***NASCAR Bristol Food City 500 Sun. 3/23 on FoX at 930/1230 PT/ET***

Bristol Motor Speedway

FOX Sun. 12:30 p.m. ET

Bristol, the shortest track on the Winston Cup circuit, also has the highest banking, making for an appealing combination for driver and spectator alike. Added to the schedule in 1961 and resurfaced from asphalt to concrete in 1992, Bristol's attendance has increased from 18,000 to well over 150,000.

Track Facts
Banking/Turns: 36 degrees
Distance: 0.533 miles
Shape: Oval

Fox 12:30 PM ET / 9:30 AM PT

* All times are EST

Preview | Qualifying Speed | News | Results

Starting Grid
Order	Driver (No.)	Car	Qualifying Speed
1	Ryan Newman (12)	Dodge	128.709 mph
2	Jeff Gordon (24)	Chevrolet	127.343 mph
3	Ken Schrader (49)	Dodge	127.123 mph
4	Rusty Wallace (2)	Dodge	127.022 mph
5	Bill Elliott (9)	Dodge	127.006 mph
6	Mike Skinner (4)	Pontiac	126.779 mph
7	Jimmy Spencer (7)	Dodge	126.587 mph
8	Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (8)	Chevrolet	126.570 mph
9	Kurt Busch (97)	Ford	126.562 mph
10	Tony Stewart (20)	Chevrolet	126.445 mph
11	Ward Burton (22)	Dodge	126.395 mph
12	Bobby Labonte (18)	Chevrolet	126.337 mph
13	Jerry Nadeau (01)	Pontiac	126.237 mph
14	Ricky Craven (32)	Pontiac	126.021 mph
15	Greg Biffle (16)	Ford	126.005 mph
16	Sterling Marlin (40)	Dodge	125.955 mph
17	Terry Labonte (5)	Chevrolet	125.930 mph
18	Jeremy Mayfield (19)	Dodge	125.906 mph
19	Mark Martin (6)	Ford	125.815 mph
20	Johnny Benson (10)	Pontiac	125.790 mph
21	Jeff Green (30)	Chevrolet	125.790 mph
22	Tony Raines (74)	Chevrolet	125.741 mph
23	Jimmie Johnson (48)	Chevrolet	125.724 mph
24	Derrike Cope (37)	Chevrolet	125.699 mph
25	Joe Nemechek (25)	Chevrolet	125.658 mph
26	Jamie McMurray (42)	Dodge	125.551 mph
27	Kevin Harvick (29)	Chevrolet	125.502 mph
28	Michael Waltrip (15)	Chevrolet	125.436 mph
29	Jeff Burton (99)	Ford	125.387 mph
30	Elliott Sadler (38)	Ford	125.379 mph
31	Dave Blaney (77)	Ford	125.297 mph
32	Kyle Petty (45)	Dodge	125.273 mph
33	Brett Bodine (11)	Ford	125.273 mph
34	Ricky Rudd (21)	Ford	125.077 mph
35	Steve Park (1)	Chevrolet	125.020 mph
36	Robby Gordon (31)	Chevrolet	124.971 mph
37*	Matt Kenseth (17)	Ford	124.218 mph
38*	Dale Jarrett (88)	Ford	124.315 mph
39*	Casey Mears (41)	Dodge	124.452 mph
40*	Kenny Wallace (23)	Dodge	124.735 mph
41*	Todd Bodine (154)	Ford	123.682 mph
42*	Jack Sprague (0)	Pontiac	123.000 mph
43*	John Andretti (43)	Dodge	124.210 mph
* Denotes Provisional entry

Did Not Qualify
	Driver (No.)	Car	Qualifying Speed
	Larry Foyt (14)	Dodge	123.016 mph
	Hermie Sadler (02)	Pontiac	123.946 mph

Preview | Qualifying Speed | News | Results

Race Capsule
What:	Race 6 of 36 on Winston Cup circuit
Where:	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, TN
When:	March 23, 2003
Laps:	500
Track Length:	0.533 miles
Race Length:	267.00 miles
Purse:	$4,649,329

