sharpie 500. "This night race at Bristol has always been my favorite, but I was very bored during the race. That was a first."

Jeff Byrd has heard it all, from fans who are worried, angry, or anxious, the cries from those who think Bristol has somehow lost some of that intangible quality that makes it Bristol. The track's president and general manager, Byrd believes Bristol has become kind of a victim of its own success. There have been so many memorable moments over the course of the track's history -- like Gordon bumping Rusty Wallace to win in 2002 -- that spectators have come to expect them every time.

"I will remind you that one of the most historic races -- of many -- was the 1999 night race where Earnhardt rattled Labonte's cage on the last lap, and that had the exact same amount of cautions as last year's Sharpie 500," said Byrd, whose track hosts the Sprint Cup tour Saturday night. "I was talking to some other folks in the sport on the radio this morning, and people come to expect so much out of a race at Bristol that sometimes we just can't live up to those expectations. And if we can't live up to the three-wide, one-upside-down, helmet-throwing finish, they feel like they've gotten cheated. But I thought the racing was pretty good, and I know they want to see some beating and banging, but ... the more [race teams] learn, the better the race is going to get."

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."