Race six of the Winston Cup season brought the
traveling circus to Thunder Valley in beautiful
Bristol Tennessee. I had the pleasure of viewing this
race from my usual perch high up in turn two of the
Kulwicki Grandstand. After being treated to another
great short track extravaganza I was amazed that none
of the new tracks being built are less than one mile
in length. The close quarters of Bristol almost
guarantees a great show for the fans. It is not the
crashes but the fender against fender bumper against
bumper non-stop action that makes this track a fan
favorite in almost every pole taken. Steve Park
started the weekend with a track record performance
grabbing the pole. Jeff Gordon also showed his
strength early along with Jeremy Mayfield. Dale
Earnhardt was also in typical Bristol form
causing an early wreck that claimed his son's car
along with Elliot Sadler's Citgo Ford. Dale rallied
from an early spin of his own when he was caught in a
Labonte sandwich but as soon as he got to the front
disaster struck as he collided with Kenny Irwin in
turn four. Jeff Gordon soon took over the point again
until his Chevy's nose was crumpled when he hit a tire
on pit row. Another strong run by Ward Burton had him
in the hunt and Michael Waltrip used pit strategy to
race up front. But as the saying goes, "Big possums
walk late", and no one is tougher at Bristol than
short track ace Rusty Wallace. Once he regained the
top spot late in the race he dominated on his way to
his eighth Bristol win and the 50th in his career.
Hard charging Johnny Benson was 2 1/2 seconds back as
the checkered flag waved with Ward Burton, Jeremy
Mayfield, and Terry Labonte rounding out the top five.
The crowd cheered as Rusty did his usual "Polish
Victory Lap" honoring the late-great Alan Kulwicki.
Ten different drivers swapped the lead nineteen times
in a race slowed by eleven cautions. Bobby Labonte
will take a slim 41 point lead over Ward Burton to
Texas Motor Speedway next week.
Hard Hit of the Week: John Andretti was lucky to walk
away uninjured when his car was t-boned in turn two.
Ooops of the Week: Jeff Gordon tried to cut it too close to Steve Park's pit to save one lousy position and paid the price dearly as he slammed into Park's tire.
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