Check out a short list of favorites for Saturday night's Sharpie 500 at Bristol, Tenn.

	Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Looks forward to the night racing excitement at Bristol Motor Speedway where he missed out on a top-10 last year, finishing 14th; had a good run there in the spring Food City 500 in which he led 181 laps in a fourth-place finish; "This week we're gonna do the same, except gain three spots at the finish," he said. "Bristol is hard work for a driver."

Bill Elliott
Since Bristol is not one of his favored tracks, he did some tests at the track recently to get the hang of the short speedway; in 38 appearances at Bristol, he has one win, one pole, six top fives and 13 top-10s; sole win came in Bristol's 55th race in the spring of 1988; most recent top-10 at the track came in 1997 when he finished seventh; in the race in March, he spent the day making up track position after starting 30th; kept car out of trouble and drove patiently, but finished a lap down in 21st; led in 10 races this year, including seven of the past 11; total laps led is 228; wins at Pocono and Indianapolis were his best finishes since November 11 victory at Homestead-Miami last year; has 43 career Winston Cup wins in 27 seasons.

Jeff Gordon
Captured four consecutive Food City 500s at Bristol but never this event in his career; enters this race 150 points behind leader Sterling Marlin; inconsistency in the last eight races has prevented the four-time Winston Cup champion from moving up further in the standings than his current fifth-place position; finished outside the top 10 in six races this year; took a second in Chicago and a sixth at Indianapolis; was third in the Sharpie 500 last year.

	Jarrett

Dale Jarrett
Hopes to use the momentum of his Pepsi 400 victory at Michigan to his advantage at the tough high-banked and short Bristol Speedway; has one victory at Bristol in the 1997 night race in which he led 210 laps; knows winning at Bristol is a tall order: "Racing at Bristol requires patience, luck and a good race car," he said. "There is just so much that goes in to winning at Bristol, but we've done that before and you need all of those things to happen." In 13 starts at Bristol, has six top-fives and 10 top-10s; since joining Robert Yates Racing in 1995, his average finish at the night race is ninth. Jarrett won his fourth race at Michigan last Sunday for his 30th career checkered flag; three of Jarrett's four wins at Michigan; since Memorial Day weekend has scored scored two wins, one pole, six top-fives and seven top-10s in an 11-race stretch; those results pushed him to 10th place in the series standings for the first time in 2002; is 309 points behind leader Sterling Marlin.

Jimmie Johnson
Comes to Bristol as one of the hottest drivers in NASCAR; ranks third in points, just 60 behind leader Sterling Marlin; leads Ryan Newman by two points in the Rookie of the Year standings; won races at California and Dover this year, has two poles, five top-five finishes and 14 top-10s in 23 races; highest finishing rookie 12 times this season; his one start at Bristol Motor Speedway was in March from 33rd, but despite driving a backup car, he finished seventh; has exceeded $2 million in earnings.

Bobby Labonte
Has a stretch of 16 races outside the top 10; finished fifth at the Food City 500 at Bristol on March 24 after starting 32nd; two races later, he won the Virginia 500 and has struggled ever since; showed signs of improvement over the past five races in which he finishes 11th twice and 13th twice; was eighth in last year's Sharpie 500 under the lights.

	Marlin

Sterling Marlin
Maintained the points lead for the 22nd consecutive race, but it's getting more intense at the top; the top six drivers are separated by 168 points; Marlin leads Mark Martin by 43 points and rookie Jimmie Johnson by 60; the sixth-place finish at Michigan after two previous results outside the top 25; won at Las Vegas and Darlington this year and has scored 12 top-10 finishes.

Mark Martin
In 31 starts at Bristol, the veteran driver has an impressive 20 top-10 finishes and 15 top-fives, with two victories to his record; won this race in 1998 but was not in contention last year; missed a top-10 finish in March, placing 11th; tops the series with 15 top-10 finishes in the first 23 races, won the Coca-Cola 600 and has not been lower than fourth in the standings in the last 10 races.

Ricky Rudd
Announced he will drive for the Wood Brothers in 2003 in the No. 21 Ford instead of switching to Dodge with owner Chip Ganassi; victory at Sonoma in June was the 23rd of his career; one of 14 winners on the circuit this year; posted nine top-10 finishes and just missed another with a 12th at Michigan last Sunday; was fourth in the Sharpie 500 last August and third in the Food City 500 in March; 28-year-old veteran made series debut in 1975 and won Rookie of the Year honors two years later; the 45-year-old veteran won 23 races and finished in the top 10 in the points standings 18 times.

	Stewart

Tony Stewart
The defending champion of the Sharpie 500 in which he led twice for 70 laps; comes off a runner-up to Dale Jarrett at Michigan, preceded by victory at the road course of Watkins Glen in New York; fourth in the standings, a meager 84 points behind series leader Sterling Marlin (the closest he has been to the point lead all season); known for his late surges as seven of his 15 career wins have come between August and November; has weathered a roller-coaster season that has seen him go from 43rd after the Daytona 500 to fifth three weeks later at Atlanta, moved back and forth between seventh and fifth efore some strong results in several races put him back in ontention.

Rusty Wallace
One of the best drivers on short tracks; nine-time winner at Bristol Motor Speedway with three flags in this late summer event; in Marc, he was ninth, while finishing fifth in last year's Sharpie 500; in 2000, he won the night race; this may be the perfect race to score his first win of the year; was runner-up in recent races at Daytona and Indianapolis; still involved in the championship race, just 191 points out of first place.