Where we left off:Jeff Gordon sits on top of the point standings. Kurt Busch dominated the last race 2 weeks ago @ Atlanta.
They may be the 2 to watch for in Sunday's race. Jeff Gordon & Kurt Busch each have 5 wins @ Bristol - tops among active drivers.
Gordon has posted 13 top 5's & 19 top 10's in his 32 races @ Bristol.
In Kurt's 16 races @ the track, he's posted 5 top 5's and 9 top 10's.
(However) Gordon's winless streak is up to 45 races now. Kurt's won 2 in that same time frame.
With that being said though, Bristol is a short track. And we know that short tracks equal short tempers.
Jeff Burton is the defending race winner. Qualifying last spring was cancelled due to weather. Qualifying up front is important @ Bristol. In 96 Cup Series races @ Bristol: 22 races have been won from the pole; 79 races have been won from a top 10 starting position and 51 races have been won from one of the 1st four starting spots.
Mark Martin won the pole for the Food City 500, his 2nd consecutive pole. His 43rd pole in 727 series races.Ryan Newman qualified 2nd. Jimmie Johnson - 3rd and Greg Biffle -4th.
45 drivers showed up to qualify with only Scott Riggs & Jeremy Mayfield failing to make the field.
Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR
