Bristol Observations
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Thoughts, observations and some questions following the running of the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway:
After the driver's meeting Sunday morning, I was joking with Tony Stewart about how "polite" Saturday's Busch race was. Laughing, he agreed and said, "That'll all change today."
Boy did it ever. It might have taken until the final 10 laps for things to get heated to the boiling point, but I think it would have disappointed the fans if there wasn't some kind of controversy at the end of the race.
Race winner Kurt Busch likes this track – it was his fifth win here – but the fans here certainly don't like him. He was greeted with a loud chorus of boos when he climbed out of his car in victory lane.
Don't hide your feelings, Kevin.
When Kevin Harvick was interviewed following the race, he said, "I hate to see Kurt Busch win. What a whiner."
Later in the postrace press conference, Harvick admitted he so disliked Busch that he would prefer to "take on" Busch to show it rather than damage a race car in the process.
Emotional was the key word for the weekend. There's just something about Bristol that brings out the best and the worst in people. From the extremely emotional comments by rookie Steven Wallace (Rusty's son) after being hit by Scott Riggs in Saturday's Busch race – he could barely express his feelings – to the postrace near-fight between Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth, there's simply no other place like it.
This entire weekend was without a doubt the coldest I've ever experienced at a race track. I've also discovered that the newest cold-weather fashion in the NASCAR garage is the logoed ski cap. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was wearing one – from Mark Martin to Reed Sorenson.
The most memorable non-racing moments this weekend were when they started playing "White Christmas" over the public address system during a heavy snow shower, and when Reed Sorenson's team built a snowman on pit road during the snow-induced red flag portion of Saturday's Busch race.
Stewart was able to walk through the infield garage area virtually unnoticed on Saturday because of the dark grey ski cap and bright red Bass Pro Shops jacket he was wearing instead of his customary orange Home Depot garb. I bet he wishes he could wear that outfit everywhere he goes.
Denny Hamlin continues to impress. He went a lap down early after making mistakes on pit road but fought back all day and finally finished 14th. Next week, the Cup hits his home track at Martinsville. Could we see his first points win?
Nearly every car had some kind of damage, with few exceptions. One of those unscathed was Busch's car. Busch said afterward, "If you've had a good day here, your car should look like it hasn't raced here."
It was entertaining to watch Harvick charge back through the field during Saturday's Busch race after having to pit while leading the race to change a damaged tire. Still, finishing second for him was a big disappointment. That says a about his personality.
Not that he was at fault for Jimmie Johnson's troubles, but it wasn't a fun weekend for Chad Knaus in his return to the 48 car. Hmm … could it be a bit of karma?
Robby Gordon's language over the radio during the race, which usually is quite colorful, finally got the best of him. His displeasure with how NASCAR handled his missing the commitment line while entering pit lane got him an additional one-lap penalty.
Despite the cold weather (it was in the low 40s all day Sunday) and the on-and-off snow all weekend, Bristol still packed them in. The stands were full – all 12 stories of them – with 160,000 dedicated and loyal NASCAR fans. Hat's off to all of you.
Winner of the Hard Luck of the Race Award goes to Johnson. A cut tire on the first lap pretty much ended the former points leader's day. He had to weave his way through traffic and deal with its accompanying bumps and bangs, but the 48 car seemed to spend more time on pit road than on the race track.
Still, Johnson hung in there and only finished 13 laps down in 30th.
After bumping Martin Truex Jr. late in the race and putting the rookie on the trailer, Stewart was unapologetic.
"We are running for a top-five finish there at the end and he is holding both of us [Stewart and Jeff Gordon] up," Stewart said. "I mean, I got in the back of him, but they said he had a problem with the 24. I don't care if he wants to settle it, but settle it in the bus lot later on."
After the race, Kenseth was more focused on having let his team down by not winning the race than on the fact that he had just inherited the points lead.
Brent Sherman and Hermie Sadler are two really nice guys, but fellas, perhaps you both should have sat this one out.
Two of drag racing's best, husband and wife racers Melanie Troxel and Tommy Johnson Jr., visited the media center before Sunday's race and talked about their success. Troxel is leading the points in the NHRA Top Fuel class and is the world's quickest and fastest woman, while her husband is third in points in the NHRA Funny Car class.
While NASCAR is struggling to put a woman in a visible and winning position, at last weekend's NHRA event in Gainesville, Fla., female drivers (including Troxel) were competing in the final round in three of the four professional classes.
Postscript
It was a tough day for me to be at a race track.
Fortunately, NASCAR's best put on another great, edge-of-your-seat show, full of fender rubbing and high emotion.
It almost made me forget that I lost a friend to racing on Sunday.
