NOTEBOOK

Bristol attendance off heydayBristol saw a stunning number of empty

seats this past weekend, at a track that onceroutinely sold out. The official attendance esti-mate was 120,000 for an arena that seats near-ly 160,000. Others estimates were even lower.

Race winner Kyle Busch was among thosewho noticed. “[W]e didn’t see a very packedhouse today,” Busch said. “I hate that.”

He allowed that some fans might not like thetrack as much since the banking was changedin 2007, opening up multiple grooves. Before,the best way to pass was to knock a driver outof the way.

“We don’t have that any more,” Busch said.“It made for some interesting moments withguys that would beat-and-bang a little bit more,rough each other up a little bit more maybe.But with the new Bristol, it’s really cool for allthe drivers because we have a race track thatwe can race on. We don’t have to get into eachother to pass each other … so I guess there’sless drama, per se.”

Busch: Track ‘chewing up’tires Officials from Goodyear reacted rather quickly

to excessive right-side tire wear during Friday’spractice sessions at Bristol Motor Speedway andsent for a different compound tire to be used onSaturday and Sunday.

After several practice sessions for the SprintCup and Nationwide drivers, there was little evi-dence of rubber working into the track, andthere were several tires showing cords on theright-rear tire.

Kurt Busch said he’s not an expert, but he didobserve that there appeared to be no rubberbuilding up on the track. It’s that rubber buildupthat keeps tires from wearing out prematurely.

The tires seemed to shred off a dry, fiber-likematerial. It appeared to be the same scenariothat occurred in previous races at Atlanta MotorSpeedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedwayseveral years ago.

“I think that [the race track] is just chewingup the tires,” Busch said. “The tires are justturning to powder. They’re powdering instead oflaying rubber into the race track.

“That’s what I saw at Indy [several years ago],and I’m seeing it here again.”

The replacement tires seemed to solve the prob-lem, as no issues were reported in Sunday’s race.

“Overall I think Goodyear and NASCAR did agood job finding a solution to the problem,” saidKyle Busch, who won both races on the new tire.“We didn’t see any issues, so I see it as a deadsubject.”

Bayne seeks All-Star sponsorTrevor Bayne, arguably the sport’s newest

all-star, so far is without a ride for the All-Starrace at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.Team co-owner Eddie Wood said last week thatthe team has expanded its partial scheduleafter the surprise Daytona 500 victory thatguaranteed them a starting spot in the All-Starrace, but there’s no sponsorship money yet forthe non-points all-star race.

Wood said he’s trying to make sure his teamstays in the top 35 in car owner points, andthereby assured of starting positions, so it’s bet-ter to spend their limited resources on points-paying races. But he also said that if a sponsorfor the All-Star race comes along, he’s ready toenter Bayne.

The Woods have been at every All-Star racesince the inaugural event, although they’veonly run the preliminary race on several occa-sions. They won the main event in 1996,becoming the first team to win after getting inthe main event through the preliminary race.

Oftentimes, when Kyle Busch walksthrough the NASCAR garage, if he’s notthe youngest person there, he looks as if

he is. At age 25, he’s among the youngest driv-ers in the sport.

That makes it hard for some to grasp theidea that he’ll go down in history as one of thesport’s all-time great drivers.

At Bristol Motor Speedway, for the secondstraight NASCAR event, he swept the week-end, winning both the Jeff Byrd 500 SprintCup race and the Scotts EZ Seed 300Nationwide Series race.

On Sunday he used various strategies todefeat Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson in athree-way battle at the end of the 500-lap run.

“We played it patient a little bit,” Busch said.“We played some aggressiveness sometimes. Itwas all worked together into a victory.”

On Saturday, in the Scotts EZ Seed 300, heled 268 of 300 laps en route to his 45thcareer Nationwide Series victory, whichleaves him just four shy of the all-time markheld by Mark Martin. And he became thefirst driver ever to lead 10,000 laps inNationwide Series competition.

Busch has proven to be plenty capable ofwinning in any kind of car or truck. He has20 Sprint Cup victories and 23 in theCamping World Truck Series, giving him atotal of 90 in NASCAR’s elite divisions. Alltold, he’s led 19,510 laps (5,861 in Cup,10,035 in Nationwide and 3,614 in theCamping World Series).

His talent is evident any time he gets in arace car, but it’s in the Nationwide Serieswhere he’s had the most success.

No matter whether it’s the old-style car orthe circuit’s Car of Tomorrow, Busch’s drivingstyle seems made to order for NASCAR’s No.2 circuit.

That was evident from the start. In hisNationwide debut, back in 2003 in theCarquest Auto Parts 300 at Charlotte, he quali-fied fifth and led 33 laps late in the race beforebeing passed by eventual winner MattKenseth. Still, he finished second and backed

that up by another runner-up run two raceslater at Darlington, arguably the toughesttrack on the NASCAR circuit.

Even at his relatively young age, Buschseems to have a deep appreciation for the driv-ers who came before him in the circuit onceknown as the Busch Series, as he pointed outwhen asked about becoming the first driver tolead 10,000 laps.

