08.22.2008 5:40 pm
Bristol: Back in the driver’s seat
Saint Louis Post-Dispatch
Ol’ Left Turns is glad to see Kenny Schrader back behind the wheel this week in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol.
Schrader, a St. Louisan, will be behind the wheel of Hall of Fame Racing’s 96 car, bringing a history of experience and good runs to the Bristol race.
Bristol remind me of old-time hockey, lots of dumping and chasing, bumping and grinding, maybe a hip-check or two, tho perhaps the recent resurfacing project at the track eliminated some of the pushing and shoving by creating two driveable lanes whereas there used to be only one.
–30–
In my opinion the execs at NASCAR are slowly killing what makes NASCAR racing great. And Bristol provides a great example.
This comes from a guy that liked the bump and grind racing where after every race, some driver was fuming mad at some other driver.
Today on http://www.nascar.com, they have a story about how the resurfacing of the track after the Spring race in 2007 has improved the racing at the track. They make sure to end the story with letting everybody know that drivers love it. But in true NASCAR fashion the real story is in what they don’t tell you.
They didn’t just resurface the track. They also made it WIDER. Funny how their propaganda piece fails to mention that. Three extra feet of track might not seem like much, but I think it is, especially at a tight track like Bristol. I think this is a big contributing factor why the Bristol race is no longer a bump and grind affair.
Also, as I understand it, the bank/grade of the slope was also modified.
Thanks to NASCAR, you probably won’t ever again see Ward Burton throw his heel guards at Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Labonte throw his helmet at his car, see Jimmy Spencer stalk Kurt Busch after the race is over, much less see Greg Biffle duck while doing an interview after the Busch because Kevin Harvick is flying at him over the roof.
And forget about seeing Terry Labonte win a race going sideways across the finish line because Dale Sr. hit him. Or seeing Dale Sr. spin Labonte again, except this time he only meant to “rattle his cage.”
Besides screwing up the track, NASCAR would not allow such antics from its drivers now.
Since the repaving, its’ a love fest between drivers after the race.
Personally, I will always honor Aug 25, 2007 as the day NASCAR killed the golden goose when my boy Carl Edwards won the first big snoozefest Cup race on the new surface. If that wasn’t enough NASCAR then made it a fait accompli with the “Car of Tomorrow.” In my opinion IROC racing is alive and well.
Oh how I long for the days of Bristol when Brett Bodine would drive his car like he was driving a dump truck, plowing over and through anybody near his front bumper. (But come to think of it, Brett drove that way everywhere.)
Here are some links that might be of interest to fans want to debate the old/new Bristol race. I think the end of Dave Newton’s article pretty much sums up my feelings about Bristol.
http://concreteworksonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2%3Abristol&Itemid=16
http://www.cenews.com/article.asp?id=2976
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3543317&type=Columnist&imagesPrint=off