Newman to shine on Bristol banks?

By Andrew Charman

Steep banking all the way round, 160,000 people watching, cautions virtually guaranteed to be in double figures and a race that's not a 500-miler but a 500-lapper. It can only be the amazing half-mile oval of Bristol, Tennessee, a real stadium with grandstands totally enclosing the track. NASCAR makes two visits to this track, and both this weekend's Food City 500 and the Sharpie 500 under the lights in August are guaranteed sell-outs.

Bristol is a very tough race to win - no matter where you start you will within a few laps be in traffic, particularly as each lap of the oval lasts a mere 15 seconds or so and 43 cars soon fill it up. No car leaves this race without panel damage, and many go home with a lot more for the teams to put right.

One man who not only knows all about Bristol's challenges but seems to have mastered them is Kurt Busch, driver of the #97 Sharpie Ford. Busch comes to this weekend's race as defending winner, and in fact he's won three of the last four races at the track. "It's a place where everything happens so quick you have to adjust to it," Busch says. "Everybody races in a fashion there where you're on an edge but you're not on an edge. The guy that can go the fastest at about a 90 percent level is the guy that's gonna end up out front at the end of the day. You have to know what your car is doing at the beginning of a run and at the end of a run and what adjustments to make, but I think the biggest thing is to not get in a hurry."

But if Busch is going to make that record four of five, he's going to have to work hard. Qualifying for this year's Food City 500 saw him only manage 13th, and in the early laps especially you want to be as far up the front as possible. A good qualifying performance is vital at Bristol - only six times in 86 races has a winning driver started outside the top six.

This weekend it's a familiar story up front - Mr pole-man Ryan Newman taking his third top spot of the year in the #12 ALLTEL Dodge. But he did the same last year, without translating qualifying form into race pace - in four starts at Bristol, Newman's best finish is a single sixth place. Fellow front-row starter Jeff Gordon has a rather better record - his #24 Dupont Chevrolet has won five times here, second highest of the currently active drivers.

The man with the best Bristol record is Rusty Wallace, with nine wins. He would dearly love to add to that record this weekend, his #2 Miller Lite car having last been in victory lane some 103 races ago - and in those days it wasn't even a Dodge... "Bristol's always been like a home track to me," said Wallace. "I've always been quick to call it my favourite racetrack. The fact that I won my first race there back in 1986, the fact that we've always had so much success there, the fact that we have such a big following of race fans in the area and having the auto dealerships just down the road from the place - all add up to making it like a homecoming every time we go to Bristol. It has always been a special place for us and always will be. We're just hoping to taste some more success there again this weekend."

Wallace is at the right end of the grid, starting fourth behind Greg Biffle's Jackson Hewitt/National Guard Ford and just ahead of rookie sensation Kasey Kahne in the #9 UAW/Dodge Dealers Dodge.

The lead championship contenders could have it tough this weekend. Points leader Matt Kenseth will start back in 23rd in his #17 DeWalt Ford, and even for him fighting through the pack here will be difficult, especially as he'll have to overcome nearest title challengers Dale Earnhardt Jnr's #8 Budweiser Chevrolet in 18th and 12th-placed Tony Stewart in the #20 Home Depot Chevrolet. A healthy dose of luck combined with slick pitwork will be essential, and Kenseth's Roush Racing squad have proved they can do the latter.

The last word goes to Jamie McMurray, starting sixth in the #42 Texaco Havoline Dodge, who sums up Bristol eloquently. "To me, it's the one track that you really get the sensation of speed," he says. "I don't know if it's the 36-degree banking, or the fact that you're always going through a corner because you're going down the straightaways so fast, but Bristol is the place for me that my body feels the speed factor."

The Bristol battle begins shortly after 1pm Eastern Time on Sunday, 6pm in the UK.