| | |  | | Bristol hasn't been kind to Bobby Labonte, who'd be happy to leave the half-mile track with his points lead intact. |
BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Oh boy, here we go again. Be still my heart, it's short-track time.
Saturday night's 500-lap run under the stars in Thunder Valley -- a.k.a. Bristol Motor Speedway -- is one that fans love and team fabricators hate. And yes, the goracing.com 500 will be a return to the scene of the "crime" -- last year's final-lap mugging of Terry Labonte by Dale Earnhardt.
It was a controversial win, but come on people, that is short-track racing at
its finest. There are no written rules or etiquette, Martha Stewart or Miss
Manners might as well stay home. Bristol is NASCAR's rough-and-tumble roots.
Unfortunately, the roots continue to grow less and less with the big "P" word. Progress. Short track racing, however, is tradition. And with this tradition comes controversy.
Ask Richard Petty or Bobby Allison about beatin' and bangin' on the short tracks. In 1972, they tore up so many fenders that Ford and Chevy probably had to have an ore freighter on the Great Lakes make one extra run from
Wisconsin.
The top three drivers in points haven't been immune to controversy. Dale Jarrett has thrown a helmet or two after being punted by another driver, while Bobby Labonte has been seen kicking his car and throwing his fire proof heel protectors.
The Big E has been hit by a Rusty Wallace water bottle.
I think you get the idea ... tempers flare, excitement builds, the drama meter pegs, and Bristol is always one of the top races each year. It's also one of two remaining races, Talladega down he road being the other, that could change the points picture dramatically as the championship chase enters the final dozen races.
Bristol and Talladega are two completely different race tracks, but both places can produce big gains or losses for drivers embroiled in a tight title fight. Survival, not necessarily winning, is what Labonte, Jarrett and Earnhardt have on their minds in Thunder Valley.
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Champs at Bristol
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Here is how the eventual Winston Cup champion since 1990 fared under the lights at Bristol Motor Speedway.
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1990
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Dale Earnhardt
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8th
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1991
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Dale Earnhardt
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7th
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1992
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Alan Kulwicki
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5th
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1993
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Dale Earnhardt
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3rd
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1994
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Dale Earnhardt
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3rd
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1995
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Jeff Gordon
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6th
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1996
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Terry Labonte
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5th
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1997
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Jeff Gordon
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35th
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1998
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Jeff Gordon
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3rd
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1999
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Dale Jarrett
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38th
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In fact, over the past 12 Bristol night races, the winner didn't go on to win that season's Winston Cup championship. Since Ronald Reagan was elected to the White House back in 1980, the Bristol night race winner has gone on to win the title only four times. The last Winston cup champion to pull off a win under the Bristol lights was Earnhardt in '87. Before him, it was Terry Labonte in '84.
As for a possible fifth driver pulling off the feat in 2000? Well, Labonte is still winless on the short tracks. In fact, Bobby's best finish at Bristol was sixth this past June and in the spring race of '84. As for the laps-led department, Labonte hasn't been much better. He's been out front a total of 10 circuits -- that's a little over five miles in 15 races.
But then again, Labonte has proven to run well at places in 2000 where he's struggled in the past.
Jarrett's road to the 1999 Winston Cup hit a big Bristol speed bump. He spun by himself, then was
accidentally bumped by Jerry Nadeau. After some more problems during the night and some time behind the wall, he finally crossed the line with a frustrating 38th-place finish.
The rough and tumble short tracks fit Earnhardt's style. His first three Bristol starts set the tone for his career on
the world's fastest half-mile. He won his first two races and finished
second in the third. In all, the Man in Black has recorded a stunning 17
top-three Bristol finishes, including nine victories.
So, with the top three drivers in the standings chasing points, how have past champions fared? Does history favor Labonte, Jarrett or Earnhardt?
Well, dating back to 1990, the average night race finish of the driver who became champion is 11.5, while the best finish was Dale Earnhardt's third in 1993 and '94. But outside of Jeff Gordon's 35th in '97 and Jarrett's woes last season, the other eighth champions have survived Bristol with an eighth-place run or better.
While the 2000 title run is quickly becoming a two-horse race, Earnhardt appears to have at least a shot at staying close if the numbers hold up Saturday night. The stats also suggest another drama-filled run under the Bristol Motor
Speedway lights.
One question remains: "Will our leaders find trouble, or survive one of the toughest races all year?"
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Top Bristol Drivers Over Past 10 Races
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Driver
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Wins
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Poles
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T5s
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T10s
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Laps Led
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Avg. Finish
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Points
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1. Mark Martin
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1
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3
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7
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9
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406
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5.0
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1,601
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2. Jeff Gordon
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3
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0
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6
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9
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982
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6.9
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1,560
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3. Terry Labonte
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1
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0
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6
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8
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339
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5.9
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1,541
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4. Dale Jarrett
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1
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0
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7
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8
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387
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8.7
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1,489
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5. Rusty Wallace
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3
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4
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6
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6
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1,443
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9.7
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1,475
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6. Dale Earnhardt
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1
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0
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3
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6
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163
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12.8
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1,341
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18. Bobby Labonte
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0
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0
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0
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3
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10
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22.0
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992
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ALSO SEE
Weber: Bristol at night? Let the sparks fly
Furr: Time to enjoy another night of Bristol banging
Bristol perfect place for Wallace to go back-to-back
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