Plenty to keep an eye on as Cup Series heads to Bristol

When Carl Edwards took revenge on Brad Keselowski near the end of last Sunday's Sprint Cup race in Atlanta, it did more than just wreck Keselowski's No. 12 Dodge -- dramatically.

It gave pundits and fans of the sport a lot to talk about during the first open week in the schedule.

• Photo Essay: Retaliation and Retrospect from Atlanta
• Track Smack: Final thoughts on Edwards vs. Keselowski

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With the Cup Series heading to Bristol, the first short track on the calendar, here's a behind-the-scenes look at what to expect there next weekend.

1. NASCAR may have quashed the feud between Edwards and Keselowski, but that doesn't mean there's not bad blood elsewhere in the garage. Though Denny Hamlin turned Keselowski in the 2009 Nationwide Series season finale at Homestead -- and ostensibly settled the score from a week earlier in Phoenix -- it's clear that Hamlin still bears animosity toward his rival.

Hamlin wrote on his Twitter account that he was dining out on Thursday night and, by coincidence, was seated two tables away from Keselowski, whom he referred to as "Brad Crashalotski." Keselowski apparently sent a bottle of wine to Hamlin's table, causing Hamlin to relent.

"OK, OK ... I'll take it back," Hamlin wrote. "He just bought us a bottle of wine."

For his part, Keselowski said the gesture won't affect the way he races Hamlin. "Saw Denny at dinner last night," Keselowski wrote on his Twitter account Friday morning. "Sent over a bottle of wine. Don't be confused. Still going to race him hard."

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2. If there's a revenge play at Bristol, don't expect NASCAR to show the same degree of leniency toward the next offender that they showed to Edwards. As important as what Edwards did at Atlanta was who the protagonists were. Rightly or wrong, the general sentiment in the Cup garage was that Keselowski had it coming, based primarily on the aggression he showed last year. In letting Edwards take on the vigilante role for the entire garage, NASCAR, as much as anything else, was sending a pointed message to Keselowski.

Here's a guarantee, though. The next deliberate retaliatory act on the track -- particularly if it's taken against a veteran who already has earned respect -- won't be greeted with a three-race probation.

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3. The extended SAFER barriers will affect the racing at Bristol. Forget that Tony Stewart made light of the issue. In extending the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction Barriers an additional 84 feet beyond Turns 2 and 4, Bristol Motor Speedway has narrowed its racing surface by nearly 3 feet in those areas, and drivers will face a more difficult challenge on corner exits.

"Like I said, they paint them so you can see them, so that will help us," Stewart joked. "The good thing about us as drivers -- after all these years of doing this -- it doesn't matter where they put it, we have to stay a fraction of an inch off of it and use every bit up to it. I'm sure it's going to make a difference -- there is no doubt about it. I mean, we all use every bit of room we can get there anyway. It will make the exits of the corners a little tighter, but I think the racing will still be good there because of it."

• Extension of SAFER barrier will narrow Bristol in turns

4. Look out for Kyle Busch. The driver of the No. 18 Toyota is as adept at Bristol in NASCAR's new car as brother Kurt was in the old one. Kyle won the first new-car race there in 2007 and has won the past two events at Thunder Valley. Though he and new crew chief Dave Rogers haven't found the key to the plate and intermediate tracks yet, the odds are that Kyle and Rogers will follow Kurt and new chief crew Steve Addington (who won at Atlanta) to Victory Lane.

• Caraviello: Can Busch mature and remain true to himself?