2007 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway

This weekend the 2007 Food City 500 will introduce the Car of Tomorrow to NEXTEL Cup competition for the first time ever. The tight confines of Bristol Motor Speedway will host this historic event.

At Bristol the race track determines the racing style more than the car does so I expect that this will be the same old Bristol. Great racing, hot tempers and thrilling finishes are the order of the day at Bristol and the Car of Tomorrow shouldn't change that. Bristol will always be Bristol.

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Measuring in at .533 miles and featuring 36 degrees of banking in the corners. Bristol Motor Speedway is very tight and very fast. Racing here was once compared to racing jetfighters in a gymnasium.

The high speeds and close quarters makes for a lot of pushing and shoving on the track, and sometimes in the pits. Adrenaline (and tempers) run high as often the only way to pass is to shove the guy in front of you out of the way.

500 laps = 266.5 miles

Point leader Mark Martin will not be in Bristol this weekend. This leaves the point lead up for grabs again as Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton and Jimmie Johnson are all right there. Who will take over as the new point leader?

1. Mark Martin -0
2. Jeff Gordon -8
3. Jeff Burton -11
4. Jimmie Johnson -28
5. Matt Kenseth -62
6. Tony Stewart -122
7. Kevin Harvick -147
8. Denny Hamlin -149
9. Clint Bowyer -150
10. Carl Edwards -158
11. David Stremme -166
12. J.J. Yeley -167

This weekend's race will be all about the Car of Tomorrow. The NASCAR Car Of Tomorrow was designed from the ground up to be safer, more competitive and cheaper for the race teams. NASCAR has spent extensive time on the drawing board, computer simulations, in the wind tunnel and on the track to design the ideal NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race car for the future. This Sunday will see the debut of NASCAR's hard work.

TV: Fox Sunday March 25th 1:30PM Eastern.

Radio: PRN and SIRUIS Satellite

Actual Race: 2:00PM Eastern

$5,551,106

The 2006 Food City 500 saw a great finish. Kurt Busch put a bumper on Matt Kenseth with just five laps to go to take over the lead. Harvick slipped past at the same time. Then Kenseth and Jeff Gordon were battling for third when Kenseth got into Gordon and knocked him out of contention.

There were fireworks on the track and in the pits after the race as tempers flared. Bristol fans got their money's worth with this one.

Short track racing at Bristol is nearly as hard to predict as a restrictor plate race. You can have a fast car and be minding your own business when lightning strikes and suddenly you're done for the day. Add in the new Car of Tomorrow which is a complete unknown and you've got a crapshoot on your hands.

This is a good week to go with the faithful standby guys. Jeff Gordon is running extremely well so far in 2007 and was on his way to another strong finish in this race last year before he was punted by a frustrated Matt Kenseth. His experience, quality Hendrick Motorsports team and uncanny feel for Bristol will keep him up front all day among all of Bristol's unknowns.

For my backup this week I am going to pick another driver with a fast recent history at Bristol. I am torn between Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch. Both have wins at Bristol in recent years and a number of strong runs. Both drivers have strong teams and the ability to communicate well to get the car adjusted to the race track.

The deciding factor is who is running better in recent weeks. Matt Kenseth is my backup pick for Bristol by a nose.