Drivers to Watch
Dale Earnhardt Jr.	The sixth-place finish at Darlington improved his position in the standings six spots to fourth place; gained a lot of ground in the last three races, from 38th to his current position; had just one finish better than 21st in his first four starts at Bristol; earned bonus points for leading the most laps (181) in a fourth-place finish in the Food City 500 and followed with a third-place performance in the August race when he qualified second. "We were awesome at Bristol last year," he said. "We had top-five finishes and led for a big chunk of both races. This is a great track, but it's one of those places where you can't let up for a second."
Dave Blaney	Finished a career-best third at Darlington which vaulted him from 15th to seventh in the points standings; this is the first time in his career he is in the top 10; posted three top-10 finishes in the first five races; in six starts at Bristol, he is yet to record a finish among the top 15; last season, he finished a personal-best 17th in this race and 33rd in the Sharpie 500 in August.
Elliott Sadler	The seventh-place finish at Darlington was his third top-10 result of the year; in the last two races, he has climbed from 27th to 10th; his jump of nine positions this week was second only to Ricky Craven, who improved 11 spots; struggled in both races at this track last year, unable to finish either race; was 41st in the Food City 500 and 42nd in the Sharpie 500; however, he finished among the top 11 in his three previous starts to 2002, including his first career NASCAR Winston Cup victory in this event in 2001.
Jeff Gordon	Winner of this race four consecutive times between 1995-98; started from the pole last year, but finished 20 laps down in 31st; won the Sharpie 500 last August from the pole to end his longest winless skid of 31 races.
Jimmie Johnson	Dropped four positions to eighth place in the standings after the 27th-place finish at Darlington; slipped for the second straight week after being third for the first three weeks; remained in the top 10 for the 38th consecutive week; in his first two career starts at Bristol last year he had mixed results; finished seventh in the Food City 500 and was 34th in the second race in August.
Kurt Busch	Finished second to Ricky Craven at Darlington by mere inches in a photo finish after a side-by-side battle on the final lap; returned among the top 10 in the points, from 14th to sixth; the result at Darlington gives him three top-five finishes this season, which ties him with Matt Kenseth and Michael Waltrip; captured his first career NASCAR Winston Cup victory in the Food City 500 last year, and followed that with a sixth-place effort in the Sharpie 500 in August.
Matt Kenseth	An eighth-place finish in the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway kept him in first place in the series points standings for the second straight week; last week's reign was the first time in his Winston Cup career he led the championship; in the top 10 for the fourth consecutive week after starting the season ranked 19th in the points; has four top-10 efforts, tied with NASCAR champion Tony Stewart for the series lead; at this stage last season, Kenseth was third in points; owns two top-10 finishes in six career starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, both of which came last year when he finished sixth in the Food City 500 and fifth in the August event.
Michael Waltrip	Owns one win, three top fives (5th at Darlington) and three top 10s in five starts this year; tied for the series lead with Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch; ranked third for the second consecutive week and is one of three drivers to be among the top 10 all five weeks this season; record at Bristol includes seven top-10 finishes in 34 starts, but has placed outside the first 10 in this race since 1998; was 30th last season.
Ricky Craven	In a battle with Kurt Busch on the final lap, they gave NASCAR fans an exciting finish and the closest since NASCAR initiated electronic scoring for Winston Cup races in 1993 (.002 of a second); the drivers battled side-by-side, bouncing off each other at the start-finish line, with Craven barely taking the checkered flag; Craven started 31st, with Busch last; Craven has two top-five finishes this season, well on pace to better his 2002 record of three top-five finishes and nine top-10s; his previous victory was in 2001 at Martinsville; moved to fifth place in the series points standings, just 17 points behind fourth-place Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Rusty Wallace	The master of short tracks; leads all active drivers with nine victories at Bristol Motor Speedway; is the most recent driver to win both races at the track in the same year (2000); also had good efforts last season by placing ninth in this race and runner-up in the Sharpie 500.
Tony Stewart	Finished 10th at Darlington for his fourth top-10 performance this season, tying him for the series lead with Matt Kenseth; maintained second place in the points for the second consecutive week and is one of three drivers to be in the top 10 through the first five races; in eight career starts at Bristol, he has three top-five finishes, including a win in August 2001; last season, he finished 15th in the Food City 500 and 24th in the second event; his success at Bristol has traditionally come in the August race, having never finished better than 15th in four starts in the spring race.

I love this track, although the night race here later in the year is even more fun.

Condolences to all the families who have lost family members in the War on Terrorism.

Maedhros (I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element.)

I think you meant devisive

Boogity boogity boogity

The weather looks like mostly cloudy, no rain, temps low 60s.

If you want on or off my NASCAR Ping list, let me know.

That too.

Go Little E!!!

Will be Massive displays of Patriotism by the Crowd, Great counter to the lib oscars

OH MAN!!!!

YOU DA MAN, DALE!!!!!!!!!

I think he doesn't mind being in the back of the pack, but I doubt he is happy with using a provisional.

Not that it will matter!

Do you have the Nascar In Car Camera on your local cable?

LVM

Nossir. But this is big Nascar territory, and I think I will request it.

It is awesome!!! DJ has been on every week so far. As I understand it, people vote for who they want on. Wonder Boy (my son's fav) has not been on once this year.

Must be nice to be in Nascar country! We get three races here in LV - Winston Cup / Busch first week of March and the Truck series race in late Sept.

LVM

Any body know what happened to Harvick? As a rookie he was on fire. These last two he is an also ran.

Harvick has stunk it up pretty bad so far, not sure why.. him and stewart went thru their terrible 2's together or have they?

Does waltrip like to dent fenders?

I hope Gordon Jeff has a good race. He used to own this track,.

Ya gotta watch out for ol' Rusty too

Any body know what happened to Harvick?

Ya he won the Bush race today, but I like him anyway!

scuse please Bush = Busch

An assault convoy of trucks and amored vehicles of the101st Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team prepare to cross into Iraq Friday, March 21, 2003. (AP Photo/Robert Woodward, US Army)

Sat Mar 22,12:00 AM ET

An assault convoy of trucks and amored vehicles of the101st Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team prepare to cross into Iraq (news - web sites) Friday, March 21, 2003. (AP Photo/Robert Woodward, US Army)

Forces massed before the start of the 500 KM Kuwait to Baghdad Race ... Lots of motorheads in those crews in the sand and at sea..

Tennessee folks today supporting our troops!

Army veteran Rick Hollyfield, center, gives the thumbs up to motorists as he takes part in a rally for U.S. troops along Wilma Rudolph (news - web sites) Boulevard in Clarksville, Tenn., Saturday, March 22, 2003. Hollyfield spent time in Bosnia as a member of the 101st Airborne and is now supporting the war effort in Iraq (news - web sites). About 500 war supporters gathered along the highway to show their support of President Bush (news - web sites) and the war effort to liberate Iraq. (AP Photo/John Russell)

Army wife Donna Borms of Nashville, Tenn., takes part in a rally for U.S. Troops in Clarksville, Tenn., Saturday, March 22, 2003. Borms' husband Jason is with the 101st Airborne currently deployed in Iraq (news - web sites). About 500 war supporters gathered to show their support of President Bush (news - web sites) and the war effort to liberate Iraq.(AP Photo/John Russell)

He won todays Busch race, but think he excels at Bristol.

OB