“It’s big anytime you’re able to break anykind of series record with the likes of Sam Ardand all the guys that made this series what itis,” Busch said. “Kevin Harvick in his heydaywhen he was really good, just a couple yearsago. Of course, Mark Martin in his time and allthe guys, [Larry] Pearson and [Tommy]Houston and all those boys.

“It’s cool, and I enjoy it. There’s still plentymore time hopefully to make some more.”

Busch’s quest to become the circuit’s all-time winner was made a little more difficulttwo weeks ago when Mark Martin extendedhis record to 49 victories with his win at LasVegas. It’s a contest Busch described asmore like a friendly rivalry than a seriouscompetition.

“Mark got one away from me, well I caughtback up one,” Busch said. “There’s still a fewmore before I get there, but I’m sure he’swatching, and we’re hunting him down.”

Busch said he and Martin have communicat-ed recently on the subject.

“I talked to him before the race in Vegas, andI sent him a text after the race congratulatinghim on his win and said thanks for making itone more,” Busch said. “He said, ‘Time is evi-dent.’ It’s on my side, not his side.”

Distributed by Universal Uclick for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. (800) 255-6734. *For release the week of March 21, 2011.

NUMERICALLY

SPEAKINGLaps led byJimmie Johnson in

the last 12 Sprint Cup racesat Auto Club Spdwy, topsamong drivers

Green-flagpasses by Jeff

Burton in the last 12 Cupraces at Auto Club Spdwy,the most of any driver

Points positions lost byDenny Hamlin (to 17th),

the most of any driver in theJeff Byrd 500 at Bristol

Points separating SprintCup points leader Kurt

Busch and second-placeCarl Edwards

1,054

746

1

9

By RICK MINTER / The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionBy RICK MINTER / The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Kyle Busch, driver of the No.18 Toyota, leads the field during Saturday’s Nationwide Series Scotts EZ Seed 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. (NASCAR photo)

NEXTUP...

Race: Royal Purple 300 Where: Auto Club Speedway When: Saturday, 5:30 p.m. (ET)TV: ESPN2010 winner: Kyle Busch

SPRINT CUP CAMPING WORLD TRUCKSNATIONWIDE SERIESRace: Kroger 250 Where: Martinsville Speedway When: April 2, 2 p.m. (ET)TV: SPEED2010 winner: Kevin Harvick

Race: Auto Club 400 Where: Auto Club Speedway When: Sunday, 3 p.m. (ET)TV: FOX2010 winner: Jimmie Johnson (right)

With several potential Chasecontenders outside the top 20 inthe points standings as a result ofpoor finishes in the early races ofthe season, there’s been consider-able debate over the new pointssystem that awards one point perposition with the race winnerearning 43 points, plus bonuses,and the last-place driver gettingone point.

The new system magnifies baddays compared to the old system.In the new system, the last-placedrivers gets two percent of thepoints earned by the race winnerif the race winner leads the mostlaps. Under the old system, thewinner who led the most laps got195 points while the last-place fin-isher got 34, or 17.4 percent of thewinner’s take.

After four races, Greg Biffle,Clint Bowyer, Jamie McMurray,Jeff Burton, Joey Logano andBrian Vickers all are 23rd or lowerin the standings.

Although most drivers say thenew system won’t affect the wayteams approach racing, DennyHamlin said it will reward thosewho notch consistently good fin-ishes, with no bad runs.

“I think in the long run, consis-tency is what’s going to pay morethan ever for this points system,”

he said. “It’s a little different forsure. It pays to be consistent,which we feel like we’re a prettyconsistent race team throughoutthe year …

“It does make you a little scaredof those bottom finishes …

“Say you go into a weekend

with 400 points and you’ve justspent three days at a race trackand you come out three pointsbetter than what you started. Youmight as well have just stayedhome. It’s a hard hit when youdon’t get but a few points, espe-cially single digits.”

Hamlin: ‘Consistency’ key under new system

Busch repeats twin-win weekend in Cup, Nationwide races

SPRINT CUP POINTS

1. Kurt Busch 150 ; Leader

2. Carl Edwards 149; behind -1

3. Tony Stewart 138; behind -12

4. Ryan Newman 138; behind -12

5. Paul Menard 136; behind -14

6. Kyle Busch 133; behind -17

7. Jimmie Johnson 130; behind -20

8. Juan Montoya 126; behind -24

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 124; behind -26

10. Martin Truex Jr. 123; behind -27

11. Mark Martin 123; behind -27

12. Kasey Kahne 122; behind -28

Greg Biffle, No. 16; Jeff Burton, No. 31 and Clint Bowyer, No. 33 (pictured during February’sGatorade Duel at Daytona) have not fared well under the new points system. (NASCAR photo)

Kyle Busch celebrates in Victory Lane on Sunday afterwinning the Sprint Cup Series Jeff Byrd 500 at BristolMotor Speedway. (NASCAR photo)

DoubledownDoubledown