If ever NASCAR needed a classic Bristol night race, this is the night.
Once upon a time, the Bristol night race was the stuff of legends; 160,000 close personal friends howling as one at the results of forty-three cars all attempting to dive onto a bottom groove designed to comfortably hold forty-three Hot Wheels. Add to the mix more banking than a Wall Street cocktail party and you had the situation for maximum stock car racing stuffed to the gills with shredded sheet metal and equally shredded tempers. This was the track where Dale Earnhardt was booed for (ahem) “rattling” Terry Labonte’s cage. It was NASCAR heaven on a hot August night.
Lately, the race has been quite the disappointment. Some blame this on the parabolic racing surface installed a couple years ago in an attempt to create a second outside groove, this being done under the assumption people would like to see more passing and side by side racing and stuff. Actually, it’s the CORN can and its patented preclusion of passing and side by side racing and stuff. I mean, who wants to see that? /sarcasm off
Mark Martin is on the pole for tonight’s festivities, doubtless hoping to parlay this into reinforcement of his currently shaky place in the Chase. Other lower rung Chasers are hoping to simply survive the night without having to start practicing their wait’ll next year speeches during the upcoming off weekend.
Enjoy the race, everyone.
