Bristol no longer just about bump and grind, crashes

The place has a bit of a reputation. One hundred and sixty thousand spectators don't come to Bristol Motor Speedway twice each season because of the scenic East Tennessee mountains. They come because this is the place where Dale Earnhardt rattled Terry Labonte's cage. They come because this is the place where Kevin Harvick tried to strangle Greg Biffle. They come because this is the place where Ward Burton threw his foot heat shields at Dale Earnhardt Jr., where Elliott Sadler punched an ambulance, where Jimmie Johnson flipped off Robby Gordon -- all in one night.

They come because this half-mile concrete bowl is infamous for producing more fireworks than Daytona on the Fourth of July, its tight quarters creating tight racing that can fray nerves to the point where even mild-mannered Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth are going after one another. Bristol generates a product that's half sport, half theatre, and unlike anything else in NASCAR, if not the world.

'Rattle his cage'

Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte had two classic battles at Bristol and Mark Aumann looks back at both fondly.

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So why does everyone seem so unhappy with the place? Judging from reviews of the most recent Sprint Cup events at Bristol, you'd think they'd have knocked down the 36-degree banking, lengthened the straightaways, and turned this revered little place into Fontana east. But the arrival of a new, tighter-handling racecar, combined with the spring 2007 resurfacing of the concrete racetrack , along with the proximity of the Chase playoff to the track's beloved night race, have some clamoring that the place just isn't the same anymore.

"The Cup race left a lot to be desired," one anonymous fan wrote in an online forum after last season's Sharpie 500. "This night race at Bristol has always been my favorite, but I was very bored during the race. That was a first."

Jeff Byrd has heard it all, from fans who are worried, angry, or anxious, the cries from those who think Bristol has somehow lost some of that intangible quality that makes it Bristol. The track's president and general manager, Byrd believes Bristol has become kind of a victim of its own success. There have been so many memorable moments over the course of the track's history -- like Gordon bumping Rusty Wallace to win in 2002 -- that spectators have come to expect them every time.

"I will remind you that one of the most historic races -- of many -- was the 1999 night race where Earnhardt rattled Labonte's cage on the last lap, and that had the exact same amount of cautions as last year's Sharpie 500," said Byrd, whose track hosts the Sprint Cup tour Saturday night. "I was talking to some other folks in the sport on the radio this morning, and people come to expect so much out of a race at Bristol that sometimes we just can't live up to those expectations. And if we can't live up to the three-wide, one-upside-down, helmet-throwing finish, they feel like they've gotten cheated. But I thought the racing was pretty good, and I know they want to see some beating and banging, but ... the more [race teams] learn, the better the race is going to get." (Continued)