It is the most popular event of the season, and arguably the worst race. The
\nshow is dazzling and packed with spine-tingling action, and yet the racing too
\noften leaves just about everything to be desired.<\/p>\n
Yes, that is what was originally Bristol International Raceway, a short track
\nso packed with steroids as to be almost unrecognizable. For old schoolers like
\nmyself, one can’t find where the racing at Bristol today is any better than what
\nit was when the track was asphalt. If you’ve ever seen races there when it was
\nasphalt, you saw races where the actual racing was substantially better than
\nwhat it is today. There is passing at Bristol today, but less of it than on the
\nasphalt surface – certainly modern Bristol races don’t compare to events like
\nthe 1989-91 Southeastern 500s, races where the lead changed hands far more
\nfrequently on the racetrack than today and the cars raced side by side and could
\nstay that way longer than today.<\/p>\n
Of course Bristol has always been about crashes galore, and even before Grand
\nNational qualifying we found that this weekend won’t be any different. One can
\nexpect half the field in both the Grand National 250 and the Volunteer 500 to
\ncrash out or just crash. When run at night the crashes add more sparks, always a
\nspectacular sight.<\/p>\n
Track position will be the key – but then it is everywhere except the
\nrestrictor plate tracks, isn’t it? The change to using the two pit roads as one
\nhelps the old problem of cars at a disadvantage on the backstretch, but the
\ncontinued use of single-file leader restarts needlessly packs too many cars on
\nthe brink of getting lapped, especially with clean air as important as it is.<\/p>\n
But to start the Bristol weekend, someone in Speedway Motorsports, the owners
\nof the track, had better lose his butt.<\/p>\n
The crossover gate in Turn Two is usually bracketed with posts, securing it
\nwhen cars are on the track. But in pre-qualifying practice the posts in the gate
\nwere not installed – for want of a less simplistic analogy, the gate was
\nunlocked – and when Mike Harmon blew his right front, he hit the gate, it tore
\nopen, he smashed the now-exposed abutment of the main wall, and his car, while
\ntwisting backwards from the impact point, was shredded, then hit by Johnny
\nSauter – and Harmon himself was within a few feet of getting smashed bodily by
\nSauter’s Chevrolet.<\/p>\n
It is reminiscent of Mikey Waltrip’s melee in that same gate in 1990 – except
\nthere the gate WAS properly secured – it was a guardrail gate at the time and
\ntore open when Mikey was brushed by Robert Pressley, smashed into the gate, and
\ntore it open enough for his Pontiac to punch the concrete abutment.<\/p>\n
There is still whining about New Hampshire – Bob Bahre recently commented on Someone at Speedway Motorsports had better lose his butt for this.<\/p>\n Harmon’s crash brings back memories of spectacular melees in years past. Just how bad is the safety overkill hype?<\/p>\n
\nthat1<\/sup><\/a>
\n– but even NHIS’ most virulent critics can’t find anything there or much
\nanywhere else to compare with the sheer stupidity of leaving a crossover gate on
\nthe racetrack unsecured. That Harmon got only bruises is miraculous.<\/p>\n
\n
\nThere was Mikey’s 1990 melee at that same crossover gate, but a year later there
\nwas Sterling Marlin’s fiery hit in Turn One. Also striking that gate in years
\npast has been Bill Elliott, who almost got on his roof there in 1995. David
\nGreen did get on his roof in a 12-car melee on the front stretch in 1997.<\/p>\n
\n