Sofa Sideline – Bristol Pre-Race, Notes and Quotes
This week brings us to one of the more
favored tracks of we race fans – Bristol Motor Speedway. Word on the street is
that there are over 180,000 fans expected. And, as for the racing, expect the
norm – a lot of short-track "bumping and banging" going on. But,
then that’s half the fun!
After several storms hit the region last
weekend and then again at the beginning of this week, there was some concern on
the part of track officials as a result of substantial flooding in the area. The
latest word is that the waters have subsided and they’re ready to go. There
may be some of us who have a little "fun" parking, but the racing will
no doubt be worth the effort.
Steve Park
— After a disappointing race at Darlington, Park is looking for a decent finish
at Bristol this weekend. In 2000 Steve won the pole for the Food City 500; his
best finish was fifth in the GoRacing.com 500 in August of 2000. Park was
scheduled to test last week, but heavy rains washed out the entire test session.
"I really wish we could have tested
at Bristol," said Park. "Bristol is without a doubt one of the
toughest tracks to drive and it is going to be a real test of stamina and
endurance. I feel like if I can handle Bristol, I can handle anything."
Tony Stewart
– Despite the harrowing accident in last Sunday’s Carolina Dodge Dealers 400
at Darlington, which resulted in an overnight stay for Stewart at the Carolinas
Hospital System in S.C., Tony will be back in action this week at Bristol.
"Physically I feel like I’m in good
shape right now, that I could handle it. It’s my favorite place to race at
anyway. If I’m going to go somewhere a little banged up, I’d rather go to my
favorite place. To me that’s comfortable," said Stewart.
Last August, Stewart picked up his 12th
career win at the night race in Bristol.
Dale Jarrett
— After a tough start with two DNF’s as a result of engine failure so far
this season, Jarrett hopes to get back in the ballgame (or maybe should say
convoy) with a victory at the "Bristol 500 – presented by UPS" this
weekend.
"I’m not disappointed with the way
we’ve run, but I’m disappointed with the way we’ve finished," Jarrett
remarked. "Until we can get back to where we are in the position to win
each and every week, then we can’t worry about the championship. Right now we’re
worrying about getting back to victory lane and when we do that, then the
championship stuff will fall in place."
In 31 starts at BMS, Jarrett has one win,
eight top 5’s and 16 top 10’s.
Sterling Marlin
– The Winston Cup points leader comes to Bristol as the only driver with five
top ten finishes this season.
"It’d be nice to come through
Bristol with another top ten finish and then get a weekend off before going to
Texas," said Marlin. "There’s still plenty of racing left, and it’s
way too early to talk about points. It’s nice to have the lead, but 99 points
doesn’t mean much. Heck, that could be wiped out before the Bristol race is
half over. We’re just going to bide our time, and hopefully we’ll be around
at the end to give ‘em a run for their money," said the 44-year old
Columbia, TN native.
In 34 starts at BMS, Marlin has two top 5’s,
fourteen top 10’s, and his best finish – 2nd place, August ’91.
Other News
–
Hooters of America chairman, Bob Brooks
announced they will sponsor Brett Bodine’s no. 11 for no less than 26 of the
remaining races.
Mark Martin will be starting his 500th
NASCAR Winston Cup race.
Bobby Labonte will be starting his 300th
NASCAR Winston Cup race.
Interesting note to NASCAR’s contract
with NBC & Fox which says they must present 43 cars each weekend. If not,
the networks are not obligated to pay as much for the rights to televise. They
almost fell short last weekend at Darlington, but the late entries of Shawna
Robinson and Andy Hillenburg made the field the required number.
Bristol has a full field without Shawna
Robinson and that’s probably a good thing. Bristol is not the best track for
"learning" and trying to stay out of the way, as its pretty much
impossible to just ride around this track without causing problems.
That’s it for now.